Awakened ★★★

Awakened (House of Night, #8) - P.C. & Kristin Cast ★★★

House of Night is a series about a young girl who is marked to become a vampire. She must move into what is essentially a bording school for future vampires. Over the course of the books Zoey ends up in an epic battle of good verses evil. In this installment, Zoey is exahusted from the fight. She just wants to find stability in her life. Just when she thinks she might get a tiny reprieve, darkness strikes again. She's already lost her best friend in the fight and Stark is weakened from his trip to the Otherworld. Just when she doesn't think she can handle anymore, she'll lose others that are close to her. But Zoey isn't the only one with problems, Stevie Ray is drawn even closer to Rephaim, but she feels like she can't tell anyone about them, especially since Rephaim is still loyal to his father. His loyalty has him torn between protecting Stevie Ray and honoring his father. And of course, Kalona and Neferet are still a threat.

I really loved this series when I first read it, but since then I've read more YA and PNR. It was one of the first paranormal series that I read and I was enthralled. However, the more I read, the weaker these books began to seem. Although, that could also have to do with the fact that they weakened along the way. I was almost ready to give up the series, but this book might have saved it for me. It wasn't as action packed as the previous books, but it was an emotional ride. For those of us that have become attached to the characters and keep reading to see how their lives play out, this is a must read. There's one scene in the story that just has to read. However, unless you're collecting the books or a huge fan, I wouldn't buy it. Somewhere after book three I started checking them out at the library rather than spend money on them. They would be much better if the teenagers didn't speak like idiots. The diologue is what drives me crazy. The stories would be much more read worthy if she wrote them more like her adult books and less like they're full of ditzy idiots. I know that not all of her characters are morons, but their speech patterns tend to make the reader question that.