The Beginning: Marked and Betrayed

House of Night #1-2

by P.C. Cast, Kristin Cast

With more than 12 million books in print, rights sold in almost forty countries, and more than two years on The New York Times bestseller list (reaching as high as #1), P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast's House of Night series is an international publishing sensation. Now, for a great value, new and old fans alike can go back to where it all began, with Marked and Betrayed , together for the first time in one beautiful paperback edition.

When sixteen-year-old Zoey Redbird is "Marked" by a vampyre tracker and begins to undergo the "Change" into an actual vampyre, she has to leave her family and move into the House of Night, a boarding school in Tulsa, Oklahoma, for other fledgling vampyres like her. It's tough to begin a new life away from her parents and friends, and on top of that, Zoey finds she is no average fledgling. She has been singled out by the vampyre Goddess, Nyx. Although Zoey has awesome new powers, it's hard to fit in when everyone knows she's special. As she tries to make new friends and maybe find a hot boyfriend (or two), she comes up against all kinds of evil, from the perfect-looking, super-popular girl with not-so-faultless plans, to the mysterious deaths happening at the House of Night and all over Tulsa. Things at the House of Night are not always what they seem. Can Zoey find the courage deep within herself to discover the truth and embrace her destiny?

Genres: Young Adult, Fantasy, Paranormal, Romance, Vampires, Fiction, Young Adult Fantasy

640 pages, Paperback

First published May 14, 2013

About the author

PC was born in the Midwest, and grew up being shuttled back-and-forth between Illinois and Oklahoma, which is where she fell in love with Quarter Horses and mythology (at about the same time). After high school, she joined the United States Air Force and began public speaking and writing. After her tour in the USAF, she taught high school for 15 years before retiring to write full time. PC is a #1 New York Times and #1 USA Today Best-Selling author and a member of the Oklahoma Writers Hall of Fame. Her novels have been awarded the prestigious: Oklahoma Book Award, YALSA Quick Pick for Reluctant Readers, Romantic Times Reviewers’ Choice Award, the Prism, Holt Medallion, Daphne du Maurier, Booksellers’ Best, and the Laurel Wreath. PC is an experienced teacher and talented speaker. Ms. Cast lives in Oregon near her fabulous daughter, her adorable pack of dogs, her crazy Maine Coon, and a bunch of horses. House of Night Other World, book 4, FOUND, releases July 7th, 2020. More info to come soon about the HoN TV series!

Reviews

[Savanah Ranae · Rating 5 out of 5]

The first two books in the seires were amazing. After Zoey Redbird was marked as a vampire, she took a very long and dangerouse road to becoming who she really is. She meets her bestfriends as she moves in the house of night. She meets new people and adapts quickly. And soon has more enimes than thought.
I became addicted to these books and fell inlove with each crazy charictar. Id recomend this to everyone.

[Kierstan · Rating 1 out of 5]

I have never disliked a protagonist so much. It was almost painful to read from her pov. Between the slut shaming and "I'm not like other girls" BS. There was just nothing redeemable about her or her character.

The one boy that isn't throwing himself at her feet fits every teenage boy gay stereotype there could possibly be. It's almost as if the authors had never actually met a person that wasn't heterosexual in their lives, and just drew inspiration from every stereotype they saw on sex and the city. It was just so bad.

This was an interesting idea, just not executed well.

[Rashmi]

overall pretty boring series.. zoey s moral dilemmas never seem to end.. and she has hots for every guy possible.. teacher, actor,warrior or normal dumb guy..
cultural references are good.. I think
somehow I find the whole future resting on one persons actions thing too far stretched.
high school scenario is shown too..
I know I sound like I am cribbing but zoey is boring.. period.

[Caridad cruz · Rating 5 out of 5]

This series really is an awesome series. BRAVO to mother and daughter who are the authors. you both have talent and both together have FANTASTIC writing abilities. Its a refreshing vampire story, it has good people, bad people, bad turns to good and vice versa. It is a thrilling fast paced read. It grips you from page one and doesn't let go not even when you go all the way to book 5, its an addiction of good reading. You will fall in love with the characters, tears will be shed, you will be rooting for some of the characters and booing for others. I am telling you this series is a heck of a fun, addicting roller coaster ride of suspense, romance, vampires and so much more!! LOVED IT and I am always on the lookout for more books by these authors. So do yourself a favor and pick up a copy you will not regret it!!

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really got pulled right into this book from page one. It's witch/vampire/wiccan/goddess/creepy undead, a bit of everything. It also has that teenager rescued from a bad family situation to head to magic school like the Harry Potter storyline without making it feel like a copycat book. Loved that this was a special book housing both books one and two and found two other series that start with 2 books in one. I will definitely follow this series thru!!

