Tuesday, May 08, 2007

CHECK OUT MARKED!



I have to tell y'all how incredibly excited Kristin and I have been about early reader response to MARKED. Romantic Times gave us a 4 1/2 star Top Pick review! And that was just the beginning of the lurve for MARKED! Check out the latest kick butt review by www.romrevtoday.com:

MARKED – P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast

The House of Night, Book 1

A Perfect 10

St. Martin’s GriffinISBN: 978-0-312-36026-9 May 2007Young Adult Contemporary Paranormal Fiction Tulsa, Oklahoma – Present Day

Zoey Redbird is clearly having a bad day. It started off with her best friend Kayla emphasizing that her boyfriend – “almost-boyfriend” – Heath had not been cheating on her at a party. Zoey hadn’t even known there was a question of infidelity in the first place, and, uh, he isn’t really her boyfriend right now. His beer guzzling had so gotten old and totally disgusting, despite the fact that Heath is the high school’s football god. To cap it all off, Zoey is Marked, and that requires some explanation.It’s been proven by scientists and researchers that there truly exists a race called vampyre. Defined by the blue crescent-shaped mark on the forehead, a vampyre is Marked and subsequently leaves for the House of Night to begin “training.” Some may call it ghoul school, some may call it...well, whatever they like, but no one can predict if or when a teen will be Marked. Humans denigrate and fear it, and the unlucky individuals who now have this bodacious mark on their foreheads have a lot to deal with -- a change of life, a new school, and getting used to those who share their fate. Oh, and then there’s that whole blood thing...Yeah, so, see what kind of pain Zoey’s feeling right now? At a new school, with new uniforms, and a new lifestyle, Zoey quickly realizes that a hierarchy similar to that of high school exists at the House of Night. It’s all very confusing, and she quickly realizes that there are a few kids just like her, learning the ropes. With her new roommate, Stevie Rae, and a couple of other new friends, Zoey forms friendships and alliances, and even develops a new crush -- Erik “ohmygod” Night. But Zoey stands out from the others, and it’s not just because the High Priestess Neferet is her mentor. Hey, just because Zoey has been hand-picked by the goddess Nyx doesn’t mean she’s a shoe-in for this gig...Now, about that blood thing...With a nod to Harry Potter and X-Men, P.C. Cast and her daughter Kristin have on their hands a stellar launch to their new series, The House of Night. Already known for her immensely popular Goddess Summoning series, it was only natural for P.C. Cast to team up with daughter Kristin and write from a different perspective. I can only imagine those brainstorming sessions! Teen lingo and machinations is a totally evolving thing, and so much has changed even from my teen time *bleep* years ago. But what gets me with MARKED is that it’s not just a young adult tale that will only entertain those teenyboppers. I’m thirty-...*cough* ahem, well, I’m not exactly a teen, and I still got a total thrill from reading of Zoey and her friends’ adventures. “Wicked cool” and “gnarly” came to mind, but I really think those terms went out back in 1990 -- so just how do you describe a book that has it all these days? Riveting, page-turning, nail-biting, etc? Yep, that pretty much sums up MARKED and has really got me jonesing for more from Zoey and the gang at House of Night. All characters in this book are well-defined and plotted out, making them very easily identifiable. We all had the class bullies and cheerleader snobs to contend with back in the day, so maybe for many MARKED will be a nightmare revisited. But Zoey and her friends, Damien, Stevie Rae, Erin, and Shaunee, truly stand out and add a bit of zaniness, laughter, and tears, and exemplify true friendship.A heads-up for those parental control type folks, however: a bit of colorful language is used here and there throughout the book (not abused, though), and while I understand that this may be normal for teens nowadays, it wasn’t very rampant in the young adult books I read as a kid. I can only imagine I’d have a few ugly words if I were thrown in a situation like Zoey’s...With that said, my next question -- do you award a young adult book RRT’s Perfect 10? Absolutely, and that’s just what I’m doing. My only other thought is this -- how willing would P.C. Cast be to put an adult spin on it and give us stories for the various professors at House of Night?

Amy Cunningham
Romance Reviews Today

Isn't that fantastic?! We're totally thrilled! (We're also almost finished with the third book in the series, CHOSEN.)

So, have you read it yet? What did you think?

17 comments:

Heather Harper said...

Bought it this past weekend and will hopefully be able to get to it once things slow down around my crazy house. But I'm really excited about it.

And what a freaking gorgeous cover!

Unknown said...

I have it and can't wait to read it. I'm holding off until Saturday. I'm having ankle surgery Friday and the book will help me get through the time I have to stay off my foot. It looks like a great concept. But then you always do great books!

lysrian said...

I think that I devoured it in 2 sittings.

It was good...really good. I look forward to the next in the series or universe.

Thanks for the read. And it has been read and will be re-read multiple times.

Karen W. said...

I just finished it and enjoyed it. I look forward to the next book in the series!

PC Cast said...

Thanks guys! I appreciate all your positive comments. Just got news from St. Martin's today that MARKED has gone back to press! And it's been released for less than 2 weeks! Yea!!!

Unknown said...

That was a greeat read. I am looking forward to more. Good job, ladies :c)

Jana Oliver said...

Read it overnight. It's one of THOSE books. Luckily the next in the series is out soon or I'd be camped on P.C.'s doorstep, going through her trash looking for discarded manuscript pages.

Unknown said...

You have brought a fresh idea to the vampire world and that is very hard to do these days. This is another great book. I'd like to sit here and gush over it but I won't. I have lots of questions but I'll wait. I'm going to try and be good.
You and Kristin did a really great job as a writing team. How is she liking the attention from the book? Does she plan on some solo projects after the series is over? It has to be a pretty exciting time for her.

samantha said...

I just finished it and I love it. I can't wait till the next one comes out... according to amazon it's out on my birthday. Perfect present :). I picked it up on a whim and didn't expect to enjoy it since I didn't hear anything about it but damn, was I wrong. LOVED IT!

Kristen Painter said...

You know what I thought - I thought it was phenomenal!!! I'm ready for Chosen, by the way. lol

Marian Rae said...

I read it in a day. I loved it, and can't wait until I read Betrayed! The book was so awesome, I truly couldn't put it down.

Angelica said...

I have i just bought the book today and i can not put it down and i am not big in to reading but so far i love it and i cant wait till the next one come out you guys did an amazing job keep up the good work

PC Cast said...

Glad you're enjoying it Angelica!

Maya said...

my mom sent "marked" to me at camp this summer, thinking it was something i'd like. was she ever right! in my humble opinion, your version of the vampyre world is the best out of all the ones i've seen. what else to say....i can't even explain why i like it so much haha. can't wait for the next one!

PC Cast said...

Thanks Maya! And thank your mom for me, too! You won't have to wait long for BETRAYED - it'll be out next month. Yea!

Anonymous said...

oh my gosh i loved your book!!!today two nights after i had boght the book i finished it, and tonight my mom said that we could go buy betrayed.

love your young reader
melina.

Jenniefer Andersson said...

Ohh my... I'm a big book nerd, and right now I'm reading anything I can find in english - that's paranormal that is - that seems good. So yesterday when I bought your book, I bought it mostly cos I liked the text on the back on the cover - my normal approach. Then I got home and I finished it in three hours. I usually don't read like that cos I never have the time, but I'm glad I did. I didn't have time to lose track and I just loved it. Now I cheated and borrowed the second audio book over the net, and I'm just staring into space, listening so hard I can almost see the words.
Well done! :D