Monday, January 12, 2015

Review: Marked

MARKED
Servants of Fate #1
Sarah Fine
Paranormal Romance
332 Pages
47North
Available Now
Source: Thank you, Nick!

THE STORY (from Goodreads)
In a broken landscape carved by environmental collapse, Boston paramedic Cacia Ferry risks life and limb on the front lines of a fragile and dangerous city. What most don’t know—including her sexy new partner, Eli Margolis—is that while Cacy works to save lives, she has another job ferrying the dead to the Afterlife. Once humans are “Marked” by Fate, the powerful Ferrys are called to escort the vulnerable souls to either eternal bliss or unending fire and pain.

Unaware of Cacy’s other life, Eli finds himself as mesmerized by his fierce and beautiful partner as he is mistrustful of the influential Ferry clan led by the Charon—who happens to be Cacy’s father. Cacy, in turn, can no longer deny her intense attraction to the mysterious ex-Ranger with a haunted past. But just as their relationship heats up, an apparent hit takes the Charon before his time. Shaken to the core, Cacy pursues the rogue element who has seized the reins of Fate, only to discover that Eli has a devastating secret of his own. Not knowing whom to trust, what will Cacy have to sacrifice to protect Eli—and to make sure humanity’s future is secure?

MY THOUGHTS
Marked is a thrilling start to this new series from Ms. Fine, introducing a fascinating mythology as to the politics of death itself while providing more than a little mystery and romance to keep us on the edge of our seats. The futuristic, flooded version of Boston takes a little while to really come into focus, the amphibious vehicles and the lawlessness of canal pirates creating a bit of chaos in the opening chapters, but before long the strength of Ms. Fine’s characters overshadow any lingering confusion we have as to how this world operates, and we easily find ourselves swept up in our lead couple's rather significant problems.

Cacy and Eli set a bar by which a large number of the romantic couples to follow them will find it hard to meet, treating each other with respect and maturity despite the landmines awaiting them every step they take. The communicate effectively not only as work partners but even more importantly as romantic partners, not allowing any behavior from the other person to tip them over the emotional edge before they’ve had the chance to talk things over. While it does take Cacy a little while to reveal the totality of what it means to be a Ferry in this world, Eli is well aware there’s something she’s not telling him from the beginning, thus relieving us of the full burden of her secrets.

While the chemistry between Cacy and Eli is incendiary and the slow escalation of sexual tension between them enough to have us flipping the pages with unprecedented speed, the romance, though prominent, is secondary to the mystery as to who is responsible for the dissolution of the ancient treaty between the Ferry’s and the Kere. Ms. Fine throws in a number of twists, Fate itself forced to snip a number of threads and then reweave them in a pattern that was never meant to be, and we read with breath held until a piece of the larger conspiracy is finally revealed.

Overall, Marked is pure entertainment, giving us a cast of beautifully layered characters we simply can’t wait to spend more time with and a world full of darkness and grit with shadowed corners we look forward to seeing come into the light. Eli and Cacy’s siblings have their chance to shine next, and the release date for Claimed can’t come soon enough.

Rating: 4/5


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This book was sent to me by the publisher free of charge for the purpose of a review
I received no other compensation and the above is my honest opinion.

46 comments:

  1. I enjoyed Of Metal and Wishes and so decided to read Sanctum, which I didn't seem to enjoy as much as everyone else. But, I'm still going to give this one a try, Jenny, because I like the sound of Eli and Cacy as a couple. I also like that the characters are layered, and the worldbuilding seems well done.

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    1. This was definitely different from her previous books, more an adult paranormal romance, and I just loved it. I think she writes great characters:)

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  2. It's interesting to have some great characters like that! I always love that, mainly when we want to know more again about them. The story sounds a little different and that's always intriguing. I'll keep an eye on it. thanks for the review!

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    1. I really liked the mythology of it Melliane! Can't wait to see where things go in book 2:)

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  3. I did think YA at first, dunno why

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    1. It does have a YA look, but it's more adult in nature:)

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  4. When I saw the name Sarah Fine I was sure I recognized it from somewhere but I couldn't think of why! This is her first adult/YA novel and I would love to try it. Glad you enjoyed it so much!

    Check out my post: http://olivia-savannah.blogspot.nl/2015/01/reader-problems-tag.html

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    1. I hope you get a chance to read it Olivia!!!

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  5. I still haven't read any Sarah Fine book, but I feel that'll change in 2015! I own quite a few of them and now the issue is where to start! Maybe I should start with this one, given that it's the most recent in my Kindle library! ;)

    Great review Jenny!!

