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    Marked
    Marked
    Marked
    Audiobook10 hours

    Marked

    Written by Benedict Jacka

    Narrated by Gildart Jackson

    4/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    Mage Alex Verus is hanging on by a thread in the ninth urban fantasy novel from the national bestselling author of Burned.

    When Mage Alex Verus ends up with a position on the Light Council, no one is happy, least of all him. But Alex is starting to realize that if he wants to protect his friends, he'll need to become a power player himself. His first order of business is to track down dangerous magical items unleashed into the world by Dark Mages.

    But when the Council decides they need his help in negotiating with the perpetrators, Alex will have to use all his cunning and magic to strike a deal-and stop the rising tension between the Council, the Dark Mages, and the adept community from turning into a bloodbath.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherTantor Media, Inc
    Release dateJul 3, 2018
    ISBN9781515978121
    Marked

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    Reviews for Marked

    4/5

    148 ratings17 reviews

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    • 4/5
      Marked is the ninth book in the Alex Verus series and is a strong series addition! All Alex ever wanted was a simple and uncomplicated life that was not dictated to him by outside forces but along the way he had become apprenticed to a dark mage and his life would be forever altered from the trajectory he originally planned. Although Alex saw the error in his choices and subsequently made new ones, he seemed to never be able to slide off the Council’s radar no matter how hard he tried. Along the way he managed to make a few friends that he truly cared for and he also became entangled in a situation where he was working for the Council that he had tried so hard to distance himself from.Alex is different in Marked. I could sense that he was evolving between the books Burned and Bound, now he is older, wiser, and seems to have a new perspective. He also realizes that if he wants to change the game he is going to have to level up in his own skills but in order to do that he is going to need magical assistance. Assistance in the way of a magical item but, unfortunately, he does not know which one will help him access the power he needs. With everything that went down in Bound, Alex figures that he can “assist” the Council in hunting down the dangerous magical items that he inadvertently helped release and while doing that he could also search for the one device he needed that would help him gain magical strength.Easier said than done though. With the Dark mage community in an uproar, the unrest in the adept community being stoked, and Alex being put in a most uncomfortable position of negotiator with mages who would rather kill him then listen to a word he had to say, Alex has his work cut out for him. All the while the one friend he cares for as maybe something more being targeted for purposes unknown to Alex. There is just a lot going on and Alex has to juggle many different situations while trying to stay alive. There was so much happening in Marked, it just felt like non-stop action. There were plenty of magical battles, tenuous alliances, and Alex was growing in his abilities in the Elsewhere. Plenty of excitement going on in Marked that make it a one stop read fest! I also loved that Alex finally admitted something to himself that he had long been denying and acted on it!This review is based on a complimentary book I received from NetGalley. It is an honest and voluntary review. The complimentary receipt of it in no way affected my review or rating.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 4/5
      Theron is an Argonaut, sent to find the chosen one from a prophecy. Casey thought she was a typical human, just doing what she could to make it through life and keep her grandmother's business running. The princess Isadora in Argolea is dying, and needs her unknown sister. Sparks fly as soon as Theron and Casey meet. Typical romance theme. Boy falls for girl - girl falls for boy. Neither will admit their feelings and they make themselves miserable.There is a good plot to the book, with Casey being the chosen one to save Argolea. We have demons, Argonauts (heroes from Greek mythology) and Gods. I enjoyed the story line and the characters. I liked watching the growth and change in Isadora.This is book 1 in the series. Book 2 deals with Zander, an Argonaut who is cursed (or gifted depending on your point of view) with immortality.
    • 4/5
      I grabbed Marked off of the KDP free list just because the cover is so tempting. The main character, Theron, lives up to it too. The book reminded me A LOT of J.R. Ward's Black Dagger Brotherhood, though I don't know which series came first. The Eternal Guardians has the same leather-clad, hulking alpha-males oozing testosterone all over the place and falling hard for that certain female. But hey, that's why we read these types of books to start with, right? It's all good. I liked Casey's strong spine and Theron's dedication to his duty. The Greek pantheon makes for an interesting casting too. Though starting with a little knowledge of the mythology will probably help. For example, I misremembered Persephone and Hades' relationship at one point and was confused when she was excited to see him. The book does present the mythological history, so no worried if you don't know it. Other reviewers have commented on the random placement of sex scenes and it's true. The first one seemed to especially come out of left field. It generally bothers me to find character thinking about sex when their circumstances are life threatening. Seriously, who thinks about getting down and dirty when they're running for their life? I'm fairly sure some aspect of Maslow's hierarchy of needs comes into play here. The steamy nature of the same scenes kinda makes up for it though. While it didn't top my favourites list by a long shot, I enjoyed it enough to buy the second and look forward to he third. (Demetrius was was one of my favourites.) So I have no real complaints. It amused me for an evening and therefore served its purpose.
