Leafing Through Pages: Tempted (House of Night #6)

For review of all books in this series: Go here.

Stars: 4 / 5

Recommendation: Continuing in the world where humans and vampyres co-exist, this time around the plot is really gripping and keeping the reader at the edge. With romance, mystery, learning to live a new life; and above all trust, friendship and belonging; everything melded together in the plot. Absolutely loved this one getting me back to the series again.

Tempted is the sixth book in the House of Night young adult vampire-theme based fantasy fiction series co-authored by P. C. Cast and her daughter Kristin Cast, first published in Ocotber of 2009. We continue with the story of Zoey Redbird as she moves through the process of Change to become a vampyre.

The stories in the series revolve around 17-year old Zoey Redbird who is marked by a vampyre tracker forcing her to move into the House of Night boarding school in Tulsa, Oklahoma as a fledgling Vampyre. But learning to be a vampyre is not easy, specially when one is Marked as special by the vampyre Goddess Nyx. Also all doesn’t seem to be what it looks like in the boarding school as well. What follows are a series of adventures in each book; uncovering hidden mysteries; finding true love; and above all embracing the destiny and live through it shining bright. The stories are told in first person narration.

The plot begins immediately after the events from the previous book Hunted. Kalona and Neferet have been banished. But Zoey’s problems don’t end with that. She has to deal with having a connection with A-ya, the original female who had trapped Kalona centuries ago. And then her love triangle, and the Red Fledglings who are not at par as they seem. Above all so many secrets still floating between her and her friends, that she has to figure out what it fact and what is fiction while finding a way to defeat Kalona and Neferet once and for all.

This is the second book in the series that I absolutely loved and for the first time I am getting the hang of the series.

Authors Casts continue to put Zoey in a quadrangle love story But for the first time I am understanding their point of view. You can be tied to a consort, a mate and a warrior. So that makes the quadrangle love story. But I wish she picks someone sooner before I lose my hair. 😛

Zoey is growing stronger as each episode passes. However, she falls back into her teenage angst, freezing up at the most opportune times, and again keeps making impulsive decisions. She is a teenager of course and all the teenage angst and emotions need to be there in the plot. All the supporting characters are changing considerably showing their real strength ad growing into adults far too sooner.

Interestingly enough the story is told in the point of view of six main characters for this book. It was interesting though only Zoey’s account was narrated in first person and the rest were like regular narration that we see commonly in most novels.

While Heath was obnoxious in the previous book, turns out Erik is a bigger fool and pompous idiot than Heath was. With his possessiveness he loses Zoey. I would say good riddance for Zoey. And Zoey again behaves stupidly like when she fell from Professor Loren Blake. I wish she stops doing that.

It is amazing that Zoey hardly attends any of the classes or reads any of the assignments, but is given the responsibility of saving the world. Granted she is busy doing, but shouldn’t she keep up her grades? Or as a High Priestess in training isn’t required to get good grades or study anything? What do you say, Authors Casts?

Someone mentioned in reviews that this series is Twilight meeting Harry Potter. They are not far off. We get to see elements from both the series; and yet it is unique in itself. There are tons of literary references to some interesting books in this chapter. Considering Stark is an avid reader per his characterization, I wasn’t surprised to see that.

Again there is a huge Cliffhanger at the end leaving readers to pick up the next book immediately. That is what I did. I couldn’t stop reading. I needed to know what happened next. 😛 Authors Cast continue to give us the medley of teenage emotions. Repeat paraphrasing has reduced a lot in this book.

Continuing in the world where humans and vampyres co-exist, this time around the plot is really gripping and keeping the reader at the edge. With romance, mystery, learning to live a new life; and above all trust, friendship and belonging; everything melded together in the plot. Yet again I am still stumbling through.

Spoiler Alerts:

