Destined (House of Night #9) by P.C. and Kristin Cast
YA Fantasy
Rating: 5 Stars
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 Council 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 at extinguishing Light? And will Zoey be able to touch Aurox's humanity in time to protect them all? Find out what's destined in the next thrilling chapter of the House of Night series.
First Thoughts: For obvious reasons I bought this book. I have been in love with the House of Night since I picked up Marked in 2007 on a class field trip to Barnes and Noble. I was hooked immediately. There is so much drama around this book series like "Zoey is a ho" and stupid stuff like that but really if you understood the books and the world they live in she wouldn't be called a 'ho,' it's just that people are quick to judge. The cover follows the theme of the rest of the series and has Aurox on the cover (eek!). I love the bull imprints on the hard cover of the book. It's fantastic!
Writing Style: Of course having two authors you can't really rate the writing style the same as the others. I have read other P.C. Cast books so I am pretty sure I can pin point the areas that are true P.C. Cast. Kristin helped making it easier to read and, you know, made it very teenage like. The only issue I have with this book is the horrible editing. Some are easy to miss but some are just popping out and it really makes me disappointed that an editor missed the very common mistakes.
Characters: Zoey has grown up so much. She is still the same nervous and self conscious girl from the beginning. She is still afraid of making mistakes and doesn't feel she is good enough to save the world. I love that even though you can tell she has grown from the first book she still has those traits that make people connect with her. The only other person I want to talk about is Shaunee. In this book she becomes more of her own person. As a real twin, I think all twins should have themselves as well as each other. Erin and Shaunee just wanted to be so much alike that it was bound to change sooner or later. Shaunee is strong though and she sees the good in people. Now you can see the difference between the two and you see that Shaunee isn't as material as I originally thought.
Final Thoughts: I am always disappointed in how short these books are. It's depressing that we get so little and have to wait forever for the next one but honestly to me it's worth the wait. This book was great. I loved all the action and I have to say (like always for this series) I never saw that ending coming. I love it when I don't guess what's going to happen because it was too obvious. It was sort of a sad ending but at the same time happy. I'm not going to explain because of spoilers but I just had to say it. Oh, and of course the cliff hanger where you realize all crap is going to hit the fan in the next book. It's going to be awesome!
