Awakened

Awakened by P.C and Kristin Cast

House of Night #8

Exonerated by the Vampyre High Council and returned to her position of High Priestess at Tulsa’s House of Night, Neferet has sworn vengeance on Zoey.  Dominion over Kalona is only one of the weapons she plans to use against Z.  But Zoey has found sanctuary on the Isle of Skye and is being groomed by Queen Sgiach to take over for her there.  Being Queen would be cool, wouldn’t it?  Why should she return to Tulsa? After losing her human consort, Heath, she will never be the same – and her relationship with her super-hot-warrior, Stark, may never be the same either…

And what about Stevie Rae and Rephaim?  The Raven Mocker refuses to be used against Stevie Rae, but what choice does he have when no one in the entire world, including Zoey, would be okay with their relationship?  Does he betray his father or his heart?

In the pulse-pounding 8th book in the bestselling House of Night series, how far will the bonds of friendship stretch and how strong are the ties that bind one girl’s heart?

Dealing with the aftermath of her soul shattering, Zoey still isn't herself. She needs Stark more than ever and she knows the Goddess has truly blessed her by giving him to her. She decides to stay on the Isle of Skye for the time being to give herself some time to cope and regroup. Meanwhile Neferet continues on her path of darkness and destruction, but now she has the Council backing her again, making her that much more of a threat. Of course Stevie Rae is still bound to the Raven Mocker and it is really starting to cause problems. Her heart is being ripped in two from hiding the secret and her true feelings, and something has to give before it is too late. The stakes only keep getting higher in the quest for light over darkness and it will take all of them to hold to the path of the Goddess and not give into the darkness.

Everything really seemed to come to a head in this book. I won't get into specifics to ensure nothing is spoiled, but I will say that several issues from previous books do get a sort of resolution, while many other ones rear their ugly head. This book is told from several different perspectives, so we get to see how everyone is dealing without getting stuck with only Zoey's view. Sometimes rotating point of views can be very frustrating to read, but after I got used to it, I realized that the rotation made this book much better than it would have been with only Zoey. The conflict is now so much bigger than her, so that warrants the views of others being seen. The rotation was executed nicely and it was very clear who had the focus at the time, making it flow really well.

This book at root seemed to be about solidifying relationships. Again I won't go into specifics, but the lack of unity from the previous is well on its way to being resolved. One of the biggest things I loved about the early books in the series is how close knit Zoey and her friends were. As time went on, however, that was less and less the case. It was so hard to see everyone "splitting" apart, that it made the books slightly less enjoyable. I was very happy to see things start in the right direction in this book, and the "gang" banding together again despite the awful things that have happened. I look forward to the next book with hopefully a stronger and unified front, that will let them lean on each other and become a true force against the darkness again.

As I mentioned before, the rotating perspectives took me some time to get pulled into the story, but once I did, I was completely sucked in. The stakes are just as high as the previous books, if not higher, and the characters have been tested well beyond their believed limits. Their continued perseverance is nothing short of admirable, and I cannot wait for the next installment to see how everyone handles the shocking ending events. Everything has changed, and everything is at stake, making this a very good addition to an already great series.

Rating:

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Awakened (House of Night)

Challenge Categories:
Outdo Yourself
YA
Vampire