Eve of Destruction - Marked Bk 2 - S.J. Day

Evangeline "Eve" Hollis is back in the 2nd Marked novel, Eve of Destruction. She only thought things were rough in the 1st of the series, Eve of Darkness, but now she's off to boot camp. You see, Eve still hasn't really been taught how to kill Infernals (not that this fact has stopped her) yet. So, along with 8 other Marked Novices Eve is off to an abandoned military base to train to become a full fledged Mark. It may turn out to be the longest week of Eve's life.

The Novices begin to drop one by one and Eve begins to search for the killer hidden amongst them. Be it a traitor or Infernal. Add to this fact that the cable TV brand of ghost hunters chooses this week to investigate the military base and suddenly the entire Mark system is in danger. Eve struggles with keeping the "paranormal researchers" alive while keeping the Mark system quiet.

Eve becomes the de facto leader of the remaining Novices by the simple fact that she is the most experienced. Cain (her mentor) and Abel (her boss) are on separate assignments, and are not around to help her this time. If Eve wishes to get out of this week alive then she's going to have to put down this new threat and get as many of the others out as possible.

Ms. Day gets the first thing for me right in a sequel. She allows her heroine to grow while at the same time not letting her do anything out of character from the 1st novel. Eve is a truly wonderful character. Just when you think that all of the heroines for urban fantasy must be assembled in some factory along pops Eve Hollis.

You'll also be glad to know that the kernel that Ms. Day revealed in Eve of Darkness that the eternal struggle may not be as simple as good vs. evil is further explored. Plus, the growth and where she leads the love triangle between Eve, Alec Cain and Reed Abel is almost worth the ride alone in these books.

S.J. Day brings the best thing and author can to the urban fantasy genre, something new. I, for one, cannot wait for the release of Eve of Chaos. You'll find yourself turning page after page. While every novel comes to an end it also lets you in on the beginning of the next novel. Just to ensure you mark the next release date on your calender. Eve of Destruction gets 3.75 stars out of 4.

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^{Please check out the author's website here, her blog here or you call follow her on Twitter.}

Eve of Darkness - Marked Bk 1 - S.J. Day

Looking for a new twist on one of the very oldest stories? Perhaps just something different from your regular urban fantasy novels this summer? Then I give you author S.J. Day's Eve of Darkness, Book 1 of the Marked series...

Evangeline "Eve" Hollis was a good girl who knew what she wanted and what she didn't by the time she was eighteen. She's still pure of body (and mostly of mind) and wanting to stay that way for the foreseeable future, but all that changes when she sees the tall, dark, stranger on the Harley outside the ice cream shop where she works. His name turns out to be Alec Cain, and he becomes her first, her best and the only lover she still dreams about almost a decade later. Until a liaison in a stairwell with a man who reminds her so much of Cain that she finds herself unable to resist. This leads to her being branded with a triquetra, and becoming the newest bone of contention in the oldest sibling rivalry.

Cain reappears in Eve's life after a decade to become her mentor in this new world she's been thrust into. Eve, a self confessed agnostic, has found out that the brand on her deltoid is the actual Mark of Cain and that she is now a bounty hunter for God. Being marked a sinner Eve is being given a chance to work for her redemption. That work involves the hunting of Infernals (demons, dragons, werewolfs & others). Unknown to her is that she is not only a hunter of these Infernals, but is equally hunted by them. Handing out her assignments in this new life is angel (hoping to soon be promoted to Arcangel) Reed Abel. Being hunted from the start, Eve must learn how to kill if she wishes to stay alive and to save an immortal soul she didn't ever think existed.

Day manages to hit all the right notes of an urban fantasy heroine making her smart, sarcastic and at times funny, but also adds to her as well. Eve isn't a loner and has a pretty nice life (which she really wants back) before all of this befalls her. The intelligence helps quite a bit since she has to absorb so much so fast. From having to learn the hierarchy of Heaven where Arcangels are the top of the food chain and the Marked are the lowest to her actually "learning" about Cain and Abel.

Alec Cain is the quintessential bad boy (and basically sex walking to Eve) while Reed Abel is the straight arrow who desires Eve as well. Day takes a few chapter and verses from Genesis and begins to weave her own mythos from there. You are immediately thrown into the story from chapter one, but how Eve was Marked is explained subsequently. Day builds Eve's story well from the beginning which gets you good and hooked and reading well past your bedtime. This is a novel you can definitely read in one sitting because the complexity of the plot keeps you turning pages and reading more needing to know what happens next. Eve of Darkness holds your attention and doesn't let go.

On a personal note, as one of the few male reviewers of this genre, can I just say how well Day handles the sex scenes in this novel? As someone who's skipped whole chapters in past UF novels because the sex scenes were so mechanical and boring, I was completely drawn into Day's writing style. Very visceral, very real and very steamy.

Thankfully Eve of Darkness is already in bookstores. Day will also release two more Marked novels this summer, Eve of Destruction on June 2nd and Eve of Chaos on June 30th. If you thought this was a trilogy, you're mistaken. Day has assured us that there are more Marked novels to come and I for one am grateful. I give Eve of Darkness 3.5 Stars out of 4.

Please Support This Site and Pick Up a Copy Here: Eve of Darkness (Marked, Book 1)


Please check out the author's website here or her blog here (the first chapter is available here BTW) or you call follow her on Twitter.

Marked - House of Night - P.C. and Kristin Cast

This is book one in P.C.& Kristin Cast’s House of Night series, Marked. The title has to do with what happens when a teenager develops a crescent moon mark upon their foreheads. This mark means that the teenager is going to be possibly turning into a vampyre. This happens to the novel’s protagonist, Zoey Redbird. She has been “marked,” or chosen to become a vamprye. Therefore she must leave her hum drum mortal high school and enter, The House of Night, what is basically a finishing school for those who survive the change to become adult vampyres. Not that all of those chosen do make it to adulthood. Sometimes the fledgling's body simply rejects the change, in other words, either the young make it or they die.

For Zoey being marked first truly frightens her. Until she discovers the vampyre Goddess Nyx has also chosen her to become something more than an ordinary fledgling. She enters into The House of Night light years ahead of other fledglings. With powers and abilities that shouldn’t be open to her for years. On the downside, a bloodlust and the ability to “imprint” upon humans (neither of which should be a problem until she’s an adult) keep her wary of these gifts.

When the Mistress of the House discovers her abilities, she is made the leader of the most exclusive group at school, The Dark Daughters. However, not all is as it seems at first glance. Even the ousting of the former leader of The Dark Daughter’s and Zoey's taking her place is called into question.

If there is anything that Neil Gaiman (Coraline, The Day I Swapped My Dad for Two Goldfish
& The Graveyard Book) and JK Rowling (Harry Potter 1-7) have taught me, it’s to not pay too much attention to a Young Adult label. Stephanie Meyer (Twilight (The Twilight Saga, Book 1)
may be the person responsible for so many vampire novels for YA’s, but I believe Marked is a stand out amongst these. The entire vampire finishing school aspect is new and worth your time to check out.

The Cast’s have several nice spins on the old vampire mythos. Plus, some lovely addition’s of their own. You can tell there are more books in this series by what is revealed and what isn’t, but it doesn’t disappoint. The clues and hints dropped in Marked simply insure that you’ll want Betrayed (House of Night, Book 2) even more. Marked is the beginning of an enjoyable series.

Marked receives a Good rating: 3 out of 4 Stars

Please Support This Site and Pick Up a Copy Here: Marked (House of Night, Book 1)


Make sure to check out Tempted (House of Night Novels) Coming 10-27-09 .Visit P.C. Cast’s website or visit the official website for the House of Night series.