The House of Night series by P.C. & Kristin Cast. I know the for a lot of people, the first thing that springs to mind when they hear those words is a not very positive response. Just head right over to Goodreads and you will find that many, if not most of the reviews will have given the books either one or two stars, along with a very harsh and blunt review on many of the negative aspects that people have found in this series.
I know that I am probably not alone in the fact that I on the other hand absolutely adore this series, but sometimes it can feel that way. I have found so much joy and beauty in reading these books, and hopefully these review will be a way for people to understand why and show people that if you look carefully and dig a bit deeper you can see the well thought-out and carefully crafted details that make these books worthwhile.
WARNING: There will be SPOILERS!!! I will might include spoilers from books further on in the series (for things like foreshadowing).
Color Coding
Foreshadowing
Quotes
My Ultimate Favorite Quotes
Relationships
Romance
Character Development
Character Traits
We then get our first glimpse of Neferet, who will later on become one of the most prominent and powerful characters in this series. Zoey is completely stumped into silence by her beauty and her powerful stature and we see that she instantly feels intimidated by her presence.
She is, after all, the first adult vampyre that Zoey has ever seen in real life. As the High Priestess of the Tulsa House of Night, Neferet is in the most powerful position that a vampyre can have at a school and pretty much decides what goes on. Neferet goes on to officially introduce Zoey to the school and explains that she has been taking care of her while she has been asleep.
Zoey then learns that because she now has to leave her old life behind as she progresses further into her Change, she has the opportunity to give herself a new name as she begins anew in her new life.
Neferet seems to be very surprised by the fact that Zoey’s Mark has been completely filled in and seems to be unsure what these turn of events have to bring but reassures Zoey that it can only mean something good as it shows a favor from the Goddess.
“So I was beginning my new life as an anomaly which figured about as much as it sucked.” (p.64)
~
“With a huge grin, my new roomie, also a blondie, rushed up like a little countrified tornado.” (p. 70)
“So would they keep us locked up here for four years? Feeling a little short of breath and claustrophobic I asked,
‘Do we ever get out of here?’ ” (p.73)
“The silver embroidery was in the shape of a spiral that glittered around and around in a delicate circle that would rest over my heart. […]
‘It stands for our new beginning as we start walking the Path of Night and learn the ways of the Goddess and the possibilities of our new life.’ ” (p.75)
“But if was the sapphire-colored Mark that caught my eyes. While I stared at it, entranced by its exotic beauty, the bathroom light caught the silver embroidered over my heart. I decoded that the two symbols somehow matched, even though they were different shapes…different colors.” (p.77)