Chosen by P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast

fantasticfiction.co.uk

Released: March 2008

Chosen is the third book in the House of Night vampyre series by the Cast mother and daughter duo. It's getting REALLY hard for me to take a break from this series. It's just so fun! I'm loving the story so far. Like I mentioned previously in my review for Betrayed, I'm completely hooked!

Taking care of undead dead Stevie Rae

Chosen picks up shortly after the ending of Betrayed. It's Christmas time, and Zoey's friends are throwing her a birthday party, or "Birthmas" party. Zoey is desperately trying to enjoy her birthday celebration, but there's still so much going on behind the scenes for Z.

First of all, Zoey is still juggling her feelings for three different men: Erik Night, Loren Blake, and Heath -- the human with whom she's managed to Imprint. Second, Zoey is still working on coming to terms with the fact that her best friend Stevie Rae is dead -- or, at least, "undead dead," meaning the country gal is still technically alive, but without a soul. Third, Zoey must continue to keep High Priestess Neferet at arm's length, considering Neferet cannot be trusted and is confirmed to be the evil mastermind killing off vampyre fledglings and turning them into soulless, bloodsucking creatures like Stevie Rae.

Betrayed by P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast

amazon.com

Released: October 2007

Betrayed is the second novel in the House of Night series by P.C. Cast and daughter Kristin. I've already fallen in love with this series but sadly, the novels are far too short! (This one sat at a fast-paced 310 pages.) I'm so excited I've got book #3 on deck (Chosen), which I'm considering tackling next after writing this review!

Zoey settles into her new role as Dark Daughters leader

Betrayed picks up only weeks later from the ending of Marked. Vampyre fledgling Zoey Redbird has settled into a good rhythm with school and is happy with her new group of friends. She's still seeing gorgeous vampyre upper-classman Erik, and has even found herself flirting with Loren, the much older and incredibly handsome poetry teacher at House of Night. Zoey even manages to forge a somewhat-friendship with arch enemy Aphrodite -- a beautiful but venomous blond and former leader of the Dark Daughters.

The Hard Way by Lee Child

amazon.com

Released: May 2006

It's been a few years since I reviewed anything by Lee Child, and that's mainly because I allowed Tom Cruise to ruin Jack Reacher's character for me (temporarily, at least). It's taken me this long to get over it, especially since having finished One Shot, which is the book on which the Jack Reacher film was based. Now, I can happily move on and pray they don't make another Reacher movie starring Tom Cruise.

The Hard Way, which is the 10th book in the Jack Reacher series, is one of the best Reacher novels I've read yet. This novel pretty much redeemed my bad experience with One Shot.