Hunted by P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast

THE HOUSE OF NIGHT SERIES BOOK 05

Hunted by P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast

St. Martin's Griffin

Published in 2009

ISBN 9780312379827

323 Pages

PLACES TO BUY FROM:

Amazon (Paperback)
Barnes & Noble (Ebook)

CHECKED OUT THE BOOK FROM MY PUBLIC LIBRARY.

Review/Rating:

3 out of 5



After Kalona, Neferet's consort, appears from underneath the Earth, Neferet, Kalona, and Kalona's sons start destroying the House of Night. However, Zoey and the gang escapes their destruction by going underground to the tunnels, where the red fledglings live. Now, Zoey and the gang must come up with a plan to prevent the world from becoming a violent and chaotic one, but that stops when Zoey gets injured and must go back to the House of Night. There she has to fight with Neferet more head-on than she would like, and not only that, are the red fledglings really as civilized as they appear? And will Zoey be able to bring Stark away from Neferet's sinister side? What will they do when the evil has hidden among them?

I actually finished this book faster than the others because my computer died. x_x The motherboard went ka-plooey, so I was able to read until Black Friday, which was today, in order to get a new computer. :) Anyways, isn't it amazing what you get done with when computers (mostly the Internet) are down? ;) Oh, there might be some spoilers below. :X

Hunted starts off almost immediately where Untamed left off --- Zoey and the gang are now in the tunnels with the kind of civilized version of the red fledglings, waiting for Kalona and Neferet's invasion to calm down or at least wait until they have a plan on how to deal with the new threat. However, when Zoey gets injured, she has to fight more head on than she would like.

All right, let's start with the things I didn't like about this book. One, the authors keep on describing the same characters with almost the exact same words as the other books. I know it is good to remind readers on what the characters look like, but don't do it in every single book, unless they somehow changed their appearance between the last book and the beginning of book they are going to read. Two, can't Zoey ever NOT have a boyfriend or boyfriends in a book? Even in Untamed, Zoey wasn't without a boy/boyfriend for long since she became attached to Stark. She even went as far as calling him her "soul mate". What the hell is wrong with having one boyfriend throughout the series? Or even having no boyfriend? Do those two authors really think that teenagers are all like that --- always needing a boyfriend/love? Three, it is getting very predictable and is almost like all the other books I have read.

Now for the things I liked about the book. One, all the new descriptions and the use of so many of them. :D Two, the development of Aphrodite and how much she has changed (attitude wise). Out of all the characters, I think the authors did a better job at making Aphrodite develop as a character than almost all the others. Three, there was a lot more supernatural, but there was still some drama in there. UGH! Four, using Cherokee legends in a creative way.

One last bit of interesting information. Erik's name is spelled wrong in the summary. Oh, and also, on one of the pages (247), it says that Darius would be pleased about the vocabulary words she has been using. Isn't it Damien who is the vocabulary nerd, or did I miss something?

Anyways, overall the book is good for a quick read, but it is getting a little tiresome since it is becoming a little bit predictable. :X Just a warning, there is a gay character in the book, and they talk about sex, kissing, and things like that a couple of times.

Other Reviews/Author Site:

P.C. and Kristin Cast
House of Night Series
Goodreads: Hunted by P.C. and Kristin Cast
Library Thing: Hunted by P.C. and Kristin Cast
She Loves Books: Hunted by P.C. and Kristin Cast
Quick & Dirty Book Reviews: Hunted by P.C. and Kristin Cast

Untamed by P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast

THE HOUSE OF NIGHT SERIES BOOK 04

Untamed by P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast

St. Martin's Griffin

Published in 2008

ISBN 9780312596309

338 Pages

PLACES TO BUY FROM:

Amazon (Paperback)
Barnes & Noble (Ebook)

CHECKED OUT THE BOOK FROM MY PUBLIC LIBRARY.

Review/Rating:

4 out of 5




Zoey's problems have just recently blew up in her face, so now she has to deal with the consequences of her actions. Her friends all hate her, she no longer has any boyfriends, Neferet has declared war on the humans, and now Aphrodite has a vision that Zoey's death will bring violence, hatred, and darkness to the world. Zoey knows what she has to do, but how can she do it when even her friends don't want to listen to her? Also, how will she be able stop Neferet's new plans of destroying the world they all know?

Okay, it has been over a year since I have read the last book of this series, so I kind of had to reread all three of the books I have already read. Why? So I can remember how the series was liked --- I don't have that good of an memory, people.

Anyways, in the fourth book of the House of Night series, things are heating up for Zoey and it all blows up in her face in this book. *SIGHS* This book is starting to be like all the other supernatural young adult books I have read. Yeah, I'm starting to go, "When will this freaking series ends, the high school drama is getting on my freaking nerves!" Though, there is a little bit more supernatural in this book than the last one, but not as much as I would like it to be. There are a couple of things that annoy me in this book. First, all the drama, I know you need action, but can't the authors think of a better way of getting action and attention the, "Booo hooo, my friends don't like me, but I need them in order to save the world," is a little unbelieving. I also hate the bossy attitude of Zoey's, the "I'm going to be their high priestess, so they have to listen to me," is a little *BARF*. I like that kind of attitude (kind of) in the male characters, but in females, I find it bitchy. ^^; Yes, I'm vain.

