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'

Marked for Death (Blind Jacks MC) (Volum...

Tiffany is a nurse who moves every few years to try and stay off her ex-husband's radar.  On the last night of her job at a hospital before moving to a new location, she ends up treating Ryder, a sexy as sin biker who has been shot.  The attraction between these two was off the charts and Tiffany feels a pull towards Ryder that she hasn't felt in a long time.

When the crazy biker who is trying to kill Ryder shows up at the hospital, Tiffany jumps into action to protect him.  Spending time alone Ryder while protecting him has Tiffiany's hormones running on overdrive.  Quickly things turn romantic and Tiffany realizes that just maybe she has found a new life that she doesn't want to run away from.

In typical J.C. Valentine style, there is a final showdown that ends completely not how I would have thought but just perfect for these two.  I look forward to more in this new series.

Though the main focus of "Marked for Death: The First War in the Air" is on the growth and development of British military aviation (as represented by both the Royal Flying Corps [RFC] and Royal Naval Air Service [RNAS], which later amalgamated to form the Royal Air Force [RAF] on April 1st, 1918) during the First World War, it also sheds considerable light on the evolution of aviation from its inception through 1918.  Topics such as 'Why Biplanes?', 'Armed to the Teeth', 'Combat and Other Missions', 'The Making of a Flying Man', 'How they lived', 'Parachutes and Fatalism', and 'Home Defence' give the reader a full perspective on the science, prevailing attitudes, mysteries, joys and hazards of flying.    This is a first class book, well-written and comprehensive.    I learned so much in reading it. 

Death Marked

by Leah Cypess
Book 2 (final) of Death Sworn

My Thoughts:
I'm going by what I remember after finishing this book.  And to be totally honest, that was already months ago (two months ago?).  And even to present I still don't really have anything to say about this book and so what everyone gets is a summary blurb and a few sentences.

Because I honestly had no idea what was going on in this book at all.  I had thought that Ileni had already made a decision about her actions, but I guess she really hasn't.  So instead of the competent, kickass, yet powerless sorceress with resources and skills, we get a wishy-washy, indecisive, and STILL powerless (and now also weak and whiny) sorceress who has no idea what the heck she's doing.

Four months ago, I somehow managed to finish reading this book.  Four months into the present, I really have no recollection of what actually happened in this book aside from people dying for reasons and Ileni going back and forth about what she's supposed to do and where she stands.

It was kind of frustrating and I'm not entirely sure I know what she accomplished... or even what this book accomplished.

***

2016 Reading Challenges:
• Goodreads Reading Challenge
• BookLikes Reading Challenge
• Bookish Resolutions Challenge

I can't believe it ended like that!!! I was totally expecting a trilogy and BOOM! It ended. So Sad about it. Other than the ending though, I thought it worked out pretty well. I do think the romance could have had more substance. But that ending....No spoilers, but just saying... Watch out for it. :)