    • 1/5
      I wasn't expecting Jane Austen, but I do have my standards even for trash. The paper thin characters have an emotional depth that is slightly below the Barbie and Ken level. And reading such an incredibly original piece of dialogue as « I know modern women aren’t supposed to like to cook, but, well, I do » made me feel like I was betraying the whole female sex just by reading this. I did smile at some of the reactions of a 21st century woman suddenly confronted with Greek gods and heroes, but I'm not sure the humor was intended, and even if it was, the genuine potential of the situation was woefully under-exploited. I only finished this one because I'm a romance addict.
    • 5/5
      Wow, I loved this book. What a great start to a new series.
    • 4/5
      Elisabeth Naughton made me fall in love with her with her Stolen Trilogy and now she's just upping her game all around. I really liked the world building here and all the history you get with the Greek mithology involved in the plot. I LOVED Casey and I learned to really care about Theron too by the half of the book. I'm so excited to read how all these sexy Argonauts are going to turn now from this point on.
    • 4/5
      AUTHOR: First time reading a book by Elisabeth Naughton. She started slow talking in what I consider "boring baby talk" and all of sudden revved up the engine. She's good. Has great timing on how to go from adventure to romance, adventure to romance. She knows how to tease you with the romance (it builds and builds and builds and then BOOM).SYNOPSIS** Six levels of people: (top to bottom): gods, Argoleans; Argonauts (Argolean warriors) ; Misos (half Argolean/half human); Humans; Daemons (the bad guys controlled by a bad female) **The typical male falls in love with female. SEX SCALE: Of the following (5) : (NOT very descriptive and requires imagination); (WILL make you wiggle a little); (WISH it was me); (OH boy, do not have to use my imagination at all); (EROTICA and well over the top) ****** this book gets a WISH IT WAS ME rating******LEAST FAVORITE PART: Reading about how weak Isadora is considered.to be.FAVORITE PART: Discovery of a group of people no one knew aboutYOU WILL LIKE THIS BOOK IF YOU LIKE: Mythology. Bad guys chasing and trying to capture a good guy. True love threatened by a forced loveless relationship. Is it passion or is it love? Oh, gotta' love His body. She's strong and won't take any crap. Mystery behind what will really happen if 2 females meet each other eye to eye. Leaves you with a feeling of....."Hurry, get me to the next book"WHY DIDN'T THIS BOOK GET FIVE STARS? Love the book but I have read other books by other authors that totally captured me and sent me off the deep end.
    • 4/5
      Listened for Review/Read for Fun (Tantor/Kindle)Overall Rating: 4.25Story Rating: 4.25Character Rating: 4.25Audio Rating: 4.00 (not part of the overall rating)Note: Things I might have done while reading this book:1) Made sure that a certain couple were going to get a book (not saying who as it would be spoilerish--even if I am the last person to read this series): Book 32) Made sure a certain hot biker dude got a story --- not yet but Elisabeth said he is the next book.3) Made sure that she wasn't ending the series soon--it was just so darn funFirst Thought when Finished: Marked has me hooked on this series. I can't wait to continue!Story Thoughts: Argonauts! Demons! Halflings! This was a deliciously great read for a fan of mythology. I love how the Greek characters from stories we all know/love were woven into this world. Theron, leader of the Argonauts, was stuck between a rock and hard place, as all good heroes need to be. Casey (his rock) was not only the women who intrigued him but the one he surely was leading back home to die. I loved the push/pull that went on between them where the story was concerned. There was only one thing that really bugged me (him not being honest with her about why they needed to go to his home) but it all worked out in the end.Character Thoughts: I really liked Theron and Casey! I think they had good chemistry and despite the lack of honesty from Theron, I believed in his intention to do the best by her that he could. What really sold me on the series is the side characters. I can already tell that I want book 3! Let's just say the chemistry between that couple is already off the charts in this story. I really want Nick's book and I might have cried when another character died (can't give that away either). Nick was my favorite character overall so I am hoping we get to see him in the books to come since he doesn't have his own yet! Side characters are what sold me again. Darn IT!Audio Thoughts: Narrated By Elizabeth Wiley / Length: 11 hrs and 2 mins Overall I really liked Elizabeth's narration. Her voice was so familiar that I had to go look up if I had heard before but I had not. I think she sounds a bit like Tonya Eby. So if you like her narration, I think Elizabeth will work for you. She has great pacing, emotion, and character tendencies (you could tell the characters thoughts from the way she was reading the dialogue). Her male voices are pretty good and I think she was pretty good at Casey. The reason the rating is not higher actually has to do with production. The CDs just immediately went to the next part when switching disks. It often made me feel like I missed something so I would pick up my kindle copy to make sure I had not. That was distracting during the listening process for me.Final Thoughts: This is going on my Seriously Series reads for 2014!
    • 3/5
      Marked
      3 Stars