[Blueroses03 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Because this book carries the first two books in the House of Night series, I’m going to judge them individually but put them both bellow still.
(Individual star ratings:
Marked 2/5 , Betrayed 3/5)
Let me tell you why...

House of Night book 1: Marked

Let me start off by saying that I think the idea of this book series is great. I love the whole school for vampires concept like I love Hogwarts for wizards. That being said, this book did not execute the concept very well at all. It was overall a very cute and at times very entertaining story that got progressively better as it went on but if I could rate it individually I would give Marked 2/5 stars. Let me tell you what I didn’t and what I did like;

The writing in Marked is HORRIBLE. I cannot stress enough how much the writing sounds like really bad fan fiction. I almost couldn’t believe it got published. Besides the words not eloquently flowing nice all the time, there were a lot of words and phrases used that I was just not okay with. It at times made me uncomfortable to read. I get that it was written in 2007 but even then, some things you just already knew were not okay to say so it was weird.

The pacing is actually pretty good overall. There were times when the story lulled but it wasn’t too bad. I was just confused as to like when did the entire book take place? within her first week there?? Someone please clarify because I had a hard time pinning down the time line (not the pacing just the actual timeline of Marked).

The book however, was too short. For the story it was trying to be (which felt much grander), I felt that though it was paced nicely we missed out on ALOT and the climax was not as great as I was hoping and the ending was a bit average. We didn’t really get any significant information as to why this was happening to our main character Zoey and there seemed to be more then a couple plot holes and what ifs almost like they planned on dragging it out for the second book on purpose. Which duh; I get you’re supposed to anticipate the next book but I like to anticipate on my own. I don’t like to feel the author is using me on purpose to purchase the next book. That’s probably a me thing but it just felt off for me on that end. If the book would have been longer and fuller then I think the idea it was going for could have been executed so much better.

I did like that Zoey felt like a real teenager. She wasn’t some politically correct character all the time which to a certain extent I thought was okay because we all think things in our own head that we would never actually say out loud. I also did like the friendships that were developed and I was Intrigued by Erik. I still can’t figure out if I like him or not because the introduction to him was really strong and in your face lol like I was not expecting a random blow job scene to come up but okay I get it I guess.

Something that really bothered me too (again this is just my opinion) was that the book seemed to really push a negative light on religion. I get that Zoey was dealing with a strict People of Faith guy but it didn’t feel like the authors were specifically calling out this character. It felt like they were trying to call out religion in general which I was like hmmm... okay not too crazy about that.

Overall it was cute and entertaining. I love the idea of this series a lot which is what I think made me finish both books but also don’t expect to have great World building because even the school aspect in the whole storyline seemed to not really understand itself. It was not a bad book but it was also not an amazing one either.

House of Night Book 2: Betrayed

The writing in Betrayed was still really bad but I have to admit that it was ALOT better then Marked. It made an effort to try and sound less like “OMG! NO WAY” and also I loved that it wasn’t trying to force a pop culture reference every other page like book one did. There were still some language issues I had that made me uncomfortable to read the book but it definitely was not as bad as Marked had been.

The pacing of the story was pretty well done. I didn’t feel like there were too many filler pages in the book so that was a plus. I still can’t figure out the timeline of the book though. It starts off a month after Marked but then what? The book happens again within a week of that new month? The pacing is good but I just don’t understand, so she’s been at this school less then two months right?

The book itself, though it was more entertaining then Marked, I felt was totally unnecessary. Again I feel like the story just didn’t get as grand as I’d hoped it would be and it didn’t need to be a separate book from the first. There are only about 3 major events that happen and I feel the story could’ve been executed better if certain parts were taken out of both books and then combined as one great book.

Another thing is that again we are left with lots of plot holes and cliffhangers. Ugh!! lol Like hello?? We still don’t know why Zoey is the chosen one. We learn nothing new about the school. It’s basically just a backdrop prop here with no real purpose. What is going on with Loren? Why add him to the mix? It can’t just be hormones. Why have Zoey fall for Erik in book 1 only to have him missing for basically the entire first half of book 2? There are just so many questions I have! The ending also didn’t wrap up as well as I would have hoped. If anything it was a little cheesy

*This paragraph is a spoiler*
What I also didn’t really like was the unnecessary edition of Loren as being a love interest “or whatever.” I felt there was no point in shipping off Erik and then having Zoey flirt with a teacher. Like it added absolutely nothing to the story other then she’s a hormonal teenager but I had hoped she was a bit beyond that seeing as how she’s a chosen one or whatever. Like how am I supposed to relate to that? I guess I can understand lust and attraction but it was just so random I didn’t even believe it; especially when Zoey already had TWO great guys... I mean really? Unless Loren has some bigger important role but then why not introduce him later when it would matter?

