Review: Destined by P.C. Cast + Kristen Cast

by Carmen Shaw 2:13 PM 3 comments

Zoey is finally home where she belongs, safe with her Guardian Warrior, Stark, by her side, and preparing to face off against Neferet -- which would be a whole lot easier if the High Council saw the ex-High Priestess for what she really is. Kalona has released his hold on Rephaim, and, through Nyx's gift of a human form, Rephaim and Stevie Rae are finally able to be together -- if he can truly walk the path of the Goddess and stay free of his father's shadow.

But there are new forces at work at the House of Night. An influx of humans, including Lenobia's handsome horse whisperer, threatens their precarious stability. And then there's the mysterious Aurox, a jaw-droppingly gorgeous teen boy who is actually more -- or possibly less -- than human. Only Neferet knows he was created to be her greatest weapon. But Zoey can sense the part of his soul that remains human, the compassion that wars with his Dark calling. And there's something strangely familiar about him . . . 

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Awakened left on such a huge cliff hanger, and Destined definitely picked it back up. This book focuses more on Zoey's friends, instead of her, which I liked because she is constantly the center of attention in the HoN books, but it was different this time around. We got to see more into the Twin's (Shaunee and Erin) relationship. They actually have a big part in the book, and I enjoyed reading more about them. This installment also focuses on Kalona and Rephaim's relationship. Though Kalona seems like the cold hearted immortal, he actually has a soft spot for his son and it shows drastically in this book. I was actually really proud of Kalona, he changes a lot in this book.
 
As per usual, Neferet is up to no good. Turns out Darkness (the white bull) is Neferet's consort, and together they stir up more chaos than you can imagine. Neferet's true intentions really shine in this book: She wants to become Goddess, and destroy Nyx. Plain and simple, simple and plain.

I was particularly interested in Aurox because Heath was my favorite character before he was... eliminated. You actually get to see some old Heath tendencies in this book (i.e. tissues in his pocket for Zo's snot issues lol) and they made me smile. Aurox deals with a lot of internal issues in this book. He doesn't completely understand what he is or where he came from and that bothers him, as it would anyone.

New characters were introduced in this book: Travis Foster and Bonnie. He is hired by Neferet (much to Lenobia's dismay) to help Lenobia with the horses. Bonnie is his horse. The two start off kind of rocky, but eventually bond over "horses and happiness" (you'll get it when you read the book) and end up getting a bit close. And we finally get to see Lenobia's weakness and insecurities.

Overall, I gave this book 4 stars out of 5 because I did enjoy reading it, and I loved the addition of the new characters. I also really liked how we got to understand other characters a lot better, and it wasn't centered on Zoey as much. It didn't live up to my expectations, but I still am a huge fan of this series! 

4/5 TARGETS!