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Белязана (House of Night #1)

by P.C. Cast (Goodreads Author), Kristin Cast

3.79 of 5 stars 3.79 · rating details · 187,590 ratings · 9,259 reviews

Потопете се в мрачния свят на Дома на нощта. Свят като нашия, но с една разлика – вампирите съществуват.

Шестнайсетгодишната Зоуи току-що е Белязана и трябва да постъпи в Дома на нощта – мистичното училище за вампири. Тук тя ще премине през Промяната, която не всички Белязани преживяват. Нечовешко е да започнеш нов начин на живот, без старите си приятели. Зоуи обаче открива...more

Paperback, 280 pages

Published 2009 by Софтпрес (first published May 1st 2007)

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Dec 07, 2012 Kira rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: People I hate with every fiber of my being

Recommended to Kira by: Um...well, Jon, apparently

Shelves: ya, books-to-use-as-weapons, vampire-crap, made-no-sense, train-wreck-romance, tstl-heroine, lost-the-will-to-live, will-never-ever-finish, go-choke-on-your-sexism, argh-you-made-me-cry, lolwut, made-me-want-to-choke-myself, papa-dont-preach, purity-myth-crap, so-boring-i-ate-my-own-face, your-slut-shaming-is-disgusting, will-read-for-all-the-wrong-reasons, wtf-is-this-racist-crap

I'm trying hard to remember the last time I read a book this bad. Needless to say, I'm not having much success. I'm pretty sure this one trumps Halo and Fallen in the Should Never Have Been Published In This Universe category.

Hurrah for the Cast ladies!

Oh, I made a valiant effort, I really did. It's not like I gave up lightly. I borrowed it from the library, sure that since it was written by two authors, there couldn't possibly be room for errors! Right?

Oh, God, wrong! Wrong! So wrong! So incred...more

409 likes · like · see review

Sep 18, 2011 Kat Kennedy rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: books-that-deserve-painful-death, kat-s-rants, just-plain-bad, kat-s-book-reviews

When I went to read this book, I first checked out the reviews to see what I was in for. I was led to believe that this book was going to be bad by the sheer number of people who came to commiserate with me. Few books have ever drawn such a crowd of victims to console one another. And can anyone wonder why when this book reads like a thirteen year old's badly executed wetdream?

I have a theory though. Bear with me. I think we've all been reading this book wrongly am I'm willing to prove it.

It see...more

312 likes · like · see review

Jun 28, 2012 Haleema rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: What is this? Recommend it to someone? NEVER!

Shelves: need-my-nutella, snape-disapproves, bull-shawarma, thats-not-writing, its-so-stupid-it-hurts, oh-not-again, i-knew-it, characters-are-half-troll, what-a-joke, brain-cells-went-bye-bye, author-y-u-no-destroyed, must-meet-author, book-coma, half-wit-heroine, hating-with-all-my-hate, just-begging-for-snark, my-vomit-is-nicer, what-the-falafel

I am currently suffering from PTJRARCBD.

Post Traumatic Just Read A Really Crappy Book Disorder

July 8-12. Worst five days of my entire life.

Warning: This review is just me being... really mad. In no way will this review sound intelligent. So if you wish to continue, do it. I'm just letting out all my feelings here.

I don't think I can read another book in a long time. I picked up The Piper's Son by Melina Marchetta a few days ago. However, there is no progress. I haven't started reading it. I c...more

183 likes · like · see review

Apr 15, 2013 Nessa rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction, not-my-cup-of-earl-grey-tea

A little while ago, I bought a battered old vampire novel for £1.50 from a charity shop. Yet the moment I started posting that I was reading it on GoodReads?

'RUN AWAY WHILE YOU CAN!'

'THIS BOOK WAS AWFUL, YOUR EYEBALLS ARE GOING TO BLEED OUT OF YOUR SKULL!'

'DROP IT RIGHT NOW. YOU'LL BE SO MUCH HAPPIER IF YOU NEVER READ THIS PIECE OF CRAP.'

'YOU POOR THING, I'LL BE PRAYING FOR YOU EVERY NIGHT!'

...Or something akin to that.

And were my friends right?

YES. Yes they were. This book is absolutely atrocio...more

91 likes · like · see review

May 04, 2011 Saniya(Will Herondale is mine) rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: bought-from-library, vampires

Lets get straight to the point here.
This book was weird, disgusting and epic fail at the same time.
Let me tell you the whole story in pictures.
Enjoy :)
(I don't know why, but some of the pics are not coming, sorry for that!)

MARKED -THE REAL STORY.
Once upon a time, there was this stupid, smart-ass girl named Zoey who was marked as a vampyre. But don't worry my fellow readers! She was special ...in failing.

Then this fail-example-of-women got an annoying boyfriend, Heath who is always drunk >.<...more

71 likes · like · see review

Nov 02, 2008 Tiffany rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: nobody.

Read about half of it. Hated it. I'm returning the rest to the library.

The authors tried to make so many references to pop culture, they sounded ridiculous, and then were even proud of themselves for "sounding like teenagers," as they stated in the preface. Dumb. They tried to make moral lessons out of the life of this "fledgling," and had her reject things like Paris Hilton's weight, oral sex amongst teenagers, and Ashton Kutcher unfortunately liking older women. Oh, and the world was separated...more

188 likes · like · see review

Feb 02, 2009 Elizabeth rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2009, vamps-and-other-mythical-beasts, reviewed, fantasy-sci-fi, the-knights-who-say-meh

Are you a slut? Take this quick quiz:

1. Have you kissed a boy outside your dorm after he walks you home?
2. Does your skirt hike up a little if you’ve climbed up a fence and are perched on top?
3. Do you wear make-up?
4. Do you want to make out with a boy after only knowing him two days?
5. Do you dance in public?

