Reviews

Awakened by P.C. Cast, Kristin Cast

andshe_reads's review against another edition

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5.0

Eeeek! They kissed stevie-rae & Rephaim finally kissed how cute!! & now he's the boy from aphrodites vision =) About time she got to be happy!
Also Stark & Zoey! Soo glad they finally end up together.
The twist in heaths character! Totally unexpected wow. I look forward to reading Destined in November can't wait!! =)

lindaunconventionalbookworms's review against another edition

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5.0

I didn't want this book to end! It was both SO happy and at the same time devastatingly u happy. Zoey is so strong, and is always able to see into the heart and soul of her friends... And her enemies. Excellent story, totally aligned with the other House of Night books. I feel like a total series re-read right now.

michaela95c's review against another edition

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3.0

Alright, so let's start with the negative. Neferet's still alive. Heath's coming back. Fun. I really, really hope they kill Neferet in the next book. I mean, come on, it's been eight books already they really haven't even tried to kill her! I'm getting really annoyed. I think P.C. and Kristin could've come up with something better for these books than a recycled storyline of Zoey & the gang against Neferet in every single book! Then we have Kalona and who knows what they'll have him up to in the last few books. And of course, Heath's coming back. Great. Granted he is going to be a vessel but still, I think he'll turn to Zoey's side real fast. Awesome. Not. I was really hoping we could have Heath kinda stay to the sidelines for a while but obviously not.
Overall though, this book was pretty good. Jack's death was sad, and his character will be very missed. I'm looking forward to see what they come up with for the next book!

bibliotequeish's review against another edition

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These books were a real guilty pleasure.
I read them all, could not get enough, that doesn't mean they are good.
Some parts are, and most parts are just ... he's a bird right?

This series definitely got to the point where it was time to turn in the towel.

zoeystarr98's review against another edition

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dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad tense

3.75

sunnydee's review against another edition

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3.0

Bewertung bezieht sich auf das deutsche Hörbuch!
3 von 5 Sternen
*Wie kam das Buch zu mir*
Ich fand ja die House of Night Bücher bisher eher mittelmäßig. Der Schreibstil, die Wortwahl, das ganze theatralische Handeln der Charaktere finde ich zwar abschreckende, aber die Grundhandlung finde ich unglaublich interessant. Somit nehme ich das negative in Kauf und habe mich entschieden Band 8 und 9 nun als Hörbücher zu hören, auch wenn ich der Sprecherin Marie Bierstedt ebenfalls nichts abgewinnen kann.

*KurzMeinung:*
Dies ist der 8. Teil einer Reihe und daher werde ich hier nur eine kurze Rezi verfassen.

Die Grundhandlung der Reihe wird in diesem Band gut vorangetrieben, viele spannende Dinge geschehen und vor allem auch sehr entscheidende Dinge. Was genau werde ich hier nicht erläutern, da ich nicht spoilern möchte.

Der Schreibstil und die Sprecherin sind aus meiner Sicht weiterhin katastrophal. Die jugendliche Sprache ist mir jetzt nach längerer Pause von dieser Reihe wieder extrem aufgefallen und dieses ganze theatralische Gehabe fiel mir auch noch viel stärker auf als in den anderen Bänden. Hier wird wirklich viel dramatisiert und die Liebesgeschichten tropfen nur so vor Surrealismus und theatralischer Hingabe. Da kann ich nichts mit anfangen. Die Sprecherin verschlimmert durch ihre theatralische Betonung das ganze dann noch. Auch die verschiedenen Personen kann man kaum heraushören – hier klingen Menschen jeden Alters gleich.

Die Charaktere sind weiterhin sehr unterhaltsam für mich. Vor allem Kalona und Rephaim finde ich ja sehr interessant und um die beiden ging es in diesem Band besonders. Zoey und Stevie Ray finde ich ebenfalls noch immer sehr interessant, aber leider reagieren beide oft sehr ambivalent – mal benehmen sie sich sehr naiv und impulsiv und dann wieder so gehoben respektvoll und erwachsen. Das ist etwas schwierig zu akzeptieren.

