Science Fiction and Fantasy Association of New Zealand

Burned
by P. C. And Kristin Cast
Atom

Supplied for review by Hachette New Zealand

Reviewed By: Jan Butterworth

This was the first House of Night book I read. The series follows Zoey Redbird as he is ‘marked’ by a vampire tracker and begins to change into a vampire. She leaves her family to move into the House of Night – a boarding school for fledgling vampyres. I really wished I had read the first six books in order to pick up character relationships easier. As I got into the story, it became easier to figure out what was going on though.

Zoey Redbird's soul has shattered. As her friends watch over her mortal body (which is now devoid of all tattoos), Zoey's soul drifts in the Otherworld, alone except for Heath. Unless Zoey can face what has happened, pull her shattered pieces back together, and return to her body within seven days, it will be forever too late. James Stark is Zoey's Guardian. He is the only living person who can reach her. The only way for that to happen is for his body to die so his shaman can travel to the Underworld.

Neferet sends Kalona’s soul into the underworld to permanently eliminate the threat Zoey poses. She binds his body with darkness to keep his soul out. Unless Kalona kills Zoey or keeps her soul from returning to her body in time, his immortal soul becomes Neferet's to control and use.

Meanwhile, Stevie Rae is dealing with her Imprint on Rephaim and her fledglings, both good and evil. Unknown to her followers, Stevie Rae has saved the life of Rephaim, the son of Kalona. Rephaim has the body of a human, black wings, the head of a raven, and the eyes of a human. He has vowed to stay with Stevie Rae until she tells him to leave. If her fledglings learn of Stevie Rae's friendship with the Raven Mocker or that they share an Imprint, it could spell disaster.

The story kept jumping from one character’s point-of-view to the next, which made it a bit hard to follow at first. The style of talking was a little cringe making – do teens really talk like that? I really liked the unique mythology. I thought the Celtic elements blended in well with the Wiccan and Native American mythology this is definitely a YA book though. Don’t bother to read if you’re an adult as the slang and phrasing will drive you nuts.

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