Book Review: Marked

Marked (Soulseer Chronicles) is a new author I picked up in my last bout of book shopping by Sue Tingey.

The Blurb: We have Lucky who can see ghosts living a quiet life with her ghost familiar Kayla. However it turns out Kayla is a demon and was sent herself to protect Lucky when she was born, or so she says. She finds out about the Underlands world where Kayla comes from and assassins are sent for them. Kayla returns to her world to make things safe for Lucky to come there. We find out slowly that, in fact, Lucky has demon blood in her. She collects demon friends Jamie and Jinx to protect her, along with two other loyal companions and a dragon.

Why did I pick it up: To be honest I thought it was a light but interesting paranormal book. I thought it would be an interesting read between my more darker fantasy.

What is good about the novel: The relationship between Kayla and Lucky is complex and interesting. They have known each other all of Lucky’s life but she finds out disturbing facts about Kayla yet still loves her. The world building is interesting but not quite as detailed as I would have liked. A lot is implied. What we do know is that it is violent.

What is not so good about this novel: Lucky is naive and innocent. She is terrified pretty much all the time and far too trusting given her environment. However, that is the character and in some ways it suits her and in other ways, it seems overdone. What I truly don’t like about this novel is the lack of an actual plot. They go to the Underlands. Clearly, there is ‘things going on behind the scenes’ that we are told about. But Lucky sees things and does things. She gets shocked and appalled. But really does nothing. There is no rise in action, no climax no nothing. Just at the end a spontaneous event leading to her group having to leave and Lucky to react. It is like Lucky herself isn’t involved in the plot at all, the plot is occurring elsewhere but at the end, the plot involved her directly. It is far more about her experience of the world.

I still did enjoy the experience. Just wanted more to that experience. I don’t feel inclined to read any follow-up novel, though. So 3 out of 5