1. Plot Reveals:
   1. Dark Daughters & Sons is constantly referred to as just Dark Daughters since previous book Betrayed. Might the authors have changed it?
   2. Zoey is a reincarnation of the maiden A-ya who had trapped Kalona.
   3. Heath Luck becomes Zoey’s human Consort. But gets killed by Kalona at the end.
   4. Stevie Rae saves Rephaim, the leader of Raven Mockers.
   5. Zoey dumps Erik and he rebounds on Venus, the Red Fledgling.
2. Sub-Plots:
   1. Zoey’s birth family and friends: Mom Linda Heffer, step-father John Heffer, Elder of the People of Faith Church; older sister; younger brother Kevin; Grandma Sylvia Redbird; Paul Montgomery, her biological father; John Whitehorse, friend of Zoey’s grandmother
   2. Zoey’s friends and teachers from her school in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma before she was Marked: Kayla Robinson, her ex-best friend; Heath Luck, her human ex-boyfriend & football team quarterback; Mrs. Day, Chess Club head; Mr. Shaddox, History teacher; Kathy Richter
   3. People of Faith Church members – Dr. Asher, family shrink; Damien’s father is a minister at the Dallas branch.
   4. Law Enforcement – Detective Martin; Detective Kevin Marx (his twin sister, Anne is a powerful adult vampyre).
   5. Street Cat’s Benedictine nuns: Sister Mary Angela, prioress; Sister Bianca; Sister Fatima. Zoey starts charity with them.
   6. From Marked:
      1. What deal Neferet made with the Saint Augustine People of Faith Church monks to take over their monastery and convert it into House of Night?
   7. From Betrayed:
      1. Zoey gives an oath of one favor to Aphrodite in this plot. What does Aphrodite ask of Zoey is something we need to watch out for?
   8. From Chosen:
      1. Now that Loren is dead, what happens to his cat Wolverine? And what happened to Neferet’s Cat Skylar?
   9. From Untamed:
      1. Kalona is raised from dead by Neferet who announces herself as Queen Tsi Sgili, starting a rampage on humans.
3. House Of Night Residents:
   1. A Junk DNA strand triggered by hormonal changes in humans, starts the whole Change into a vampyre. The fledgling vampyres have to go through four years of Change process that are divided into four classes – third formers, fourth formers, fifth formers, sixth formers.
   2. Dark Daughters & Dark Sons – A group of elite fledgling vampyres. Zoey is the leader of this group & the High Priestess since Hunted.
   3. Staff – Professor Doner; Professor Vento; Professor Penthasilea; Professor Bryan “Dragon” Lankhord, fencing master; Professor Garmy, Spanish teacher; Professor Lenobia aka Horse Mistress, equestrian studies; Professor Anastasia, Dragon’s wife; Professor Erik Night, Drama; Sapphire; Margareta
   4. Adult vampyres – Sappho, media specialist; Miss Taylor, an acolyte to Nyx; Erce, Horse Mistress for San Clemente;
   5. Vampire High Council – Duantia, senior member; Thanatos; and five others
   6. Fledgling vampyres – Enyo; Deino; Pemphredo; Sarah Freebird; Diana; Drew Partain; Walter; Thor; Amanda; Kaci Crump; Cassie Kramme; Becca Adams; Brittney; Ian Bowser; Hanna Honeyyeager; Red;
   7. Zoey’s friends here – Stevie Rae Johnson, becomes the first Red Vampyre aka The Red One; Damien Maslin and Jack Twist, gay couple; Erin Bates and Shaunee Cole, Twins NOT by birth, but due to their minds working equally, Shaunee dating Cole Clifton while Erin is dating T. J. Hawkins; Their elements are – Shaunee is Fire; Stevie Rae is Earth; Aphrodite is finally acknowledged as Prophetess of Nyx, loses her imprint with Stevie Rae when Rae imprints with Rephaim and she is dating Darius who pledges to her as a Warrior; Erin is Water; Damien is Air and Zoey is all elements including Spirit.
   8. Sons of Erebus, Nyx’s Consort – elite Vampyre Warriors; Darius; Aristos; – Most of them are killed by Raven Mockers.
   9. Animals in residence – Beezlebub, Erin & Shaunee’s cat; Cameron “Cammy”, Damien’s cat; Persephone, horse; Nala, Zoey’s cat; Duchess “Duch”, Stark’s Labrador Retriever; Nefertiti, Darius’s calico cat; Maleficent, Aphrodite’s cat; Maine Coon Shadowfax, Professor Dragon Lankford’s cat; Guinevere, Professor Anastasia’s Cat; Professor Lenobia’s Cat.
   10. Red Fledglings, Undead Vampyres who Change to them, led by Stevie Rae, High Priestess from them – Elliot; Venus Davis; Montoya; Shannon Compton; Sophie; Dallas; Anthony “Ant”; Johnny B; Gerart; Kramisha, Vampyre Poet Laureate; James Stark, second Red Vampire to undergo Change after he pledges his allegiance to Zoey becoming a Warrior – They live in the abandoned tunnels
   11. Rogue Red Fledglings – Nicole, their leader; Kurtis; Starr; Nikki;
   12. Kalona and The Raven Mockers – A Fallen Angle tuned Evil. Rephaim is his spoken son and the leader of the Raven Mockers.
4. Grammatical / Character / Plot / Geographical / Historical / Mythological Errors:
   1. On Pg. 34, Line 20, it should be “…made me hear her…”