The Indigo Spell (Bloodlines, #3)

  

Let's face one undeniable fact. I'm a sucker for a happy ending. I have a cynical soul lined with a border of idealism. When I pick up a romantic read, I expect the pair that I am rooting for, to overcome all the obstacles, indulge in a few jealousy-fuelled rants, have each others back in a crisis and finally walk off into an Instagram-worthy sunset.

And so, I am an absolute sap for the duo of a strait-laced, super-intelligent human girl and a seemingly unhinged, smart-talking bad-boy vampire crumbling the odds stacked against them. And if, along the way, I have to deal with page-fillers about conspiracy theories, covert operations and rescue missions of young girls from youth-obsessed witches, then I shall do so without an ounce of regret.

Let's face another fact. I unabashedly ship the Sydney Sage-Adrian Ivashkov pairing. I think they are stinkin' adorable. Honestly, I do. And the author has kindly catered to all the loyal fans by devoting enough pages to the witty (and sometimes, teeth-grittingly cheesy) repartee between the star pairing. Adrian professes his love at regular intervals. Sydney shoots him down. And then she mouths some unnecessary jibber-jabber about it being wrong! and shocking!! and unacceptable!!! And then she proceeds to promptly snog his face off. And indulge in more.
 Fangirls, rejoice.

I was expecting the arrival of Marcus Finch to be the third point of an impending love triangle. I was hoping for Sydney to have a clash of wills between her love for the wholly unsuitable Adrian and the irritatingly appropriate rebel Marcus. Sadly, all that Marcus contributed to the love saga was to be..........irritating. And every time he put it in an appearance, this was what I wanted to do to him:

More screen time for the infinitely likeable Eddie Castille and his unrequited love for Jill would have been nice. Sadly, it meandered around the story's edges but rarely took hold.

The rest of the book reads like a regular teen supernatural drama. It's entertaining but not exactly gripping. At the end of the book, I regret nothing. Adrian Ivashkov remains one of my favourite anti-heroes (and now, full-fledged hero). He is glamorous enough to seem unattainable, trustworthy enough to be likeable, flawed enough to be believable and sassy enough to make cynical ladies crack a smirk. And then he manages to breathe Ivashkov charm into the following exchange:

"...and as for who you are, you're the same beautiful, brave, and ridiculously caffeinated fighter you've been since the day I met you. "Sweet talker," I scoffed. "You didn't know anything about me the first time we met." "I knew you were beautiful," he said."I just hoped for the rest."

Okay yes, mush-overload. But, for a minute there, I got all:

The Mark Of Athena (Heroes of Olympus, #3)

   When I was reading The Mark of Athena, I was also battling a mild fever. My fever was accompanied by some very interesting (or deranged, as some muggles would like to call it) hallucinations. For three consecutive nights, I dreamt that I was standing at the helm of a bronze Trireme which had a flaming dragon for a masthead. And every single time, I had hooves. AND, I kept up a constant war cry of “DIE, GUACAMOLE BREATH, DIE!!!”

So yes, the latest instalment in The Heroes of Olympus series (and more importantly, Coach Hedge) has made a powerful…dare I say it…mark on me.

There were so, so many things to love about this book.
 Let me elaborate:
 a) LEO VALDEZ: As someone on Pinterest rightly put it, “If Leo were to be made a God, I hope he’s made the God of Sass”. He has the best quips and comebacks, the coolest technology and gadgets at his disposal (I love you, Buford) and a veneer of loneliness that makes him strong and vulnerable in equal parts. 

b)The PERCY JACKSON – JASON GRACE bromance: Endearing and believable. The two superamped demigods complement each other with their combination of foolhardy courage (on Percy’s part) and disciplined action (on Jason’s part). And just when you assume that things are going to go splendidly between the two heroes, they rock the trireme with their petty one upmanship.

c) FRANK ZHANG as a giant koi goldfish. Stellar chapter, that.

d) A beautiful tale behind Leo’s uncanny resemblance to Hazel Levesque’s old friend SAMMY. If it doesn’t make you hastily brush away an unexpected tear, shame on you. You, dear sir/ madam, have had your soul sucked out by a Dementor.

e) Please say hello to the latest, cheesiest entrants to the Villains Hall of Fame: Twin Giants, EPHIALTES and OTIS. Every single time that the terrible towsome made an appearance, I was thoroughly entertained.

f) HERCULES, popping up like a bad, egotistical egg and making life and quests harder for the young demigods.

g) COACH HEDGE as a chaperone. Coach Hedge as a viewer of bad martial arts movies. Coach Hedge as an adrenaline packed satyr out to chew the enemy to shreds. More power to COACH HEDGE!

h) PERCY and ANNABETH finally getting some quality couple- time together. They deserve it, what with Percy having metamorphosed into a lean, mean handsome demigod and Annabeth having finally accepted that there’s more to Percy than just being unjustly titled as Seaweed Brain. Okay, I tried to desist from adding gifs and artwork, but how adorable (and accurate) is this:



At the end of the day, The Mark of Athena belongs to Annabeth’s lonely quest. The one-time calm and level headed Goddess Athena has transformed into a bitter, forgetful Roman version of herself. And while she once loved her daughter, she now has no qualms about sending her off an epic and murderous quest…a quest moreover, that none of her previous children have ever returned from. I have nothing bad to say about the book (although Piper does hover around like a fractious boyfriend obsessed bee.) and as always, I feel completely happy after reading a Rick Riordan book. Mythological tales…word play and subtle slapstick……the efficient use of weapons…the magical charm of God Given powers and the ever present lesson to use your brains and stay loyal……all this and more, effectively covered by dear Mr.Riordan.


