Marked, Book 1
Synopsis: Cursed by God, hunted by demons, desired by Cain and Abel… All in a day’s work.
For Evangeline Hollis, a long ago fling with a bad boy from the wrong side of the tracks just became a disaster of biblical proportions. One night with a leather-clad man of mystery has led to a divine punishment: the Mark of Cain.
Thrust into a world where sinners are drafted into service to kill demons, Eve’s learning curve is short. A longtime agnostic, she begrudgingly maneuvers through a celestial bureaucracy where she is a valuable but ill-treated pawn. She’s also become the latest point of contention in the oldest case of sibling rivalry in history…
But she’ll worry about all that later. Right now she’s more concerned with learning to kill while staying alive. And saving the soul she’d never believed she had.
Review: Sylvia Day is today known for her contemporary / erotic romances but she can also be found in another genre: urban fantasy under another pseudonym: S.J. Day. I saw the series several times and I admit that I was curious to get into the book to find out more about the story but I nevertheless took a long time to do it.
We discover Eve, a young woman whose life is marked by a man who followed her all her life and who abandoned her recently, a man who will also change her destiny. Captivating, dark, charming, Cain is everything of the classic bad boy but a difference makes him dangerous, he is the legendary Cain of the Bible, who was exiled on earth for his redemption by eliminating demons who sinned. But now, he could not resist Eve, the person he had to resist and although she could have a normal life, she finds herself now marked and changed like her former lover. She must now redeem a crime she did not commit with a man as a mentor she never stopped loving. Yet this alliance will not be easy, especially when everyone is after Cain and knows she is now his weakness. Thus they will launch in a race against time where Eve is determined to stay alive regardless the price and where she will be propelled into a world she does not know the rules and that could well be fatal for her.
I was surprised by the format of the story and especially the first chapter which directly announces the end before heading back to present us the basics and to introduce the characters and the universe. It was very interesting to discover the ideas of the author about it although I admit that I sometimes had a little trouble with the change of characters and place from one line to another without really understanding it. I had sometimes to read a sentence twice to understand that we had no more to do with what happened before. That aside, I found the mythology and the use of the religion fascinating and do not worry about the religion topic as it is very well staged. I’m curious to see what happens to Eve, especially in relation to the discovery of this new world but also in relation to her choice facing the two brother Abel and Cain who finally seems quite complicated.
Finally I had a good time with this first volume and I’m curious to get the next to have some new adventures of our dear Eve especially when we know the end of the first volume.
Sophia Rose
Cool! I didn’t know she wrote UF. That might be more my thing than her erotics were. Wow, Eve’s story does sound good though, the love triangle thing might be a future issue… well, worth checking out.
Great review, Melliane!
Melliane
It’s a bit old but I was curious about this series. The love triangle is ok because she knows who she wants. It’s just a bit tricky.
Silvia
I read one of her paranormal romance stories a few years ago, but she wrote that as Sylvia Day and I wasn’t aware about her pseudonym until this moment! Thanks for pointing that out, I’ll have a look at this series 🙂
Melliane
I didn’t realize at first
Nadene @Totally Addicted to Reading
Interesting, never knew she wrote urban fantasy. The story sounds good and looks like one worth looking into. Thanks for sharing.
Melliane
it was interesting
Kristin (Book Sniffers Anonymous)
I had no idea she wrote urban fantasy under a different name. This sounds like an interesting read. Glad that you enjoyed it.
ShootingStarsMag
I’m always fascinating to learn that certain authors have pseudonyms! Glad you liked this one for the most part, even if some parts were confusing.
Melliane
yes sometimes we don’t even know about it
LilyElement Book Reviews
I bought this one forever ago at a library book sale but still haven’t read it 🙁
Kimberly @ Caffeinated Reviewer
I had no idea she wrote urban fantasy under another name. Now you have me curious as I have been on a UF kick.
Melliane
maybe it’s one for you
Lover Of Romance
Oh this sounds pretty fantastic and I have such a weakness for mythology in books and I have no issues with religion in books either and glad to hear that it was well handled.
Melliane
religion is a bit tricky for me but here it’s not a problem
Carole @ Carole's Random Life in Books
I had no idea that this was Sylvia Day! This sounds promising. I am glad you enjoyed it!
Mogsy @ BiblioSanctum
Sounds like a good time! Maybe the next one will develop the story and characters even more.
Melliane
yes maybe so
herding cats
Oh that’s different way to start a book. I enjoy her Sylvia books and even own this one. .I’ll have to get to it at some point 🙂
blodeuedd
I always wanted to give this one a go
Carole Rae
Neat! I love the premise of this. I am curious what will happen next in the series.
Melanie Simmons
I didn’t know she wrote under a different name. I’m much more likely to try these than the books under her more popular name. I did try one book under Silvia Day. I didn’t really like it, even though I was big into that genre at the time.
Mariejuliet
I think I could like it, the story seems very iteresting.