Silly Hagrid...

I came across this gif from Failbook and had to repost. Too funny!

Review: Chosen (House of Night, Book 3) by P.C. & Kristin Cast

Author: P.C. & Kristin Cast
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Why I read it: Bought it

Summary:

Dark forces are at work at the House of Night and fledgling vampyre Zoey Redbird’s adventures at the school take a mysterious turn.  Those who appear to be friends are turning out to be enemies.  And oddly enough, sworn enemies are also turning into friends.  So begins the gripping third installment of this “highly addictive series” (Romantic Times), in which Zoey’s mettle will be tested like never before.  Her best friend, Stevie Rae, is undead and struggling to maintain a grip on her humanity. Zoey doesn’t have a clue how to help her, but she does know that anything she and Stevie Rae discover must be kept secret from everyone else at the House of Night, where trust has become a rare commodity.  Speaking of rare: Zoey finds herself in the very unexpected and rare position of having threeboyfriends. Mix a little bloodlust into the equation and the situation has the potential to spell social disaster.  Just when it seems things couldn’t get any tougher, vampyres start turning up dead. Really dead. It looks like the People of Faith, and Zoey’s horrid step-father in particular, are tired of living side-by-side with vampyres.  But, as Zoey and her friends so often find out, how things appear rarely reflects the truth…

Thoughts:

From the first book I read in the House of Night series, Marked, I was hooked. The language is not hard to follow or understand, and I zoomed through the book in about two days. I do have one major problem though: P.C. & Kristin are extremely repetitive. Things are drawn out and sentences (such as Zoey saying she's "such a ho") are all over the book. The dialogue may be easy to follow, but it's so repetitive that you almost feel like it's a chore to read. 

The characters failed to develop much from the first book to the third. The characters seem a bit stereotypical to me, also. You have Zoey (the leader of the pack), The twins (the shopping-obsessed drama queens who always agree with each other), Damien (the level-headed gay friend), Stevie Ray (the "odd-ball" mediator), and Aphrodite (the spoiled brat). As they get older their attitudes and personalities don't seem to be changing much, and they should be. They aren't maturing like actual human beings. To be honest the only characters I see developing are Aphrodite and Neferet.

Other than these obvious issues, I did enjoy the book, and will read the rest of the books in the series. I enjoy books about vampires and alternate worlds if you will, and Chosen did live up to those expectations. The whole concept of the book is great and the action keeps you interested, so it truly is a hard one to put down. I'm excited to read the next novel in the series, Untamed, because it is one of those series that has lots of twists and turns; you never know what to expect.

Where to buy it:

You can buy this book from Amazon here

*Any purchase made through this link will result in a small commission for me. :)

Why I love YA books

I never realized that I had an interest in the YA genre until I took a look at all the books I have. Usually if it sounds like it will be a good read, I don't really worry about what genre it's in or what it's categorized as. I enjoy many different genres including sic-fi/fantasy, paranormal romance (sometimes), urban fantasy, mythology, high fantasy, and generally fiction.

One of the main reasons why I love YA books is that they are always so engaging. The characters are great and you can actually relate to them. I'm only 22, so usually the characters are within my age range and I can really feel for them and put myself in their shoes. When I read a book, I want to be able to put myself in the story and with most YA stories, I can do that. They focus on real-life issues and struggles and things that REAL people are actually going through.

I love the fact that YA books are easy to read. They don't beat around the bush and, although I've mastered the English language, I'd prefer to not read a bunch of big words and gibberish when you could just simply explain it in a few words. They're straight to the point, which is great. They "speak" to you like a normal human being!



I'm not a big fan of "adult" books because, well, reality sucks! I sure don't want to read about it! :)



...And check out this great giveaway!