Review: ‘Hunted’ by P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast
Hunted
by P.C. Cast, Kristin CastSeries: House of Night #5
Published by St. Martin's Griffin on March 10, 2009
SubGenres: Young Adult Fantasy
Format: Hardcover
Pages: 323
Source: Purchased
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What if the hottest guy in the world was hiding a nameless evil, and all he wanted was you? At the start of this heart-pounding new installment of the bestselling House of Night series, Zoey’s friends have her back again and Stevie Rae and the red fledglings aren’t Neferet’s secrets any longer. But an unexpected danger has emerged. Neferet guards her powerful new consort, Kalona, and no one at the House of Night seems to understand the threat he poses. Kalona looks gorgeous, and he has the House of Night under his spell. A past life holds the key to breaking his rapidly spreading influence, but what if this past life shows Zoey secrets she doesn’t want to hear and truths she can’t face?
I’m going back through and re-reading the House of Night series because I realized that I didn’t finish this series when I was going through my library at home. Now, I need a refresher before I read the books I didn’t get to reading.
I finished reading Hunted, the fifth book to the House of Night series, and couldn’t believe how much I missed Zoey and her gang. Unfortunately, there are some things I didn’t miss in this series. I’m realizing now that I’m older, certain things drove me crazy in this book that didn’t drive me crazy when I read it the first time in 2009. Ugh! I hate getting older. This also gives away my age just a bit. Yes, I’m in my thirties and still reading Young Adult. I’ll be in my sixties, and I’ll still read this genre. I don’t care, and this was the genre that I found my love of reading books.
Storyline/MyThoughts: If you have not read this series, then I would not recommend reading my reviews. I try not to spoil in my reviews, but sometimes I could give something away if you have not read the previous books. I try not to, so forewarning. The last book Untamed left off with a big cliffhanger, so I was anxious to dive back into my re-read of Hunted because I forgot what happened.
Zoey and her friends are now in the tunnels with Stevie Rae and the other red fledglings. Stevie Rae has been shot with an arrow due to Stark from the last book. Zoey and her team need to find a way to take it out of her. Thank goodness for Darius, who is a Son of Erebus. It’s a whirlwind of chaos in the tunnels, but the red fledglings are not the same anymore. At least Stevie Rae keeps saying they no longer eat for sport. Although, Zoey has a feeling her best friend is not telling the whole truth.
Zoey and her group are now having to live their lives on the run from Kalona and Neferet. Unfortunately, Zoey is having nightmares where Kalona is in them, and she feels like both Kalona and Neferet are stalking her. Kalona seems to be a creepy god/man who can change his appearance, so I felt for Zoey and dealing with this bizarre new bad guy.
The group has to decide what to do next, but unfortunately, drama always follows this group. If drama didn’t happen, though, then the book/series wouldn’t grab my attention as it does.
Zoey ends up hurt this time around, and if you did not read the first books, you would realize that Zoey has an issue with boys and them wanting to be with her. Most of the time, her injuries are due to a certain boy always getting himself in danger and Zoey having to save him. This boy needs to leave Zoey alone before something awful happens to her. (which it did in this book.)
Zoey, though, has issues deciding who she wants to be with every single time, and this is what drove me crazy this time around. I realize teenagers (especially in this book) have difficulty making up their minds, but Zoey is hurting these boys when she messes with them. This book involves another love triangle that evolves around Zoey. I used to like love triangles, but now I find them annoying, especially in Young Adult books. Zoey is a pain in the butt, too, which doesn’t help. Yes, she may be a powerful high priestess who is still a fledgling, but she has teenage drama always following her. I know teenagers and drama can sometimes go hand and hand in Young Adult Fantasy books, but this group, especially Zoey, takes it to the extreme. I mean, it’s pretty bad when her friends tell her to give up boys or pick only one.
In this book, though, I’m hoping for Zoey to be with Stark. He’s a bad boy in this book, but that’s due to what happened to him from the last book. Not everyone likes Stark in this book, especially after Zoey and her friends end up back at the House of Night. They start realizing life has changed, and Kalona and Neferet have their agendas. Zoey and her team have to find a way to get rid of them both, and at the end of this book, they find a way. It involves more than Zoey and her team, though.
I liked this book, but I found some things annoying this time around, which I already mentioned above. If you are okay with love triangles, you will enjoy this book, but you may want to skip certain parts if you don’t. I promise it gets better. Zoey starts growing up.
I gave this book five stars originally back in 2009, but now I’m dropping one star and giving it four stars. I still liked it, but rather have had more scenes with Zoey and Stark instead of Zoey, Heath, and Erik. Too much drama!
Standalone or Part of Series: It’s part of a series, and I highly recommend reading in order.
Would I recommend this book? Yes. If you are a fan of Young Adult Fantasy and Paranormal, then I would recommend this series. Forewarning that the authors wrote this book in the late 2000s (not the 2010s or 2020s), and it may be outdated with what teenagers like today.
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About P.C. Cast
PC was born in the Midwest, and grew up being shuttled back-and-forth between Illinois and Oklahoma, which is where she fell in love with Quarter Horses and mythology (at about the same time). After high school, she joined the United States Air Force and began public speaking and writing. After her tour in the USAF, she taught high school for 15 years before retiring to write full time. PC is a #1 New York Times and #1 USA Today Best-Selling author and a member of the Oklahoma Writers Hall of Fame. Her novels have been awarded the prestigious: Oklahoma Book Award, YALSA Quick Pick for Reluctant Readers, Romantic Times Reviewers’ Choice Award, the Prism, Holt Medallion, Daphne du Maurier, Booksellers’ Best, and the Laurel Wreath. PC is an experienced teacher and talented speaker. Ms. Cast lives in Oregon near her fabulous daughter, her adorable pack of dogs, her crazy Maine Coon, and a bunch of horses. House of Night Other World, book 4, FOUND, releases July 7th, 2020. More info to come soon about the HoN TV series!
About Kristin Cast
Kristin is a #1 New York Times and #1 USA Today bestselling author who was born on an Air Force base in Japan and grew up in Oklahoma where she explored everything from tattoo modeling to broadcast journalism. After battling addiction, Kristin made her way to the Pacific Northwest and landed in Portland. She rediscovered her passion for storytelling in the stacks at dusty bookstores and in rickety chairs in old coffeehouses. For as long as she can remember, Kristin’s been telling stories. Thankfully, she’s been writing them down since 2005.
My obsession with reading started over 30+ years ago when I went to my first Scholastic Book Fair and found R.L. Stine's Fear Street series. Later, I came across Anne Rice's novels at my public library when I was fourteen when my obsession with vampires started. I was the girl who preferred to be a vampire over a princess any day. My husband says I would leave him a heartbeat for a vampire that looked like Spike or Angel (from Buffy the Vampire Slayer) or Damon Salvatore from The Vampire Diaries. (It's true, though, and he's accepted it.)
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