 As for the cliffhanger...

Iron Kissed (The Mercedes Thompson Series, #3)

Iron Kissed starts out as a more than competent Fantasy read. You would expect nothing less from the talented Patricia Briggs. Here’s an author who stays true to her genre. If unadulterated, supernatural fare is what you crave, Briggs does a stand-up job of delivering just that.

Events travel at a well-planned out pace. Gruesome murders occur. The wrong people get blamed. Magical objects disappear and true-to-their-nature, magically reappear. Powerful paranormal creatures make dire threats/ play subtle mind-games/ lay out not-so-subtle bone crunching fight sequences. And at the helm of it all, you have the Buffyesque heroine, Mercedes (Mercy) Thompson. Top it off with a believable love triangle that cushions, but never overpowers the main plot and you have another fine offering from the Mercedes Thompson Series.

It’s a steady read. You are reading, sometimes skipping a paragraph or two. It’s okay. Your eyes aren’t out on stalks but you are trudging along...

And then...

*WHAM*

With a handful of pages, Patricia Briggs elevates the book to a whole.new.level.

In a flash, it’s no longer just a slick, smart paranormal read.
It’s a sucker-punching of emotions. It’s a phase when you watch your favourite heroine go through so much physical pain, mental anguish, self-loathing and a debilitating sense of defeat, that you want to tear up whole walls with your bare hands. It’s a spot where a misunderstood, seemingly creepy character puts forth her pain with so much cathartic clarity that your throat closes up. The honesty of the words drives home the fact that reality with all it’s flesh and blood villains can be infinitely more scary than all the fantastical evil that lurks in the myths. It is concise...it is uncomfortable...and it leaves you heavy-hearted with the truth.

And so, the author (who has found an everlasting fan in me), rises from being just an honest writer of Fictional Fantasy to a weaver of poignant words and heartfelt emotions. Not many can do it without sinking in a puddle of purple prose. Briggs, though....pretty much RULES.

DESTINED (House of Night, #9)

AWAKENED ended on an “yet-another-circle-of-hell-breaks-loose” note when nasty Neferet won the allegiance of the dreaded White Bull. The White Bull gifted her with a vessel (an instrument of destruction that would obey her every command). To earn this questionable gift, Neferet offered up Zoey’s unsuspecting mother as a sacrifice to the White Bull.

Unbeknownst to our arch villainess, the Goddess Nyx has returned Heath to the living world as the hidden soul inside the above mentioned killing-machine. Heath however, has no recollection of his past-life.

In DESTINED, Neferet under the guise of reformation, returns to the Tulsa House of Night with her 'gift'. The gift takes the form of a young, good-looking bodyguard by the name Aurox.

Besides battling constant evil, Zoey Redbird has a lot of necessary angst to deal with. She wants to support the newly transformed Rephaim’s wish to study in the school. This makes it tedious considering Rephaim’s past as a Raven Mocker and the constant resistance he faces from Sword Master Dragon Lankford who lost his beloved mate at the hands of Rephaim (back when he was a mucho-nasty bird-man). Zoey also has to make sense of her conflicting emotions around Aurox. Why does she feel a sense of attachment to a boy who slowly but surely transforms into a massive violent bull in the midst of a fight?

And then there is the driving need to find out who murdered her mother.
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The House of Night series has always been a hit-and-miss affair. Sometimes you want to gnaw your arm off at the mind-numbing plotlines and juvenile portrayals of supposed world-savers. At other times, it exhibits flashes of charm and reels you right in.

DESTINED falls under the latter category.

The things I liked about this instalment:

~ Admirable Female Role-Models : I love strong female influences. Three characters appealed to my sensibilities in this book:
a) Zoey’s Grandmother : Grandma Redbird has always been a warm, wise, completely sorted Cherokee elder. In DESTINED, she deals with the death of her (albeit estranged) daughter and has a spine of steel as she is willing to do all that is necessary to discover the murderer. Her loyalty and love towards Zoey and the nerd-herd is as always a cup of hot cocoa before a roaring fire.
b) Prof. Lenobia : Horse-Mistress par excellence, Lenobia always came across as a dignified teacher who could be completely relied on by the students and faculty alike. Her emotions were put on the back-burner and only surfaced when she was around her beloved horses. But now, with the arrival of human help and fellow horse-lover, Travis Foster...Lenobia as a woman in denial emerges.
c) Thanatos : As the new sociology teacher for a select group, Vampyre Thanatos is a cool customer. Zoey very aptly compares her to The Lord of The Rings’s Elf Queen, Galadriel. Before you can say Frodo, she can transform from an astute professor to an eye-flashing, hair-flying pillar of rumbling anger. She plays a pivotal and supportive role in Destined.