The story overall was much better then the first book but I’m beginning to think that if I decided to purchase book 3 then I would have the same thought as I did about these two which is that it could probably have been combined to 1 book to make the story more full and complete.

[Devon Tozer · Rating 5 out of 5]

The bind up of books 1, Marked, and 2, Betrayed. I loved both of these books and can't wait to continue the series! Would definitely recommend to anyone interested in urban fantasy and kickass and sassy vampyres (that's how they spell it in the book)!!

[Amy Olinger · Rating 3 out of 5]

I stopped reading this book after I read 'Marked' simply because I didn't have time to finish it.

[Tangled N Books · Rating 3 out of 5]

Marked - 3 stars
I think if I had read this a couple years back I would had enjoy this more.

Betrayed - DNF
I made it to chapter 6, I could not do.

[Roberto Villa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Okay so since this is a 2-in-1 book i have a lot of things to say about it.

So the first book was completely awesome. Zoey was totally relatable, a normal kid just trying to survive an emotionally abusive home, gets marked by the Goddess, Nyx. The goddess even blesses her, saying she is destined for great things basically. She is then brought to the House of Night. There she meets the High Priestess Neferet. Neferet is everything Zoey wishes her mom was, and even immediately adopts the nickname Zoey’s grandmother has given her. Almost instantly after meeting the “Perfect” mentor, Zoey meets her “perfect” nemesis, Aphrodite.

Aphrodite is the stereotypical mean girl head cheerleader. P.C. And Kristin Cast do a wonderful job at making me hate Aphrodite. As the book continues, Zoey learns of her powers and makes four best friends; Stevie Rae, Damien, Erin, and Shaunee. And they, along with Aphrodite’s hunky ex-Superman-looking-boyfriend, teach Zoey about the world of Vampyres. The book ends with Aphrodite showing her ineptitude at magic and leading when she does a summoning ritual on Halloween that goes horribly wrong and Zoey and her newfound friends save the day. Neferet appears and punishes Aphrodite and rewards Zoey. The Book had me invested from start to finish and things played out as one would expect to a satisfactory conclusion.

However it is book two that I start having problems. Things are flipped on their head rather hickory and for seemingly odd reasons. Without any sort of transition, Neferet’s personality switches from caring mother/mentor to sneaky manipulative snake. She acts out this change in obvious way and yet only Zoey and Aphrodite are able to see it. Aphrodite is no longer a mean girl, but instead we are expected to feel sorry for her because we get to see that her parents are rich jerks, and then excuse her behavior in Book 1. Zoey’s four best friends almost constantly antagonize Aphrodite calling her a “hag” and a “ho” and yet we learn in book 2 that Erin and Shaunee are also sexually active like Aphrodite and yet they aren’ shamed for it. Then the worst part of it all is that all four of Zoey’s friends are gifted with elemental power and then not two hours later Steve Rae DIES. By the end of the book we learn that Neferet is killing fledglings for some unknown reason and then resurrecting them. Neferet even threatens Zoey at the end of the book with Zoey replying back in a I’m not scared of you kinda way.

All in all I am still going to read this series because there are too many question I have but I’m liking Zoey less and less and I hope that there are no more abrupt changes in personalities.

[Aimee Radford · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting idea for a book (think Hogwarts for vampires ) but the characters are deplorable. The protagonist is a Mary Sue and comes in immediately attracting the attention of everyone and being good at seemingly everything. The only thing she isn't good at is avoiding slut shaming and using the R-word to describe people who make minor mistakes or act in a way she doesn't like. There is also a lot of problematic statements against the one gay character who only has girl friends and is constantly hitting on or making inappropriate statements toward a straight guy.

There is a lot of representation for Native American culture but I can't find out if it's accurate or whether the author is actually an indigenous person.

[Becky Rhoades · Rating 5 out of 5]

Marked

I really loved this. I couldn't put it down. Very interesting story with all the twists it deserves. Going to delve into the next one.

Betrayed

Really good. I just couldn't put it down until the best friend part. Had to give myself some grieving time.

[maggie ann-mae · Rating 3 out of 5]

I remembered really enjoying these books when i was younger. while they are still fun to read they do not hold up very well (slurs etc). that is to be expected considering when these books came out.

[Taylor Bell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book. Got my hooked.loved the whole series! But could have done without all the pop trivia stuff.

