Hunted by P. C. Cast and Kristin Cast

Product Description:
"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 and her gang must discover a way to deal with an unexpected danger that might bring them all down. Neferet guards her powerful new consort, Kalona, who looks gorgeous and has the House of Night under his spell. A past life holds the key to breaking his rapidly spreading power, but what if it shows Zoey truths she can’t face? Meanwhile, the red fledglings have cleaned up well, but are they really as friendly as they seem? On the boyfriend front, Zoey has a chance to fix things with super-hot ex-, Erik, but she can’t stop thinking about Stark, the archer who died in her arms, and she is driven to save him from Neferet’s sinister influence. Will anyone believe the power evil has to hide among us?"

Hunted is the fifth book in the House of Night series, and I found it to have the best ending of the five books I have read so far. While the books are starting to gain some predictability the more I read them, such as where Zoey will get her next tattoo markings and how Zoey will cause good to triumph over evil, I still enjoy them for the typical teenage normalcy amongst mayhem and heroics. What makes Zoey Redbird such a great protagonist is her complete lack of arrogance and ego. Even when everyone around her as unfailing confidence in her ability to save the day, she still keeps a mental tally of all the mistakes she has made and dreads the future mistakes she knows are coming. The little tidbits of popular culture inserted into the text give the plot a realistic feel, as if it could be happening right now in an alternate universe, such as Zoey's recounting her reaction to the movie Titanic, which by the way is exactly how I reacted the first time I saw the movie.
"It had driven me crazy since the first time I'd seen the movie (and bawled my eyes out - and I do mean one of those shoulder-heaving ugly snot cries). Stupid Rose says she'll never let him go, but then she does. And why couldn't she have scooted over and let Leo/Jack get on that floating board thing with her? There was plenty of room." - pg. 116
It boggles me that the entire book takes place in the span of less than a week. The series seems to be well-suited to the fast-paced format of a movie, but I still wonder whatever happened to the 4-year format that was introduced into the first novel as the length of time it takes to complete the change and attend the House of Night.
On the negative side, I am not so crazy about Zoey's multiple boyfriends. At this point, I don't care who she picks, as long as she picks one and sticks with it. Seems like every book she falls in love with a different guy, whether he's on the side of good or bad, and her destiny from Nyx has very little to do with her love life. Seems like Nyx could help her out a little more in this department, or she could ask the other mother figures in her life - her grandma or the nun - for some guidance. Here's hoping the next book resolves this very annoying issue.




Read for: Speculative Fiction Challenge, Support Your Local Library Reading Challenge, Pages Read Challenge