If you’ve answered yes to any of these questions, then, according to P.C. Cast (and her daughter), yes, you are a slut. High-five! I think they just described every woman who either didn’t...more

295 likes · like · see review

Jan 28, 2012 Aura rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: horrible

**For more reviews, contests, interviews, book news and more go to my blog:

http://theheelshaveeyes.wordpress.com/

Shambles, an absolute bloody shambles is how I can best describe this book.I don’t know what was worse, the tacky and unsympathetic attitude towards eating disorder victims, the blasé attitude towards male rape (the hallway scene, imagine the gender roles reversed and you’ll see how sexist it is) , or the constant usage of the words slut and hoe, oh yeah what a great example we’re set...more **For more reviews, contests, interviews, book news and more go to my blog:

http://theheelshaveeyes.wordpress.com/

Shambles, an absolute bloody shambles is how I can best describe this book.I don’t know what was worse, the tacky and unsympathetic attitude towards eating disorder victims, the blasé attitude towards male rape (the hallway scene, imagine the gender roles reversed and you’ll see how sexist it is) , or the constant usage of the words slut and hoe, oh yeah what a great example we’re setting for young girls. Call each other degrading terms because women are apparently so empowered now it doesn't matter. This book is just vile, and worse still it's aimed at teens.These so called writers should be ashamed of themselves, even worse it’s going to be turned into a movie and possibly shoved in our faces for a decade. This is of course, the first book in a series of about 10 or 11, I’m not even sure it’s even finished.

I can see why people are going to get sucked into this, as I almost was, but do yourself a favour, fully analyse the sick values in this book and you will begin to see where I am coming from….as well as hate yourself for at some point having liked it.

I think the success of this series comes down to crafty marketing, nice covers and the brain-dead masses.

This book is a weapon of mass destruction to anyone who dare reads it, if you hated Bella Swan, you’re going to want to throw the main protagonist Zoey Redbird on a train track. The clichés in this book made me roll my eyes every two seconds;the dumb blonde and her two ugly sisters, the quiet geeky girl who puts up with the crap from the dumb blonde. I could go on, but I can’t be bothered.

Do not read this book, unless you genuinely want to waste 306 pages of reading time.I was going to stop giving bad reviews to books I don’t like because I hate the idea of putting books down, but future victims of bad reviews, can have this book to thank.

Oh and one more thing, there is one line that truly, truly PISSED ME OFF!!

'Two girls were standing behind her, dressed in much the same way. One was black, with impossibly long hair (must be a really good weave).'

WTF, how terribly offensive, plenty of black women grow their hair out naturally and very long. Not all of them wear weaves or even want to, so to suggest that long straight hair is somehow more superior and beautiful than curly afro hair is just rude.

Best selling authors, HA! This whole series is a joke, whoever thought it was a good idea to turn it into a movie should have the blood sucked out of them.
(less)

22 likes · like · see review

Dec 06, 2008 faeriemyst rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: paranormal, young-adult-fiction, vampires, brain-candy, young-adult-paranormal, witchy-business, library-loan, abandoned-series, perfect-people-should-be-vaporized

NOTE: I read this way back in 2008 and I have a feeling I wouldn't like it so much now, if at all. Take my review with a grain of salt.

Admittedly deeper than my last read (Glass Houses by Rachel Caine), it's still in the same basic genre that I felt like reading at this time. Even though Zoey is a bit of a Mary-Sue character (practically perfect in every way), I still liked her, and it probably helped it was written in first person so that I could read her insecurities and such. I loved the basi...more

18 likes · like · see review

Jun 30, 2012 Wildbriar rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Absolutely nobody

Shelves: sheer-morbid-curiosity, scathing-reviews-are-hilarious, vampires, approach-with-caution, characters-to-be-keelhauled, cover-designer-should-be-shot, covers-that-are-lazy-and-generic, definitely-not-shakespeare, disliked, dont-even-go-there, exciting-as-dishwater, heroes-of-stupidity, heroines-with-empty-skulls, irritating-heroines, kit-set-stories, missing-half-their-heads, oh-my-god-why, pathetic-hero-or-heroine, reviewed, shallow, somewhat-pretentious, truly-wretched, waste-of-paper, wasted-opportunity, where-the-real-horror-lies, why-the-hell-did-i-read-this, writing-that-makes-me-cringe, appalling-character-names, no-real-emotion, unrealistic-insta-love, wary-of-disappointment, you-have-got-to-be-kidding-me, utterly-dismal, brick-wall-meet-my-head, alien-life-forms, loathe-with-endless-loathing

To be quite honest, I almost don't know what to say, or how to say it. I read just under half of Marked this morning, then set it gently aside and stared at the wall in a numb silence for a while. Perhaps, in hindsight, I should have thrown it. Marked is, quite simply, the worst book I have ever read in my entire life. Forget one star, this book has achieved negative stars from me.

