Burned: A House of Night Novel

I'm buying each book as I read them it's a great series

P.C. Cast has gone way beyond the talent she has shown in previous books in her writing of the most recent installment of the House of Night series. The multiple perspectives, introduced in the 6th book worked masterfully in telling this book's unique story. The way that the storyline is told is both surprising as it is breathtaking. There was a point in this book where P.C. Cast tricked me and I absolutely loved it! When the realization hit, I was in awe of how well written the revelation was. And satisfyingly enough the reader will be just as challenged as the characters are while reading this book. As a friend once put it, "these books are like snacks." With that comparison, this book is not a snack the way the others are, and it isn't a full course meal either. Instead, it sits the reader down and shows them how to cook. But lets go back to the first 6 books. Because without them, this book wouldn't be nearly as pointed. During the House of Night series, the reader feels a need and demand that the characters learn, make decisions, and grow. Books 1 through 6 hasn't really shown us the volume to which these characters can change. While we know that they have, we haven't ever been as intimate with the characters until this 7th book, where we are forced to look at these multi-dimensional characters and acknowledge the depth of them. Heath, Zoey, Aphrodite, Darius, Stevie-Rae, Rephaim, Stark and the big baddies (Neferet and Kalona) are the main focus and while fans of the Twins and Damien and Jack might be disappointed, the focus on the characters listed is key to this book. What's marvelous about that, though is not all characters are developed in the present, not all are even truly in the book, but each and every character mentioned takes on more meaning and becomes so much more clear than in previous books. Now I'm a huge Stark fan and by the end of this book I don't see how anyone couldn't be, but that's not where I think this review should focus. What's more important is that I'm not a huge Zoey fan. I'm not a huge Heath fan. But by the end of this book I was. Zoey's character changes so much that the reader may expect whiplash yet the story is crafted so that her extraordinary progresses reads naturally. Heath's character is developed simply by reviewing the constants in his relations with everyone in the book. It does not serve to make any reader feel stupid, but rather does cause a reader to stop and think about how Heath really doesn't change so much as our understanding of him did. Stark. Where to even begin. We learn his history, his future and glimpse into his mind in the present all at once while somehow carrying his load for him. His role in this book is so well written and so well played that this character really shines. Those of you interested in Stevie-Rae and the inevitable dilemma of Rephaim will not be disappointed by how this story-line, so loosely and tightly mingled with Zoey's is developed and expressed. And that firecracker Aphrodite? If you think she had a strong voice in all of the rest of the books, her voice is even stronger, if that can even be conceived, in this one. Another spin in the story line helps develop her character in remarkable ways as well. Here are the most important themes of the book: The act of wishing vs. doing, disguise, the power of mistakes, the power that everyone has inside of us born out of the path we choose, and ultimately, the power not so much of free will but more of choice. Every choice in this book counts.

I am a fan of the House of Night books. They have, however, gotten a bit shall we say, intricate. So much happening with so many characters, it's almost necessary to have a scorecard who is what to whom. Last book had Heath and Zoey, our heroine, on the Other Side. That's not good. Heath is dead, and Zoey's soul is scattered and her physical self has seven days to have someone step up and make her soul whole again or it's bye-bye Zoey. Aphrodite, although she is just a normal person, has been blessed by Nyx, Goddess of the Night, by being made a prophetess. She interprets the way Zoey can return, whole. Stark must somehow cross into Nyx's realm and help Zoey's spirit get whole. In the meantime, Stevie Rae is in quite a bind - she is involved with Rephaim, Kalona's spawn, part human, part bird. She has Rephaim less evil and more human, and their tie is genuine. The problem I have with this outing is as I specified earlier. Every few pages, it starts to tell the story from another character's perspective, and you get to feeling like it's a tennis match, whose turn is it???? One thing I did not like is Grandmother Redbird was not utilized more - she is still recovering at the convent, and she does mention some thing that will help them with Zoey, but she is so strong spiritually I was wanting more from this great character. I would like a lot more progression and resolution from the main characters in the next book, Awakened. Burned is a complicated read, with lots of things happening at once, but a good read, and will be enjoyed by House of Nighters.

