A review by booklover160
The Lady of the Mark by Alex Hanson

5.0

Huge disclaimer: Yes it took me a year to read but I read maybe 85% of it within one sitting because it is so GOOD. It was definitely a case of 'I don't want the book to end so I won't finish it'.

I saw a TikTok of this book and was like 'oooh yes age gap romance, assassins, badass lady' and downloaded a free sample to my kindle. I LOVED IT. So I bought the paperback.

Quick aside: even though this is self published, the physical quality of the book is just as professional as any trad published book! It's very well laid out and the cover is stunning! Very very nice! And affordable! Highly recommend!

The plot is twisty and turny and while it doesn't hold your hand and walk you through everything, there are resources in the back to help supplement. I loved how the plot was never straightforward. I felt so on edge at every turn! I also enjoy how book 2 is neatly set up while giving our stars of book 1 their HEA.

And speaking of our stars of book 1... I LOVE THEM SO MUCH. I adored how they are so flawed but doing their f*ckin best. I love that they learn and grow and compromise and felt so human. I love love love their romance too. It's so sweet and steamy and the mutual pining is *chefs kiss*. I don't typically read a lot of spice but this has a perfect amount for me. Enough to definitely be spicy but not enough to be considered distracting from the actual story.

As for the writing, I was so impressed. It's incredibly well written. The emotions were done just as much justice as the badass fight scenes. And fight scenes there are aplenty. I found that I could easily follow along with the action and I got lost a few times but in those chaotic messy scenes where even the characters are lost. It was just really well done.

There's only one thing I didn't care for but that's entirely personal preference.
SpoilerI'm not a fan of pregnancy tropes as plot motivations and our leading lady gets pregnant at the end and it causes quite a stir.


Overall, if you like badass ladies, action assassins, an age gap romance well done, and want to support an indie author; this is the one for you! I already purchased book 2 and hopefully that won't take another year to get through.