House of Night Series: Tempted
Tempted, by P.C. and Kristin Cast
reviewed by SarahBella
Let me first say that I loved the first 316 pages of ‘Tempted’- the last three, not so much.
By page fifteen, Zoey really begins to come into her own. She’s still scared and flighty, but she’s a sixteen-year-old girl. Her character begins to grow and mature. She learns the difference between the easy decision and the right decision. She also starts to pay more attention to what is actually important, both to her, and in the grand scheme of things. She leans a lot about herself, learns her boundaries and her capabilities.
By the end of the book, Zoey has realized how her past decisions are still affecting the future and finally turns to Nyx for real help. She also realizes how far reaching her mistakes are. They don’t just affect her and her little circle of friends. Zoey’s mistakes affect the future of the world as they know it.
One of my biggest problems with the series in general is what Zoey herself would call her ‘ho-like’ tendencies. I am so tired of the boy problems, the multiple boy problems. Choose one and move on already. Every time that I thought she had finally chosen, she would contradict herself again. I was beginning to think that we would never hear the end of Zoey’s boy drama. In tempted, some of that finally begins to resolve itself.
In ‘Tempted’, Zoey is finally allowed the chance to get closer to Stark, a character who has intrigued me from his introduction. Much of her relationship (and I don’t mean as a boyfriend) with Stark leads to her self-growth. It’s an interesting path to follow Zoey down, watching her realizations and revelations. (Plus, I really want to write me some Zoey/Stark smut.)
The deaths (yes, people die, but I’m not telling you who) in the book are no more or less palatable than the others in the series have been. Apparently, at the House of Night, no one just dies nicely and floats up to Heaven; they are either brought back from the dead by an evil High Priestess, or they die gruesomely and painfully. (Anyone else remember Loren Blake?)
My other big issue with the books is that the endings, for me, leave everything feeling unresolved. Yes, it makes you want to read more, but sometimes, I feel like I just read 300 pages for no reason, no conclusion. Book Six is no different. The ending was entirely unexpected, and yet, left me with no satisfaction, no closure. I feel as though my copy of the book must have been missing its last fifteen pages. A conclusion is reached, but it is somewhat anti-climactic and creates more questions and issues than it answers.
Overall, ‘Tempted’ is a good read; it’s intriguing and exciting without seeming overdone. The writing is so descriptive that I can picture everything in my mind, from Zoey’s dorm room, to Stark’s tattoos. The general plot of this book is somewhat of a departure from the others as the direction has taken a significantly darker turn. I’m thoroughly enjoying the series and I can’t wait for book seven, ‘Burned’.
I’m giving ‘Tempted’ four out of five fangs.
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