Found (House of Night Otherworld)

MY RATING

Overall rating: 10/10

Characters: 10/10

Pacing: 8/10

Story: 9/10

Ending/Wrapup: 10/10

“People who have given themselves over to Darkness to gain power have actually lost anything that is actually powerful, like honor and courage and truth. That bad guys may win some battles – may defeat some of us – but they won’t win the war. They have no substance. They fight for no one but their own selfish desires. How can that ever be stronger than the power of love?”

 

After I finished Found, I just sat there quietly for a short while and thought to myself that this book was definitely the most perfect conclusion to the House of Night Otherworld series, as well as the House of Night series in general. I loved this book so much! It gave each and every character the perfect closure and I honestly could not have hoped for anything better.

 

My favorite aspect about this book was undoubtedly seeing Other Neferet and experiencing her redemption arc as it unfolded. More and more I could really start seeing the differences between Other Neferet and Neferet in this book, from the genuine love and care that Other Neferet was able to feel, especially in regards to Other Lynette, to the sacrifices she made for Lynette as well as her aversion to unnecessary violence. Although she had definitely allied herself with evil and Darkness, you could tell that she made evil choices purely out of considering them necessary, and she did not revel in it as much as Neferet did. It was incredibly beautiful and poetic how Neferet let herself open up more and more to love and Light until eventually, the love of Nyx flooded back into her heart.

I was also very shocked when Neferet asked Lynette to Imprint with her, which I found genuinely sweet and intimate. I’m not entirely sure whether Neferet and Lynette’s relationship is just platonic, or whether they might eventually turn into lovers, but I loved seeing their bond and love grow.

 

Seeing Other Aphrodite when Kevin stepped into Nyx’s Realm to cross worlds got me very emotional. Their conversations, especially the last one when Kevin crossed back into the Otherworld for the final time was incredibly bittersweet, but also gave both of them much-needed closure. When she told him to find love again and that she would be waiting for him, my heart just hurt so bad. I’m really glad that Kevin found a chance to love again (this time with Other Shaunee), but his and Aphrodite’s love for one another was just so pure and I am definitely not over her dying yet.

“I don’t know how strong my connection to spirit is, but I know one thing for sure. The love I have for Aphrodite is unbreakable, and I will pay any price to see her again.”

Speaking of finding closure with one another, Other Stark was also able to find closure with Zoey when they had their conversation with one another. I really love how this series really highlights how important and impactful our choices and free will are to our own experiences and lives. Although the Otherworld and the “regular” world had tons of similarities and parallels, you can really see just how different someone’s life could be if they had made different choices. P.C. and Kristin Cast also beautifully show that there is no such thing as only “one true soulmate” for everyone, but that our choices and our surroundings do change us and shape us into who we are and who we end up loving, and I find that message to be incredibly beautiful and empowering.

 

Finally, the part of the book that definitely had me most emotional and teary-eyed would have to be the ending, when Aphrodite granted Neferet a second chance at life, as well as when Nyx descended to bless the humans, vampyres and fledglings. I was definitely not expecting Aphrodite to grant Neferet a second chance. For the most part of reading this book, I was expecting Neferet to end up sacrificing herself for Lynette and then entering Nyx’s Realm. And I most definitely was not expecting her to revert back to being sixteen year old Emily. I found this to be absolutely poetic and beautiful. And because I just love happy endings more than anything, I was super duper happy when Rephaim was granted freedom from his penance, and that Lynette was also granted vampyrism. Seeing Lynette and Emily happy together in the end was probably the thing that made me most happy and that beautifully rounded off the story of the two Neferets.

 

I was both surprised and intrigued that Emily was granted an affinity over Old Magick by Nyx. This definitely swings a door to further books wide open (as P.C puts it). I would love to read more about her development, since this affinity is definitely going to intertwine with her general development, and whether she will end up choosing Light or Darkness again.  

 

Thank you P.C. & Kristin Cast for crafting this beautiful Otherworld series for your fans. I absolutely loved all four books and definitely await more books in the future!