The horror began with the Acknowledgements. P.C. Cast actually thanked her daughter for making sure they sounded li...more
To be quite honest, I almost don't know what to say, or how to say it. I read just under half of Marked this morning, then set it gently aside and stared at the wall in a numb silence for a while. Perhaps, in hindsight, I should have thrown it. Marked is, quite simply, the worst book I have ever read in my entire life. Forget one star, this book has achieved negative stars from me.

The horror began with the Acknowledgements. P.C. Cast actually thanked her daughter for making sure they sounded like teenagers. She actually thanked – for making sure – excuse me please while I go and die in a corner. I didn't exactly laugh, but the further I got into this book, the more horribly ironic that comment became. I have never heard teenagers speak this way, and with such unrelenting consistency. And all the pathetic pop culture name-dropping! Cease. And. Desist. Please! And so the hell never ended, from the Acknowledgements to page 117, where I gave up.

One of the author comments on the back proclaims Marked's hot and funny darkness. Er...only in the way your house goes dark during a powercut; it's intensely irritating, you feel like you can't live like this any longer and you'd do anything to get the electricity back on. You start to go mad, losing your mind as you bump into walls trying to find where you left your last remaining torch with full batteries. It's about as funny as stubbing your toes on the corner of a shelf, several times in a row. That is what it was like reading Marked, painfully navigating my way through it trying to find a plot, character development, tension, excitement, drama, hell anything! The characters, I loathed the characters! Caricatures, the lot of them, and I hated them all, right down to the very last one. I am not going to go into all the tiny details that made me want to kill somebody, but I can at least say that I have finally found a protagonist that I hate more than Nora Grey and Bella Swan. There is nothing in Zoey's head, nothing, except for rotting goo and the odd dead centipede. I could hear my brain cells screaming in protest as they were forced, time and time again, to read each heinous sentence, each word of gut-wrenchingly awful dialogue.

Never in a million years did I think I would advocate World Book Burning Day, but if we had one Marked should be the first to go up in smoke; off to Tree Heaven, free at last from being bound in this absolute travesty of a book.(less)

19 likes · like · see review

Nov 01, 2010 Lisa rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: No one

Recommended to Lisa by: The masochist in me

Shelves: couldn-t-finish, hated-with-all-of-my-hate, 1-books, vampires-and-wannabe-vamps, bad-romance, masochistastic, young-adult

This was how the book started. The first two pages literally went like this:

Tweeny 1: "ZOMG like -insert some teeny bs gossip here-"

Tweeny 2: "ZOMG like no! -more teeny gossip and more OMGs-"

Tweeny 1: "ZOMG like yeah."

All of a sudden some macho vamp guy stands in the hallway, points at teeny no #1 and is like "ZOEY YOU HAVE BEEN CHOSEN TO BE THE MAIN CHARACTER IN A BOOK THAT IS SO NOT TRYING TO BE LIKE TWILIGHT BUT YEAH YOU HAVE BEEN CHOSEN."

Then they're like "ZOMG YOU HAVE BEEN CHOSEN."

Tweeny 1...more

98 likes · like · see review

Oct 07, 2011 Simcsa rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy-paranormal, vampires, supernatural-creatures, read-in-2011, witches-wizards, angels-demons-gods, not-gonna-continue-with-the-series

1.5 stars

Zoey, you're such a hypocrite.

"Eww! Heath, fat! Not a visual I want.”
I managed to ignore another urge to cough. "And kissing him is like sucking on alcohol-soaked feet.”
K scrunched up her face. "Okay, sick. Too bad he's so hot.”
I rolled my eyes, not bothering to try to hide my annoyance at her typical shallowness.

Shallowness? You should remember why you date him, Zoey! Because he is so smart and honest? Because you can always rely on him? Oh no wait! I know. Because he is always complim...more

8 likes · like · see review

Jul 12, 2012 Mel (who is deeply in love with Hal) rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The easiest rating I've ever given a book. Let us please bury the fact I gave Marked four stars upon first reading; I was only 14 or 15 at the time and in that stage of adolescence-- the fangirling, over-excitable stage which no person wants to look back on. Gah. So embarrassing.

But then, a few days ago, I stumbled upon Marked again in the library. I was curious as to what I'd think of the book now I'd grown up a bit (in both senses of the word). And my brother was still trying to hunt down a bi...more

22 likes · like · see review

Sep 23, 2008 kate Gauldin rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This was a really quick read, made even quicker by skipping over the pages of repetitive neo-pagan-vampyre rituals (which I could have done entirely without). The author is clearly trying to win over the wiccan-teen demographic, while appealing to those who loved the Twilight series.

What bugged me most about this one was the author's attempt to address every controversial teen issue imaginable, while instilling good morals without being condescending. She managed, but honestly, the random comme...more

40 likes · like · see review

Oct 31, 2008 Jackie rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: pleasure-reading, vamps-and-other-paranormal-pleasure, series, ya, 5-star

Oh, I liked this book SOOOOOOOOO much better than the Stephanie Meyer series--these kids are smarter, more diverse, less whiny and far more intersting. Add to that a new version of vampirism, and it's a completely winning combination. The story telling is top notch, the characters are interesting, and the book is compelling start to finish. I can't wait to dive into the next in this series!

