Book Review: Tempted

Author: P.C. and Kristen Cast
Released: October 2009 by St. Martin's Press
Summary from GoodReads:

Contains spoilers/information from the five previously released titles. Read at your own risk.

So…you’d think after banishing an immortal being and a fallen High Priestess, saving Stark’s life, biting Heath, getting a headache from Erik, and almost dying, Zoey Redbird would catch a break. Sadly, a break is not in the House of Night school forecast for the High Priestess in training and her gang. Juggling three guys is anything but a stress reliever, especially when one of them is a sexy Warrior who is so into protecting Zoey that he can sense her emotions. Speaking of stress, the dark force lurking in the tunnels under the Tulsa Depot is spreading, and Zoey is beginning to believe Stevie Rae could be responsible for a lot more than a group of misfit red fledglings. Aphrodite’s visions warn Zoey to stay away from Kalona and his dark allure, but they also show that it is Zoey who has the power to stop the evil immortal. Soon it becomes obvious that Zoey has no choice: if she doesn’t go to Kalona he will exact a fiery vengeance on those closest to her. Will Zoey have the courage to chance losing her life, her heart, and her soul? Find out in the next spectacular installment in the House of Night Series, Tempted..

The House of Night series has been a long time favorite of mine; however, I have begun to notice that series has begun to take on the texture of old bubble gum: its okay, but has lost all its flavor. To be honest, reading Hunted left a really bad taste in my mouth. After reading that novel, I was just bored with the direction that series was going in. The series no longer was moving forward in the plot, and everything was felt stale. To be honest, I imagined just moving on from the series, and making myself believe that somehow there was no continuation after Book 4. However, being one to never admit defeat, I decided to give the series once last try... And I am so glad that I did. Tempted breathed a breath of fresh air into this series. While this novel does not completely capture all the elements that made me fall in love with the series in the first place, it does however make me feel that the series is once again on the right track.

A new element that this novel added in was the alternating points of view with Zoey and Stevie Rae. While I am not sure why the Casts chose this novel to make the change, it was well done. I really enjoyed learning more about Stevie Rae, and it added another level of depth to the many plot lines that are going on. The other main element that was introduced was the cliffhanger. While this can be a frustrating literary device for many novels, I think that this addition was very welcome. Overall, I was very pleased with this novel. The plot has once again begun to pick up and the reader is beginning to get an idea of how things might turn out in the end. Now, if Zoey could just pick one boyfriend and stick with him, I would be one very happy reader.