Source: Kindle Unlimited
Originally Reviewed: January 5, 2015
Rating: ★★★★☆
My first introduction to Sarah Fine was with her Guards of the Shadowlands trilogy. I was hooked on the first book. Even if I hadn't read that first, Marked would have done it all on it's own.
The thing about Guards of the Shadowlands is that, even though it was decidedly dark, it was most definitely YA. Touched is a far, far cry from all of that and the comparison has completely caught me by surprise. It's not that often that you find an author equally skilled in writing for both adult and YA audiences.
And Marked is definitely for an adult audience. My god, is it ever. Sarah Fine's talent is absolutely undeniable. Her work with the Guards has cemented that in my mind. Any author who can completely wrap me up in a YA novel let alone hold my attention through an entire series deserves bragging rights. That trend has definitely continued with Marked.
Cacey is a Ferry. Her family name, of course, but there's a reason for that. Her family helps the spirits of those who have passed transition to heaven or hell, wherever they are fated to go. The Ferries work on conjuction with the Kere, another race of beings who marks those fated for death by the Fates themselves.
She works as a paramedic, and she gets partnered with Eli, recently moved to Boston with his sister. Eli manages to tap into her secret, and both of their worlds are completely spun on their axis. We're thrust into a world of rogue Kere, and possibly even a conspiracy among the Fates that could unravel the tapestry of time and life itself.
All characters are phenomenally put together. Cacy and Eli are both very believable. Eli's sister, though she doesn't get a lot of screen time, becomes a major player and is very well developed. My only issue is with Cacy's immediate family. Her brothers and sister aren't nearly as well done as Cacy, Eli and his sister were. They seem a lot rougher and disjointed.
We already know that I think Fine is a brilliant author, though. However, and this is probably a silly gripe, the scenes between Cacy and Eli completely overshadow everything else. The story, minus Eli and Cacy, could have stood up fabulously on its own. The sexual tension between them was so. Intense. That alone was enough to distract from the non-romantic storyline. Then the tension finally gets acted on, and...
My girly parts tingle just from the memory.
But it was like two fully developed, independent storylines crammed together in a single book, with only a token effort to fuse them into a cohesive story.
Meh, what can I say though? Sarah Fine has me firmly in the grip of flawless dialogue, enrapturing creativity, and emotionally engaging people with stories that leave me breathless.
No comments:
Post a Comment