Destined - Review

Destined (House of Night #9)

By: P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast

Published: October 25, 2011 by St. Martin's Press

325 pages

Source: Owned copy

(Goodreads / Amazon)

Summary:

Zoey is finally home where she belongs, safe with her Guardian Warrior, Stark, by her side, and preparing to face off against Neferet – which would be a whole lot easier if the High Counsel saw the ex-High Priestess for what she really is. Kalona has released his hold on Rephaim, and, through Nyx's gift of a human form, Rephaim and Stevie Rae are finally able to be together – if he can truly walk the path of the Goddess and stay free of his father's shadow…

But there are new forces at work at the House of Night. An influx of humans, including Lenobia’s handsome horse whisperer, threatens their precarious stability. And then there’s the mysterious Aurox, a jaw-droppingly gorgeous teen boy who is actually more – or possibly less – than human. Only Neferet knows he was created to be her greatest weapon. But Zoey can sense the part of his soul that remains human, the compassion that wars with his Dark calling. And there’s something strangely familiar about him…

Will Neferet’s true nature be revealed before she succeeds in silencing them all? And will Zoey be able to touch Aurox’s humanity in time to protect him – and everyone – from his own fate? Find out what’s destined in the next thrilling chapter of the House of Night series.

  

MY REVIEW:
Get ready....this is going to be an uncharacteristically LONG "review" for me.  

SIGH – oh where to begin…. I didn't enjoy this book overall. There were parts that were “okay”, but overall, no. I was too busy picking out what I didn't like (which was a lot and I’ll get to that in minute) that I could barely try to enjoy the story line. Somehow, if this is possible, I feel the characters in the book have digressed to their true age. I love YA books, but I absolutely HATE to read a book about a teenager who acts…,like well, a teenager. Given that I am not in my teenage years and haven’t been for 14 years, I find how they typically act and speak to be a HUGE annoyance. That goes for my books or in real life. 

Now for some specifics on why I didn't like this book. Dislike #1. I think that any time an author chooses to include specific modern day things (speaking in the context of this book: music, books, electronics and TV shows) that they are limiting the books classic “any era or time” feel. 10-15 years from now those things in this book will age it in a way that people may not be able to relate to what is going on and what is being talked about. I always better enjoy a book that feels timeless and one way to do that is to leave out the mention of specific modern day names of entertainment and products. One or two references to it, eh, not my preference but I can let it slide without too much frustration, but to me this book was full of them, literally like every few pages another makes an appearance. UGH!

Dislike #2. Intimacy in a book should have a purpose, not just thrown in for fluff. In the beginning of this series there were some pretty intense and hot moments. Now…it just seems like intimate scenes are just being thrown in for filler material and are in no way “hot”. What’s worse to me is how immature it is. Do teenagers really talk like that about sex? If so, I have to say that if you can’t even talk about sex as an adult you shouldn't be engaging in it. (not to mention the oodles of other reasons adolescents should not be engaging in sex)

Dislike #3. Dialect in a book doesn't typically bother me. I don’t usually mind if an author chooses to describe the way someone talks or takes the route of actually speaking that way when writing the words. In this series though, you've got a whole lot of the later going on. The twins, the grandmother (of which I can’t even pronounce most of what she says), the Raven Mockers, Stevie Rae, Kramisha, and on and on it goes. That is just too many different dialects for me in one book.

Dislike #4. What number of book are we in now? 9? Some things are just starting to repeat themselves and it’s getting old. Bringing people back from the dead, but yet in a different form? Same song, different verse. It’s old. Do we ever really get anywhere after the end of each book? From the start of the series how many months have actually passed? It’s just getting drug out way too long. It's way past time to wrap up this story.

Why do I keep reading you ask, if I disliked it so much? Well to be honest I don’t know. Ha! I think it’s because I have invested so much time in this series and enjoyed it in the beginning. Unfortunately I probably won't continue with this series. I just can’t rate this one very high. This many dislikes in a book automatically requires a low rating. 

2.5 stars is all I can do, and that’s being nice. I was a “2” for most of the book, but the very small interaction between Lenobia and the Cowboy bumped up my rating by a smidge. The ending of the book bumped up that smidge just a hair more. (Originally added on Goodreads September 2012)