A More or Less Satisfying Installment - Aside From Zoey's Mind-Numbing Boy Drama

Source: Author Website

Hunted (House of Night #5) by P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast (St. Martin’s Press, 2009, 336pp.)

Having fled the House of Night after the dark angel Kalona takes over, Zoey and friends find themselves huddled in the red fledgling stronghold under Tulsa. A few days into their self-imposed exile, a skirmish with one of Kalona’s henchmen leaves Zoey severely wounded. Knowing that she will die without proper vampyric treatment, the gang has no choice but to return to campus. How will they survive Kalona’s reign of terror, especially since he holds the entire student body and faculty in thrall? The beginning chapters move at a somewhat sluggish pace, chronicling the goings-on at Zoey’s impromptu camp, as well as a few altercations between Heath (who joins forces with Zoey’s group) and Erik (now dating Zoey again). It’s only until the characters are forced to relocate to the House of Night that the action really starts. And of course, the Casts just can’t resist throwing in a good old-fashioned love quadrangle. Zoey once again finds herself juggling two other love interests in addition to her relationship with Erik. The first is with Stark, a fledgling with a Goddess-given talent for archery, and the second is with her ex-boyfriend, Heath, Zoey’s willing blood donor who butts heads with Erik constantly. As with the Erik/Heath/Loren subplot in Book 3, the Casts spare no one when it comes to teen melodrama. But aside from Zoey’s mind-numbing boy drama, Hunted is a more or less satisfying installment in the series.