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ferrumage's review against another edition
The narrator/main character had about as much agency as a lamp.
cindyc's review
5.0
I have been excited about this book since last year’s World Science Fiction Convention, or Loncon3. There, I got a little booklet with the first chapter of the book and I read it that very evening, hooked from the start. I had to wait almost a year to get to read the rest of the book. It was just as great as that first chapter promised.
‘Marked’ starts out as a tale about a young woman who can see ghosts. She leads an isolated life because of that and even her best friend is a ghost who has been by her side since she was young. Don’t be fooled though, there is so much more to the book than you’d think at first.
Lucky, the main character is visited by a demonic assassin who wants her to pass along a message to her best friend, Kayla. Kayla starts acting weird, not wanting to explain and to make matters even more complicated, a young guy called Jamie turns up at her doorstep, begging for her help. Lucky soon suspects something is terribly wrong and that the others are keeping things from her. When the whole truth finally surfaces Lucky’s world is turned upside down and she finds herself whisked away to a parallel world that’s both incredibly beautiful and different, but also quite frightening. At the Daemon King’s court she’s forced to watch his bloodthirsty games while trying to stay alive herself.
‘Marked’ was a fascinating and entertaining read. When Lucky was transported to the parallel Daemon world, I was reminded of how I felt watching Alice in Wonderland for the first time. This magical place full of new, wonderful and scary things, where nothing is as we’re used to. It is a journey of discovery for Lucky and for us.
I loved the characters in this book. Lucky is a strong female protagonist with a will of her own, braving everything admirable. I liked how she reacted to the whole situation quite how I imagine I would react, with wonder but also fear and reluctance.
Her bodyguards are 4 refreshingly different antagonists: the handsome and honourable Jamie, the seductive and cheeky Jinx and the two loyal demons Mr Kerfuffle and Mr Shenanigans. They each coloured the story in their own way, giving it some lightness, some romance, some fierce loyalty and some crackling sexual tension.
Parallel worlds in the Fantasy genre always ask for some well written worldbuilding. I absolutely love parallel worlds and was curious to find out about this one. Sue Tingey chose to make her world very different from ours in almost every aspect. Not only have the inhabitants, or Daemons, a different appearance, they also have different standards and habits. Creatures like Lucky’s Drakon, Pyrites, populate this Daemon world, dragons who can be as big as a house and fly you around or shrink to the size of a cat and sleep next to your pillow. I almost wish they were real, so I can have one! The world itself is also different in appearance, with the fairly standard multiple moons/suns, but also unusual colours and sights. Needless to say I was enthralled.
A strong and interesting debut that isn’t easily labelled within the genre, ‘Marked’ will please a diverse group of readers. Tingey succeeded in avoiding all the clichés that are usually interwoven with plots like these, and managed to keep a level of realism with her characters. I’m eagerly looking forward to the next book in the series (and secretely hoping there’s a lot more of Jinx in there ;-) )
‘Marked’ starts out as a tale about a young woman who can see ghosts. She leads an isolated life because of that and even her best friend is a ghost who has been by her side since she was young. Don’t be fooled though, there is so much more to the book than you’d think at first.
Lucky, the main character is visited by a demonic assassin who wants her to pass along a message to her best friend, Kayla. Kayla starts acting weird, not wanting to explain and to make matters even more complicated, a young guy called Jamie turns up at her doorstep, begging for her help. Lucky soon suspects something is terribly wrong and that the others are keeping things from her. When the whole truth finally surfaces Lucky’s world is turned upside down and she finds herself whisked away to a parallel world that’s both incredibly beautiful and different, but also quite frightening. At the Daemon King’s court she’s forced to watch his bloodthirsty games while trying to stay alive herself.
‘Marked’ was a fascinating and entertaining read. When Lucky was transported to the parallel Daemon world, I was reminded of how I felt watching Alice in Wonderland for the first time. This magical place full of new, wonderful and scary things, where nothing is as we’re used to. It is a journey of discovery for Lucky and for us.
