151) Destined by P.C & Kristen Cast

The Blurb :

In Destined, the forces of Light and Dark collide as their epic struggle focuses on Tulsa's House of Night. Zoey is home where she belongs, safe with her Guardian Warrior, Stark, by her side and preparing to face off against Neferet. Kalona has released his hold on Rephaim, and, through Nyx's gift of a human form, he and Stevie Rae are finally able to be together if Rephaim can truly walk the path of the Goddess and stay free of his father's shadow.

But is Zoey really safe? Does she truly know those who are closest to her? And will love win when it is tested by the very soul of Darkness?

My Thoughts :

I haven't given great reviews to the last few books in the House of the Night series. They were not on par with the amazing first four or five books and I actually contemplated giving up on the series altogether. Destined is book nine and I didn't look for it when it came out or add it to my must buy list. Instead I used my audible credit and got a copy to listen to when I saw it advertised. I knew I would regret it but hey...

Anyway before I start my review of the actual book itself I have to say I was impressed by the narrator for this audiobook. She captured the characters really well and I loved her accents! I definitely want to listen to more books read by this girl. Not sure if I want to listen to this series but a big thumbs up to the voice on this one!

So back to the plot. Well Destined didn't really have, imho, a huge plot. It was a book that seemed to basically fill in the time from Zoey's mom's death to finding out who killed her. Which in all was five days. These five days consisted of the typical Aphrodite bitchiness, Zoey's cluelessness, Stevie Rae's sickening love for Rephaim, Neferet trying to be nasty and everyone else trailing them all around like helpless puppies.

While this sounds harsh I have to actually say that Destined was much better than the previous few books in the House of the Night Series. It seemed like things were getting back on track. Sure there was the usual death of a character and that stupid change of character perspective every few paragraphs but I actually enjoyed it a little bit. Destined has left me feeling like I want to check out the next book. This ninth book was not a waste of my time.

On saying that, I really hope the authors don't decide to do what they seem to be aiming to do. Small Spoiler Alert! Someone died...leave them be and don't bring them back. Zoey was just imagining that person and it wasn't him. Please, please, please let him rest in peace. We do not need more love triangles and I certainly don't need Zoey to suddenly have the power to bring back the dead. She can do enough already.

So in conclusion, this was not as bad as its last few predecessors. If you were thinking of giving up on the series then Destined may just win you back. However be warned that there are still three more books to come. Can you manage that? After all we have come this far! I seriously think I need to see this one right to the end but I can't wait for it to be over.