Burned

P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast

Things have turned black at the House of Night.  Zoey Redbird's soul has shattered.  With everything she's ever stood for falling apart, and a broken heart making her want to stay in the Otherworld forever, Zoey's fading fast.  It's seemingly more and more doubtful that she will be able to pull herself back together in time to rejoin her friends and set the world to rights.  As the only living person who can reach her, Stark must find a way to get to her.  But how?  He will have to die to do so, the Vampyre High Council stipulates.  And then Zoey will give up for sure.  There are only seven days left.

Enter BFF Stevie Rae.  She wants to help Z, but she has massive problems of her own.  The rogue Red Fledglings are acting up, and this time not even Stevie Rae can protect them from the consequences.  Her kinda boyfriend Dallas, is sweet but too nosey for his own good.  The truth is, Stevie Rae's hiding a secret that might be the key to getting Zoey home--but it also threatens to explode her own world.

In the middle of the whole mess is Aphrodite: ex-Fledgling, trust-fund baby, total hag (and proud of it).  She's always been blessed (if you could call it that) with visions that can reveal the future, but now it seems that Nyx has decided to speak through her with the goddess's own voice. whether Aphrodite wants it or not.  Aphrodite's loyalty can swing a lot of different ways, but right now Zoey's fate hangs in the balance.

Three girls...playing with fire...if they don't watch out, everyone will get Burned.

My Take:

First off, a warning:  I've never really been a huge fan of this series, so if you are, remember to take my review with a grain of salt.  Now, on to the review.  Do you remember how in elementary school, swearing was very taboo, and if some kid did utter a swear word, a whole chorus of "oooooohs" and "ummmmms" and "I'm gunna tell teacher!" would erupt?  Then you go into middle school and the kids start realizing their parents don't know about their language at school, so all of a sudden all the kids are trying out curse words at every possible turn?  This is what Burned felt like to me, the characters were immature and the language sounded like a kid trying to sound cool.  The book really felt like it was trying too hard to be edgy, but it came off very inauthentic.  I also felt like the dialogue was not all that great, and didn't sound like how teenagers talk, but more an out of the loop adult's perception of teenspeak.  I've never really cared for Zoey, the main character, I feel like she is a self absorbed girl you just can't root for, so I did like that she wasn't the focus of the book.  With the ongoing vampire saturation of pop culture right now, a series really needs to be special to stand out, and for me, I just don't think this one makes the cut.  4, Borrow from a Friend.

Do you agree with my review?  Do you think I'm totally off base?  Either way I'd love to hear from you, be sure to leave a comment and tell me how you feel!

If Burned were a movie, it would likely be rated PG-13, for adult content

***FTC Disclosure:  This book was provided in exchange for an honest review, no other compensation was given, all opinions are my own***

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