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A review by jojesweden
Dragon Marked by Jaymin Eve
Did not finish book.
DNF at about 65 %.
I'm not really sure what's going on and why. Okay, scratch that, I get what is happening, I just don't understand any of the characters' motivations or the world in which they live. Characters seem to have motivations, but tbh, they seem a bit forced. Everyone seem to be very passionate, but not really for any well explained reasons. Essentially, things seem to be moving a bit too fast in general, and not enough character definition is happening. Like we were dropped into the middle of the book, where characters were already well established, rather than the opening of a story where we don't yet know anyone.
Actions happen because of strong emotions, but only later are the reasons for those emotions explained, making the whole thing seem very improvised and the characters irrational. Like Jessa throwing a hissyfit and running into the woods when Misha is introduced. Like... Why? We only know she's upset that her mother is back, but nothing about how long she's been gone, what the rumors say, what her father told her, etc. All that is explained AFTER she acts in a way that seem extremely over-dramatic or even ridiculous without that context. It reminded me of Jade's Badly Written Erotica.
The concept of dragon-marked isn't introduced in any way, so when we learn that Jessa is, indeed, dragon-marked (which we already knew from the fucking blurb and could infer from the title) it doesn't tell us anything and, again, her reaction seems ridiculous. After that point, people being dragon-marked is suddenly a super-big issue without anyone seeming to know why. But it's also, apparently, a giant civil rights issue when there seem to be dragon-marked locked in Vanguard (which, btw, is a ridiculous fucking name for a prison, why not just call it Avant-garde, Spearhead, or Forerunner?). Nobody actually knows that Jessa is dragon-marked though, so the sudden interest isn't because of sympathy.
Constantly springing things at the reader without the context to understand the characters' behavior or reasoning and then explaining it post-hoc is just bad narration. It's like the opposite of foreshadowing and world-building.
Oh, and for fuck's sake, "alpha" is not a personality trait or a personality type. It's a specific role among some social animals. It's also not about being dominant and being an ass to everyone around you. The domination BS in this book is so cringe it almost hurts even for PNR which, as a genre, already has a deeply problematic relationship with the concept of "alphas".
Maybe it's the fucking intense narrator, who says everything in this wistful and sad voice, sounding as if she's constantly at the edge of tears, who's injecting way too much emotion into everything and making it feel over-dramatic.
And why are everyone having Attack & Defence classes in "College"? Are they training a fucking army? Apparently, um, yes? Maybe? Or extended prison guard corps? Unclear. There doesn't seem to have ever been any prison breaks, until very recently, and then only at other prisons. And why are they throwing a girl who can't even shift yet in with people who have had their powers and have been training since their... Early teens? When *do* people normally get their powers anyway? Could be relevant to understand Misha's situation, but I guess not. And apparently, attempted murder during class is just something that happens and worthy of little more than a warning, because supernaturals are just violent by nature? Or maybe it's because you have fucking classes about ATTACKING!? Holy normalization, Batman!
After the hangover, Jessa dons her "usual form-fitting jeans". Didn't she usually wear basically whatever as long as it was loose so she could quickly get out of it when she needed to shift? It's also winter now, but in the beginning, Jessa wore only a tank-top and short-shorts, did months pass? When? Where?
Who are these quads really? They seem like a gang of white trash petty criminals who expect to be treated as better than everyone else because of their innate powers. They seem to be assholes to everyone except their closest family and friends, but we're still expected to like them because they are nice to Jessa? They're suddenly about to do a prison break from the most secure supernatural prison in the US and they bring a girl who managed to shift for the first time the day before and who knows next to nothing about the supernatural world? Doesn't seem smart or like examples of great leadership in the future. Even Jessa recognizes that it all seems very weird and like a trap, but she doesn't want to seem like a coward (or like she has a brain) and just goes along with it. And so does her father apparently, who endorses the whole thing rather than using his own position and connections to find out more about what's going on.
And what is the plan for the prison break? Walk in through the front door and then improvise? Again, it all seems more like the actions of impulsive and self-entitled small-time criminals.
