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Book Review of Marked (House of Night, Bk 1)

Marked (House of Night, Bk 1)
havan avatar reviewed on + 138 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1


An enjoyable book once you get past a maladroit opening. I was in the mood for a light supernatural romance and after reading the first few chapters of this I almost threw it back. The author, P.C. Cast, teaches a writing class so she should have known better, but maybe she couldn't resist. She threw in so many pop-culture references and the first few chapters had so many convoluted embellishments that I almost lost patience and gave up. But after the first 50 pages, this got much better.

The classic writers loved to embellish their tales with levels of detail that slow the overall process of reading but result in a richer journey. That's fine, and when one is in the appropriate frame of mind, it can be wonderful but one generally doesn't approach a supernatural teen romance in that mood.

However, it was nice to see a gay character (even a supporting character) that's not too stereotypical in this situation, and that did redeem some of the writing foibles, but this book will definately NOT be for everyone. It's a too obvious attempt to cash in on the Twilight phenomonon but with wiccan elements, and it's enjoyable enough when it's not trying too hard.

Despite its writerly moments the storytelling here is quite good and if you enjoy this sort of thing, stick with it for the first hundred pages and then decide.