Wednesday, September 24, 2008

Further Adventures of Zoey Redbird


Ever since I read the book Marked (and you can read my review here), I have been a huge fan of the House of Night series! I have been anxiously awaiting the next installment, which was released on Tuesday. Needless to say, I picked up Untamed by PC Cast and Kristin Cast (352 pgs, St. Martin's Press, 2008) Tuesday night...and finished it yesterday! Book 4 is probably the best of the series so far!

The caw! caw! cawing! of one stupid crow kept me up all night. (Well, more accurately all day -- 'cause , you know, I'm a vampyre fledgling and we have that whole issue of day and night being turned around.) Anyway, I got zero sleep last night/day. But my crappy nonsleep is currently the easiest thing to deal with since life really sucks when your friends are pissed at you. I should know. I'm Zoey Redbird, currently the undisputed Queen of Making My Friends Pissed Land.

Zoey isn't having the best of weeks. All her friends are mad at her. They felt betrayed by the fact that Zoey was keeping secrets from them. They just didn't understand she was trying to keep them safe. She didn't have a boyfriend anymore. Last week, she had 3! But Loren Blake, the adult Vampyre Poet Laureate, seduced Zoey into thinking he was in love with her. Neferet, the evil High Priestess, had set up Zoey. And when she was with Loren, the imprint she had with her human boyfriend, Heath, was broken. In addition, Erik Night, the gorgeous fledgling that had just made his transformation to adult Vamp, walked in on them. Heath isn't speaking to Zoey and now, neither is Erik. This was all before Loren was killed in a bizarre ritual that was causing Neferet to wage a war against the humans. So, yes. Zoey's life sucks alot right now.

In addition to all that stress, Zoey is also dealing with the Stevie Rae/Aphrodite issue. By casting her circle for Stevie Rae, she is no longer undead, but has transformed into some kind of other vampyre. Her mark is now colored in just like the adult vamps, but it is red. But with Stevie Rae gaining her humanity back, it caused Aphrodite to lose her mark. Now she is no longer a vampyre, although only Zoey and Stevie Rae know. But she is still having visions. And now her visions include Zoey's death and an all out war between the vampyres and the humans. And it looks like it is up to Zoey to stop it.

Book 4 starts a few days after Book 3 ended. And it is way darker and more sinister than any of the preceding books. Zoey is way less whiny in this book. And it looks like she is stepping up her game. It's going to come down to a battle between good vs. evil, and Zoey is finally becoming the Priestess she was chosen to be. She has firmly taken control of who she is, and gathering around her those that want to fight the evil that has come to the House of Night.

PC and Kristin have certainly brought their A-game with Untamed. They wrote an excellent novel, which was an extremely fast read for me, because I just couldn't put it down! The series just keeps getting better and better. And I can't wait to see how things shake out in the next installment!! 4.5/5

13 comments:

Melody said...

I need to get this book! I didn't know it's already out!!

BTW, I've passed you two awards. ;)

Mari said...

Oh yeah, I completely forgot it came out this week. I must go and get a copy!

Ladytink_534 said...

Ooh she's got a cool tattoo! I know a lot of people who are enjoying this series so I'm intrigued.

Kailana said...

I might have to read this series one of these days. I have so many on the go, though, I am trying not to add too many more to the list!

Carl V. Anderson said...

I can't help but admitting the fact that that is one gorgeous book cover!

Tammy said...

Hey Steph, I passed you the same award as Melody, lol!

Debi said...

I knew you loved this series, and have been meaning to ask you forever about it, but kept forgetting. Annie has been dying to read these books! She asks every time we're at the bookstore. But my gut instinct has been that maybe they're a bit too mature (content-wise). Am I right on this one, or totally off-base?

Stephanie said...

Melody - YES, go get it!! And I will have to trip on over to your blog and see what little gem you bestowed on me!

Mari - As I said to Melody, you MUST go get it! This is the best book so far!

Tink - All the tattoos are cool! Each cover shows a different one. I fell in love with the series in the first book. I just love them!

Kailana - If you are going to add any more series, you should definitely add this to the list!

Carl - Each one of the covers is really cool. I think it's what drew me to the series initially.

Tammy - Thanks!! I will have to go check it out.

Debi - Hmmmm...Annie is way mature for her age anyway. There is relatively no cussing in any of the books. A little sex....might be a bit much for her. But honestly, the books are really good. Maybe you should read them first, then decide.

Andi said...

Everyone loves this series, and I'm so behind! Haven't even started it yet! Definitely at the tippy top of the wishlist.

Jill said...

I have the first one in this series on my book pile right now. I'm finished with the RIP Challenge, but I'm on a roll! I'm glad to hear you enjoy the series so much - I'm looking forward to reading it!

The Bookworm said...

sounds like a great series!

http://thebookworm07.blogspot.com/

Anonymous said...

I just ordered this today and I ope to read the first one soon. It looks like a great series that keeps things going over the four books. Glad you enjoyed it so much.

Anonymous said...

I already read the series and luved it do you know if there is any more coming out anytime soon? I just read the new hunted one ;)

Brianna