Marked by PC Cast & Kristin Cast Review

Marked by PC Cast & Kristin Cast
(House of Night Series, #1)
Release Date: May 1, 2007
Publisher: St. Martin's Press; 308 Pages

The House of Night series is set in a world very much like our own, except in 16-year-old Zoey Redbird's world, vampyres have always existed.  In this first book in the series, Zoey enters the House of Night, a school where, after having undergone the Change, she will train to become an adult vampire -- that is, if she makes it through the Change.  Not all of those who are chosen do.  It's tough to begin a new life, away from her parents and friends, and on top of that, Zoey finds she is no average fledgling.  She has been Marked as special by the vampyre Goddess, Nyx.  But she is not the only fledgling at the House of Night with special powers.  When she discovers that the leader of the Dark Daughters, the school's most elite club, is misusing her Goddess-given gifts, Zoey must look deep within herself for the courage to embrace her destiny--with a little help from her new vampyre friends.

I am very happy that when I started reading this series I was not a person who checked out reviews to see if I would like it or not. Not that I am now, but I wanted t refresh my memory a bit about the first HON (House of Night) book, and WOW does it ever have a lot of negative reviews. This book is a teen YA paranormal book, you need to remember that when you read this series. A lot of the characters act like teenagers, surprise! That aside, this was my first book that I read after the Twilight series that was also about Vampires (or Vampyres as they are spelled in this series) and what a huge difference. The Vampires in this series are a little more along the line of what people actually think when they think of vampires. 

There was something about Zoey Redbird that clicked with me and I was very drawn to her story and felt like I could really relate to her, Hence my nick name, Ashley Redbird. Vampires are not really hidden in the world of HON, but to be marked by one, isn’t an ideal situation. Zoey ends up being marked and destined to become a vampire, but it isn’t the life she planned on. Right away you can tell there is something special and different about Zoey and when she finally ends up at the HON school her head master also feels the same way. 

Zoey learns the ins and outs of becoming a vampire and learns that it is just as difficult as any other situation for a 16 year old girl, vampire of not. However with markings on your face, it makes this a little more challenging. Zoey learns many different things about herself and the school throughout the book, and learns she is more special than she ever thought. 

Although this book is more of the teenage side as far as the language goes, you can really put yourself into their shoes and remember how awkward being a teenager used to be, and we weren’t even vampires!! I fell in love with series right away!! This is only the beginning of some really wicked stuff to come!