~ The Rephaim and Kalona track : Kalona is a multi-faceted character. When he’s bad, he’s gruesome. You hate him with a fearful vengeance. When he’s atoning for his sins, or atleast being heartsick over losing the son that he loved, he makes you want to give him the now-famous Voldemort-Draco hug. He has matured into a delightfully grey individual who keeps you perpetually on your toes. Rephaim, now human-by day/ raven-by-night, has always been one of the more endearing male leads in the House of Night series. His attempts to fit in, his futile efforts to atone for his sins where Dragon Lankford is concerned and his need to justify his big, bad, daddy-with-wings makes him a poor-little-powerful guy.

~ Growth of certain characters : Keep your eyes peeled for Shaunee and Erik. Their plot-lines are fleshed out with the scope for future greatness and that makes these two characters much more likeable and readable. Dragon Lankford has always been a respectful figure looming in the background and finally, the man receives the print-space he deserves.

~ Rituals : As always, the casting of the circles has been one of my favourite bits. It is elemental and earthy and appeals to my nature-loving soul. Here, it is coupled with palpable drama which winds up the story with a tantalising *KA-BOOM* feeling.

My one small grouse:

The banter amongst the nerd-herd has grown weary. The wannabe teen-lingo and the over use of pop culture references grows old real fast. As always, Aphrodite is the saving grace with her saucy tongue and blunt observations.

At the end of the day, the House of Night series plods along on it’s Good v/s Evil journey. Promise of ensuing chaos and an appealing cliff-hanger makes DESTINED one of the better offerings of the mother-daughter duo.

See also : Marked (House of Night, #1)
See also : Betrayed (House of Night, #2)
See also : Chosen (House of Night, #3)
See also : Untamed (House of Night, #4)
See also : Hunted (House of Night, #5)
See also : Tempted (House of Night, #6)
See also : Burned (House of Night, #7)

See also : Awakened (House of Night, #8)

Moon Called (The Mercedes Thompson Series, #1)

I start 2012 with a book that does absolute justice to all the genres/ GoodReads shelves that I stacked it in.

a) Urban Fantasy – CHECK
b) Action – (*wiping blood off cut lip*) CHECK
c) Mystery – (*calming the goosebumps*) CHECK
d) Adventure – (*recovering from adrenaline rush*) CHECK
e) Interesting romantic interests – (*will-they, won’t they quandary*) CHECK
f) Strong female heroine worth emulating – (*pressing pen into the paper till a tear appears*) CHECK


Moon Called is the first in a truly triumphant series centered around a spunky heroine called Mercedes (Mercy)Thompson. Mercy is a mechanic in the Tri-Cities area of Washington state. She restores VWs and spends her spare time sharpening her karate skills. But more importantly, Mercy is a WALKER (a Native-American shapeshifter not influenced by the moon) who can turn into a coyote at will. Our heroine resides in a world teeming with Gray Lords, fae, vampires and the most fascinating of them all, werewolves. Raised by the Marrok (the alpha werewolf of all the North American werewolves), Mercy has seen, experienced and lived through a series of improbable events. Nothing really surprises her anymore. Not the fact that her next door neighbour is Adam Hauptman, the alpha of the Tri-Cities Werewolf pack, nor the fact that the current VW bus she is working on belongs to a friendly vampire and definitely not the added surprise that her newest recruit in the garage is a runaway teenage werewolf.

But when a rogue werewolf meets a grizzly end at Mercy’s hands (or her coyote paws, to be precise), Mercy soon learns that there is a dangerous conspiracy lurking in the dark. All the people who Mercy holds dear are in danger of an unseen enemy. And it’s up to our .444 Marlin toting heroine to deal with things that go bump in the night.

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First up, Buffy Summers would be bursting with pride. If anyone can tote the mantle of awesomeness around with the ease that Buffy did.....it’s Mercedes Thompson. Kudos to the author, Patricia Briggs for creating a heroine who is dignified mess of an unresolved past, a fraught-with-danger present and an uncertain future. Mercy is mouthy and sensible in equal measures. She fights like a fiend and deliberates like an army veteran. In short, she unashamedly kicks b***.

I also enjoyed the fact that the author actually gave us a well-researched, whole-hearted fantasy tale. Moon Called isn’t a romantic tryst thinly disguised as a supernatural read. It’s a full-fledged paranormal fiesta with romance as just one of the many poles holding it upright.

2011 ended with a firm resolution on my part to fill the New Year with erudite verse. I wanted to re-explore the classics, soak in some eloquent language and generally don the smarty-pants party-hat.
But I have to say true to my nature too. While I love me some Elizabeth Bennet, I equally adore an action-heroine. And when said action figure comes equipped with a cookie-dough heart, a wise disposition and the ability to keep a cool head when the world goes mad.....you bet your last fancy britches, that I will devour the book with glee.

The Son of Neptune (Heroes of Olympus, #2)

“When Rome fell, a lot of the legions just disappeared. We went underground, acting on secret orders from Jupiter himself: stay alive, recruit demigods and their children, keep Rome going. We’ve been doing that ever since, moving around to wherever Roman influence was the strongest. The last few centuries we have been in America.”