And I have to admit I'm intrigued by the concept of a mother/daughter writing team, especially such a succe...more

92 likes · like · see review

Jul 18, 2008 Britt rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy-sci-fi, fiction, ya, identity

Typical teen story in which there is a black and white delineation between the heroes and the villains, and you will never mistake one for the other. Our heroine comes from a troubled family, longs for a place to belong, is marked as incredibly and shockingly extraordinary amongst her new peers, butts heads with the queen of the school who is also the flatly drawn villainess, immediately catches the eye of the hottest guy at school who is also the ex of our villainess, shows remarkable powers an...more Typical teen story in which there is a black and white delineation between the heroes and the villains, and you will never mistake one for the other. Our heroine comes from a troubled family, longs for a place to belong, is marked as incredibly and shockingly extraordinary amongst her new peers, butts heads with the queen of the school who is also the flatly drawn villainess, immediately catches the eye of the hottest guy at school who is also the ex of our villainess, shows remarkable powers and wields them with a confidence and skill even the most advanced prodigy would not have after one day in a new world with new rules (after suffering from slight self-esteem issues easily erased by her upbeat and encouraging friends), and is wise beyond her years leading her to take on the benevolent savior leader role amongst her friends and eventually the entire school.

The author captures the teenage voice well enough (though it did seem she was trying a bit hard at times), but all the pop culture references got annoying. Also, while she did sound like a teenager, the narrator’s voice irritated me. She spent a good deal of time passing harsh judgments against particular types of people and behavior. Girls who wear lots of makeup are losers (as are a great many other people throughout the book). Teenagers drinking and smoking is horrifying and disgusting. Wanting to kiss someone you are attracted to apparently makes you a slut. She dislikes one of her classmates because he is not only annoying but also unattractive. While I am not saying that teenagers having sex and drinking and smoking is a good thing, I felt this moralizing had more to do with the author wanting the kiddies to know how dirty these things are than with the character really holding these opinions. It felt that her reaction to them was more immature than the character the author wanted us to see.

Also, not a fan of all the hatred for religion. More of the author pushing her point of view than creating anything compelling within the story. What does this really add? Nothing that couldn’t have been done some other way.

The author does more telling than she should, which always annoys me. You don’t need to tell me that you hate homophobes; I can tell that by the way you’re speaking about their intolerance. You don’t need to tell me you’re a dork; I can tell that by the Star Trek sweatshirt you wear. You definitely don’t need to tell me that you have no choice in being the villainess because that is the role you are meant to play, I can tell that by reading the rest of the book. Also not cool? Defining words within the text. Not necessary! Are we writing an SAT prep novel? No!

I am getting a bit tired of the vampires who are so much more powerful, beautiful, intelligent, wonderful than humans and have all these amazing abilities and gifts. This just makes it too easy to use these abilities to get out of whatever trouble pops up in the story. Neferet showing up at the Samhain ritual? Why would she? Because she’s intuitive? I’m not buying it. It’s just too convenient.

Ok, so, those are some pretty negative bits that I did not like about the book, but I did enjoy it overall. I do like the vampires the author created. I like that becoming a vampire is a biological change that your body could reject, thus killing you. I like that they are mortal and just have a longer life span than humans. I like that they can go out during the day, it’s just really uncomfortable. I like that they have a vampire school. I like that they are part of society, excelling in the arts. I like that vampires have a matriarchal society. I think the mixture of the goddess and vampirism is interesting. I like the main character’s new friends. The concept is interesting and fun, and I will probably pick up the sequels at work tomorrow.(less)

21 likes · like · see review

Aspenokeefe I agree for the most part, but I do have to disagree with your first sentence here...
"Typical teen story in which there is a black and white delineati...more
Mar 08, 2010 05:43pm

Brittany I agree with you on all of it. I have to dissagree with Aspenokeefe only because as a writer you should never justify what you do in one book with "we...more
Apr 12, 2011 06:00pm

Britt Yes! It was absolutely weird that she's hardly there any time and is put in such a leadership position. I find it difficult to believe there was NOBOD...more
Apr 13, 2011 10:05pm

Aug 01, 2012 Creator (of epicness) rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

THE CASTS , I NEED TO SAY ONE THING ...

description

Zoey , you have problems with your friends ? Then why are you friends with them ??? Look after reading this , I was just like ...

description

I AM OFFENDED BY THIS BOOK . I AM 14 , SO IT IS AIMED FOR MY AGE GROUP , BUT IF PEOPLE THINK THIS IS WHAT TEENAGERS NEED TO BE READING THINK AGAIN. WE CAN ENJOY CLASSICS , WE DON'T ONLY READ RECYCLED TWILIGHT GARBAGE . IF I NEVER PICK UP A BOOK LIKE THIS , IT WILL BE TOO SOON.
(I gave up these books , but Kira's review provides exa...more

24 likes · like · see review

Feb 17, 2013 Luz Balthasaar rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Karena diiming-imingin "Psst, ini ada buku Snark Bait loh!" oleh Mbak Kencana waktu saia nulis repiu Dunsa di Fikfanindo, saia berusaha nyari buku ini. Berhubung iming-iming dimaksud menjanjikan bacaan yang secara halus bisa saia sebut, "nggak gitu bagus." saia rada kurang rela mesan khusus. Nggak nyangka, ternyata saia dapat terjemahannya sebagai hadiah dari Ther Melian Fan Fiction Contest.

