Awakened

“My love, speak to me. Tell me everything.” Neferet went to Kalona, kneeling before him, stroking the soft, dark wings that unfurled loosely around the immortal.
“What would you have me say?” He didn’t meet her eyes.
“Zoey lives.” Neferet’s voice was flat, cold, lifeless.
“She does.”
“Then you owe me the subservience of your immortal soul.” She started to walk away from him.
“Where are you going? What will happen next?”
“It is quite simple. I will ensure Zoey is drawn back to Oklahoma. There, on my own terms, I will complete the task you failed.”

Awakened is the 8th book in the House of Night series, and I thought it was actually pretty good. The authors are starting to run a little low on material, so to me it seems like the conflicts are starting to repeat themselves a bit. However, Zoey finally has only one boyfriend, Stark, who she is now devoted to and in love with. The book starts out with them dealing with being back from the Otherworld and then, they sleep together for the first time. Neferet has control over Kalona who now hates her. Neferet has to repay her debt to darkness and to get Zoey to come back to school so she has Jack killed. The rest of the book is about Stevie Rae and Rephraim and Zoey and Stark. I liked the ending because it worked out for Rephraim, Nyx rewarded him with the ability to be human during the night. I didn't like the part about Heath becoming part of the vessel of evil.

Review/Description

Exonerated by the Vampyre High Council and returned to her position of High Priestess at Tulsa’s House of Night, Neferet has sworn vengeance on Zoey. Dominion over Kalona is only one of the weapons she plans to use against Z. But Zoey has found sanctuary on the Isle of Skye and is being groomed by Queen Sgiach to take over for her there. Being Queen would be cool, wouldn’t it? Why should she return to Tulsa? After losing her human consort, Heath, she will never be the same – and her relationship with her super-hot-warrior, Stark, may never be the same either…
And what about Stevie Rae and Rephaim? The Raven Mocker refuses to be used against Stevie Rae, but what choice does he have when no one in the entire world, including Zoey, would be okay with their relationship? Does he betray his father or his heart?
In the pulse-pounding 8th book in the bestselling House of Night series, how far will the bonds of friendship stretch and how strong are the ties that bind one girl’s heart?

Shiver

For years, Grace has watched the wolves in the woods behind her house. One yellow-eyed wolf--her wolf--is a chilling presence she can't seem to live without. Meanwhile, Sam has lived two lives: In winter, the frozen woods, the protection of the pack, and the silent company of a fearless girl. In summer, a few precious months of being human . . . until the cold makes him shift back again.
Now, Grace meets a yellow-eyed boy whose familiarity takes her breath away. It's her wolf. It has to be. But as winter nears, Sam must fight to stay human--or risk losing himself, and Grace, forever.

I really like the theme of Shiver. I aslo like the characeters personallities. Sam was awesome and I thought he balanced Grace out perfectly. However, I thought the plot was a little lacking in exceitement. It got better toward the end when Grace is trying to save Sam, but during the middle it was just about them being in love. All the information about wolves was cool too. It was interesting that Grace's attack played such a large part and I liked it. The ending was extremely good, since I'm all about how books end and I like happily ever-after. I kind of don't want to read the sequels because I think they are going to make me mad, but I will probably read them anyway.

Review/ Description

Stiefvater leaves the faeries of Lament and Ballad for a lyrical tale of alienated werewolves and first love. For years, Grace has been fascinated by the yellow-eyed wolf that saved her from its pack when she was a child. Sam, bitten by a wolf as a boy, is that wolf. Long obsessed with each other at a distance, they finally meet after a wolf hunt (inspired by the apparent death of a local teen) sends a wounded and temporarily human Sam into Grace's arms. Their young love is facilitated by Grace's hands-off parents (“Once upon a time, I would've leaped at the rare opportunity of curling up with Mom on the couch. But now, it sort of felt like too little, too late,” Grace muses), but threatened by two linked crises: the fact that Sam will soon lose the ability to become human and the instability of a new lycanthrope.