Sounds familiar? It does to Percy Jackson too. Perseus (Percy) Jackson (superstar demigod /self-effacing hero /North America’s confident answer to Harry Potter) has lost his mind. No, not the *I-see-conspiracy-theories-in-my-peripheral-vision-lost-his-mind*. Percy has been hit by a bout of amnesia, courtesy a certain manipulative Goddess. He doesn’t remember that he was a Greek demigod ,a son of Poseidon and a resourceful hero in the epic battle that saved the world from the wrath of Kronos. The only fact that he does recall is that he had a girlfriend called Annabeth (kudos to teenage boys for remembering the best bits).

Guided by the legendary Roman she-wolf Lupa, battling a pair of Gorgons who refuse to disintegrate/die, lugging a Goddess in road-kill disguise; Percy Jackson soon finds himself in Camp Jupiter, the roman equivalent of Camp Half-Blood.

Soon our favourite hero finds himself slap-bang in the middle of yet another doomed-to-despair Quest. Accompanying him are his two new friends and Camp Jupiter underdogs : Hazel Levesque and Frank Zhang.
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Things that enchanted my reader’s palate like Ambrosia:

# 1: THE RETURN OF OL’SEAWEED BRAIN : When the battle for Olympus ended with Annabeth and Percy sharing an underwater kiss, I was ready to bid adieu to the likeable boy wonder. Any attempt to stretch the taffy by Rick Riordan would pale in comparison to the immensely popular 7-Book series. Atleast that’s what I, with my limited vision assumed. But Riordan is not a brilliant storyteller for nothing. He plunges Percy Jackson into a whole new can of worms (or basilisks, which seems more appropriate) and has you whooping like a herd of Party-Ponies. Percy’s trademark wit, droll acceptance of dastardly situations, unerring loyalty to friends (old and new) and the ability to fight like a fiend is displayed to full effect. The author has also done the wise job of adding a ring of maturity to Percy’s character. His new-found confidence adds a much-needed foil to the fledgling charms of Hazel and Frank.

# 2: HAZEL LEVESQUE : Such a brave and endearing heroine. She joins Hermione Granger and Annabeth Chase in the ranks of noteworthy YA Lit. role-models for young girls. Burdened by a dark past, unsure of a long future, adorably embarrassed around the boy she likes and a bad-a** warrior to round it up nicely, Hazel is a treat to read.

# 3: FRANK ZHANG. AND MORE IMPORTANTLY, FRANK ZHANG’S GRANDMOTHER: I cannot rave enough about the massive appeal of Frank Zhang without veering into *SPOILER* territory. Suffice to say, that the baby-faced, muscle-bound demigod keeps you hooked through his emotional trauma and growth. As for Granny Zhang....I was loving and hating her in equal measures. All that aristocratic arrogance duelling with a caring heart makes for one intimidating matriarch.

# 4: RICK RIORDAN’S SIGNATURE QUIRKS :
a) Mars (the Roman name for Ares) declaring the Quest was one of my favourite bits. When the God of War whips out a scroll and a ballpoint pen and scribbles a brusque, “Go to Alaska. Find Thanatos and free him. Come back by Sundown on June Twenty-fourth or die” with nary a hint of drama and the absolute absence of riddled prophecies....you got to love the big guy.
b) I had the biggest smile on my face when I read that Amazon.com is being run by.....you guessed it.....the condescending female warriors, *THE AMAZONS*. Their Queen sits on a throne made from a thousand copies of a book called “The Five Habits of Highly Aggressive Women”.(Seriously how can anyone not cackle over that?!?). It was borderline cheesy but vintage Riordan.
c) Thanatos (the God of Death) has a pure black iPad. As he whips it out, Frank Zhang hopes fervently, “ Please don’t let there be an App for reaping souls”. Again, adorable.

# 5: MOTHER EARTH UNPLUGGED : For nature lovers like me, who imagined Mother Earth to be a bosomy, *brimming-with-the-warmth-of-home -and-hearth* kind of genial lady....Gaia was an unexpected villain. A Goddess who invokes Giants, resurrects dead monsters, murmurs nasty thoughts into vulnerable minds, makes snarky promises to kill our favourite demigods and rears unearthly armies to overtake the world is NOT someone who would inspire the *Hug-A-Tree* emotion in you. And the best bit is that all these tender acts are being committed while the lady is still trapped underground. What will happen when she’s unleashed in all her grimy glory?--->*Delicious Shiver-Down-The-Spine Time*

# 6 : ACTION SEQUENCES : Here’s where you bring in all your cherished Die-Hard inspired adrenaline. The book is loaded with rip-roaring battle sequences. It gets the blood flowing and the inner warrior roars with whole-hearted approval.

# 7: SUPPORTING CHARACTERS :
a) Slimy, power-hungry Octavian who sees prophecies in the innards of stuffed toys.
b) Royal *you-lie-and-my-dogs-will-dismember-you* Reyna.
c) Ella, the twitchy red-feathered harpy with the quirk of spouting random bursts of dead-useful (and pointless) information.
d) Nico Di Angelo in a short (but hopefully epic) reappearance.
e) Iris, the Goddess of The Rainbow (and now the proprietor of R.O.F.L. –Rainbow Organic Foods and Lifestyle). Don't ask.
f) Terminus, the rule abiding God of Boundaries. Never has a pillar of stone been so pedantic. And so useful.

