YAY My 10th book review and I'm so glad to say that my 10th book that I'm reviewing is a "Maura Choice", I honestly recommend this series. Even though I've only read the first book. Ok so I really recommend the first book, how about that? Ok anyways it's a really fast paced book with likable, realistic characters and even though It's about Vampire it does have some realistic issues , aka boyfriends and bullies. Or Mean girls. I just found it interesting and it was well described ,I could imagine everything that was going. Also the writing never got boring so it never became slow pasted. Though it wasn't action packed as I think the next books in the series , I still believe it was awesome. I gave myself a pat on the back for fishing this in almost one sitting *had to stop because of supper and movie time*. The only thing I complain about is that it wasn't as action packed as I would of liked it to be. Also some stuff can be very obvious while other stuff that still hasn't fully been explain will keep you guessing. My Favorite character is of course Zoey for she's a amazing protagonist but I also lover her teacher Neferet for she seems like a interesting character. I really like the Erik + Zoey thing but I also hate it for I think Erik is a bit of a playboy. Heather *Zoey's Ex* is a bit annoying. I also wish Damien wasn't gay because for some odd reason I think he and Zoey would make a good pair, is that odd? Anyways I defiently recomend this to anyone. The mother and daughter duo *the authors* are amazing and really have created a wonderful start to what seems like a intriguing series and I can't wait to read the second one. ( )

Even though vampyres are a large part of everyday society - many famous actors, musicians, and artists can be found within their ranks - most people fear and downright hate them. So it's no surprise when Zoey Redbird is unexpectedly marked (a type of tattoo used to identify who and how advanced vampyres are) by the vampyre tracker at her school that her friends and ex-boyfriend are horrified by the change. Not to mention her mother and step-father who couldn't be more disgusted. Zoey's only support comes from her grandmother who takes her to the House of Night (or the Vampyre Finishing School) where she will be trained in all things bloodsucker. Just like any other new school, Zoey makes some new friends quickly and some enemies even faster. The beautiful Aphrodite (guess who chose her own name?) joined with her merry band of sycophants go out of their way to be cruel to Zoey, seeing her as an immediate threat to Aphrodite's domain. But Zoey is unique, specifically called by the goddess Nyx and given special powers that she isn't entirely sure about. All she knows is that she's there to make a change and that it won't be easy.The whole idea of a vampire finishing school is a interesting concept I just felt like some things were not explained as well as I would have liked (probably why it's a series). For example: Zoey is told she will get sicker and sicker until she goes to live at the House of Night after she is marked but no one explains why the house makes her better. They don't give any special medicine or make them drink blood yet so why the importance? Despite that, every character seems very real to me: I could hear Stevie Rae's twang and loved the Twins banter. Zoey was also great - full of self confidence but totally relaxed with friends. The only person who I felt was pretty darn flat was Erik Night - the hot guy who catches Zoey's eye. Not much too the boy besides being good looking. Maybe he'll get interesting in the coming books. My one major gripe with this book was how preachy it can be at times. Zoey goes off on little rants on a variety of topics including teenage drinking and drug use, makeup styles, cats, and even sexual practices which I felt were a little too pedantic for a teenager to be spouting off. Other than that it moved along at a nice clip - it just didn't wow me by any means. ( )

Young Adult Novel

‘Marked’ is the first book in the ‘House of Night’ series. I found no awards that the book had won or been nominated for, but did find MANY positive reviews.

In ‘Marked’ we are introduced to Zoe Redbird, a normal teenager who wants nothing more than to live her life as a normal teenager. Unfortunately for Zoe she is one of the marked, teens who have a crescent moon tattoo that appears on their forehead, marking them as a future vampire. Zoe has to give up her human lifestyle and move to the House of Night, a school for fledgling vampires. She leaves behind a less than supportive family (other than her grandmother) and an adoring boyfriend to venture into a world full of strangers and strange people where she must learn to follow the path of Nyx (the vampire Goddess). Zoe makes good friends and bad enemies while adjusting to her new life as a vampire.