Panitia lomba, makasih ya, hehehe~ *muuuuahhhhh*

Nah. Bagaimana kesan saia setelah baca? Kalau ini kopi, m...more

7 likes · like · see review

Dec 01, 2010 Mara rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: vampires, young-adult, dropped-series, did-not-finish, 2010

This book basically screams its own elevator pitch at you on the first page: vampire finishing school. Of course, in that regard it's not very original. I don't know why they were so excited. Besides, before there were vampire finishing schools there were wizard finishing schools and seriously can we all get over the finishing/boarding school fixation now?

Whatever. Let's meet Zoey, an incredibly annoying teen from Broken Arrow, a suburb of Tulsa, Oklahoma. There was a small, reluctant side of m...more This book basically screams its own elevator pitch at you on the first page: vampire finishing school. Of course, in that regard it's not very original. I don't know why they were so excited. Besides, before there were vampire finishing schools there were wizard finishing schools and seriously can we all get over the finishing/boarding school fixation now?

Whatever. Let's meet Zoey, an incredibly annoying teen from Broken Arrow, a suburb of Tulsa, Oklahoma. There was a small, reluctant side of me that appreciated this setting given that I grew up on the Oklahoma side of Arkansas, which, for reasons I will never understand, always thought it was far superior. Unfortunately the setting is completely wasted on the House of Night, your typical gloomy/mysterious boarding school.

The usual plot comes along to inform me that Zoey has been marked to become a "vampyre" seemingly randomly one day at school, receiving a mystical tattoo that makes her feel like more of a freak than normal (despite the fact that she's possibly dating the school's quarterback). Her best friend (who she apparently secretly loathes because she has not one good thing to say about her) abandons her. Her mother (again, not one good thing to say) and "step-loser" (I'll let you figure that out) collectively freak out and call the faith squad, a group of ultra religious maniacs, because in House of Night world there are only vampyres and religious lunatic humans who are of one faith. How convenient for everyone! So Zoey ditches her "family" and goes to visit her grandmother, where she passes out and has a goddess vision or something because she's so uber special.

Zoey is really the last main character in the history of paranormal YA that I would consider capable of being special. She's off giggling in parentheses about boobs and "poopie" and I literally wanted her to fall off a cliff. I will freely admit that lots of YA is populated by way too serious female characters with no personality, but Zoey's airhead stupidity is not the solution (nor is it a personality).

After about a hundred pages of pop culture references, really blatant moments where the authors(s) reveal their opinions, morals, and how much they're trying ever so hard to appeal to teens (yes, teens know about blowjobs and they're pretty sure they turn girls into sluts!), and the introduction of plenty of characters as ridiculous as Zoey, I decided I was wasting my time.

One thing I will say, however, is that this book did remind me of the term "roper." I mildly appreciated that.(less)

20 likes · like · see review

Sep 15, 2012 Talía rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: mjmjmj, no-way-shit, so, yeah-aha, never-again

This book bothered me for three main reasons:
Reason number one: their writing.
This was the stupidest writing EVER. I know they wanted Zoe to sound like a teenager, but man, teenagers do not sound like a stupid high pitched bitch who talks nonsense all the time:
I mean,hello
You cannot write like that!!!! You cannot write the same freaking way you speak, that is the number one rule for everyone, not just writers:

I’m like, omg, hello! That whore was a nut case and I so wanted to...

NO!!!!!
Why?
1. As I...more

12 likes · like · see review

Dec 16, 2012 Mersini rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: paranormal-fiction, young-adult, vampire-fiction, to-set-on-fire

I wanted to like this book. I really did. Seeing that it copped a lot of shit from other goodreads users, I tried to go in keeping an open mind; it couldn't possibly be that bad, right?

Except it was.

I wanted to set it on fire from the very outset. My opinion didn't change very much.

The plot, though not particularly original, was the best part of the novel; it's a shame it was supported by a cast of weak, whiny characters, poor writing and an attitude which sets feminism back 50 years. The world,...more I wanted to like this book. I really did. Seeing that it copped a lot of shit from other goodreads users, I tried to go in keeping an open mind; it couldn't possibly be that bad, right?

Except it was.

I wanted to set it on fire from the very outset. My opinion didn't change very much.

The plot, though not particularly original, was the best part of the novel; it's a shame it was supported by a cast of weak, whiny characters, poor writing and an attitude which sets feminism back 50 years. The world, or what glimpses of it we got in between slut shaming and the main character, Zoey, calling people weird and worrying about her typical, blonde-haired, popular girl arch nemesis, Aphrodite, was fantastic. Vampire finishing school! There is so much that could go on there, so much potential, which unfortunately, lies completely ignored by PC Cast and her daughter Kristen.

The thing which brings the whole novel down is the characterisation of Zoey.Yes, she's seemingly perfect. That I could deal with (see Patrick Rothfuss' "The Name of the Wind"). But her inability to use words which are not "dork", "freak" or "weird" is incredibly difficult to get past. She's supposed to be 16 years old, yet still uses words like "poopie". I don't know any 16 year old who would ever freely admit that they use words like that, and I've known some very immature 16 year olds. Perhaps if Zoey were 12, as she is seemingly written, this could have been gotten away with.

And then of course, there is the slut shaming. I don't know about you, but I feel that use of "slut" or "ho" (which made its first appearance in this book in chapter 1, no less), destroy the new image feminists have been trying to create for women since the 1960s. What are words like that but a conformation to the patriarchal society. I do remember one instance where Zoey mentions not being under the rule or oppression of a man, yet she is constantly barricading the walls which support that system. Perhaps this idea is prevalent in society, but as a novelist, Cast should have been more aware of what she was doing when she was writing this novel, especially one aimed at teenagers and young adults. Perhaps she would benefit from a brief course in gender studies. Perhaps many YA authors would benefit. After all, these novels are going to be the building blocks for a new society - the least they can do is make sure that they're sporting the right attitude. If anything, this novel can be used as an example of the failings of feminism.