Spannend war dieser Teil durchaus. Vor allem die Entwicklung um Kalona und Rephaim konnten mich an das Hörbuch fesseln und es passierten allerlei Dinge mit denen ich nie im Leben gerechnet hätte.

Emotionen kommen bei mir allerdings nicht auf beim Lesen/Hören. Ich finde die Handlung interessant, aber das Verhalten der Akteure ist einfach zu theatralisch und abgehoben, als das ich mich auch nur ansatzweise damit identifizieren könnte.

Warnungen: Charaktertod, Blut, Gewalt(Warnungen sind bei mir nicht negativ wertend gemeint, sondern nur ein Hinweis für die Leser, die aus persönlichen Gründen ganz gezielt bestimmte Inhalte vermeiden möchten.)

Grundidee 4,5/5
Schreibstil 2/5
Spannung 3,5/5
Emotionen 3/5
Charaktere 4/5

*Fazit:*
3 von 5 Sternen
Wieder ein eher durchschnittlicher Teil, obwohl er inhaltlich eigentlich sehr interessant war. Die ganze Handlung um Kalona, Neferet und Rephaim wurde vorangetrieben. Und doch kann ich dem Hörbuch nur 3 Sterne geben, da es wieder extrem theatralisch und übertrieben dramatisch war. Die Sprecherin ist auch nicht mein Fall und verschlimmert eher noch den theatralischen Eindruck. Von der Handlung her kann ich die Reihe empfehlen, aber von der Art und Weise wie sie verpackt ist, leider nicht.

chelseavbc's review against another edition

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2.0

This review was originally posted to Vampire Book Club.

I have a strange relationship with the House of Night series. I like the plot, but I get very frustrated with the way it’s told. My problem is not enough happens in a single book. Many of the novels should be combined; the stories in books 6 and 7 should be a single novel. And that’s what irked me about Awakened.

The first half of the book we check in with the characters, and see the state of things. Stark and Zoey are recovering on the island at Skye, and Neferet has been forgiven by the Vampyre High Council. So, drama is brewing. Unfortunately, this means not a thing happens plot-wise until you’ve read more than 160 pages. Once things begin moving, it’s interesting, but I’m not much for “breather books.” And that’s what Awakened feels like, something to fill the space before more hell rains down up on our friends from Tulsa’s House of Night.

The writing in the eighth House of Night book matches P.C. Cast’s other work. Descriptive, but not overly so. (And readers who are bothered by Zoey’s refusal to use swear words will be happy her alternative curses are sparing.)

It was nice to reconnect with some of the characters. I’m most intrigued by Stevie Rae and Rephaim’s storyline and loved reading the inner turmoil when reading from the Raven Mocker’s point-of-view. There is limited time spent with most of the other characters — the twins, Aphrodite, Darius, Damien, etc. are mostly encountered peripherally. We do get way more Neferet, though.

Awakened is a book for setting up plot points. Lots of groundwork is laid that will change the course of things in the series. All of which was exciting and, one time, shocking. My problem was I didn’t get the payoff. Lots of allusions to things to come, but there are no resolutions — even minor ones.

Am I giving up on the series? No. I want to find out what happens as a result of events of Awakened. I just wish the Casts had elected to put a full story arc in a single title. My recommendation (as it’s been before) is to read Awakened right before the ninth book Destined comes out in Dec. 2011. This way you’ll get answers and not have to grumble about reading 250 pages of set-up.

rosetyper9's review against another edition

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1.0

I give up on this series. The whole series keeps making one big loop over and over and over and I am done with it. I can't stand the unrealistic way the teens talk and act sometimes and I am over it. I am usually more friendly in my negative reviews but I have invested so much emotion into this series I am sad to go out like this. The first six or so books were absolutely amazing....so read up until there.

mrose21's review against another edition

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5.0

Adding a review for this as I've rated it without a review.

A lot of things have happened since. 2014 Was a very hard year for myself so all the reviews are showing up on the same date. I can't explain why they are, if the ratings are justice or accurate I can also not say when I truly read these. I'm just going to say 2014 on the same day added just to keep the year right if not the month...

ravenjones's review against another edition

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2.5

Eh, this one was fine. 

I haven't been able to listen to defying gravity the same way since I read this for the first time at 12.