‘Marked’ is a fast paced novel that has a main character it is easy for teens to identify with. Even after Zoe is marked as a fledgling she is subject to the normal teenage problems; boys, catty girls, boys, school, boys, and alienation from the adults in her life. This book continues the vampire rage started with ‘Twilight’, but the characters are more realistic and the story line is completely original – right down to the ‘rules’ that set the vampires apart from humans. I especially enjoyed the tattoos that mark the fledglings and adults, and the different abilities that each vampire manifests after they attain adulthood. These details really liven up the story; they keep the reader from skimming details that are oft repeated in most vampire stories. Cast brings her characters to life in a way rarely seen, especially in teen fiction. All in all this book was an excellent read – for adults as well as teens.

I picked up this book on a whim. It clearly has a target audience of adolescent girls, but I think some adults may enjoy it as well.

Apparently, there are vampyre "trackers" who mark certain people to attend the House of Night (vampyre finishing school?), who may or may not become full-fledged vampyres. If they don't, they die. Pure and simple. Or maybe not.....

This book has the stereo-typical teenaged characters: the mean and perfect Aphrodite and her gang, the friendly and countrified Stevie Rae, the nerd nobody likes, and, of course, our heroine Zoey, whose human best-friend is very much interested in Zoey's ex "almost" boyfriend, the uber-jock Heath.

I appreciated the Tulsa area references, since I am from NE OKlahoma and know the area. I didn't appreciate the obvious slamming of evangelical Christianity (even though there is much to slam them about). ( )

With more and more vampire novels emerging in the market, it’s no wonder if people are starting to get tired of this genre. The House Of Night series, however, is one of the few vampire novels that can keep readers interested in the literally soulless monsters.

What had captured my interest about this book was its premise, which contains elements from some of the bestselling novels of the decade, from Harry Potter (a school for vampires) to the Twilight saga (the romance). The characters are, sadly, so wafer thin you don’t really care about them. Even the Cast duo’s attempts to make their characters more interesting (a gay brainiac, soul twins) didn’t stir me up. I’m especially bored (not to mention a little disgusted) with Zoey, who can’t seem to swear properly (she says bullpoop instead of bullsh*t).

The plot, on the other hand, is superb. It’s well-paced, doesn’t meander much, and packs quite some action. The vampyre biology is also fascinating – in the series, vampirism can, to some extent, be explained by science, though it retains some supernatural elements. Individuals that are Marked becomes fledglings, and gains crescent moon symbol on their foreheads. If their bodies can’t accept the change, they will die. If they do successfully mature into vampyres, however, their crescent moon symbol expands into a series of intricate tattoos. Marked doesn’t reveal all of the vampyre mythology, leaving readers to discover more further on in the series.

Another detail that might appeal to readers is the cover. The fuchsia colour and black background gives the eyes and title a sort of fluorescent effect. The cover is also adhered with intricate designs, which I imagine to be what the tattoo of an adult vampyre looks like.

Overall, Marked is a good start to the House of Night series, and a refreshing change from other slow-paced vampire novels *cough The Twilight Saga cough*. With the right mix of romance, action and horror, Marked is sure to attract a wide range of readers. ( )

This book is shallow, trashy and badly-written. Somehow however, I loved it.

I nearly gave up on it completely by the end of the first chapter because the writing style was so immature and basic. I'm glad I didn't though - I got completely sucked in by the plot after I got past those aful first few chapters.

I couldn't put it down. After I finished, I went straight out and bought the next.

So buy it. Don't expect great literature, but it is worth a read. And don't expect it to be like Twilight - it's definitely not. ( )

The main hole in this book was the bitchy, unsympathetic, too-perfect-to-be-real main character. We're supposed to believe she's been specially chosen by the goddess for her mature, empathic spirit -- meanwhile she can't go two pages without bratting about her exciting new life, dismissing her roommate as low-class, condescending to the lone gay character, and making blatant and self-serving power plays. All this would be fine if she were meant to be a deliciously evil character, but we're supposed to believe she's somehow holier than all the other vamps. I didn't buy it. ( )

I couldn't put it down. To be honest the writing isn't amazing, and it is geared towards a YA audience so there are some immature plot-lines. (Let's face it , they're in High School) but I loved it. I read it in a day and then went back to Borders and picked up the next in the series. I did the same thing for a week until I read the whole series.