And women are not the only ones who suffer a blow in this novel. Damien, one of Zoey's new friends is the token gay boy of the group. Way to go, Cast, you've entirely written a character who conforms to the sexual stereotype. Apart from his sexuality, Damien seems to provide nothing.

But wait, there's more. Southern gal Stevie Rae is another prop in this story. Yes, prop, not character. It seems none of Zoey's friends serve a purpose other than to support her. Stevie Rae provides some comic relief and colours the novel with her Oklahoma drawl, which Zoey, despite also growing up in Oklahoma, is conspicuously missing. Another point to you, Cast, for once again reinforcing stereotypes.

The writing itself doesn't even seem to try. Apart from the terrible characterisation, the novel reads as if a 14 year old girl wrote it; poor grammar and syntax, repetition of mundane words and a huge lack of detail are rampant. And PC Cast is supposed to be a writing teacher! All I can say is that she probably couldn't teach me anything, if this is the best she can do. This novel is the equivalent of a piece of quickly written first draft; a first draft which would then be just as quickly thrown in the bin to be replaced by a much more refined piece of writing.

This entire novel is worthy of nothing but being bonfire fuel.

And to her legion of readers, all I can say is "bah!". Most likely they're a horde of teenagers who have never read anything better than Twilight and who don't know the difference between a well written story and a good idea. I advise they pick up a better vampire novel, like Anne Rice's "Interview with a Vampire". Or if that's too hard, try Cassandra Clare.
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Mar 04, 2012 Danielle (Devourer of Books) rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: i-hate-this-book, vampires, myths-and-gods, boarding-school, annoying-character-s, good-lord-wtf-is-this, not-my-cup-of-tea, covers-that-make-you-go-ughhh, i-had-high-hopes-for-this, i-cant-believe-i-actually-read-this

Okay, I'm going to be posting gifs on this review because this book was just too much.
My overall expression after reading up to 150 pages:

I wish I could give this 'no star' or something of the sort. I don't even know where to begin with this 'book'. It was retched, horrible, disdainful, etc. etc. P.C. Cast as well as her daughter's writing is childish. All the girls had blonde hair (auburn-blonde, strawberry-blonde, blonde, curly blonde, etc.) it's irritating and the only girl, besides Zoey, tha...more

21 likes · like · see review

May 16, 2011 Annie rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: The slum of society

Shelves: vampires, crap

This is – literally – the worst (published) book I have ever read in my life. Every time I so much as think about this book, or this series in general, I suddenly have the urge to take a nine iron to an old lady, or set a kitten on fire or something else just as random and pointless that won’t actually solve my hatred towards this piece of crap but will help release some of my anger because Zoey is only a fictional character and I can’t actually kill her will a dull axe. *deep breath* It’s times...more This is – literally – the worst (published) book I have ever read in my life. Every time I so much as think about this book, or this series in general, I suddenly have the urge to take a nine iron to an old lady, or set a kitten on fire or something else just as random and pointless that won’t actually solve my hatred towards this piece of crap but will help release some of my anger because Zoey is only a fictional character and I can’t actually kill her will a dull axe. *deep breath* It’s times like these where unpublished authors know they stand a chance: if shit like this cannot only be published but actually become incredibly popular, you know you could write a bestseller in a COMA.

There’s no need to mention the writing is atrocious; anybody who picks it up will tell you that. Every single character has a voice that’s like nails on a chalkboard. You know Janice, from “Friends”? Yeah, that’s the voice I give to Zoey. Totally fits, doesn’t it? Everything about this book screams juvenile, and I’m not talking about that preteen way which is fine, if this book is written for that age group, it’s just plain stupid. Sixteen year olds should be insulted by how they’re portrayed in this, and if they aren’t, and actually relate to these “characters”, they need to be terminated immediately. Everything about this is one big stereotype, from the gays to the blacks to the Southern girl, and funnily enough, Zoey thinks she’s better than all of them, and she’s too stupid to live. She thinks a normally constructed sentence is “amazing vocab”.

Every chapter, every paragraph, every sentence annoyed me. The showing, not telling. The unrealistic dialogue. Zoey. The fucking Twins. The shallow relationships (Zoey has best friends and a guy saying how he cares about her “from his heart” in ONE NIGHT?). Zoey. The religion. The vampires that are not vampires, but witches. Zoey. The “messages”. Everything. Zoey. Honestly, you’d think with two people writing this, there’s two brains involved, which should mean that at some point, there should have been at least ONE good example of writing: a piece of dialogue, some description, some semi-decent prose that didn’t have me wanting to kill the friend who leant this to me.

