Kalona's Fall A House of Night Novella

Kristin Cast, P. C. Cast — 2014

FROM WARRIOR AND LOVER TO ENEMY AND BETRAYER, THE TERRIBLE SECRETS OF KALONA'S PAST ARE REVEALED He was laughing with her as he spread his wings and lifted her from the ground, twirling her. Nyx gasped and clutched his neck. Kalona tightened his arms around her. "Trust me, Goddess. I would never let you fall." From the Sun and from the Moon, two winged brothers are born: golden Erebus, playmate and friend, and mysterious Kalona, Warrior and lover, companions of the Goddess Nyx. From the first, Nyx loves them both deeply, but differently. With Erebus, she can talk and laugh and dance, and take joy in the games he plays among the humans of the Earth. With Kalona, the fire in her body burns bright, and she can rest in the solace of his strength and protection. But for Kalona, Nyx's nights are not enough. Every second he is not with her he is filled with doubt and longing, and every time he fails to please her, he cannot forgive himself. Ruled by anger and jealousy of his brother, and consumed by his love for his Goddess, Kalona seeks the power to prove his worth, and to claim once and for all that Nyx eternally belongs to him. And at the edges of the Earth, a Darkness is stirring, waiting for its chance, for the doorway in through a heart that it knows will welcome it... With more than 12 million books in print, rights sold in almost forty countries, and more than three years on The New York Times bestseller list—reaching as high as #1—the House of Night series is an international publishing sensation. Now, the excitement continues as the Cast mother-daughter duo shares the back stories of a few of the House of Night's most important—and mysterious—characters. In Kalona's Fall, the shadows in Kalona's past will finally come to light.

Reviews

Brittney Wilson@brijeanson

Jan 28, 2022

{4.5} This was a very beautifully worded novella giving lots of info and helping me see Kalona's perspective in brighter light :)

Jessica Williamson@jlw_writes

Dec 5, 2021

Ah, least favorite of these novella's. It was kind of boring but I understand it's necessity. I much, MUCH preferred the first two novella's, they were absolutely beautiful. This just basically tells how things were created: the universe, Mother Earth, Nyx, Kalona, Erebus, humans, Vampyres, cats... all of it. It's knowledgeable and informative but not the most interesting read. I feel like it's important to understand Kalona's character however. He had a choice in being a bad guy, but I don't think it was really much of a choice. Either way, I'm still sticking around for the last book, I can't just not finish the series though I am kind of glad it's coming to an end. It's still sad that it's ending but I have my own personal reasons for that which have basically nothing to do with the books themselves.

Jessica @jessicabeckett

Aug 25, 2021

House of Night Novellas: Dragon's Oath: ★★★★☆ Lenobia's Vow: ★★★★★ Neferet's Curse: ★★★★★ Kalona's Fall: ★★★☆☆ Blog | Twitter | Instagram | Review can be found here at Booked J. To be perfectly blunt with you guys, I don't necessarily care for Kalona or his backstory. I would probably say that I loathe his character in general. I grew to tolerate his presence towards the end of House of Night, but only just barely . And honestly? The Other World version of Kalona is, by far, the superior version of the character. His origin story in Forgotten makes Kalona's Fall pale in comparison. (Which, if you haven't begun the House of Night Other World seriously: you definitely should.) Still, I reluctantly dove into Kalona's Fall because the other three House of Night novellas impressed me and offered a great deal in terms of character development. I loved learning the backstories for Dragon and Anastasia, Lenobia, and Neferet. Each novella brings forward a specific timeline and paints a vivid backstory of these beloved characters. In many ways, Kalona's Fall does the same. It just so happens that I care for him the least and, to be blunt again, Kalona's origins just don't offer the same set of feelings as the others. While Dragon's Oath stirred up various emotions and made me warm up to a character I disliked (or rather was indifferent towards), I feel like Kalona's Fall did absolutely nothing in terms of development of Kalona. And while Neferet's Curse peeled back the layers of Neferet's life as a human girl and how she became who she is in this life, I felt nothing towards Kalona. He was petulant and there were times where I wanted to feel bad for him, but couldn't. As a character, I think that Kalona just doesn't do it for me and is the bare minimum in terms of development. He is just there and in House of Night we fear him, but in Kalona's Fall he feels like a cardboard cut out of a character. I was bored. And there's really nothing more to add to it?The biggest redeeming factor--and the only reason I not only completed the novella and gave it a three star rating--is in the use of mythology. We also get to see a great deal of Nyx, Erebus and Kalona. Obviously. While it is supposedly Kalona's story, I feel like the true shining stars of it were Nyx and Erebus. I can honestly say I wasn't feeling anything else. The competition was lackluster. The way Erebus and Kalona came to be was just... I can't explain it? Detached? And, ultimately, it was the weakest link in what was otherwise a fantastic set of novellas.