      Like so many series, Marked suffers from first book syndrome. The world building based on the story of Jason and the Argonauts from Greek mythology is original and compelling. However, it has a tendency to overshadow the plot for most of the book, and readers unfamiliar with this particular tale might find themselves a little lost as there is very little exposition on the myth itself and an overabundance of characters to sort out.

      The romance is satisfying but predictable as is the resolution of the prophecy storyline. Theron is NOT my idea of a hero despite his ancestral connection to Heracles. He is arrogant, manipulative and prejudiced, and is not above using mind control to coerce Casey into doing his bidding - loss of free will is NOT a turn on in a romance novel.

      Casey is an engaging heroine and her reactions to the strange developments in her life are realistic and believable. Nevertheless, she is too accepting of the non-answers and partial explanations offered by the hero and her damsel in distress routine gets a little old - my preference is for kick-ass heroines who rescue themselves rather than waiting for Mr. Wonderful to come along.

      The secondary characters have potential, especially Isadora and Demetrius, but the villain comes off as pathetic rather than threatening. Although there is one disturbing scene with her son, which suggests that there might be more here than meets the eye.

      All in all, not too bad and the developing war is promising for the series.
    • 5/5
      This is the first time I have read this author and I enjoyed it a lot! Theron and Casey were great leads and were a wonderful match. Already on to the second book in the series!
    • 3/5
      I like the idea the author pushes into this book. She has obviously done some research and that shows. As far as romance goes I'm not to impressed. It was hurried and Casey doesn't feel like a needy girl. If all girls jumped into bed with a hot guy we'd be in trouble. Book was a bit confusing in places and I had some trouble. But that could be because even though my attention was grabbed in the beginning... it didn't hold it.
    • 3/5
      Took me awhile to get into this, but once I did I was really glad. Great characters and a nice world set up. Now that it's all set up, I expect the next one will be amazing.
    • 4/5
      Fast paced, great narrator. Love the action and appreciate the author is starting to trust the reader is keeping up. Gone are the lengthy explanations that cause those of use reading/listening voraciously through the series to glaze over and tune out.
    • 4/5
      Alex is tracking down the magical objects that were lost in the last book. He is still working for the Council and they still don’t trust him. The feeling is mutual and Alex is always looking for the knife in the back from them. When they decide he needs to help them convince Richard to come to their side everything goes to pieces. I really don’t want to say what since going into detail will ruin the twist.
      An enjoyable book and I really like the narrator for these audios.
    • 4/5
      Still love this series, but it's falling into patterns, as the politics repeat and repeat. I feel as though this one indicates some serious character growth that may lead to new things in the future, and I'm excited to see where it leads.
    • 4/5
      Alex has to help the sceptical Light Council negotiate with the Dark Mages to help find the missing artefacts. He also has to deal with events from previous books and deal with problems from previous adventures. He's also having to ask some questions about his own motivations and emotions.Some of the details are messy but it does across as realistic, the politics is well thought-out and messy and the magicians come across as very human.
    • 4/5

      I usually pick up the annual Alex Verus novel as soon as it comes out. They're a cut above the average urban fantasy out there.

      As with all the Alex Verus novels, this is a fun, quick read with deft characterisation and a self-contained plot which also feeds into a larger story arc.

      Jacka has talked about the series up to now having been mainly about getting the players in place for the core series arc; there's one critical change in this novel, and some minor blurred lines are made a little clearer.

      As a stand-alone, it essentially is a caper novel - a failed caper novel, much as many spy novels are about failed operations. This isn't much of a spoiler: Verus expects it will fail, the perspective of the reader suggests it will fail: the interest lies in seeing how it fails and what the aftereffects are.

      Up to the standards of the rest of the series.