I loved the characters in this book. Lucky is a strong female protagonist with a will of her own, braving everything admirable. I liked how she reacted to the whole situation quite how I imagine I would react, with wonder but also fear and reluctance.
Her bodyguards are 4 refreshingly different antagonists: the handsome and honourable Jamie, the seductive and cheeky Jinx and the two loyal demons Mr Kerfuffle and Mr Shenanigans. They each coloured the story in their own way, giving it some lightness, some romance, some fierce loyalty and some crackling sexual tension.
Parallel worlds in the Fantasy genre always ask for some well written worldbuilding. I absolutely love parallel worlds and was curious to find out about this one. Sue Tingey chose to make her world very different from ours in almost every aspect. Not only have the inhabitants, or Daemons, a different appearance, they also have different standards and habits. Creatures like Lucky’s Drakon, Pyrites, populate this Daemon world, dragons who can be as big as a house and fly you around or shrink to the size of a cat and sleep next to your pillow. I almost wish they were real, so I can have one! The world itself is also different in appearance, with the fairly standard multiple moons/suns, but also unusual colours and sights. Needless to say I was enthralled.
A strong and interesting debut that isn’t easily labelled within the genre, ‘Marked’ will please a diverse group of readers. Tingey succeeded in avoiding all the clichés that are usually interwoven with plots like these, and managed to keep a level of realism with her characters. I’m eagerly looking forward to the next book in the series (and secretely hoping there’s a lot more of Jinx in there ;-) )
shellshellyshellshell's review
3.0
I received a copy of this book via NetGalley.
Lucky has always been able to see spirits and this gift has made her a bit of a loner. Thankfully ever since she was a young child Lucky has had her best friend, Kayla, looking out for her. When she is asked to investigate some supernatural goings on at her old school Lucky encounters a terrifying demon. Little does she know, this is only the beginning of her problems.
This book starts of as a quirky urban fantasy then becomes a full blown hard fantasy. Personally I preferred the fast paced first half of the book as the story seemed to drag a little in the second half. There isn't really any resolution to the story at the end of the book, leaving it wide open for the sequel. Overall a good read with some great characters, and an adorable dragon, sorry, Drakon.
Lucky has always been able to see spirits and this gift has made her a bit of a loner. Thankfully ever since she was a young child Lucky has had her best friend, Kayla, looking out for her. When she is asked to investigate some supernatural goings on at her old school Lucky encounters a terrifying demon. Little does she know, this is only the beginning of her problems.
This book starts of as a quirky urban fantasy then becomes a full blown hard fantasy. Personally I preferred the fast paced first half of the book as the story seemed to drag a little in the second half. There isn't really any resolution to the story at the end of the book, leaving it wide open for the sequel. Overall a good read with some great characters, and an adorable dragon, sorry, Drakon.
rjsthumbelina's review
4.0
Slow beginning. This book suffers from a lack of showing its cards. It feels like it's going one day,then bam! Halfway through the book,it's suddenly daemons and drakons and guardians and deathbringers. That's when the book gets good. Some of the characters felt a bit two dimensional to me,but maybe with more time they will come to life more.
zoe2088's review
5.0
I may have found a new favourite trilogy! Quick paced from the beginning with spectacular characters and world-building. I couldn't have wanted more from the first in the series, I'm just so glad I have the following 2 to speed through straight away.
apparatinglibrarian's review against another edition
3.0
This was a book that I pulled off the "new" shelf at the library and only read a few sentences as to what it was about and checked it out in the hopes that it was wonderful.
If you like the show Supernatural, read Fantasy, love reading about demons/supernatural/and horror....you should read this book. It was surprisingly good. I was really going into this as a "what the hell" kind of mood, and came out of it feeling pretty great. The protagonist is a little annoying with some of her thoughts and actions, but put that aside everything else was pretty tolerable.