I cannot elaborate on any without spilling out the plot. All I can do is assure you that it’s a stellar casting.

# 8: ARION: Okay, which girl/woman does not want a celestial Horse that can break the sound barrier, run on water and up slippery slopes, cuss like a seasoned sailor and mutter grumpily “I will trample you to bits, silly baby man!”. I love this horse. I want this horse. Case closed.

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Things that tasted like Iris’ gluten-free, sugar-free cupcake simulations (translation: things that left a bitter taste in my mouth)
*..........BLANK.........*

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So, in conclusion, did I like HEROES OF OLYMPUS : THE SON OF NEPTUNE?
You bet your imperial gold/ celestial bronze/ stygian iron I DID!

I LOVED IT! (And I’m not one to use CAPSLOCK carelessly)

The book is an absolute treat. The return of old favourites stitched with the chutzpah of new arrivals worked like a charm. Yet again, Mythology and it's Gods left the hallowed portals and became cheekily shod with feet-of-clay. With a “it-could-go-anyway” cliffhanger, Rick Riordan has laid the groundwork for a delightful sequel.

ATHENA, make your MARK already!

The Lost Hero (Heroes of Olympus, #1)

"Seven Half-Bloods shall answer the call.
To storm or fire, the world must fall.
An oath to keep with a final breath.
And foes bear arms to the doors of death."

Percy Jackson’s nerve-racking adventures ended with this cheery prophecy. The resourceful demigod had just fought The Second Olympian War and emerged victorious. When his friend and now, new oracle, Rachel Dare made the aforementioned divination, Percy hoped that it wasn’t something that he would have to deal with in this lifetime. His best bet was that this phenomenon would occur a few centuries down the road.

But doom-and-despair laden prophecies have the uncanny ability of hitting below the belt.

The Lost Hero (Heroes of Olympus, Book #1) is the story of Jason Grace, a teenager who is suffering from memory-loss. Jason has no clue as to why he is on a school bus for delinquent kids. He apparently also has a girlfriend, Piper McLean and a cheeky best friend, Leo Valdez.

When the school bully suddenly transforms into an ‘Anemoi Thuellai’ (sincerely scary Storm Spirit) and the school coach transforms into a ‘Satyr’ (we all know what that is), Jason has an inkling that amnesia is just the tip of a deeply embedded iceberg.

Dodging...well, dodgy incidents...Jason, Piper and Leo soon find themselves at Camp Half-Good. And Lo! And obviously... Behold! It’s QUEST TIME! Hera, the Queen of The Gods is missing. Olympus has been closed down by Zeus and none of the Gods are making contact with the outside world. A deeper, darker and more sinister force than the Titans is at work. And if the world has a fighting chance against these new evil, Jason will have to set out and save Hera before the Winter Solstice. In the true tradition of panic-inducing deadlines, the Winter Solstice is just four days away.

And so, Jason (the hero-with-no-clue), Piper (the heroine doomed to betray her friends) and Leo (the smart-talking sidekick with a troubled past) set out on a suicidal mission. Along the way, they will deal with malfunctioning mechanical dragons, power-crazed Wind Gods, cannibalistic Cyclopes, disturbing dreams and the ever-present possibility of meeting an extremely sticky end.

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The first book in the new Heroes of Olympus Series lives up to the Rick Riordan hype. The tongue-in-cheek author is definitely NOT a flash-in-the-pan. Just when you thought that he couldn’t recreate the adrenaline of Percy Jackson’s adventures, he promptly churns up a new and endearing hero. Besides Jason, you actively root for Piper and Leo and get drawn into their respective mental conflicts.

At the end of the day, it’s the Gods and Riordan’s treatment of celestial souls that keeps you hooked. Without being blasphemous, the author perfectly captures their powers, their mood-swings, their quirks and their vulnerabilities.

In all, it’s a magnificent door-stopper of a book. Packed with memorable characters, delightful witticisms and non-stop action, this is yet another winner from the talented author,

AWAKENED (House of Night, #8)

The House of Night series is a guilty pleasure. It is not exactly evolved literature which leaves you with a sense of wonderment. Then again, unlike The Twilight Saga (which makes me cringe and wince and want to hurl myself at the closest wooden stake), this series is strangely addictive and in certain places, even redeemable.

AWAKENED is the eighth book in the series. Zoey Redbird and her Warrior/Guardian/Conveniently super-hot boyfriend; Stark have returned from the Otherworld. Heart-almost-whole, the sappy duo have defeated the mighty Kalona yet again. They now plan to spend some quality time recuperating on the magical island of Skye, under the benevolent eye of the mystical, supremely powerful and infinitely cool Queen Sgiach. In the midst of all this relaxation, they finally do the “deed” and are as happy as a pair of proverbial lovebirds.

But the real world (or as real as a world populated by vampyres, monsters and immortal Gods can be) beckons.

