Untamed by P. C. Cast and Kristin Cast

"Life sucks when your friends are pissed at you.
Just ask Zoey Redbird – she’s become an undisputed expert on suckiness. In one week she has gone from having three boyfriends to having none, and from having a tight-knit group of friends who trusted and supported her, to being an outcast. And the worst part is, she knows it’s her own fault. Speaking of friends, the only two Zoey has left are undead, unMarked, and unable to stop bickering with each other. So who can blame her for befriending the House of Night’s newest transfer student, the majorly hot Olympic archer, James Stark?
Meanwhile, Neferet has declared a war on humans after it appears that the People of the Faith have murdered two vampyres. But Aphrodite’s latest visions show a world completely different from the High Priestess’s promises, a world full of violence, hatred, and darkness, all because of Zoey’s death—and the only way it seems she can prevent it from happening is to make things right with her friends. Zoey knows in her heart that fighting with humans is wrong. But will anyone listen to her? Zoey's adventures at vampyre finishing school take a wild and dangerous turn as loyalties are tested, shocking true intentions come to light, and an ancient evil is awakened in PC and Kristin Cast's spellbinding fourth House of Night novel."

As the fourth book in the series, the authors continue to do an excellent job with Untamed by keeping with the balance of "normal" with the supernatural - and this time Zoey Redbird as equal parts problems on both sides of the fence. I kind of feel sorry for her at the point in which James Stark dies in her arms - Nyx may have Chosen her for some great purpose, but she still deserves a friend or two, and not the kind that die and turn into something else. Otherwise, the whole being-chosen thing can seem more like a curse. The plotline of "The Chosen One" may be milked by fantasy authors across the board, but the book does not dwell on this aspect too much, and moves at a fast pace to the climax of the book. I found myself wondering what Zoey Redbird  s supposed to do with the remaining three years that she is to remain at school before she completes the Change if all of these problems are arising within the span of a few months. At the rate that Zoey is progressing, she will be covered in blue tattoos from head to toe, have an army of red Vampyres to do her bidding, and enough power to be the strongest High Priestess in Vampyre history - and that's all before she completes the Change. I love this series, I just hope that the authors can maintain this momentum.



Read for: 101 Fantasy Reading Challenge