If you like the show Supernatural, read Fantasy, love reading about demons/supernatural/and horror....you should read this book. It was surprisingly good. I was really going into this as a "what the hell" kind of mood, and came out of it feeling pretty great. The protagonist is a little annoying with some of her thoughts and actions, but put that aside everything else was pretty tolerable.
hazel_reads's review against another edition
2.0
I received a copy of this book from NetGalley. Lucky de Salle can see and communicate with ghosts. Because of this, she was bullied as a child, and made an outcast as she grew older. She also outed anyone that was a fake claiming to be psychic. Her best friend for her whole life has been a ghost named Kayla. But is she really a ghost or something else? Strange things start to happen that have her questioning what Kayla is and if she can really be trusted. This book started out good, fizzled in the middle, then picked up speed again at the end. I can't say it held my attention enough to continue on with the series.
zoe2088's review against another edition
5.0
I may have found a new favourite trilogy! Quick paced from the beginning with spectacular characters and world-building. I couldn't have wanted more from the first in the series, I'm just so glad I have the following 2 to speed through straight away.
marziesreads's review against another edition
I received this book from Net Galley in exchange for a fair review.
I tried twice.
Tingey came up with a potentially interesting premise (won't give details because too spoiler-y) but it all went off the rails. I kept hoping that the book could have been much more than it was. The piling up the tropes just became too much for me to overcome. The love triangle was it for me. Just no more...
I was also annoyed this book was less paranormal mystery (which is how it was blurbed on Net Galley) than paranormal romance, which isn't my thing unless very well written. (Let's face it, there aren't many Ilona Andrews-quality writers in that genre...) I usually don't review books I don't finish, but the mislabeled genre issue bothers me.
I tried twice.
Tingey came up with a potentially interesting premise (won't give details because too spoiler-y) but it all went off the rails. I kept hoping that the book could have been much more than it was. The piling up the tropes just became too much for me to overcome. The love triangle was it for me. Just no more...
I was also annoyed this book was less paranormal mystery (which is how it was blurbed on Net Galley) than paranormal romance, which isn't my thing unless very well written. (Let's face it, there aren't many Ilona Andrews-quality writers in that genre...) I usually don't review books I don't finish, but the mislabeled genre issue bothers me.
wayfaringbibliomaniac's review against another edition
5.0
ARC provided in exchange for honest review.
I absolutely loved this book!! I got so stuck into it that I read it in just a few hours. And when I wasn't reading it, I was thinking about what might happen next... Right up my alley with all the mystical creatures humanised and the lead character being so relatable. Not only is the author wonderful, but she is also hilarious and capable of writing the story of a strong female lead who may need the guidance of her companions in the new world she comes to, but is still more than able to take care of herself and kick some ass when needed.
I love when characters are multidimensional from the beginning and progress throughout their stories. Miss Tingey made all of that happen and more. I did realise within the first couple of chapters that Kayla is not all that she appears, but that really becomes obvious near the end of the novel. There's always something that doesn't add up throughout the course of the story; too many coincidences that are obviously not coincidental. Then, when one problem is solved, another arises. And, of course, as the story ends, she has the decision of a lifetime to make...
Will definitely be reading book 2 of the Soulseer series! As a matter of fact, I just downloaded it...
I absolutely loved this book!! I got so stuck into it that I read it in just a few hours. And when I wasn't reading it, I was thinking about what might happen next... Right up my alley with all the mystical creatures humanised and the lead character being so relatable. Not only is the author wonderful, but she is also hilarious and capable of writing the story of a strong female lead who may need the guidance of her companions in the new world she comes to, but is still more than able to take care of herself and kick some ass when needed.
I love when characters are multidimensional from the beginning and progress throughout their stories. Miss Tingey made all of that happen and more. I did realise within the first couple of chapters that Kayla is not all that she appears, but that really becomes obvious near the end of the novel. There's always something that doesn't add up throughout the course of the story; too many coincidences that are obviously not coincidental. Then, when one problem is solved, another arises. And, of course, as the story ends, she has the decision of a lifetime to make...
Will definitely be reading book 2 of the Soulseer series! As a matter of fact, I just downloaded it...