And can I just mention how much of a Harry Potter rip off this is? You’ve got the “protagonist” (haha) with a mark on her forehead, making her the Chosen One, and is sent off to some fancy boarding school for magical people like her. Because of this special mark, everyone knows instantly who she is, having a polarizing effect – some love her, others hate her. Then you’ve got the platinum blonde who’s rich and whines to her dad about how she’s not loved enough who becomes the “protagonist’s” archrival on the first day of school for no reason, other than jealousy of this newfound popularity someone else has. You’ve got the goofy, quirky sidekicks. You’ve got the “protagonist” suddenly being the favourite of the Headmistress and form a special relationship. There are all kinds of cool classes with the odd teachers. Please, this isn’t a Twilight rip off – just because it has vampires doesn’t make it a Twilight rip off. This is so Harry Potter I can’t believe nobody has mentioned it, except Harry Potter is – y’know – amazing. Stephenie Meyer is not as to J.K. Rowling as the Casts are not to Stephenie Meyer. Stephenie Meyer is Shakespeare, the Bronte sisters, Dickens, Tolstoy and anyone else you can think of compared to this garbage.

For a long time I judged people’s intelligence on a yard stick, the yard stick being whether or not you liked this book. Then I embarrassingly found out two of my very nice, smart friends actually like this, so huh, who knew. I’m still unwavering though – this is the worst, stupidest book ever written. I’m actually kind of embarrassed to have it on my bookshelf, because people will actually know I’ve read it. Just for the record, it was given to me, and I didn’t want to hurt my friend’s feelings. Not my fault I stumbled on this. In fact, she gave several more to me, and I actually stopped mid-book. I just couldn’t take it anymore.

Stupid book. Stupid.
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Mar 25, 2010 Penny rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: reviewed-books, witchy-woman, zombies-aliens-vampires-dinos, wish-i-could-unread

I know, I can't believe I read this book either. What's worse? I've read all of them--the six that have been published. Why? Because I'm a moron, that's why.

Seriously, this is the worst YA vampire--I mean vampyre--series I've read (so far). While there are elements in this series that are interesting, it's nothing special. I mean, vampyres that control the elements? Come on! Richelle Mead already did that, just much, much, much better. Much better.

Why not just write a book about witches? Becaus...more

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Aug 27, 2010 UniquelyMoi *Dhestiny* BlithelyBookish rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Mature teens

Recommended to UniquelyMoi *Dhestiny* BlithelyBookish by: I saw this series at the bookstore and decided to check it out.

Shelves: reviewed-by-me, donate-sell-trade, 3-stars

A very easy read. I wasn't sure if I wanted to read this book, but the first sentence, "Just when I thought my day couldn't get any worse, I saw the dead guy standing next to my locker.", got my attention.

The House of Night Series is yet another addition to the vampire/vampyre genre. Veering off of the traditional vampire path, in this series, vampyres are chosen and Marked, not Changed by being bitten, and not all those who have been Marked actually live through the Change.

In Marked, the first...more

18 likes · like · see review

May 20, 2008 Shannon (Giraffe Days) rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: paranormal, vampires, 2007, ya, romance

16 year old Zoey has a crappy home life, an almost-ex-boyfriend who drinks too much, a best friend who's shallow and a geometry test tomorrow. But all this matters for naught when she is Marked by a Vampyre Tracker and must move to the House of Night school in Tulsa, Oklahoma, for four years while her body undergoes the Change into a Vampyre - or rejects it and she dies.

This is a new and original take on the Vampire legends, and mixes in matriarchy and goddess-worship with pleasing effect. Zoey...more 16 year old Zoey has a crappy home life, an almost-ex-boyfriend who drinks too much, a best friend who's shallow and a geometry test tomorrow. But all this matters for naught when she is Marked by a Vampyre Tracker and must move to the House of Night school in Tulsa, Oklahoma, for four years while her body undergoes the Change into a Vampyre - or rejects it and she dies.

This is a new and original take on the Vampire legends, and mixes in matriarchy and goddess-worship with pleasing effect. Zoey becomes marked in a special way - the Goddess Nyx has given her a special responsibility and added gifts; which she'll need, because something's not right at the House of Night, and her own mentor and High Priestess may not be the gentle, caring mother-figure she makes herself out to be.

What I especially liked about this book was how it handles issues relevant to teenagers. Yes it discusses topics like drinking, drugs, anorexia, sex, homosexuality, bullying etc. but all in a positive light (or an "anti-" light, depending on the topic). Zoey is a wonderful role model with a sensible head on her shoulders who looks beyond the surface to what really makes people behave how they do.

Also, to be perfectly clear on this point, despite what you might have read, there is no sex in this book, or the sequel (and even if there was, I think it would be handled very maturely). There is some slutty behaviour from one of the characters, but this is hardly glorified. In fact, it's only the language of the teenaged characters themselves that stops this book from being too moralising. The slang etc. has been captured perfectly, but is not overdone so that it gets really annoying. It's also dark, funny, and the inclusion of rituals invoking the five elements of air, water, fire, earth and spirit add a new, beautiful element that I really liked. I honestly think this book and the ones that follow can only have a good impression on teenagers. Don't be afraid to put it on your library's shelves. In fact, my biggest problem with this book was the rather excessive product placement going on. It's unnecessary and grotesque. Otherwise, Marked is highly enjoyable!(less)

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Feb 16, 2009 Miranda rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This probably one of the worst books I have ever read... It was horrible. The writing was stupid. If you like to read a grown woman try to talk like a teenager then this is for you.. I hated it. I mean I felt stupid after reading some of this. They compared people to Paris Hilton, and Ashton Kutcher, they brought oral sex into and they didn't just briefly talk about it they made it stretch out over a couple of chapters. This mother/daughter writing team needs to rethink working together again. M...more

34 likes · like · see review

Mar 02, 2009 Brooke Watson rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This book was so bad, I wanted to quit reading it, but then I could not have fairly rated it. So despite my better judgment - I read on, wincing all the way!