Things I like in this book is how Aphrodite is turning out --- nicer, but still uses her attitude as comic relief, almost like Erin, Shaunee, Damien, and Jack. I also like Darius and how he can appreciate Aphrodite. :) Yes, I like the other characters more Zoey. Let's see, what else do I like. Hmmm... Oh, I also like how the authors are starting to merge Cherokee legends into the book. Also, the descriptions are done very well. In this series, descriptions are a little bit better than most other series. :D

After you skip over the high school drama, this book is pretty good, but the page amount for this book is pretty all right. If there were a little bit less high school drama, I would most likely like this series better. Also, Zoey is definitely annoying in this book. *SIGHS* I wish the book was more centered around her friends than Zoey and her growing powers and how she will be a priestess. Other than the high school drama and Zoey's attitude, this book is great for a quick read. Though, it is kind of turning a little boring with all of the high school drama. ^^ Just a warning, there is a gay character in the book, and they talk about sex, kissing, and things like that a couple of times.

Other Reviews/Author Site:

P.C. and Kristin Cast
House of Night Series
Goodreads: Untamed by P.C. and Kristin Cast
Library Thing: Untamed by P.C. and Kristin Cast
Shide Vicious Reviews: Untamed by P.C. and Kristin Cast

Living Successfully with Screwed-Up People by Elizabeth B. Brown

 

Living Successfully with Screwed-Up People by Elizabeth B. Brown

Revell

Published in 1999. Republished in 2010.

ISBN 9780800732882

244 Pages

PLACES TO BUY FROM:

Amazon (Paperback)
Barnes & Noble (Paperback)

BOUGHT THE BOOK AS A GIFT, BUT READ BEFORE GIVING AWAY.
BOUGHT THE BOOK THROUGH AMAZON.COM.

Review/Rating:

5 out of 5



Elizabeth B. Brown attempts to help you deal with people who you might considered "Screwed-Up" in your relationships. She uses sayings, personal experiences and stories, and insights from her own life and others to show you how to deal with people who have made your life a living hell.

All right, I'll tell you what I thought about the book. This book, like almost all non-fiction "how to fix your life books", starts out with convincing you why you should read their book in order to help you live better lives. And it also starts answering the question of how you can live someone you considered "screwed-up" without severing a relationship by mentioning common things she sees in her grief conferences --- and even mentions something about her daughter. Out of the three non-fiction help books I got, this one is the one that got me more pumped up/anxious about what kind of advice the author is going to give you just by reading the introduction part. Another thing I like about the introduction is that when she mentions her daughter's disease, she calls it a "challenge", instead of calling it a burden or a handicap --- like what most people call others who have diseases, including mentally/physically challenged people. So, right off the bat, I agree with most of her views and how I should view things in life. ^^ The only thing I wasn't too sure of is when she said to consider the "screwed-up" person as a challenge, not a burden. ^^;

Throughout the book, the author has nice little sayings and comparisons --- most of them made me giggle and think how most of them match real life almost perfectly. However, some of the things mentioned in the books are things you kind of know already, but you don't really acknowledge since your emotions run wild whenever you deal with someone you care about and can't think straight or acknowledge common sense. It kind of reminded me of someone, a friend on the Internet, who said to me, "I don't know why they call it common sense, especially when it isn't really that common." That is kind of true when you think about it. :D Even some of the things mentioned in the book made me think about my personality and how it interacts with everyone else's. The author even points out how the person who you think is screwed-up might think you are the one who's screwed-up because you are different from them --- like the reason, most likely, you think that person is screwed-up. So, it might even help the screwed-up person, if you give the book to them --- maybe, slight chance of it.

Basically, I think this book has good advice, especially if you want to keep up the relationship with the person. That is, if you listen and remember the advice in the book. ^^; It also helps and encourages you to live your own life --- by your own morals. ;) The only thing I didn't like about the book is how the author kept on putting the screwed-up person as a woman/girl, even though it might be accurate that most of them are women. *COUGHS*

Oh, the medical category is added because it mentions how ailing relationships can make you ill, which was really interesting in my opinion. :) Another thing, there isn't that much God or prayer thing mentioned, but it does have a chapter about faith --- which mentions God and how too much or too little faith might actually be bad for you. I also liked this part. A very good read, I just have to remember some of these things. :D

Out of the three books I got, I found this one and When to Speak Up and When to Shut Up to be the most helpful and insightful. If this is how all the help books this publisher publishes are, I think I will order all the help books I need from them. :X

I recommended this book for anyone and everyone since it give you good things to think about.

Other Reviews/Author Site:

Elizabeth B. Brown
Goodreads: Living Successfully with Screwed-Up People by Elizabeth Brown
Library Thing: Living Successfully with Screwed-Up People by Elizabeth Brown
My Inner Muse: Do you live with screwed up people...?