Review: Marked

Marked by Steven Gregory

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



Book Info: Genre: Dark Urban Fantasy
Reading Level: Adult
Recommended for: Fans of dark urban fantasy, those interested in stories about angels and demons
Trigger Warnings: killing, murder, violence

My Thoughts: This book is listed as being called Marked: (Circles and Vortexes). I can't quite determine if that means there is a planned series or not. Also, originally released by Steven Gregory, it has recently been re-released under the pen name O.H. Reads, an imprint the author plans to use to market a set of short books. I was fascinated to note that the author is a folklorist and has a few books that re-tell fables and legends, including The Wisdom of Folktales: Lessons on How to Live Happily Ever After, which is currently free to read on Goodreads, so if you're interested in folktales and legends, then definitely check out his offerings.

As to this book. I mainly agreed to it because the author's other works sounded intriguing and I wanted to check out his writing style. It's taken me well over a year to read it, but that's nothing new. I still have books I received in June 2011 that I need to review. Time slips away all the time. Speaking of time. As I mentioned, this has been released under this author's “one-hour reads” imprints, but that's a misnomer. I read quite fast and it took me two hours to read the book.

Overall, it was fairly well written and edited, and an interesting idea, but the author has a bit of a problem with redundant wording, including putting Diane alone in the house by herself, and having Charlotte drive at the speed she was driving at. Those sorts of things are just sloppy. I was interested in the ideas of the circles and the use of the vortexes by humans to defend themselves from creatures from other circles, but felt the ending was rushed. Or maybe the middle was too leisurely. At any rate, while it wasn't a bad story, it wasn't exactly good either. Still if the idea interests you, check it out. It's a fairly quick read, while not exactly the one hour promised, and I can see the roots of a good idea. I'll be interested to see if the author continues the Circles and Vortexes series.

Disclosure: I received an e-book copy from Steven Gregory (the author), who has released this book under the imprint of his pen name O.H. Reads (for one-hour reads), in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Synopsis: There is a battle for human souls being waged, but humans don't even know about it. When Diane is 'marked' to lose hers, she is saved by Charles, a man who is more than he seems and who wants humans to know about their war and defend themselves. But Diane has been marked by Jeremiah, and in his quest for dominance and ending the war, he won't let one of his own get in his way. With help from Charlotte and Alexandra, and using Diane's special gift, it's still anyone's guess if they're going to be a match for Jeremiah.



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