Review -- Hidden by P.C. + Kristin Cast
P.C. + Kristin Cast
305 Pages
Source: Hardcover (received from publisher)
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Release Date: October 16th, 2012
Rating: 5/5 Owls
Goodreads Summary
BE WARNED . . . THIS SUMMARY HAS SPOILERS FROM THE LAST NINE BOOKS IN THE SERIES!
At last, Zoey has what she wanted: the truth is out. Neferet's evil has been exposed, and the High Council is no longer on her side -- but she's far from done wreaking havoc in the vampyre world. First, a mysterious fire ravages the stables. Then, Neferet makes a devastating move that will test them all.
With the seeds of distrust sown and Darkness breeding chaos at the House of Night, everyone must band together -- but that's proving to be more difficult than ever before. The twins are barely speaking and the House of Night's former enemy, Kalona, has now become their warrior, pushing their trust to the limit. To top it off, Zoey is pretty darn sure she might be losing her mind. She saw something when she looked at Aurox through the Seer Stone that she can hardly explain to herself, let alone her friends. Is it possible that Heath has come back in a different form? Is that why Zoey's so intrigued by Aurox, when it's so obvious that he's dangerous? And who would believe her if she told them? Zoey knows that following her instinct about Aurox might be just what they need to defeat evil . . . but if she's wrong, it could cause the destruction of those closest to her.
With the tension at a breaking point and friendships on the line, can the nerd herd come together to stop the spread of Darkness before it's too late?
Review
The House of Night series is my number-one guilty pleasure; I turn to it whenever I am down in the dumps, and it never fails to make me laugh. The series has been going on for quite some time now, and while it is quite overbearing, there is a lot to appreciate. The latest installment, Hidden, is one of my favorite installments in the series. The beginning lagged a tiny bit, as is the usual later in the series. And then, suddenly, it was like a miracle happened: I hit a certain point, and I just could not put the book down. I don’t know where it was in the book, but the House of Night books just have this addictive quality to them. I can’t identify what it is that makes them so addictive; I just know that as each one releases, I have a great time, and the waits for the next ones kill me.
A lot of people moan and groan about the characters. They don’t like the voiced dialect of Kramisha. They don’t like Zoey’s usage of the word “bullpoopie!” They don’t like some distinct word choice from Aphrodite. For me, none of this is annoying; it just helps me to build a better picture of the characters in my head. I actually love the series characters; I love the diversity in the cast. Fortunately, for those of you who feel this way, this book takes a major step toward maturity for the young cast members.
My favorite character in the series, and this still stands strong, is Grandma Redbird. From the beginning, she has been carefree, spiritual and just overall peaceful. She makes me want to change my life and is such an inspiration. The Casts do a great job making her dance across the page.
The beginning of the series and the near-end of the series are quite like day and night (no pun intended). One thing that shines in this installment is the writing. It flows across the page. I didn’t notice this in the beginning of the series, maybe due to the humorous immaturity of the characters, but it’s very noticeable now that Zoey isn’t the only narrator.
One thing that totally threw me off about Hidden is the fact that the entire book, 305 pages, takes place over only two or three days. This completely surprised me! It always slips my mind how many perspectives there are and how simultaneous they are. I find it cool how the Cast duo can write a book set over two days that is as interesting and gripping as this.
The climactic scenes of Hidden had me flipping pages fast enough to start a fire. I cannot recommend the House of Night series enough for readers who want an original, hilarious and ultimately engaging set of books. The House of Night books will always be dear to my heart.
Five Owls
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