Robots and Vamps

Reviewed by Christel

This audio book was purchased by the reviewer.

Audio Length: 12 hrs and 40 mins

Dust Jacket Summary: Things have turned black at the House of Night. Zoey Redbird’s soul has shattered. With everything she’s ever stood for falling apart, and a broken heart making her want to stay in the Otherworld forever, Zoey’s fading fast. It’s seeming more and more doubtful that she will be able pull herself back together in time to rejoin her friends and set the world to rights. As the only living person who can reach her, Stark must find a way to get to her. But how? He will have to die to do so, the Vampire High Council stipulates. And then Zoey will give up for sure. There are only 7 days left…

Enter BFF Stevie Rae. She wants to help Z but she has massive problems of her own. The rogue Red Fledglings are acting up, and this time not even Stevie Rae can protect them from the consequences. Her kinda boyfriend, Dallas, is sweet but too nosy for his own good. The truth is, Stevie Rae’s hiding a secret that might be the key to getting Zoey home but also threatens to explode her whole world.

In the middle of the whole mess is Aphrodite: ex-Fledgling, trust-fund baby, total hag from Hell (and proud of it). She’s always been blessed (if you could call it that) with visions that can reveal the future, but now it seems Nyx has decided to speak through her with the goddess’s own voice, whether she wants it or not. Aphrodite’s loyalty can swing a lot of different ways, but right now Zoey’s fate hangs in the balance.

Three girls… playing with fire… if they don’t watch out, everyone will get Burned.

Thoughts & analysis: In the past I have berated this series. Citing its immature plot paired with mature language and situations. It’s obvious attempt to insert hip language and shameless and dated pop-culture references. To be honest, I haven’t been very positive at all.

This particular series makes me ponder; what exactly does YA mean? What age group comprises YA? Perhaps the authors were genius’ appealing to both teens and twenty some-things. Or perhaps they are writing plot lines that fall below the maturity level of their target readers. Either way, I decided to choose a different format. Reading these novels just wasn’t doing it for me but I have invested so much time that I hate to give them up now. So I chose the audio version.

Much to my surprise, I rather enjoyed the audio version of the new house of night novel, Burned. Caitlin Davies’ tone was spot on. She didn’t have that annoying pitch as narrators of previous books did. She really sold the characters and managed to make me look past the slang and shameless True Blood plugs. The whole thing was quite entertaining.

The story had a darker, more supernatural tone. The kids are faced with major life threatening decisions and they are introduced to the most ancient forces of good and evil. I liked the fact that the story seemed to be plunging forward and seriously affecting the characters. So, a big thumbs up for P.C. and Kristin Cast for stepping out of their comfort zone a bit and making this story about more than a silly girl with an ever growing ego and way too many boyfriends.  This is my favorite book in this series and it is a shame it took until book 7 for me to find one that I liked.

My suggestion for you readers who are less than enamored with this series is, give the audio version a try. You just might find that you like it better than the book itself.

Reviewed by Christel:

Disclosure: This novel was purchased by the reviewer’s own hard earned cash.

Why do I keep reading this series? That is what I am trying to figure out. I know it is hugely popular amongst the teens and I know a few adults who really enjoy it. But why do I keep reading? The story is a good one, full of good vs. evil, teen angst and vampires. You might be thinking, “Hey what’s not to love!?” Well, let me explain…

Zoey Redbird, Unusual-Vamp-Fledgling-High Priestess of the House of Night, is still battling Neferet, Kalona and his evil offspring the Raven Mockers. She now has a bound Warrior in Stark, a Human Consort to whom she is imprinted in Heath and an on again-off again boyfriend in the vampire Erik (who by the way may be the eldest, but is the most immature of the whole bunch). So she is still juggling 3 boyfriends and now her soul is somehow connected to Kalona. Seriously? 3 boyfriends weren’t enough? Her BFF Stevie Rae (aka High Priestess of the Red Fledglings) is lying to her about several things and now she is hiding and nursing the most heinous of Kalona’s sons, the Raven Mocker Rephaim. And then there is that small matter of saving the world.

Here are my issues: Zoey is constantly whining about her boyfriends and her best friend keeping secrets while all hell is breaking loose in the world around her. One would think these issues could be tabled until evil is defeated and life returns to normal. But alas, no. We have to hear about every painstaking bit of boy trauma Zoey has while she is trying to save the world. I understand the Kalona thing as that is part of the evil she is fighting and I suppose I should remember that these are still teenagers who constantly think about their love life. But good grief it starts to get annoying.

The slang is way overused in these novels. If the slang was used more sparingly it would have more of an impact, I believe. Let me give you an example. In every situation where one of the kids is expressing their love for something, they say “I heart you”, “I heart this.”, “I heart that.” It would have been cute if used for some of those instances, but when you use it for every one it becomes distracting. Suddenly I am counting how many times someone “hearts” something rather than reading the story.

I was getting bored with the triviality of Zoey and her friends and wondering when we were going to get to some action. About half way through the book, things started to pick up. The story started to move forward and I was liking the direction we were going in when BAM I reached the end! The end of the book was shocking and abrupt and there was no real ending to the conflict. This has been happening for the past couple of books in this series. So I will read the next one, just because I want to see how this particular story line resolves itself. But I wish each book had a true beginning, middle and end rather than being a continuation of a really long and drawn out teen soap opera.

Here is what I like about these books: Kalona is a complex villain. You never know exactly how evil he is, the authors keep you guessing. Can he be saved or is he truly inherently evil? The Cherokee legend that surrounds him is brought into the story several times, making it seem as though the authors put some real thought into this guy.

Aphrodite. She is the best character in this series. She has grown and matured from her experiences and she is a witty smart-ass the entire time. She has gone from being a High Priestess in training-fledgling-snob at the House of Night, to a more humble human prophetess with a vampire warrior bound to her. And she has done it all with style.

The whole underlying story arc is a good one. I just wish we could resolve some of the current conflicts instead of dragging them with us from novel to novel. Like seriously heavy baggage, it is starting to weigh down the book.  It takes away from the charm and good ideas that started the series. Here’s to hoping the next book resolves the Kalona conflict and the kids at the House of Night can go back to school and move on with their lives.

Authors’ website: House of Night Series

On October 27, Tempted will be out in stores. But why not get an early jump on things and listen to the first chapter of the book for free?

Click on the cover below and scroll to the bottom of the page to the audio link to listen.

Not only can you read and/or listen to the first chapter, you can watch the trailer too.  There’s lots to keep you busy until the 27th.