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Book Review of Awakened (House of Night, Bk 8) (Audio CD) (Unabridged)

Awakened (House of Night, Bk 8) (Audio CD) (Unabridged)
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Reviewed by Jaglvr for TeensReadToo.com

AWAKENED is the 8th book in the HOUSE OF NIGHT series. And once more, Zoey, the Red Fledglings, and Tulsa, Oklahoma, are not safe from Neferet or Kalona.

AWAKENED starts the listener off right where BURNED ended. Zoey has returned from the Otherworld with Stark, but wishes to remain hidden on their island paradise. She refuses to return to Tulsa and her responsibilities there.

Back in Tulsa, the gang is eagerly planning a party celebrating Zoey's return to the living, when tragedy strikes one of Stevie Rae's fledglings. It's this tragedy that finally convinces Zoey to come home.

There is much going on in AWAKENED. Zoey and Stark discover their new love. Kalona and his raven-mocker son test their bonds to Neferet. Neferet weaves her deceit over the High Council. And Nyx - ever-mentioned but hardly seen - makes a rare appearance. Everything weaves together beautifully, only to end with the listener going, "I want more!"

YES! AWAKENED was once again narrated by Caitlin Davies. As I had said in my audio review of BURNED, I was frustrated that the narrators had changed frequently in the last few books in the series. But happily, Caitlin Davies has returned for the this installment. I believe it makes the novels flow more seamlessly when the voice reading the story remains constant. The narrator is able to maintain consistency with characterization that makes it easier for the listener to quickly jump back into a story that was left hanging months previously.

Ms. Davies seemed to have an even larger job this time with more voices and characterizations, though in reality, the players remained the same. Some of the supporting characters had larger roles in AWAKENED, thus requiring Ms. Davies to expand and build on her previous work. She does an amazing job capturing everyone in the story, and leaves the listener eagerly wanting even more from the HOUSE OF NIGHT.