Book Review: Awakened (House of Night #8) by PC and Kristin Cast

Summary: 

At the start of Awakened, the pulse-pounding eighth installment of the bestselling House of Night series, Zoey has returned, mostly whole, from the Otherworld to her rightful place as High Priestess at the House of Night. Her friends are just glad to have her back, but after losing her human consort, Heath, will Zoey—or her relationship with her super- hot Warrior, Stark—ever be the same? Stevie Rae is drawn even closer to Rephaim, the Raven Mocker with whom she shares a mysterious and powerful Imprint, but he is a dangerous secret that isolates her from her school, her red fledglings, and even her best friends. When the dark threat of Neferet—who is coming closer and closer to achieving her twisted goal of immortality—and Kalona returns, what will it take to keep the House of Night from being lost forever, and what will one desperate girl do to keep her heart from being irreparably broken?

Review: 
You could have knocked me over with a feather after I closed the cover of Awakened.  And considering my eight months pregnant body, that's saying a lot.  I sped through this book, partly because of the fast-paced plot and partly because I was experiencing the "car-wreck" phenomenon.  I had that feeling of not being able to look away from something gruesome because of the sheer entertainment value.  Sad, but true.  I read Awakened solely because I got it for free from my library.  I swore after Burned that I would not be buying any more House of Night books, and I plan to keep that oath.

One of my main complaints about the House of Night series is the inappropriateness for young adults.  If I'm reading adult fiction, I expect sex scenes.  I expect (although I don't like it) bad language.  I expect some raunchiness when I pick up a romance novel.  I expect some gore when I read thrillers.  I don't expect any of these things from YA, and that's why I like YA.  I like reading clean books, books without any of the more adult themes and scenes.  I read adult fiction from time to time to prevent burnout, but I like my YA pretty clean.  So many YA authors have written great YA novels while staying appropriate for the genre, like Richelle Mead, Stacey Benefiel, Rachel Vincent, Jennifer Echols, Cassandra Clare, and Alex Flinn, to name a few. However, the Casts are not included in that list.

This series started off raunchy (remember the scene in Marked where Aphrodite is on her knees in front of Eric in the hall?) and instead of getting back on track, the Casts have totally derailed into overt obscenity.  I might have been able to forgive some of the lewdness in light of a great plot and excellent writing.  However, those two elements are missing from Awakened, and the series as a whole.

**Spoiler Alert**
Besides the sex scenes starting on the first page of the book,  there were some things that really bothered me about Awakened.  I'm going to summarize to keep this review from getting too long:

• The Casts seem to be poking fun at Christianity.  The white and dark bulls, John Heffer being caught in his office with his pants around his ankles and his secretary bent over his desk despite being a church elder, the feel of black magic in the series, all of this combined feels like a parody of Christianity.  I don't like that.
• These books are taking themselves way too seriously.  Zoey starts out as a popular girl dating a jock in Marked, and less than a few months later, she's a High Priestess.  High Priestess of what, exactly?  Just because she can cast a circle?  That seems more "witchy" than vampire to me.
• Kalona entering Stark's body while Stark and Zoey are in bed together screams "statutory rape" to me. 
• I know the Casts would say it's all in the interpretation if they were ever questioned, but there's NO WAY you could tell me that Neferet does not have sex with the white bull.  What else can these quotes mean?

First, an awakening of attraction between Neferet and Darkness:

"His nose did not quite touch her delicate skin, but he inhaled her scent and then his cold breath released, surrounding Neferet, caressing her most sensitive places, awakening her most secret desires."

"The bull's tongue snaked out.  He licked Neferet's naked flesh, causing her to gasp in exquisite pain as her body trembled with excitement."

"'I would willingly accept any favor Darkness would do for me.'  The bull's knowing chuckle rumbled through her mind." 

Then, while Neferet is preparing her human sacrifice to Darkness:

"You shall pay me later, my heartless one, rumbled through her mind.  Neferet shivered in anticipation."

Later, as the human is being sacrificed:

"The bull moaned in pleasure.  When the human was drained to a husk of herself, and the bull was thrumming and swollen with her death, Neferet gave herself to Darkness, utterly and completely."  

Lastly, after Neferet "gave herself to Darkness":

"Her body ached, but Neferet didn't mind.  The truth was, she enjoyed the pain...Neferet ignored the gore that covered her skin."

To me, there is no mistaking that the Casts have decided to make bestiality a part of the series.  This was totally unnecessary and uncalled for.  It ruined the book for me and made me feel tainted.
**End Spoiler Alert**

Just One Gripe: 
See above!

The Best Thing About This Book: 
I had complaints about the content of Burned as well as the lack of plot.  Awakened did have a much better plot and more action in it than Burned, but I just couldn't get past the lewdness.

Appropriate for a younger audience: 
No!  The content of the last two books has kept me from recommending the series as a whole.

Score: 

Characters: 1/5

Plot: 2/5

Setting/Imagery: 1/5

Originality: 1/5

Ending: 2/5

Total Score:  7/25