What was kind of a shame was how little of the "normal" world we saw. Zoey only had a handful of chapters dedicated to her and while I totally get that - this book is about the Otherworld after all! - I would have loved to have gotten just a tiny bit more juicy details on what was going on in the original House of Night. Considering the events that happened in Loved, especially Aphrodite getting her red/blue Mark, I would have loved to have seen what those characters were up to now and how they were dealing with their House of Night. Experiencing Kevin was really awesome though! I absolutely loved him as a main character, and it was interesting to see what choices he made over the course of the book. Also, I am so glad that the whole Aphrodite-kissing-Kevin thing kind of got resolved. When I read Loved, I got super worried that it would mean that Aphrodite would also get together with Kevin (juggling him and Darius), but it makes a lot of sense that she meant for Kevin to go find Other Aphrodite, since she felt love for him in her heart and knew that her alternate self would as well.
Seeing Kevin deal with Old Magick was also incredibly interesting. The idea of a creature which is neither allied to Light nor Darkness is definitely an interesting concept, and I would have actually loved to have seen more of the power which Old Magick has. Zoey came over to the Otherworld to save Other Kevin from Old Magick, and while I totally get why, it just didn't feel like Old Magick was that much of a threat, since nothing really ever got out of hand with Kevin. The rhymes that P.C. & Kristin came up with for Oak though were all super awesome and really added a feeling of immersion when I read reading the book. I really did feel like Oak was an old creature and a force to be reckoned with.
I think the only thing that kind of bothered me about this book was just how easy Neferet got "defeated" in the Otherworld. I definitely don't think she will be down for long (after all, P.C. did say she had an additional 2 books outlined for the Otherworld series!). However, it did seem like they used their knowledge about Neferet, Kalona, the Tsi Sgili witch, etc. to quickly dethrone Neferet at the end of Lost. While I know that this four book series is only supposed to be a short series, I do feel like none of the protagonists ever really got into a "sticky" situation where things got really tough. This isn't really such a big deal, because I absolutely loved to see Other Kevin & Co. kick ass, but I did kind of miss that struggle between Light and Darkness which was very strong in the original 12 House of Night books. I hope P.C. & Kristin bring that back if the next two books do get published.
What was also really interesting in seeing the Otherworld was seeing just what the "normal" world would have come to if Neferet would have actually carried through with her plan with the red Vampyres and conquering the world. It really made me thankful just how much Darkness was held at bay when Zoey and her crew were at work for Light. Moreover, it opened my eyes to just what game Aphrodite was playing when she was still considered a "bitch" in the original series. You can really understand the sacrifices Aphrodite had to make to both keep her powerful position as Prophetess (keeping herself safe and protected from Neferet) and also not totally give in to the Darkness. The struggle is made really obvious. Reading Other Aphrodite's chapters and really seeing the world through her eyes before she had any friends to call her own, is definitely going to change the way I see Aphrodite when I'll go back to rereading the original 12-book series.
Now, I personally really, really would have loved to have seen a Zoey-Heath thing going on! I am a huge Heath-Zoey shipper and while I love her with Stark, I was really getting pumped for a Zoey-Heath reunion in this book. However, I respect P.C. & Kristin's decision to make Zoey's decide not to see him. If that's what they believe Zoey would have chosen, then I believe that's the best choice for her as well. I also think that it's a mature and grown-up thing for Zoey to have done and I am really proud of her, regardless of how much I would have loved to have seen Heath.
Now I need to talk about that scene. If you've read the book, you'll know what I'm talking about. My heart literally shattered into a million tiny pieces when Other Aphrodite sacrificed her life for everyone. It was both incredibly beautiful and sad to read. Her sacrifice obviously mirrored Aphrodite's sacrifice from the original series and it was also the turning point for Aphrodite in the other books, but it was just incredibly heartbreaking to know that she didn't survive her giving her humanity because of how lonely and loveless her life was. The little Light that she had in her and that she had embraced, she poured all of that out for so many people whom she didn't even know so well. If that isn't a pure sacrifice, I don't know what is!
I absolutely can't wait for the third House of Night the Otherworld book! There are still so many questions I have including: How will Other Kevin cope now in the Otherworld without Aphrodite? What path lies ahead of Aphrodite, now that she has her new Mark? Will Rephaim ever get a full human form and finish paying his penance? What will happen to Sgiach after she is done mourning her Mate and Warrior (so sad!!!)?
Something else which I would absolutely love to see is what kind of new powers Zoey and her Nerd Herd have now that they are full vampyres. It seems like vampyrism was kept such a mystery in the original series and I would really love to be able to read about some of those things through Zoey's POV. I'm especially curious about that ritual they do when someone becomes a vampyre, however I have a suspicion that P.C. is gonna keep that under wraps.
Either way, I am absolutely pumped for another book and will stay tuned for information soon.
Merry meet, merry meet part and merry meet again. Blessed be!
 by P.C. & Kristin Cast ){kind=link}
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