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    1. You MUST read her Pili, I think you'd love her books:) Starting with this one sounds like a good plan!

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  6. Great review, Jenny! This is a new-to-me book, but I like the sound of it, so I will have to check it out. Cacy and Eli sound like my kind of literary couple!

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    1. I really liked Cacy and Eli together Christina, highly recommend this one:)

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  7. Yay! I'm so glad you liked it, Jenny, but I secretly knew you would. :) Eli and Cacy were such great characters. I loved how they were so supportive of each other and the chemistry was smoldering. I can't wait for the next books! :)
    Beautiful review!

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    1. SO GOOD NICK! I can't thank you enough for sending it my way:) I'm definitely ready for Claimed:)

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  8. All of my bloggers peeps are all over Sarah Fine's new book, and I must confess that I haven't yet discovered her writing for myself. Me thinks her Servants of Fate series will be making its way onto my TBR the moment I leave your site. :D

    Carmel @ Rabid Reads

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    1. I think you'd enjoy this one Carmel, it's got a great romance and a fantastic mystery:)

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  9. Sounds very intriguing, Jenny, and the world sounds like its own wonderful character.

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    1. This new version of Boston was hard to wrap my mind around at first, but it didn't take too long to get a feel for it:)

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  10. Never heard of this book but it does sounds great. Very intriguing. Nice review.

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  11. I have yet to read a book by this author but I hear her books are fantastic. I hope to read her Shadowlands series soon. This one looks great as well. I like how the romance doesn't overshadow the mystery. The characters sound great too.

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    1. I really hope you give her a try Rummanah! I've loved everything I've read:)

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  12. Yay! I am doing a happy dance here Jenny! I am so excited that Nick talked you into reading this and that you liked it! I can't wait for book two!

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    1. Me either Ali! I'm excited that each book focuses on a new couple too. I love series like that:)

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  13. This sounds so good! I loved Sanctum (still need to finish the series) so I am definitely adding this to my TBR :) Both the paranormal part and the romance sound pretty darn awesome. Great review!

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    1. The romance WAS awesome, I hope you have time to pick it up Zareena:)

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  14. Oooh, this sounds like something I would really enjoy Jenny! And, your review, has me drooling. Nick and Ali also enjoyed Marked as well, SO I'm going to jump aboard too. *side glance at Amazon*
    Thanks for tempting me - wonderful review : )

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    1. I definitely think you would like this Kim!

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  15. There are so many books coming out, it's so impossible to keep track of them all. Thanks for bringing this one to my attention, Jenny! I never heard of it and it sounds great!

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  16. I just bought this book. I don't really have much of an expectation about it, but I know the name should speak for itself. It does sound like she took the time to develop the world and her characters, and would love to see what kind of couple Cacy and Eli are.

    Great review!

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    1. YAY! I look forward to seeing what you think:)

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  17. Oh this sounds good. I'm putting this one on my wishlist. I've wanted to start her other series so she is on my must try author list. Yep, you added more books to my addiction. :)

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    1. It was good:) I highly recommend this and her Shadowlands series!

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  18. I loved the characters and the story, but I had issues with the world as well. Sarah is usually so good at world buildling. Still I can't wait for the next book.

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    1. I'm hoping book two explains a few more things about the world, but the characters were great:)

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  19. I'm anxious to read this one! She does romance really well, by what I've read of her books so far. This sounds pretty unique too!

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    1. I LOVED the death mythology Candace, it wasn't something I've read before:)

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  20. Hmm this is a new one to me. Glad to see you enjoyed it so much!! :)

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  21. this is the first i hear of this book, it sound so good :) I will add it to my TBR list

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  22. I've been trying catch up on books/authors/series I've been wanting to read, and this author is high on the list. I want to read her other series first, but I'm tempted to read this first. Decision ...

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  23. I'm so glad you reviewed this one, Jenny, since I haven't heard too much about it. I'm not surprised, however, that Fine delivers. I can't wait to meet these characters and fall for their romance. ;) Amazing review, dearest--so glad I didn't miss this as I'm bumping Marked up my TBR at once!

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  24. I keep seeing this on my pre-turned-on Kindle (so...ad, I guess) and was definitely wondering about it though, with so many books on my TBR, it's hard to click that button on an unknown, you know? But I do love that slow burn...that always makes me happy.

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  25. I NEED TO READ THIS ONE! I Love that whole paragraph about respect and communication between these two. Low drama is my MO these days. Plus high levels of swoon!? I need to get reading.

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