It's certainly not what I'd call literature, but it's a good series to sit back and simply enjoy. ( )

This is one of those rare books in which the protagonist is completely, utterly impossible to like. I can't stand the bitch. Whether by my own masochism or sadistic desire to inflict this book on friends, I managed to read it in its entirety, but I can't see how anyone could seriously enjoy reading about someone so self-absorbed and obnoxious, surrounded by other characters so ignorantly caricatured. I thought Twilight was possibly the worst Young Adult novel in existence before picking this book up. Obviously, I was wrong. ( )

I cant say that I didnt enjoy the book. BUT. I reread it and found it quite boring :(
It lost my intrest. The first time I read it ,I had read the third and fifth before it, I was so giddy, a girl with special powers, crappy parents, and a best friend to lean on when things got tough, and shes a VANPIRE GOING TO VAMPIRE SCHOOL! The story line was good, there were many usage errors thou, and it went out with a bang leaving teen readers (like me) wanting more. As the series goes on, this mother daughter duo get more of a feel for the story. When I read I imagine Im the character, and while reading this book I was scared, I mean, Im good at reading, and can usally decide wher a book is going, but I was drawing a blank. The climax of the book snuck up on me, like when Erik snuck up on Zoe, but I didnt 'fear' for the character, she was too perfect. The characters need more life and the plot needs more 'pizzaz'! Other than that the book was great and a very enjoyable read, I recomend it more for thouse how liked the 'Gifted' and 'Twilight' series. ( )

I’ve seen books from this series in the stores so often it was almost inevitable I’d end up reading them. I thought maybe I’d just try the one—hmm, isn’t that what I said about Twilight too? But the character and the voice have pulled me in; I suspect I’ll soon be back for more.

The world of this series is different from ours, in that vampyres (with a “y”) are creatures of everyday life, and magic is real. Of course, Harry Potter had magic too, but this is a more risqué invention, less global in its themes, and more specifically aimed at teens in the modern world.

Our famous poets, dramatists, Hollywood actors etc, are all probably vampyre in the House of Night world, which creates an interesting allegorical backdrop while you read. I like books that make me think: Religion vs. vampyric non-conformity; obedience vs. independent thought; rule-keeping vs. listening to intuition. Not all vampyres are good and those who fail do so in the same way as those who fail in religion, trying to use the power of their goddess, instead of letting her use them.

The authors imagine a religious establishment similar to that in Philip Pullman’s novels, but whereas Pullman’s anti-God theme sometimes seems take over while the story lags behind, the Cast’s theme serves simply as a reminder to think and look further. The vampyre goddess and her magic are firmly rooted in a fictional world, so I suspend disbelief and let them pull me in. Will Zoey learn to trust in her goddess, her powers, her friends, and finally herself? The story ends with a satisfying climax, but leaves intriguing doors open for more. It stands alone, but I suspect I’ll soon be back to check how the series follows it up. ( )

This is a terrible book. It is cliche and so horribly obvious that I couldn't get past five chapters. It is very clear that the author of this book was out to drive messages home to today's teens: intense organized religion: bad. Homosexuality: good. Fat/lazy people: bad. Paris Hilton: bad. Lots of make-up: bad. Eating all healthy food and chocolate only in moderation: good. The list could go on. I do not enjoy being preached at while I read and it was so clear that it was the author's intent that there were several times I was throwing the book down screaming in my head "not again!" There are no grey areas to her accusations either. All gay people are fantastic, all religious people are narrow-minded, etc... I will never pick up a book by this author again, simply terrible and offensive. ( )

This book was awesome! I mean, I've read a lot of vampire (or vampyre in this book) books, but I have to admit, this was one of the best!! It seriously kicks Twilight's butt! I always knew right from the start that Zoey was special, and that weird things were gonna happen to her! I mean, most of the time the things happen to the main characters, anyways! But I knew right from the start, when she saw the 2 kids messing around in the hall on her first day, that the girl was gonna end up as her enemy, and the boy was gonna end up as her boyfriend! But I never predicted the ending! That was just WAY cool! I loved this book! ( )