Kalona’s failure to swipe out Zoey means that the poor immortal now owes an oath-sworn debt to Ms.Nefariously Noxious Neferet. She doesn’t much care for the fact that Zoey is sitting pretty on the impenetrable island of Skye. She wants her back....back in Tulsa, where she can annihiliate the young Priestess. And if killing an innocent will achieve this end, then so be it.

And then there’s good ol’Stevie Rae. The powerful Red One is stuck in a Catch-22 situation over her love for the Raven Mocker, Rephaim. She can’t tell anybody about falling for the enemy and she can’t keep it hidden much longer. Teen-angst at it’s volatile best.
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Like most followers of the House of Night series, I am really hooked on the *Stevie Rae-Rephaim* connection. Zoey may be the main character, but apart from whining and whingeing and sucking face with Stark she makes for a dodgy main-lead. I frankly don’t have much patience for her. Stevie Rae on the other hand, is facing all the trials and tribulations that a protagonist gets bludgeoned with. In the absence of Zoey for a sizeable portion of the action; she has to deal with Neferet’s manic plots, the loss of a close friend, the need to be a responsible High Priestess AND the secrecy of her relationship with Rephaim. I liked AWAKENED for giving the vampyre-monster relationship it’s due.

See also : Marked (House of Night, #1)
See also : Betrayed (House of Night, #2)
See also : Chosen (House of Night, #3)
See also : Untamed (House of Night, #4)
See also : Hunted (House of Night, #5)
See also : Tempted (House of Night, #6)
See also : Burned (House of Night, #7)

See also : Destined (House of Night, #9)

BURNED (House of Night, #7)

In TEMPTED, Kalona killed Heath. Zoey Redbird witnessed the murder and though she sent out her element ‘Spirit’ to protect Heath, she was unfortunately too late. The shock shattered Zoey’s soul, dissolved all her intricate vampyre tattoos (save the outline of a crescent moon) and left behind the shell of her comatose body.

Her soul and it’s fragmented pieces now whirl incoherently in the Otherworld where Zoey also encounters the soul of Heath. If Zoey’s soul is not returned to her body in seven days, she will die and her fractured soul will roam forever in unrest.

Stark, Zoey’s oath-sworn warrior witnessed Zoey’s mortal fall and despite his mind-numbing grief knows that he will do anything to get Zoey back, even it means dying himself and heading off to the Otherworld to yank Zoey back to the land of The Living.

An intent which is bolstered by Aphrodite’s startling visions and Kramisha (the newest Vampyre Poet Laureate)’s cryptic poems. Everything points to the fact that Stark will have to die, become a Shaman and then enter Nyx’s realm to convince Zoey to return.

Warrior Stark’s work is cut out. Besides the obviously gruesome fact that he has to drop dead, he also has to deal with several road-blocks:
a) No warrior in times past has ever returned from the otherworld; either alone or having rescued his high-priestess.
b) Kalona, weakened by Zoey’s last-ditch attempt to save Heath is in a debilitated state which is fully exploited by Neferet. Wielding the powers of darkness, she orders Kalona’s weakened spirit to head off to the Otherworld and make sure that Zoey never, ever returns.
And the third and most pressing problem
c) Zoey is grieving the loss of Heath. She feels responsible for his death and bogged down by her vanishing spirit, she may never want to return back to her body and the living world.

Stark’s seemingly impossible quest and the painful journey that he undertakes is what BURNED is predominantly all about.
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I enjoyed seeing my favourite character go through the drill of self-evolvement and maturity. The Scottish legends woven in, added the essential touch of mystery and olde worlde lore. Add to that the ancient symbolisms of the Black and White Bulls (depicting Light and Darkness respectively) and you have a tale that binds urban fantasy with mythical elements.

An intriguing parallel story was Stevie-Rae’s relationship with Raven Mocker Rephaim. Full credit to the Cast duo for building up a tale that makes you root for the unlikely pairing of a red vampyre and a supposed monster.

I don’t care what the critics say, I loved BURNED. I adored Stark and his true-blue heroic quest. Heath, the only human in the whole proceedings rises to the occasion even in The Otherworld and has you applauding him for his selflessness and All-American bravado. Zoey, despite being the satellite around which all else orbited, was effectively relegated to the background and that worked perfectly well.

A lovely tale and all I can say is that it is going to be a lo-ong and impatient wait till AWAKENED comes out.

See also : Marked (House of Night, #1)
See also : Betrayed (House of Night, #2)
See also : Chosen (House of Night, #3)
See also : Untamed (House of Night, #4)
See also : Hunted (House of Night, #5)
See also : Tempted (House of Night, #6)
See also : Awakened (House of Night, #8)

See also : Destined (House of Night, #9)

TEMPTED (House of Night, #6)

I like it when a series progresses from wince-inducing to wholly-engrossing with each successive instalment. It’s a much better scenario than getting hooked on to the first book and then watching the downward spiral with a feeling of dismay. The House of Night series, I am happy to report, just got better with TEMPTED.

HUNTED ended with Zoey Redbird banishing the avenging immortal: Kalona and his vile consort (and former High Priestess of the Goddess Nyx): Neferet. But the respite is temporary. The nasty duo has only faced a minor setback and will definitely return with a vengeance.

As the nerd-herd and the red fledglings take shelter at the Benedictine Abbey, Zoey has to deal with a whole new set of developments.