[Dawn Gurski]

Great book but the love triangle throughout the series was a bit annoying

[Lovedean2006 · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book it was so good I can't wait to read the next book

[Roseanne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Obsessed

[Christina Piccirillo · Rating 5 out of 5]

This series was my entire personality in high school. I was Zoey for Halloween in 9th grade 😂

[Ellie Garrett · Rating 4 out of 5]

GREAT. Lots of unexpected turns. This girl needs to be taught a lesson about the do's and don'ts of dating guys tho :/

[Sky-Dsetiny Green]

I have read the first book before and I thought it was the perfect read for me. Great for mature teenagers like me and is a fantasy mixed with a bit of Greek mythology. Great read!

[Danni Phantom Reads · Rating 3 out of 5]

Zoey just kills it and she is the MAIN CHARACTER 😤 I like the storyline but she just☠️

[Siobhan · Rating 2 out of 5]

My teenage self was a sucker (no pun intended) for torture when it came to vampire books. I worked through far too many of these books before I allowed myself to give up, and I’m not sure if I’ll ever forgive myself for that.

I think my biggest annoyance with the books is the slang. The teenage version of myself found it endearing in the first book, but even my teenage self grew annoyed with it. You know something is bad when teenage you is annoyed by it.

Then there is the fact that the stories get so repetitive. It’s a rehashing of the same things over and over again, and you can only take this for so long before you start ripping your hair out.

I guess I stuck around out of teenage stupidity. I found the different take on vampires interesting, and being in that vampire phase I wanted to know more about this vampire world. However, by the time I reached book six (I lasted longer in my teenage years than I would now) I knew I couldn’t carry on as I’d grown to hate both the characters and the storyline far too much to feign interest in how things ended.

[Lauren]

Marked (House of Night, #1) - 1 star
16-year-old Zoey Redbird is marked and her whole entire life as she knows it gets turned upside down. Now she has to go to the school, House of Night, where she will train to become an adult vampire, that is if she survives the Change.

I pretty much never not continue on with a series (yeah I know how that sounds) but this one was just horrendous. I didn’t like the characters, I didn’t find the plot interesting, and I was overly annoyed by how the characters speak. I love vampires but there is not much (or anything I can think of) that is redeeming about this series. I am not going to continue on, it would be too painful, and I am not going to recommend this to anyone, even my worst enemy, in the future.

Not finishing series

[Marin Thomas · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Plot to the series was well written. The Author put twist into the books giving you different thoughts on the characters. Even though sometimes it was harder getting into some of the chapters it made you want to read more and more. soon getting you into the whole series. I felt you couldn't just read one book and finish it off on that. You got deeper and deeper into the story and the characters lives. you were wanting to be the characters or know them more. Bringing the whole story to life. Everyone who likes these types of books would love to read this. The writing is every well done. Its a great set of books and hopefully soon will come the movies to enjoy as well as all the books.

[Nicole Mavaega · Rating 1 out of 5]

I finished reading Marked at work yesterday and I just couldn't continue reading to the sequel of this series. I'm going be real honest about his book but before I start I just want to say this is of no offense to the authors and anyone else that likes this book. OK so I'm gonna start.

I HATE THIS BOOK! LITERRAALLYY!!!! First off slut shaming really? I swear every girl seems to be a slut to Zoey. Every guy seems extremely hot to her. I just don't like this book AT ALL! The mean girl thing is really cliche and I just can't continue reading something that constantly annoys me to the point where I wanna burn this book.So Yeh that pretty much sums it up.

[Irie]

these books are pretty cool. kind of hard to like the main character at first... she is both strong and yet shows a bit too much weakness at all the wrong times unlike riley in the demon trappers series however i think if you did read demon trappers you probably would like this series once you get past how annoying the protagonist can be at times.

[Princesita_1786]

Estan bueno los libros. Es una saga interesante. Un poco mas arriba de "pasar el rato" pero no tanto como para no poder despegarte de ella. Esta entre medio.

La recomiendo. Creo que les gustaria a aquellas seguidoras de Harry Potter y Academia de vampiros(richelle Mead) pero no se entusiasmen, si bien es una obra muy linda, no es "espectacular".

[Lisa M. Echeverry · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like the first book, but the second book put me in a reading slump because the vocabulary used was very child-like and to much cursing for my liking,towards the middle of the book I just got bored but then at the end it got cool and that was the reason why I finished it.I like it but I guess I was expecting more.

[Courtney Moulton · Rating 5 out of 5]

I would recommend these books to anyone. Its a new twist on how a person becomes a vampire, and the emotional struggle that of one girl makes throughout the series. It brings in different cultural ideas and keeps you guessing. These books has kept me reading from the moment I picked it up.

[Maggie Shanley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Somewhat predictable teen vampire story about a girl who tastes blood, zombie vampires, and crushes. The characters are engaging and I can see why students like it, but the plot is a little weak and obvious.