Let me explain why I picked up a book I never thought I would like in the first place. Recently, I've been trying to broaden my reading by joining book clubs and reading out of my comfort zone. Tor.com has a monthly book club which I've been following for the last year or so, and for February they came up with Eve of Darkness.

At around 20% I seriously considered giving up on the book. I wanted to give it a fair chance, but every idea I had about the book before the start (it being a book by Sylvia Day/SJ Day - although I never before read one of her books) was confirmed three times over. There had been several (bad) sex scenes - one of which possibly a rape -, the main character slut-shaming herself, and being labeled a sinner for 'having tempted an angel into making her lose her virginity'. What however had been lacking so far, besides taste, was a single thread of a plot.

However, I'm not one for quitting books. I want to see whether there is some redeeming qualities somewhere, even though it would probably be better to quit, because there is so much left in the world to read. Admittedly, the remainder of this book was not as bad as the first 20%, but still it turned into the most generic good vs evil plot with both Cain and Abel (from Bible fame) fighting over Eve (Don't get me started).

Perhaps surprisingly, I don't plan to continue the series.

It was no surprise to me that 'The Lost Mark' trilogy had issues. In fact, most reviews and sites recommend skipping it entirely, but I'm a sucker for punishment. This was the second Eberron novel ever printed, so in the planning stages Forbeck likely didn't have all the material to work from that other authors did. That covers the continuity errors, but on a more basic level the characterization and flow of the books have problems.

Kandler is the justicar of a small town on the edge of the Mournland. His step-daughter Espre is a young elf and prone to nightmares. Kandler's best friend is the shifter Burch. Mardakine is principally settled by refugees from Cyre and the main trade is providing for adventurers heading into the Mournland. There has been a spate of unexplained, gruesome deaths among the townspeople lately and people are at a breaking point.

Enter, a confusion of paladins. There are five of them, but Commander Deothan and Sallah, a young female with red hair, are the only ones given any support from the narrative. The other three are dudebros I guess.

The mysterious deaths are followed by misunderstandings and an attack by a group of vampires whose goal is to kidnap Espre, who, not a spoiler because of that cover, bears a dragonmark that is possibly is definitely the long-lost Mark of Death.

The trilogy is mostly made up of a never-ending quest for Kandler to save his stepdaughter from the vampires, then from a changeling (a pretty good character, actually), and others.

My main take-away from this book was Forbeck's unusual focus on the smells of things. When the shifter Burch was our viewpoint that makes sense, but even the humans got in on noticing the smells and nothing else. Speaking of shifters, Burch was often treated more like an animal than a sentient being - even by the non-racist characters. Warforged didn't feel right either. They were very Destroy All Humans in a non-ironic way, which in a post-Futurama world makes no sense. My final complaint has to do with Vol, the Lich Queen and SECRET force behind the Blood of Vol religion and, even more secret, bearer in life of the Mark of Death. Characters in 'Marked for Death' are like - Vol? Yeah, I've heard of her. She lives thataway. Mark of Death, huh? Yeah I know what that is.

Nothing about Vol or the Mark of Death is supposed to be public knowledge, or even knowable by a player character who rolls a natural 20 unless in certain conditions. Ah well. Next!

The Lost Mark

Next: 'Road to Death'

@elizabethnoble1, #Action, #Adventure, #Romance, #LGBTQ, #ScienceFiction, #Futuristic, 5 out of 5 (excellent)

MARKED YOURS is the first book in the Sentries series and it introduces us to a post-apocalyptic world where the rules have changed. Same-sex partnerships aren't seen as any different to any other kind of romantic or love partnership. What is different is you can be chosen from birth to be either a sentry or a slave. To be honest, there isn't much difference between the two, although sentries have the illusion of being free.

I loved this story so much, and am so glad it's only the first book in the series. Nick was trained as a slave, and you learn through his history and flashbacks that the training wasn't all sweetness and light! Todd was trained as a sentry, and his training had the same pattern as Nick's. These two are starved for affection and each can give the other what they so desperately crave.

I would have liked a bit more information about just what it was that Nick and Todd could do, but I also, paradoxically, preferred how this book was about the two of them. How they had got to know each other. How trust was an issue for both of them. How they so desperately wanted the other to be safe.

The ending is perfect for this book, and it is yet another thing I would like to be expanded upon in the next book, or at least somewhere within the series!

A brilliant story that I adored, a series I can't wait to read more from, and a book I have no hesitation in recommending.

@BareNakedWords, @paula_ridge, @hotchoc84 (Charlotte), @author_sloanem, #Marked #SloaneMurphy #ReleaseBlitz #BareNakedWords, #YoungAdult, #Paranormal, #Romance, 4 out of 5 (very good)

Welcome to Black Water Academy.

The school where all supes in the territory come to learn and master their skills as they come into their power. Eden DeMonford is just like every other teen starting at Black Water, or is she?

With truths unravelling and suspicious people waiting in the wings, Eden must learn who she can trust and quickly…

Before the secrets of her past catch up to her.

I started this series quite a while ago and tossed it aside because I just couldn't get into it. This time I listened to it in audiobook format and loved it so much I listened to them in sequence. I enjoyed every moment of it.