It always takes me a few chapters to re-acclimate to Cast's writing and storytelling style. These books each take place over the course of just a few days and there are no temporal breaks between books so it can be difficult to dive into the newest installment with ease. I feel like it would be a LOT easier to wait until all of the books are out and then read them marathon-style. Alas, I cannot seem to conjure the amount of patience it takes to wait for the series to be completed. Thus, I find myself, with each new book release, quite confused at the beginning of each book. Let's make no bones about it, these books are not well written. So, why do I keep reading? The story is fairly original, the characters are compelling and plot twists abound! They are just fun. I do think there are important messages in the book, though most of the time I feel like I am being beaten over the head with them. I also must admit that at this point I am a little weirded out by the relationships between men and women in this book. There are several quite healthy male/female relationships in depicted but then there are several damaging ones. For instance, the women seem to have total control over their men while they are with them. They kind of treat them like servants at times. I get that this might just be the Romance element of the books - that a man would acquiesce to your every whim immediately, driven by love and longing for your happiness - but for me it can get creepy. Cast says in the books that she is striving for an equality or balance between male/female relationships but then portrays some relationships as basically a woman barking out a series of commands their man. Not all of them, but some of them. I was a little worried I was really going to get annoyed with the constantly shifting perspective. As it turns out, I was not totally devastated by it, but at times it did feel awkward. For instance, it was strange to me that Stevie Rae would have three sections in a row - why wouldn't it just be one long section? And what is up with the point-of-view being delivered in the third person for some and in the first person for others? The shift just seemed abrupt and it took me "out of the moment." But other than those quandaries, the perspective shifts actually worked for me. I was never left thinking, "Oh, not so and so again, they are boring, I would rather skip ahead to what's happening with that other person." Sometimes perspective shifting gets boring to me because I feel like I have to re-familiarize myself with the character each time we shift, but not with these. The shifts were rather painless. The other major complaint I have (and if you have read this far you surely are familiar with this) is the language. I don't have a problem with foul language myself, but the Cast seems to get quite carried away with the "f-bombs" especially in this installment, especially toward the end. It just seems unnecessary to me and also seems to me that it would keep a lot of parents from feeling comfortable with their children reading these books. Basically, it just seems like an unnecessarily risky move on the part of the author, but hey, I'm not writing these so, oh well! Keep your expectations in check and I think you will be happy enough with this book and the series in general.

The product does not have the cover that comes wit the editions

Can't wait to read it thanks amazon

Sehr spannend geschrieben. Ich kann die Bücher seit Band 1 kaum aus der Hand legen. Absolut e Empfehlenswert. Nicht nur für junge Leute ( ich bin 62 ! )

Such an amazing story. I am reading 2 books at a time in this series and others in between so I don’t finish this series too soon! I feel like I’m right there with all of the characters. Would highly recommend!

.C. Cast has gone way beyond the talent she has shown in previous books in her writing of the most recent installment of the House of Night series. The multiple perspectives, introduced in the 6th book worked masterfully in telling this book's unique story. The way that the storyline is told is both surprising as it is breathtaking. There was a point in this book where P.C. Cast tricked me and I absolutely loved it! When the realization hit, I was in awe of how well written the revelation was. And satisfyingly enough the reader will be just as challenged as the characters are while reading this book. As a friend once put it, "these books are like snacks." With that comparison, this book is not a snack the way the others are, and it isn't a full course meal either. Instead, it sits the reader down and shows them how to cook. But lets go back to the first 6 books. Because without them, this book wouldn't be nearly as pointed. During the House of Night series, the reader feels a need and demand that the characters learn, make decisions, and grow. Books 1 through 6 hasn't really shown us the volume to which these characters can change. While we know that they have, we haven't ever been as intimate with the characters until this 7th book, where we are forced to look at these multi-dimensional characters and acknowledge the depth of them. Heath, Zoey, Aphrodite, Darius, Stevie-Rae, Rephaim, Stark and the big baddies (Neferet and Kalona) are the main focus and while fans of the Twins and Damien and Jack might be disappointed, the focus on the characters listed is key to this book. What's marvelous about that, though is not all characters are developed in the present, not all are even truly in the book, but each and every character mentioned takes on more meaning and becomes so much more clear than in previous books. Now I'm a huge Stark fan and by the end of this book I don't see how anyone couldn't be, but that's not where I think this review should focus. What's more important is that I'm not a huge Zoey fan. I'm not a huge Heath fan. But by the end of this book I was. Zoey's character changes so much that the reader may expect whiplash yet the story is crafted so that her extraordinary progresses reads naturally. Heath's character is developed simply by reviewing the constants in his relations with everyone in the book. It does not serve to make any reader feel stupid, but rather does cause a reader to stop and think about how Heath really doesn't change so much as our understanding of him did. Stark. Where to even begin. We learn his history, his future and glimpse into his mind in the present all at once while somehow carrying his load for him. His role in this book is so well written and so well played that this character really shines. Those of you interested in Stevie-Rae and the inevitable dilemma of Rephaim will not be disappointed by how this story-line, so loosely and tightly mingled with Zoey's is developed and expressed. And that firecracker Aphrodite? If you think she had a strong voice in all of the rest of the books, her voice is even stronger, if that can even be conceived, in this one. Another spin in the story line helps develop her character in remarkable ways as well. Here are the most important themes of the book: The act of wishing vs. doing, disguise, the power of mistakes, the power that everyone has inside of us born out of the path we choose, and ultimately, the power not so much of free will but more of choice. Every choice in this book counts