Marked tries so hard to be hip - but "like totally" fails. I know you have to be careful when choosing YA books. Some of it is great - it resonates with those of all ages. And some of it, like this book, is YA crap.

The main character was also very poorly created. She enjoyed reading the horrid Gossip girl series, yet was critical of her sexu...more

24 likes · like · see review

Mar 01, 2013 YAL Book Briefs rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: My Worst Enemy or that Girl Who Wrote My Immortal

Recommended to YAL Book Briefs by: A Sadistic Bookstore Owner who noticed I liked vampires

Shelves: annoying-heroines, anti-feminist, bad-body-image, beware-whiplash, cliche-series, cliches, content, crap-flick, cringe-worthy-covers, damn-hippies, doesn-t-do-their-research, dumb-ass-heroines, face-palm, fan-fiction, i-m-in-the-mood-to-snark, impulsive-stupid, insta-luv, is-it-ebony-or-enoby, magical-tats, mary-sue, meh-characters, oh-bother, offensive, paranormal, predictable, prissy-preaching, rage-fest, rude-and-offensive, sanctimonious-bitches, sexist-piece-of-shit, shallow, slut-slaming, squeaky-clean-not, twilight-wannabe, twi-moms-will-love, unsanitary-grossnesss, useless-characters, vampires, what-s-the-hype-about, will-it-ever-stop

To experience the whole drinking game click here.

I've decided that it's time that this blog has a drinking game. And I decided that if we're going to do it right, we might as well use one of the worst (in my opinion) series in YA to drink, too which is The House of Night. Note, there are several ways you can play the drinking game. But I advise you not to do all steps at once. Doing so would probably cause organ failure.

About the House of Night as I said before, they drive me bananas. I only rea...more

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Jun 18, 2011 Pixie rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: hurt-my-brain, i-screamed-at-this, not-a-fan

Full review is also posted on my blog at http://the-bookaholic.blogspot.com

I'd tried reading this book a few times over the last year or so to be honest. And every time, I couldn't make it past the second chapter to continue on with the story. This time around, I was determined to make myself get on past and continue reading until I finished so that I could gain a proper opinion of the book without being "pre-judgemental" if you know what I mean.

Admittedly, it does have a bit of a slow start, a...more Full review is also posted on my blog at http://the-bookaholic.blogspot.com

I'd tried reading this book a few times over the last year or so to be honest. And every time, I couldn't make it past the second chapter to continue on with the story. This time around, I was determined to make myself get on past and continue reading until I finished so that I could gain a proper opinion of the book without being "pre-judgemental" if you know what I mean.

Admittedly, it does have a bit of a slow start, and even a bit of a cheesy one. For anyone who hasn't read it, I don't want to give anything away because I'm not one to put spoilers in my reviews. I do like to comment on characterization and storyline, etc... without spoilers to the plotline.

I'm really a bit glad I finished Marked this time, instead of putting it down again. It wasn't as terrible as I thought. Although I did find some annoying points to the novel. For instance, I felt it lacked detail. The storyline in general was a great idea, with room for amazing potential and full of possible rich history and characterization points... but it was lacking in this area as it felt the authors skimmed through a lot of details just to show strict action or jump right to romance (which I honestly felt was maybe too rushed as well?). Most characters were two-dimensional and needed more depth. There was plenty of room for it, but as I said, it felt as if the detail got cut or lost somewhere along the way in the idea.

I actually liked the history and the mythos of the vampires that the authors created. I wanted to know more. So that was a good sign when I found myself enjoying a lot of the reading, even if most of it was just light and fluffy.

I wouldn't have called it near great. It certainly wouldn't go on my list of "top vampire favorites", but I will probably continue on with the series just out of curiosity to see where it goes.

I also wouldn't recommend this to younger teens, even if it is a YA read, as it has strong sexually suggestive themes.

Enjoyable, easy read. It was alright. I give it 3 stars.
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topics	posts	views	last activity
What's happening with the movie?	31	178	May 21, 2013 12:51pm
House of Night TV series?	12	68	May 18, 2013 07:39pm
Should i keep reading???	30	211	May 08, 2013 03:44pm
Addicted to YA: Marked	69	252	May 04, 2013 06:33am
Your favourite character?	9	35	Apr 29, 2013 01:06pm
Help?	3	25	Apr 16, 2013 02:23pm
The YA Book Club: House of Night Series	10	74	Apr 15, 2013 09:06am

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About P.C. Cast

P.C. Cast was born in the Midwestern United States, and grew up being shuttled back-and-forth between Illinois and Oklahoma, which is where she fell in love with Quarter Horses and mythology (at about the same time). After high school she joined the United States Air Force and began public speaking and writing. With her tour in the USAF completed, she taught high school for 15 years before retirin...more

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Quotes from Белязана

“Actually, since I'm gay I think I should count for two guys instead of just one. I mean, in me you get the male point of view and you don't have to worry about me wanting to touch your boobies.” — 589 people liked it

“Don't you think baby corns are scary? There's just something wrong about their midget bodies.” — 387 people liked it

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BBCode	[url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7377231?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book][img]http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1261421510l/7377231.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7377231?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book]Белязана by P.C. Cast[/url]

Белязана (House of Night #1)

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