This book pretty much fit my expectations of a Twilight-era teen vampire series--a pretty engaging plot (one that teens seem to get "sucked into"), flat characters that fulfill certain roles within the story (including some very stereotypical characters in minority roles--"the African princess" or the gay boy who reassures Zoey that he won't want "to touch your boobies"), and a modern, sarcastic voice. The authors work a very pagan/wiccan angle into the vampyre boarding school, and I can see the appeal this type of ritualistic magic has for teens, as well as the idea of an underdog girl--Zoey Redbird--who is somehow special, the first fledgling ever to be marked so completely by the goddess Nyx and showing an affinity for all five elements. Zoey's powers are clearly just beginning to develop, and the mysterious setting of the House of Night offers a lot of potential for future adventures.

Personally, the flat prose and characterization and Zoey Redbird's moralizing voice made it hard for me to finish the book, but I can understand how it would appeal to teens looking for some mystery and mythology with their vampires. (And of course there was even romance!)

I hate to give bad reviews, but I can't give this book or this series a good one. I wanted to like it, it has wicca undertones and that's my religion, and it does have a somewhat original setup, but it was just almost painful to read. Grammatical and spelling errors aside, this book had no real meat to it. Characters and their relationships were shallow. The main character is infuriating and unlikable, and not in the "is unlikable because she's been through so much and has been made this way" fun unlikable way. She's just such a child and immature even for a teen. And she has the typical character-god phenomena poor writers have where they make their characters masters of everything so they will be gifted instead of making them have a unique voice of their own. It's like dragon ball z, where goku just becomes ridiculous because it gets out of control. The plot was not fleshed out either. It's like the author had no idea of grand scheme before she started. I've never seen such poor writing be published. I had hoped the series would mature some, so I read every book released to date, and it just was a waste of time. I would give it less stars, but I feel mean enough with the rating I gave. ( )

I was expecting another Twilight. Worse, I was fearing a Vampire Diaries- What I got though was something completely different. I loved the characters- and I'm glad that the publisher sent this in my direction. I think it was an excellent read. ( )

Enter the dark, magical world of the House of Night a world very much like our own, except here vampyreshave always existed. Sixteen-year old Zoey redbird has just been Marked as a fledglingvampyre and joins the House of Night, a school where she will train to becaome an adult vampyre. That is, if she makes it through the Change-and not all of those who are Marked do. It sucks to begin a new life, especially away from her friends, and on top of that, Zoey is no average fledgling. She has been chosen as special by the vampyre Goddess Nyx. Zoey discovers she has amazin powers, but along with her powers come bloodlust and an unfortunate ability to Imprint her human ex-boyfriend. To add to her stress, she is not the only fledgling at the House of Night with special powers. When she discovers that the leader of the Dark Daughters, the school's most elite group, is misusing her Goddess-given gifts, Zoey must look deep within herself for the courage to embrace her destiny-with a little help from her new vampyre friends. ( )

Written by a mother and daughter team, this is the first in a series called the 'House of Night'. In the Casts' world, teenagers are 'marked' to become vampires. It has a cracking opening line - "Just when I thought my day couldn't get any worse I saw the dead guy standing next to my locker." Zoey is picked to become a vampyre (yes, with a 'y'), the tracker marks her forehead and from that moment on her life changes.

She has to abandon everything and go to the 'House of Night' - the vampyre finishing school where they will take over her schooling and help her go through the change into becoming a vampyre. She's happy to leave her mother and her horrible new husband, but has to say goodbye to her Cherokee grandmother who lives out of town. While out looking for her Gran who is out in the hills, Zoey falls and has a vision from the vampyre goddess Nyx who asks her to be her eyes and ears at the House of Night. Once at school, she finds that she's the centre of attention, for the mark on her forehead has changed - it's different to all the other fledglings' ones, and not only is the headmistress Zoey's mentor, but the head girl Aphrodite is soon on her case!

