First line: “The caw! caw! cawing! of one stupid crow kept me up all night.”
Oklahoma-based, mother-daughter writing duo P.C and Kristin Cast have released their fourth installment in the House of Night series. The fourth book, Untamed picks up only days after the end of the last book, Chosen and follows the story of Zoey, a young vampyre fledgling attending the House of Night school in Tulsa.
I hadn’t read the first three book in the House of Night series, but it really wasn’t all that hard to jump into the story without feeling too lost. The Cast duo sum up the last book’s events pretty snappily without feeling like you’re trudging through a history lesson. Although I generally don’t care too much about vampire stories, this one held my interest from the start with the dynamic characters.
The story is absorbing and flies by, but there are a few minor complaints. First, there were certain elements that seemed quite obviously lifted from other novels and movies, but, honestly, that has to be expected. Everyone is influenced by things they read and see and I don’t think anyone can get away from that. My second complaint with the book is that it was all set up for the next installment. There was absolutely no resolution of anything, just lots and lots of preparation for future books. But, that said, from how the book flew along — adding generous heaps of intrigue about religion, Cherokee myths and an odd new sect of vampyres — I really can’t wait to read how the story resolves itself in the next book(s).
For: Someone wanting to get into a series.- Jenny Coon Peterson