Hunted (House of Night, #5) in Once Upon a Twilight blog

Jul 29, 2010 Lyndsey O'Halloran rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: ya

After the events in Untamed, I was really excited to see how things were going to pan out and I wasn't disappointed. There is a lot of mystery in Hunted which builds up so much tension ready for book 6, Tempted. Normally I would complain about this but there are quite a few unanswered questions but I'm not going to this time. I felt like everything that I didn't find out or figure out was done just right so that there would be a lot to address in the next book. Also, all of this mystery adds to After the events in Untamed, I was really excited to see how things were going to pan out and I wasn't disappointed. There is a lot of mystery in Hunted which builds up so much tension ready for book 6, Tempted. Normally I would complain about this but there are quite a few unanswered questions but I'm not going to this time. I felt like everything that I didn't find out or figure out was done just right so that there would be a lot to address in the next book. Also, all of this mystery adds to the suspense of what is going to happen and kept me guessing the whole way through.

As the book is only set over the space of two days, everything that happens seems realistic. Books that are set over the space of months can sometimes feel quite unrealistic and rushed, trying to pack as much in as possible in such a short space of time but that isn't what Hunted is like at all. The fact that the story is only spread over two days gives the chance for a lot to be explored and explained properly so that nothing ever felt unclear at any point.

I'm not too sure how I feel about Kalona. I know he's supposed to be this hugely evil, fallen angel character but he just doesn't seem bad enough to me. Maybe that's because he has so much charm that he wants everyone to follow him and has certain ways of making that happen. He is certainly sleazy and creepy though, making me shudder a little at the thought of him. There are times when he does seem extremely bad but other times where I'm not convinced. He tries to tempt Zoey and make her think that he really isn't the bad guy so I think this is why I feel like this.

I really enjoyed the inclusion of the red fledglings as so far, we have only really heard from Stevie Rae. It was good to see how the others were coping and alike and different they were at the same time. It was good that some of them were included into the main plot which made their appearance more justified. I would have liked for some of them to have been included a bit more but as there are already so many characters to follow, I can understand why this didn't happen. One thing that I did find to be missing here was the relationship between Stevie Rae and Dallas. It is clear that they have something going on but never really expanded upon and I would have liked to have seen more of this part of the story.

Some other relationships that are explored in this book are very interesting though so made up for what was missing. Some I cant mention though otherwise it would be giving away too much. What I can say though is that the relationship between Zoey and Stark develops a lot and not in the way that I had expected. It was nice for the repetitiveness of Zoey's bad choices to stop for a little while, at least when it came to Stark anyway. Aphrodite's relationship with Darius is progressing well even when some major problems are thrown in their way.

If you are just picking up this series then I urge you not to start with this book. House of Night is a series that really does need to be read in order so that you don't get lost and can really follow what is going on. I also think that starting at the beginning gives you the chance to get to know and love the main characters which I don't think you can do by starting anywhere else other than the beginning. Hunted is addictive, interesting, mysterious and funny all at the same time. PC and Kristin Cast are quickly becoming two of my favourite authors.
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