Leafing Through Pages: Burned (House of Night #7)

Posted byaparnadever7016Posted inUncategorizedTags:, , ,

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

Stars: 3 / 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, the series is growing on me.

Burned is the seventh 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 April of 2010. 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 ight after the events from the previous book Tempted. The plot centers on three young women – Zoey Redbird who is stuck in the Otherworld and has to find her way back; Stevie Rae who has a secret that could save Zoey but doesn’t reveal; and Aphrodite is being taken by Nyx who speaks through her about prophecies. The House of Night depends on these three to get rid off their darkness. Will they help or get burned in the process?

This book wasn’t as powerful as the previous one, but nonetheless an intriguing story for me to starting to love the series.

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.

After all they have gone through so far, even now Aphrodite’s character doesn’t change from being a bitch. She understands and loves her friends, but I don’t understand why she has to be so sarcastic, and bitchy all the time that she forgets to give key information causing an unnecessary ripple.

Interestingly enough the story is told in the point of view of several 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. And also even though the chapter was showing us from one person’s point of view, there were in between titles within the chapter for the same character. I found that redundant.

I thought that the quadrangle / triangle love stories ended with the previous book. But uh uh not likely cause Authors Casts have a triangle love story for Stevie Ray – between her Red Fledgling Dallas; and Raven Mocker’s leader Rephaim. **banging my head** 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. Finally I am falling in love with the series.

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. Stevie Ray imprints with Rephaim. And as a payment to Black Bull, the Light, she would be permanently tied to the humanity within Rephaim.
    3. Dallas finds his affinity with electricity. But he embraces Darkness and Changes but in a different way. We have to see what is in store for him in future books.
    4. Heath Luck goes beyond the Otherworld to be reborn again.
    5. Rephaim and Stevie Ray part at the end of the book.
  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; 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.
    10. From Tempted:
      1. Professor Anastasia is killed by Rephaim.
      2. Heath Luck becomes Zoey’s human Consort. But gets killed by Kalona at the end.
  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. She is also incarnation of maiden A-ya who had trapped Kalona centuries ago as of Tempted
    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 Erik Night, Drama, dates the Red Fledgling Venus after being dumped by Zoey; 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; Aether; and four 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, first Red Vampyre aka The Red One and imprints with Rephaim while saving him; 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; Erin is Water; Damien is Air and Zoey is all elements including Spirit. Aphrodite is Prophetess of Nyx, she is dating Darius who pledges to her as a Warrior. James Stark becomes a Guardian to Zoey from being a Warrior, the first Red Guardian.
    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 for them – Elliot; Venus Davis; Montoya; Shannon Compton; Sophie; Dallas; Anthony “Ant”; Johnny B; Gerart; Kramisha, Vampyre Poet Laureate and Prophetess.
    11. Rogue Red Fledglings – Nicole, their leader; Kurtis; Nikki; Starr dies in this book; and all the Rouge Red Fledglings are driven away from the tunnels
    12. Kalona and The Raven Mockers – A Fallen Angle tuned Evil. Rephaim is his spoken son and the leader of the Raven Mockers.
    13. Isle of Women House of Night (Scotland): Sgiach, the Vampyre Warrior trainer; Guardians of the Ace, Oath Sworn Warriors to Sgiach; Seoras, The Guardian of Sgiach;
  4. Grammatical / Character / Plot / Geographical / Historical / Mythological Errors:
    1. On Pg. 86, Line 4 from bottom, it should be “…that would be a more…”
    2. On Pg 216, Line 4, it should be “…thought you had a bad…”
    3. On Pg 217, Line 2, it should be “…How many of you…”
    4. On Pg. 285, Line 1 and 2, it should be “…with all the powers…”
    5. On Pg. 306, Line 12 from bottom, it should be “…because your body’s…”

Leave a comment