Wednesday Review – Marked by P.C. and Kristin Cast

I loved the Twilight Series. In fact, I’ve read them a second time as well as watched the movie twice. As with many other people, this story was almost an obsession for me. So when a friend of mine suggested I read the House of Night Novels by P.C. and Kirstin Cast, I was kind of afraid to. After all, it’s really hard to follow a series that touches a person’s soul. When I sat down with the first book, Marked, I was very conflicted. Would I like this new series of books as much? Or would I continually compare them to the Twilight Series and not give them the effort they deserved? Hmmm. I guess I would soon find out.

Sixteen-year-old, Zoey Redbird, is an average girl in an average school doing average teenage things when suddenly she finds herself Marked as a fledgling vampire. Everyone knows about vampires. Their existence is taken for granted and their history is documented in the history books right alongside everything else. Even though they are well known, heck most of the actors and actresses dominating the big screen are vampires, most normal people don’t want anything to do with them. Something Zoey quickly finds out when her closest friends freak out over the change.

As a fledgling vampire, Zoey is forced to move into the House of Night where she will learn how to handle her new life. But Zoey isn’t like the other fledglings. She has been given special powers by the Goddess Nyx. This results in some very hard feelings from more than one resident of the House of Night. Thankfully, Zoey finds a niche for herself and begins to make friends. But something sinister is lurking in the shadows. Will Zoey be able to stop them before she or someone else gets hurt?

Okay, from the description above you can probably guess that I really enjoyed this book. The mother and daughter writing team did a fabulous job of creating a completely unique world in which I continually found myself wanting to be a part of. P.C. and Kristin Cast did a remarkable job of putting together a cast of characters that not only clicked with each other, but left the reader wanting more. Thankfully, the second, third and fourth books are out. I’m definitely headed to the store for those. My mother-in-law (who also read and loved the Twilight Series) read my copy of Marked and immediately went out and bought all four books. While I was out of town, she quickly raced through all of them, loving each book just as much as the previous one. Unfortunately, she insisted on taking her collection back to Wyoming with her.

If you are looking for something to wet your vampire tooth, definitely consider picking up Marked by P.C. and Kristin Cast. This series is a definite keeper and I can’t wait to get that second book (I’d probably better just grab them all… You know, just in cast…grin…).