Burned by P.C. and Kristin Cast

Title: Burned (House of Night #7)
Author: P.C. and Kristin Cast
ISBN: 9780312606169
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin

Summary:
"Thing have turned black at the House of Night. Zoey Redbird's soul has shattered. With everything she's ever stood or falling apart, and a broken heart making her want to stay in the Otherworld forever, Zoey's fading fast. It's seeming more and more doubtful that she will be able to pull herself back together in time to rejoin her friends and set the world to rights. As the only living person who can reach her, Stark must find a way to get to her. But how? He will have to die to do so, the Vampyre High Council stipulates. And then Zoey will give up for sure. There are only seven days left.

Enter BFF Stevie Rae. She wants to help Z, but she has massive problems of her own. The rogue Red Fledglings are acting up, and this time not even Stevie Rae can protect them from the consequences. Her kinda boyfriend, Dallas, is sweet but too nosy for his own good. The truth is, Stevie Rae's hiding a secret that might be the key to getting Zoey home - but it also threatens to explode her whole world.

In the middle of the whole mess is Aphrodite: ex-Fledgling, trust-fund baby, total hag from Hell (and proud of it). She's always been blessed (if you could call it that) with visions that can reveal the future, but now it seems that Nyx has decided to speak through her with the goddess's own voice, whether Aphrodite wants it or not. Aphrodite's loyalty can swing a lot of different ways, but right now Zoey's fate hangs in the balance.

Three girls... playing with fire... if they don't watch out, everyone will get Burned."
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First Lines:

"Kalona lifted his hands. He didn't hesitate. There was no doubt whatsoever in his mind about what he had to do. He would not allow anything or anyone to get in his way, and this human boy was standing between him and what he desired."
Page 1
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Review:

Longest summary ever. That summary pretty much gives you the entire gist of the story. You would think that they wouldn't need much of a summary at all - given that anyone reading this book has probably read the first six. I mean, they don't exactly back-track in the book at all, so why give a summary that is so complete. Ahem, sorry for the tangent.

Okay, so this is the seventh book in the House of Night series. I think that these books are going to be better read back to back once they are all released. As I said, there's no going back, so when you pick up this book, you're completely right where they left off. I guess that's a good attribute to have, but it's been months and months since I read the last one. It takes me a little time to get back into the story.

There are very few series that I've followed for seven books (namely, the HP series... that might be it). This one I started out absolutely loving everything about it. Now that we've come this far - and have several books to go - I'm wishing for more. I mean, the story is still solid... there are just a few things that are starting to get on my nerves. Like, the accents. It's starting to bother me that Kramisha's accent is so completely exaggerated. It's a little... much. That's the one that really stands out to me, but I was just giving an example.

One thing I really liked about this book is the amount of character development that we got. The other books have been so focused on Zoey, it's almost like the rest of the characters have been jipped a little bit. But you learn a lot more about other people and see how they are growing into almost-adults. You also find more respect for some that I didn't have any for before.

I really did miss the grandmother in this book. Through the rest of the series, she has been sort of a main character - always in the background helping out when needed. In this book, she was almost an afterthought. I'm glad she got thrown in there, but that's what it felt like - she was thrown in.

Even though there were things about this book that I didn't love, I still will be recommending the series - especially if you can get your hands on the whole thing at once! It's really well built and interesting. Definitely one of the great vampire series out right now.

Check out the House of Night website for more details on earlier books and upcoming projects!
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Other Blog Reviews:

Geeky Blogger's Book Blog
The Bookshelf Sophisticate
Ms. Martin Teaches Media
I had problems finding more reviews. There are tons of announcements out there, but not as many reviews. Have you reviewed this one? Let me know so I can add you!