Stark (Zoey’s oath-sworn warrior) has been badly wounded. Stevie-Rae seems to be lying through her teeth and harbouring dangerous secrets. Heath and Erik continue their oneupmanship battle for Zoey’s affections. Aphrodite's visions spell doom, despair and the end of the civil world unless Zoey takes action.

Kalona and Neferet step up their world-domination plans by scooting off to the island of Capri where the Vampyre High Council holds court. So it’s time for Zoey and her pack to make a trip to the sunny climes and face the dubious charms of Kalona, who still has the ability to make Zoey’s soul hesitate and wonder whether he really is the big, bad winged monster that everybody claims he is.

Life as Zoey has come to accept it, is about to change drastically...again!

The book was good, with minimal annoying teen-references. The plot thickened, the characters fleshed out and Rephaim, the injured Raven-Mocker (and favoured son of Kalona) made a wary appearance on the palette of dubious but memorable characters. Coupled with a fine cliff-hanger of an ending, the story was engaging and readable. It shows that the Cast duo has soaked in the misgivings of their fans, critics and naysayers; shaped up their writing act and delivered a worthy instalment.

See also : Marked (House of Night, #1)
See also : Betrayed (House of Night, #2)
See also : Chosen (House of Night, #3)
See also : Untamed (House of Night, #4)
See also : Hunted (House of Night, #5)
See also : Burned (House of Night, #7)
See also : Awakened (House of Night, #8)

See also : Destined (House of Night, #9)

HUNTED (House of Night, #5)

UNTAMED ended with Stevie Rae getting struck by the unwavering arrow of James Stark, the newest red-fledgling and possible minion of Neferet (High Priestess gone bad with a vengeance). As Stevie-Rae's blood soaked into the earth, Kalona, the suppressed evil/ fallen God was released from his centuries long imprisonment and Neferet’s evil plans finally came to a head.

Zoey Redbird, unable to deal with this fresh and bone-chilling terror, fled 'The House of Night' with her nerd-herd and decided to seek refuge in the underground tunnels which are inhabited by Stevie Rae and her army of red fledglings.

In HUNTED, Zoey needs to find a way to vanquish Kalona, who happens to have the psychic ability to enter her dreams and play hockey-with-her-hormones. When an almost fatal wound forces Zoey to return to 'The House of Night', she is frazzled to see that the entire school (save a discerning few) is under the spell of Kalona and his physical perfection (read: really hot God-like awesomeness complete with massive black wings). She also encounters Stark who appears to be struggling between good and evil. While he isn’t being the stereotypical vamp who sucks blood from a bunch of dizzy females, he still feels the core connection to Zoey.

So, along with the reappearances of ex-boyfriend : Erik and imprinted human : Heath, Zoey is dealing with her reluctant attraction to bad/good boy, Stark.

Teenage angst coupled with the need to vanquish ancient evil, Zoey has her work cut out.

The instalment is readable with some cool kick-a** action and a few poignant moments. The series appears to pick up with each instalment and the emotional growth of Zoey is interesting to watch.

See also : Marked (House of Night, #1)
See also : Betrayed (House of Night, #2)
See also : Chosen (House of Night, #3)
See also : Untamed (House of Night, #4)
See also : Tempted (House of Night, #6)
See also : Burned (House of Night, #7)
See also : Awakened (House of Night, #8)

See also : Destined (House of Night, #9)

UNTAMED (House of Night, #4)

UNTAMED is a vast improvement on the previous three instalments. Finally there’s some “save-the-world-from-dire-distress” happening.

There’s a new powerful fledgling in The House of Night: James Stark who Zoey Redbird immediately forms a connection with. He reveals the affinity given to him by The Goddess Nyx and the two seem to share an instinctive understanding about the respective crosses that they must bear. Sadly, like all the other crappy things going on in her life, Stark dies before going through the "CHANGE".

With the brutal murders of two important vampyre teachers, The House of Night has upped it’s security. The vigilant warriors called The Sons of Erebus are stationed all over the school and Shekinah, the High Priestess of all vampyres has made an entry into the school.

But dark evil is slowly raising it’s head. Suddenly, Zoey begins to fear the friendly night as things get murkier. Neferet is playing a dangerous game and has decided to raise an ancient demon that will make all the problems that Zoey has faced up till now look like playground politics.

This was a good instalment...much, much better than the Gossip-Girl prattle of the preceding books. One of my favourite characters, Grandma Redbird is finally playing a chunkier and more involved role. The introduction of unbiased nun, Sister Mary Angela promises to be a surprising but convincing choice. Zoey displays a growing maturity and this worked for me because frankly all the “boyfriend-drama” was getting a tad contrived.

The writing was good enough to ignore the tedious repetitions. Truly, an episode that would have made Buffy and her Scooby Gang proud.

See also : Marked (House of Night, #1)
See also : Betrayed (House of Night, #2)
See also : Chosen (House of Night, #3)
See also : Hunted (House of Night, #5)
See also : Tempted (House of Night, #6)
See also : Burned (House of Night, #7)
See also : Awakened (House of Night, #8)

See also : Destined (House of Night, #9)

CHOSEN (House of Night, #3)

CHOSEN was a long-drawn out account of Zoey Redbird dealing with (in her own words) ho-ish existence.

