Burned by P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast

When friends stop trusting each other, Darkness is there to fan the flames.... Things have turned black at the House of Night. Zoey Redbird's soul has shattered. With everything she's ever stood for falling apart, and a broken heart making her want to stay in the Otherworld forever, Zoey's fading fast. It's seeming more and more doubtful that she will be able pull herself back together in time to rejoin her friends and set the world to rights. As the only living person who can reach her, Stark must find a way to get to her. But how? He will have to die to do so, the Vampyre High Council stipulates. And then Zoey will give up for sure. There are only 7 days left... Enter BFF Stevie Rae. She wants to help Z but she has massive problems of her own. The rogue Red Fledglings are acting up, and this time not even Stevie Rae can protect them from the consequences. Her kinda boyfriend, Dallas, is sweet but too nosy for his own good. The truth is, Stevie Rae's hiding a secret that might be the key to getting Zoey home but also threatens to explode her whole world. In the middle of the whole mess is Aphrodite: ex-Fledgling, trust-fund baby, total hag from Hell (and proud of it). She's always been blessed (if you could call it that) with visions that can reveal the future, but now it seems Nyx has decided to speak through her with the goddess's own voice, whether she wants it or not. Aphrodite's loyalty can swing a lot of different ways, but right now Zoey's fate hangs in the balance. Three girls... playing with fire... if they don't watch out, everyone will get Burned.

I have to admit, not so much of the “trendy” slang. I'm so glad for that too, because it got annoying. I still gave this one two stars though. I just wasn't into it as I used to be. The ending was satisfying. Not as big of a cliffhanger, but I might still read the next one. I'm just not sure where this series is going to end up ultimately and I'm not sure the authors do either. The first few books were good, but the more it goes on, the more it drags out, I find myself just not caring so much. I'm thinking I might post these books on PBS and let someone else enjoy them. If I'm still into the House Of Night series when the next book comes out, I'm just going to get it from the library.

I'll do my best to stay away from major spoilers for this series. I know that several people have stopped reading the House of Night series recently but I still really enjoy the books. I actually think that the most recent books (Burned and Awakened) were very well written and suspenseful. I was worried that this book would be filled with only Zoey's depressed emotions but it wasn't, at all!

Burned does give us several perspectives for this book. It ranges from Zoey, to Stevie Rae, Stark, Rephaim, and others. At times, this was a little too much. I thought that a few things could have been left out (not particularly with these characters but with lesser ones) and the book may have had a little better flow. I admit that Stevie Rae is not one of my favorite characters and I think that is what initially kept me away from the recent books. I knew she was going to have a much larger part as they continued. I think her accent and word choices are a little extreme and draw away from the point of what she is saying. Other than that, I've actually enjoyed her character a lot more in Burned.

Rephaim is a newer character in Burned and we really get a chance to get to know him. I wasn't fond of him, at all, in Tempted but he's grown on me. I'm excited to see what happens with him next. Stark has always been one of my favorites and he has really grown a lot over time. I need more Stark! Zoey continues to amaze me with her strength and spirit. She is a very strong character.

I enjoyed the plot in this book. It still had just as many twists and turns as the previous books. There was never a dull moment. I do think that the drama with Kalona and Neferet needs to end soon. It goes on and on and after a while it will be way too much! I think that the story could have much more going on even long after the Neferet story line is complete.

Overall, I was really impressed with Burned. I still enjoy this series a lot and the characters that I fell in love with long ago. P.C. and Kristin Cast keep coming up with unique ideas and crazy fight scenes that draw me in from page one.