Fuck this, I can't be bothered.
I'm not really sure what's going on and why. Okay, scratch that, I get what is happening, I just don't understand any of the characters' motivations or the world in which they live. Characters seem to have motivations, but tbh, they seem a bit forced. Everyone seem to be very passionate, but not really for any well explained reasons. Essentially, things seem to be moving a bit too fast in general, and not enough character definition is happening. Like we were dropped into the middle of the book, where characters were already well established, rather than the opening of a story where we don't yet know anyone.
Actions happen because of strong emotions, but only later are the reasons for those emotions explained, making the whole thing seem very improvised and the characters irrational. Like Jessa throwing a hissyfit and running into the woods when Misha is introduced. Like... Why? We only know she's upset that her mother is back, but nothing about how long she's been gone, what the rumors say, what her father told her, etc. All that is explained AFTER she acts in a way that seem extremely over-dramatic or even ridiculous without that context. It reminded me of Jade's Badly Written Erotica.
The concept of dragon-marked isn't introduced in any way, so when we learn that Jessa is, indeed, dragon-marked (which we already knew from the fucking blurb and could infer from the title) it doesn't tell us anything and, again, her reaction seems ridiculous. After that point, people being dragon-marked is suddenly a super-big issue without anyone seeming to know why. But it's also, apparently, a giant civil rights issue when there seem to be dragon-marked locked in Vanguard (which, btw, is a ridiculous fucking name for a prison, why not just call it Avant-garde, Spearhead, or Forerunner?). Nobody actually knows that Jessa is dragon-marked though, so the sudden interest isn't because of sympathy.
Constantly springing things at the reader without the context to understand the characters' behavior or reasoning and then explaining it post-hoc is just bad narration. It's like the opposite of foreshadowing and world-building.
Oh, and for fuck's sake, "alpha" is not a personality trait or a personality type. It's a specific role among some social animals. It's also not about being dominant and being an ass to everyone around you. The domination BS in this book is so cringe it almost hurts even for PNR which, as a genre, already has a deeply problematic relationship with the concept of "alphas".
Maybe it's the fucking intense narrator, who says everything in this wistful and sad voice, sounding as if she's constantly at the edge of tears, who's injecting way too much emotion into everything and making it feel over-dramatic.
And why are everyone having Attack & Defence classes in "College"? Are they training a fucking army? Apparently, um, yes? Maybe? Or extended prison guard corps? Unclear. There doesn't seem to have ever been any prison breaks, until very recently, and then only at other prisons. And why are they throwing a girl who can't even shift yet in with people who have had their powers and have been training since their... Early teens? When *do* people normally get their powers anyway? Could be relevant to understand Misha's situation, but I guess not. And apparently, attempted murder during class is just something that happens and worthy of little more than a warning, because supernaturals are just violent by nature? Or maybe it's because you have fucking classes about ATTACKING!? Holy normalization, Batman!
After the hangover, Jessa dons her "usual form-fitting jeans". Didn't she usually wear basically whatever as long as it was loose so she could quickly get out of it when she needed to shift? It's also winter now, but in the beginning, Jessa wore only a tank-top and short-shorts, did months pass? When? Where?
Who are these quads really? They seem like a gang of white trash petty criminals who expect to be treated as better than everyone else because of their innate powers. They seem to be assholes to everyone except their closest family and friends, but we're still expected to like them because they are nice to Jessa? They're suddenly about to do a prison break from the most secure supernatural prison in the US and they bring a girl who managed to shift for the first time the day before and who knows next to nothing about the supernatural world? Doesn't seem smart or like examples of great leadership in the future. Even Jessa recognizes that it all seems very weird and like a trap, but she doesn't want to seem like a coward (or like she has a brain) and just goes along with it. And so does her father apparently, who endorses the whole thing rather than using his own position and connections to find out more about what's going on.
And what is the plan for the prison break? Walk in through the front door and then improvise? Again, it all seems more like the actions of impulsive and self-entitled small-time criminals.
Fuck this, I can't be bothered.