All we read about is Zoey’s hormones getting pulled every which way with:
a) Human imprinted partner, Heath (who she intends breaking up with but instead has a hot ‘n’ heavy make-out session with)
b) Erik, her handsome fledgling boyfriend (who she wants to come clean with about her roaming eye but instead ends up having hot ‘n’ heavy make-out sessions with)
c) Loren Blake, temporary teacher (who she wants to break up with but as he apparently makes her "feel like a woman", she inevitably ends up...yep...you got it...having hot 'n' heavy make-out sessions with)

So in the midst of all this mind-numbing drama, Zoey is also trying to find a way to restore some semblance of normality into the life of her friend Stevie Rae, who died and changed into a snarling, undead creature. Along the way she has to keep secrets from her nerd-herd and rely on the reluctant assistance of foe-turned-friend, Aphrodite.

A Series-filler with minimal truly gripping moments.

See also : Marked (House of Night, #1)
See also : Betrayed (House of Night, #2)
See also : Untamed (House of Night, #4)
See also : Hunted (House of Night, #5)
See also : Tempted (House of Night, #6)
See also : Burned (House of Night, #7)
See also : Awakened (House of Night, #8)

See also : Destined (House of Night, #9)

BETRAYED (House of Night, #2)

In Book 2 of the 'House of Night' series, Zoey Redbird, the fledgling vampyre is coming to terms with her ascending powers. Along with her friends Stevie Rae, Damien, Shaunee and Erin; she hopes to bring about better changes as the new leader of The Daughters of the Dark.

She is also juggling her romantic alliances with Erik (fellow fledgling), Heath (her wholly human, not really ex-boyfriend who she has accidentally imprinted with) and Loren Black (a young Vampyre Poet Laureate and teacher who plays out a haiku-inspired flirtation with Zoey).

Matters get murkier when Stevie-Rae dies as she is unable to undergo the "CHANGE". But is Stevie-Rae really dead or has she morphed into one of the gaunt, undead creatures that Zoey had previously witnessed?

New enemies come to the fore and old foes come forward to assist Zoey.

These and many issues pepper the pages of BETRAYED. Reading the series is akin to watching a long-running afternoon soap. The plot is predictable and filled with tiresome repetitions. You know where the characters are heading but you still plonk down to get your daily dosage.

See also : Marked (House of Night, #1)
See also : Chosen (House of Night, #3)
See also : Untamed (House of Night, #4)
See also : Hunted (House of Night, #5)
See also : Tempted (House of Night, #6)
See also : Burned (House of Night, #7
See also : Awakened (House of Night, #8)

See also : Destined (House of Night, #9)

MARKED (House of Night, #1)

INGREDIENTS
~ One troubled (but attractive and quick-witted) teen heroine.

~ A new school/college/university/ random place of learning which plays backdrop to the “fitting-in” saga of aforementioned teen heroine.

~ One super-beautiful, super-snotty, super- all-things-HAGalistic teen queen and her equally stuck-up clique.

~ A handful of likeable waiting-to-bloom sidekicks.

~ An extremely handsome boy-wonder who craves new teen heroine but has also done the nasty with previously mentioned HAG-Queen.

RECIPE
Blend all the ingredients together and you have your run-of-the-mill Ya-Lit.

RECIPE WITH A PARANORMAL TWIST
Throw in the exotic element of Vampires and what you have is Ya-Lit with bloodlust, some cool undead action and the umpteenth attempt to correct the damage done by Edward Cullen and the rest of his sparkling-brigade.

MARKED is one such tale. Zoey Redbird is a 16-year old who gets ‘marked’ by a tracker. Being marked doesn’t mean that someone goes nuts on you with a Sharpie-Pen. It means that Zoey has become a fledgling who will soon CHANGE into a full-blown vampyre. In order to deal with the changes (read: not die), Zoey must leave behind her old school and enrol herself into the "House of Night" (a sort of finishing school for vampyres). What follows are the above-spouted clichés in varying but predictable degrees.

The book could have been loads better without the authors’ gratuitous sermonising and the clear demarcation between what is morally right and what is sluttishly wrong. Popular references were OTT and jarred the smooth flow of the text. Zoey could have been the perfect heroine without the unnecessary attempt to etch her character as the most mentally well-balanced teen possible. The supporting cast of characters are fun in varying degrees.

It’s always interesting to see an author’s representation of the Vampire world. The Cast mother-daughter duo does a good job on it. I especially like the whole concept of a fledgling resisting the “CHANGE”. It adds a degree of vulnerability to the self-assuredness of the immortals and makes for interesting reading. These points and a few other minute details laid down some good groundwork for future plotlines.

Not astounding vamp-lit, but a tad better than the Twilight series. Engaging enough to make me pick up the next two books.

See also : Betrayed (House of Night, #2)

See also : Chosen (House of Night, #3)

See also : Untamed (House of Night, #4)

See also : Hunted (House of Night, #5)

See also : Tempted (House of Night, #6)

See also : Burned (House of Night, #7)

See also : Awakened (House of Night, #8)

See also : Destined (House of Night, #9)