Chosen (Cast novel)
Chosen is the third novel of the House of Night fantasy series, written by American authors P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast. The book was released on March 2, 2008 by St. Martin's Press, an extension of Macmillan Publishers. The book has been since translated into more than 20 other languages including French, Spanish, German and Chinese.[2]
 The first edition cover of Chosen | |
| Author | P.C. Cast Kristin Cast |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Series | House of Night |
| Genre | Young adult Paranormal romance |
| Publisher | St. Martin's |
Publication date | March 4, 2008 |
| Media type | Print(Paperback & Hardback) Audio CD[1] |
| Pages | 307 |
| ISBN | 978-0-312-36030-6 |
| OCLC | 156832359 |
| Preceded by | Betrayed |
| Followed by | Untamed |
Zoey is plagued by a terrible secret: Neferet, the High Priestess of the Tulsa House of Night, has been reviving the fledglings who had rejected the Change to add them to her personal army. Among them is her best friend, Stevie Rae, and every second she grows further away from her humanity, but Zoey will fight for her even if she doesn't want it.
Plot
Back at the House of Night, Zoey realizes that, as a leader of the Dark Daughters, she has to choose someone else to fill the position of Earth in her circle. Much to everyone else's displeasure, she chooses Aphrodite, when she manifests a new affinity for the Earth.
Zoey also feels more and more estranged from Erik, because of the lies she tells to hide her relationship with Loren. During the night Erik finishes the Change, she loses her virginity to Loren and Imprints with him, breaking her previous one with Heath. Erik walks in on them and angrily breaks up with Zoey. She pulls herself together and leaves to gather her friends, planning to tell them about Stevie Rae, to cast a circle and heal her. On the way, Zoey chances upon Loren and Neferet and hears him confess that Neferet had made him seduce Zoey, for her to become alienated from her closest friends, and that he actually loves Neferet.
Heartbroken, Zoey leaves to get Damien, the Twins and Aphrodite. She had planned to use the occasion to cure Stevie Rae and introduce her to her friends. Because of Loren's meddling, Stevie Rae arrives before Zoey has the chance to explain her to her friends and they feel betrayed, but agree to finish the ritual. When Zoey is about to invoke Earth, Stevie Rae attacks Aphrodite in a fit of jealousy and drinks from her and Changes into the first red adult vampyre. Aphrodite is terrified to discover that her own mark has disappeared and runs away through the secret exit with Stevie Rae after her, leaving Zoey alone with the rest of her friends.
Zoey does her best to explain and she manages to get them to listen until Erik shows up and reveals her infidelity and her relationship with Loren. This shatters Damien and the Twins' last bit of faith in her. On the way back she is seized by a series of spasms, and founds out much later that they came from her Imprint with Loren breaking as he died.
Acting from apparent grief at his loss, Neferet declares war on all humans. Zoey realizes that Neferet is lost to sense, pulls herself together and faces Neferet down after the Council. During the confrontation Zoey begins to doubt herself. When she is unsure if she is strong enough to stand against Neferet on her own, she feels the strength of her elements and the tingle of her new marks and is confident in Nyx and the power she has been given. Afterwards, she heads to her dorm and finds that Erik witnessed her exchange with Neferet. He wants to believe her, but is still hurt because of Zoey cheating on him. Tiredly, with Nala in tow, Zoey heads to bed, but not before hearing her goddess whisper, "Believe in yourself, Daughter, and get ready for what is to come."
Characters
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Reception
The third installment of the series received positive reviews.
- "Through Zoey’s eyes readers are led into a world that’s getting more complicated by the minute, where friends and enemies can switch positions in a heartbeat. The remarkable Cast duo continues to build a world that you won’t soon forget!"(Romantic Times)[3]
- "Chosen, The House of Night series book 3, is like the cream in an Oreo cookie holding the two ends together. This story is gearing up for the final showdown between Zoey and Neferet and mother and daughter team, P.C. and Kristen Cast are setting the stage perfectly for this…Again, P.C. Cast is an auto-buy author for me and this series is also on that auto-buy list." (ParaNormal Romance reviews)[4]
References
- First audiobook edition of Chosen on WorldCat
- Editions of Chosen in other languages
- Chosen review on Romantic Times
- Chosen review on ParaNormal Romance
External links
- Chosen on the Official Website
- Chosen on the publisher's website
- First chapter of Chosen, on the publisher's website