Books reviews are normally supposed to be an objective look at said work to evaluate the pros and cons of the content and material. They are not intended to be a gushing lovefest by a newly formed diehard fan. And yet, here we are. I'm going to gush. Be warned.
The HOUSE OF NIGHT series, written by P.C. Cast & Kristin Cast, currently is made up of seven books and I read every single one of them in the last two weeks. (That should tell you something right there. I couldn't put them down.) Yes, this YA series has vampires and yes just the idea of that made me cringe. I mean really, how many different vampire stories can you tell?! But then I started book one; MARKED. The story is completely original and reinvents the myth behind vampires. The characters are captivating, the dialogue is witty, there's action, heat and intensity all working together in a way that doesn't just make readers want to know what happens next, but need to. Normally I find that passed book four series tend to get a little stale, but HON proved otherwise. Every book "kicks it up a notch" and takes the reader places you don't see coming and can't turn the pages fast enough to get more of.
The only, and I do mean ONLY criticism I have for this series is that as it is in the Young Adult section the material gets more than a little risque. If these books were movies and no content was edited they would be rated R. There is harsh language, violence and moderately explicit sexual content. So, parents keep that in mind.
For the teen and older crowd that enjoys Fantasy Fiction I say either ask Santa to put the HOUSE OF NIGHT series in your stocking or run out and treat yourself to it right now! Go ahead and splurge and buy the entire series at once because once you start you aren't going to want to stop.
As for me, I am giddy for the January 4th release of HOUSE OF NIGHT's eighth book; AWAKENING. January?! That's next year! As the main character Zoey Redbird would say, "Ah, hell."
