Book Review: Tempted by P.C. and Kristin Cast

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.

You would think that guy drama could wait after banishing pure evil from Tulsa.  But for Zoey Redbird that seems to be an impossible thing.  Stark is practically dead, Erik is a jealous jerk, and Heath is Heath.  Plus Stevie Rae is definatly hiding something dark, as Aphrodite keeps reminding Zoey.  Sleep is the perfect escape?  No.  Kalona has managed to find his way in to Zoey's sleep and his manipulation is the final straw.  Tempted is the most nerve wrecking House of Night yet and will leave you heart broken and dying for the next book.

Finally, Zoey broke up with Erik.  For someone that sounded so sweet, smart, mature, and hot in the first two books he turned out to really not me.  Erik is self centered.  Don't get me wrong most young people are in the real world but he's like the super hot guy that we all went to high school with that pouted if he didn't get a cookie for every single thing that he does.  And when things don't go his way he gets worse.  Erik started out as a sweet guy but as soon as he and Zoey got back together he became this possessive jerk.  All of that being said, his character has a lot of room to grow and a lot of directions to go in which is awesome. 

Although Kalona is the bad guy, I like that we get a little insight into him.  The whole time that he's interacting with Zoey you know that he's full of crap and you know that she's going to fall for it and you can't stop reading.  In the other two books you don't really know who Kalona is or anything about him other than he is a fallen warrior.  You find out in this book a bit more about him.  He's honest with Zoey but not about his intentions or anything that hadn't happened in this century. 

I love that the nerd herd gets to go some place else for a book besides the Tulsa House of Night.  And what better place to visit than a Mediterranean Island with the Vampire High Consul.  Reading about the Vampire High Consul was also torture.  You would think that vampires that were so old and powerful enough to be apart of something called the Vampire High Consul would be smart enough to see through Neferet's games but the verdict is still out about that.

The fact that Aphrodite and Stevie Rae are imprinted is just hilarious.  Aphrodite is so defensive about it.  The fact that Heath is in this book a lot is great.  You don't really get a since of he Heath is until Tempted and I have to say I LOVE him.  He's just a good guy.  The new humanity intact Stark is pretty fabulous as well.

The House of Night Series is written by P.C. and Kristen Cast.  P.C. cast has written several series and she has receive several awards for them.  Kristin Cast is P.C.’s daughter and has wrote a few other series herself.  She currently goes to college in Oklahoma, where they both live.  To learn more visit www.pccast.net. 

Review: Once by Dana Michelle Burnett

Beautiful. Secretive. Magical. You envy their freedom, but you are distrustful of their ways. A strange carnival has come to Corydon, Indiana and the Irish Travellers have captured the small town's attention--but it's Harmony who's attracted theirs.

Harmony sees the Travellers everywhere and just like everyone else in town she's curious. But once she meets the mysterious and captivating Kieran, Harmony's life takes an exciting and chilling turn.

Up until now, Harmony never believed that fairy tales or myths were real, but Kieran and his family belong to an ancient tribe called the Tuatha de Danann and someone else has discovered their secret.

An ancient battle is about to begin again, and now no one is safe, especially Harmony. Can Kieran resist the urge to be with her or will his feelings put her in the crossfire?

 Harmony Jacobson is just a normal girl, living  a small town life in Corydon, Indiana. After the death of her grandmother, she is forced to put aside her dreams of the future in order to take over managing the family feed store. She does her best to make ends meet as she struggles through the monotony of her boring life. But that all changes when the Irish Travellers come to town with their Carnival of Wonders. The newcomers spark the interest of the entire town, including Harmony. But the one who's caught her attention the most is the handsome and secretive Kieran. They are both instantly drawn to each other, but it isn't long before Harmony discovers Kieran's big secret: He's a member of an ancient - and mythical - tribe known as the Tuatha de Danann. When the wrong people discover this secret too, will Kieran be able to save Harmony from getting caught in the middle of the ancient battle between his tribe and the humans who want to destroy them? Once is the first book in Dana Michelle Burnett's  new Gypsy Fairy Tale series.

I've been a fan of Dana Michelle Burnett since I first read Spiritus, the first book in her Spiritus series. So when I heard that she was coming out with a new book, I couldn't wait to get my hands on it. And, just like the series before it, Once definitely did not disappoint. I finished the book in only a few days and it immediately left me wanting to read the next book in this new series. Needless to say, I really enjoyed this book. One of the things that I really liked about it was the character of Kieran. While he is similar to the main male character in Burnett's Spiritus series, what I loved about him was that he wasn't an exact copy of that other character. He has his own personality and its one that completely draws the reader in. I automatically wanted to know more about him after he was first introduced.

Another thing I liked about the book had to do with Kieran, as well. More specifically, I liked that Kieran ended up belonging to the Tuatha de Danann. I've read a few books that focus on this particular tribe as parts of their main storyline. So, when I saw a name that I recognized, I was immediately intrigued and that was something that helped me to keep reading. I'm excited to see where Burnett will take it and I'm also interested to see how her depiction of the Tuatha de Danann will differ from other books that I've read.

Finally, I really enjoyed the relationship between Harmony and Kieran. It was very obvious from the first page that these two shared some kind of connection, some instant chemistry. By the end of the book, they became one of those couples that you instantly begin rooting for, even though you've only "known" them for a short time. I'm eager to see where this relationship goes and what will happen to them as the series progresses. The only thing that I didn't care for about Once was that it felt like all the action in the story happened in the last quarter of the book. While this wasn't something that made me put the book down without finishing it, I still hope it's something that will get better as the series unfolds.

I rate this book:

Once is the first in what promises to be an exciting new series from the mind of Dana Michelle Burnett. If you like fantasy novels that center around fairy tales and mythological creatures, then you should definitely check this book out. If you're anything like me, you won't be disappointed. And if you're looking for more of a paranormal story, be sure to check out the Spiritus series by this author. 

Dana Michelle Burnett spent most of her life writing short stories and sharing them with family and friends. Over the years, her work was published in numerous commercial and literary magazines including Just Labs, Mindprints: A Literary Journal, Foliate Oak, and many more. Her short story "John Lennon and the Chicken Holocaust" was include in The Best of Foliate Oak 2006.

Dana Michelle's Spiritus series introduced the idea of a ghostly romance and became a Kindle bestselling series. She's an avid reader of anything dark and romantic. Dana Michelle lives in Southern Indiana with her dancing diva daughter and an assortment of pets. Her site, DanaMichelleBurnett.com, has more information about upcoming projects and appearances, or you can also check her out on Facebook.