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

Marked (House of Night, Bk 1)
reviewed on + 90 more book reviews


My review will be of the entire series not just this book. Though I will endeavor not to include spoilers, there may be mention of things that someone starting with this book may not understand.

What I didn't like: Part way through the series, I think in the 3rd or 4th book, the format changed. Instead of being only written from Zoey's perspective, it started including chapters or parts of chapter's from the perspective of others. That continued to the end. For me it broke up the continuity, and in some cases I was bored and annoyed because I didn't care about the character in question. Others may find this a plus.

Too many things were left unexplained. I hate loose ends! How were the red fledglings created and why? What involvement did Nyx have with their creation? Why are they more like traditional vampires than blues? When did Aphrodite and Darius have sex for the first time? How was it? The lack of explanation here annoyed me because there was a point made in one of the earlier books that their relationship had NOT been consummated.

Why did Zoey not dump Stark after he began acting like Erik and worse, became completely dullsville? Why didn't she pursue more of a relationship with Aurox considering what she knew about him? Why didn't Heath get to come back AGAIN? He was a much more interesting character than Zoey's other love interests.

Why didn't - or did she? - Nyx ever allow Rephaim to be a real boy 24/7? It seems mean of her not to have relented.

What some may not like: An adult reading this may be annoyed by the focus on young adult interests, but remember that this IS a YA series so that just goes hand in hand. You may need to call up your inner teen in order to like these.

What I did like: The books are well written, the characters are mostly interesting, most things are explained and there's a nice wrap up at the end. The vampire mythology is not cliched. The bad guys are not overpowered and in some cases are overcome in one way or another. As an adult it was fun to relive the drama of love triangles.