Hunted by P.C. and Kristin Cast, UK edition cover.

Title: Hunted (A House of Night Novel #5)
Author: P.C. and Kristin Cast
Genre: Paranormal Romance, Young Adult
Publisher:  Atom (27th April 2010)
Blurb:

The door close with a sickening thud of finality, shutting my friends out and leaving me alone with my enemy, a fallen angel, and the monstrous bird creature his ancient lust had created. Then I did something I’d only done twice before in my life. I fainted.

It’s all happening, though Zoey Redbird wishes it wasn’t. She has her friends back, which is great. But a dark angel has taken over the House of Night, supported by High Priestess Neferet. Not so great. This leave Zoey hiding out with the (supposedly friendly) red fledglings in Tulsa’s prohibition era tunnels. The not greatness continues.

Naturally, Zoey also has boy issues to stress her out, with a chace to make up with super-hot-ex Erik. But thoughts of the archer that died, semi-permanently, in her arms keep distracting her. Then he shows up as Neferet’s newest minion. Well, hell. Zoey and her friends will need a plan to put things right, and soon, if she can just keep her head and her heart intact.

Rating:**** (4 stars)

Review:

Hunted is the fifth book in P.C. and Kristin Cast’s House of Night series. The story takes up hours after the events of Untamed, as such this review may contain spoilers. The storyline of Hunted kept me really entertained, and whilst it didn’t have me quite as hooked as Untamed it wasn’t far off.

At the end of Untamed everything went to hell, this book is about trying to fix it. Of course, it can’t be smooth going so there are a few twists along the way. Zoey just can’t seem to help herself. Or maybe she just doesn’t want an easy life? To be fair not all of her stress is her fault, but still I think my earlier statement stands.

Aphrodite rocks again in this book. She is definitely a firm favourite of mine, although I do have a little bit of a soft spot for Zoey 😉 She, Stevie Rae, Damien and the Twins are all brilliant in their support of Zoey in this book. As Aphrodite calls them, the nerd gang is definitely back (and they are awesome!). Boy trouble is definitely one of Zoey’s biggest issues in this book. She’s taken a step forward, and yet she doesn’t seem to have got anywhere.I have to admit that I was surprised by the return of a character, but their return actually contributed to the plot and helped it move forward. I also liked the role Stark played in this book. He was the archetypal bad boy, and yet somehow he worked brilliant.

Untamed is a very hard book for Zoey, and that’s part of what makes it such a great read. Neferet is a dark and malevolent presence in the book. Her hatred/jealousy of Zoey is an almost physical force in the narrative. The ‘big bad’ is delightfully manipulative to everyone, and his relationship with Neferet is intriguing. I liked how the Casts resolved the issue of Neferet and the ‘big bad’ in this book.

If you’ve made it this far in the House of Night series, then you should definitely continue.