What ensues is more of a typical boarding school novel with secret clubs, cliques and escapades, and all the stereotypes above are present too. Many have commented that there's a touch of Hogwarts about it with the pupils learning to be vampyres, but these teenaged vampyres' blood is full of raging hormones so it's definitely not suitable for younger teens. It was more fun and definitely has a better sense of humour than Twilight, but I don't feel the compulsive need to read more of the series, (well - maybe!). ( )

This book is mix between the Harry Potter and Twilight series. I finished this book in a day in a half. Once reading all of the introduction/opening part of the book, the plot gained momentum and the suspense increased three-fold, and the story line is very intriguing. Also, knowing beforehand that this is only book one out of nine total books, it leaves you with wanting to know what will happen next to Zoey. Please be aware that this is classified as a teenage fiction book, and some parts are very “young in age”, but this is how the author(s) wrote the book to read. If you did enjoy either Harry Potter or Twilight, I would recommend that you read this book. ( )

Reviewed by Jennifer Rummel for TeensReadToo.com

"Just when I thought my day couldn't get any worse, I saw the dead guy standing next to my locker."

The opening sentence hooks the reader; they will devour the whole book quickly and ask for more.

Zoey's life is about to change forever. She woke up one morning normal and by the end of the day she's been marked. Being marked indicates that she will turn into a vampire. She needs to leave her family and friends behind and start a new life with other marked teens at the House of Night. Zoey's never completely fit in, but now she might have a chance.

After a fight with her mother and stepfather, Zoey goes to her grandmother's house for advice. Before seeing her grandmother, Zoey has a vision of the Goddess Nyx, who states that she is special and names Zoey her personal eyes and ears in the world. Zoey faints, but not before the Goddess replaces her mark with a blue crescent, which is extremely rare.

When Zoey arrives at the House of Night, she finds herself the object of attention because of her crescent. Her roommate and her new acquaintances quickly find their way into Zoey's heart. She finds herself surrounded with friends for the first time, but she also encounters a powerful enemy. As her entire lifestyle changes, Zoey finds peace within herself as she accepts her destiny and steps up to challenge her enemy's misguided judgement.

If you like vampires and enjoy supernatural tales, you don't want to miss this first book in a great new series. ( )

i loved this book i couldn't put it down i read it in a day =D ( )

Zoey Redbird is the newest fledging at the House of Night, an academy where those Marked to be ‘vampyres’ either complete the change or die.

The characters in these books are caricatures, and I didn’t particularly enjoy the writing (it struck me as bland, repetitive and predictable).

However, there *is* a glimmer of something that does appeal to me in these books, because I am continuing with the series, and I do (almost in spite of myself) want to know what happens next. If you're not sure whether to continue with the series, I found that it did improve a little as I got further into it, although many of the things that bothered me in the first book did continue to bother me in later books ... ( )

Although I found the writing rather cliche, I really enjoyed this book. It was a young adult book in the style of the Hollows series - a little less sex and humor, a little more romance and boarding school drama.
I cannot believe the phrase "with great power comes great responsibility" was seriously used in the book. ( )

The real story started towards 3/4 f the book, unnecessary scenes, excessive pop culture citation, and under develop characters. The story does have a very interesting plot so I am hoping that this will get better. Reading the book was fun but the element of the usual fantasy-paranormal tenor was low for a second I thought I was reading Gossip Girls. There are reminders that they are vampire fledgling, no one will miss it. "Zoey and her Crescent Moon Mark" and that Zoey is special because the goddess vampire Nyx has chosen her. But other than that, it consist of complaints about raccoon eyes, hags from hell, drinking, smoking, sex, hypocrisy, etc..I get it that this book is more for the teenagers but it all sounds pretentious and Zoey is very Mary Sue that it contradicts with the bloodlust part and her raging hormones when she is near Erik. I wonder if the Mother-Daughter tandem in writing has anything to do with it.Let's talk about the Daughters of the Night. It was more of like a social circle for the rich, beautiful and snotty than an actual organization that insinuates importance. So stripping Aprodithe of her power to lead that group was a nice touch, so I am giving this series another try, in the hopes that Zoey's character exceeds expectations that would really make a difference in her vampire world. ( )

Behold! My first teen vampire book. I hereby dub it, 'Literary crack'. ( )