Review: Addictive read - I was hooked!
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 06 22, 2013
Posted as part of a review tour on Happy Indulgence. Check it out for more reviews!Marked for Vengeance is about Alyx Rayer, a seemingly normal human working a day job and hanging out with her best friend Cinda. She is beautiful, smart and dates a rich, handsome doctor but she has a hazardous secret - spying on Isaac, a mysterious `painter man' from a roof top at night. There's more to Alyx than meets the eye, as she hides her strange scar on her shoulder and seems enraptured with the strange man. And so the journey of Alyx Rayer begins, as her life slowly falls apart and we gradually find out her purpose.I loved the way the plot was revealed in this book. When we meet Alyx, we don't know what to expect as she seems like she lives a normal life. Then strange cues pop up here and there about her stalking, her scar and calling Isaac her `Marked'. She also alludes to the fact that this may not be her first life time and she needs to do normal things to blend in, like date and hold a job. We don't find out what Alyx is until the later half in the book, as the pace speeds up and we transition from Alyx the human, to stalker, to supreme being. The sense of mystery captivated me from the start and I couldn't put this book down.While not appropriate for the YA audience due to sex scenes and violence, the book is written in a first person YA style that is refreshing and easy to read. I read a particularly heavy book beforehand and this is exactly the type of read I was looking for, one that is entertaining, not a brain burner and a general good read. I would classify this as a dark NA fantasy, sort of similar to Angelfall in that it isn't appropriate for the younger audience.The point of view transitions between Alyx and Isaac as we delve into their lives. Isaac is a middle-aged widower whose sole mission is to raise his teenage son. He hasn't dated ever since his wife passed away and upon stumbling into Alyx at the cafe where he works, he also feels a mutual attraction to this beautiful but strange girl. While there are traces of insta-love going on between the two, they have an interesting relationship to develop as Alyx's `Marked' target and also someone who she's been stalking for a while.The book speeds up towards the last half with a really interesting reveal. I don't want to give away too much so that you can enjoy the plot for yourself, but I'm interested in seeing how this forbidden romance will continue in the next book, Tethered by Fate. Lucky I don't have to wait a long time as it's just been released!I received this book for review as part of a blog tour. Check out my blog for more reviews! http://happyindulgence.wordpress.com