Shea Berkley

Wow! I finished this book a half hour ago and my heart is still in hyper drive. The action in this book doesn’t let up for a second and I loved every minute of it! You enter this world with Dylan as he is being driven to his grandparents’ house by his mother. He assumes it is just another stop on their every changing living environment, but is shocked when his mother takes off one night without even saying goodbye. He is abandoned by the only person that has been a constant in his life show more and left with people that may be family, but he has never met until a couple of days ago. Dylan is not really big on family since his mother has not exactly been a loving parent, but he is willing to give his grandparents a try. He is with them a couple of days when he sees her, the girl he has dreamed about his whole life and thought did not actually exist. Her name is Kera and the pull he feels toward her overwhelms him. He has to be near her with no understanding as to why at first. He soon discovers she is from another dimension that runs parallel to ours called Taeg and they two of them share more in common than Dylan could have ever imagined.

I will admit that I have not really been in love with young adult lately. It seems to be a lot of the same story and I was starting to become cynical about it. Thank goodness I have found an author that has reaffirmed my faith in young adult literature. The Marked Son is a refreshing and magical start to a new series that caught me completely off guard and has left me yearning for more.

One of the most interesting aspects of this book was the point of view changes. Most of the story is told from Dylan’s first person point of view, but when we switch to Kera it is in the third person. I have never seen this done before in a novel. At first it did throw me off and take me a little time to adjust, but once I did I really enjoyed this style. I loved getting to see both sides of this story and the way the author chose to portray the voices was unique and intriguing. It was also essential to see Kera’s life so we could understand the politics of Taeg and how life is in this other dimension.

The secondary characters also had great presence in the story. Dylan does not make true friends easily. He has spent his life always trying to keep people at a distance, but when he moves in with his grandparents he meets two boys who he quickly forms a bond with. Leo and Jason have grown up together and are very loyal once they form friendships. They help Dylan when needed and even go into Taeg at one point to help him rescue Kera, knowing it is going to be a dangerous road. Leo and Jason’s humor were welcome at many tense moments and help lighten the mood for both the reader and Dylan.

Something I did not expect was the level of emotion this book pulled from me. Shea has written her characters so well that it is easy to become emotionally invested in their well-being. There are moments that brought tears to my eyes and had me shouting at the injustice that befell them. I was so engrossed in this world and the many characters that I have grown attached too already. While it did tug at my heartstrings to watch events unfold, it was an exhilarating ride to be on with Dylan and Kera through the highs and the lows.

Overall, this book is just fantastic. I have not read a young adult book in a long time that I have enjoyed as much as this one. Shea has given us an amazing cast of characters, some to love and some to hate, a plot that is full of twists and turns leaving you on the edge of your seat and a beautiful and innocent romance that infuses the two main characters with strength and courage that they need to survive. If you have not found this book yet, I highly recommend that you do. It is a must read and a series I cannot wait to see more of in the future. show less

The Marked Son
By: Shea Berkley
ISBN: 9781937044015
Published August 2, 2011 by Entangled Publishing
Available Format: Paperback, ebook

My Rating: ★★★★★

All his life, Dylan Kennedy has been an outcast, forgettable. With no father and a fraction of a mother, he’s learned to live life the only way he knows how, expecting nothing but disappointment. When his mom suddenly dumps him on his grandparents and runs, it’s just more of the same for poor Dylan. But, on his grandparents’ sheep show more farm, something starts to change. Dylan sees a ghost that he has dreamed of his whole life, a young woman in white roaming the nearby forest. Pretty soon, Dylan learns there is much more to his troubled past than he even knew, and he is thrust into a war in a world he never even knew existed.

I really, really loved this book. I love how the author switches between Kera and Dylan’s POV, though I was a little distracted that Dylan spoke in present tense while Kera’s part was past. But, this story was fantastic! Berkley did an awesome job weaving little details in and bringing the lives and worlds of both these young people to life. The characters were so well rounded and the scenery was so rich; I felt I was right there in the middle of it all. It transported me like a really great book should!

This was also a fairly unique plot—no vampires and werewolves. There were lots of magical and mysterious creatures, and each and every one had their own distinct characteristics. I love how the author uses the pure vs. half-blood as the major conflict and how completely despicable Navar is throughout the story. My favorite character is a tie between Jason and Bodog—both strong with big hearts underneath. I was very pleased with the way Dylan matured during the story as he learned more and more about himself. He grew to accept who he was, and that is a big lesson for the target audience.

There is the slight love triangle, and it was completely unrealistic how quickly the two main characters fall in love. BUT, it really makes sense in this story because they have “known” each other their whole lives and they were really destined to be together. I am also impressed that Kera is a pretty strong heroine even though Dylan is really the focus of this book. She is forced into things she does not want, but she does fight for herself and works very hard to get Dylan to be a part of her world. Sometimes accepting the hand you are dealt is harder than trying to fight back, and I respected Kera for how well she handled the challenges she faced.

I’ll say it again—I loved this book! I cannot wait for this story to continue… show less

This novella was okay, but it really needed to be longer and more detailed so the reader could connect with the story and characters.

Anara, our main character, is a gargoyle (or something similar). So by day, Anara is perched on the top of a church watching the world go by. And by night, she hunts vampires. I like Anara, but I want to know more about her. She has lived for centuries - but we don't know anything other than she was cursed to turn to stone in the sun, she is lonely, and she show more fights vampires like a viking warrior princess. When two young girls are orphaned after a vampire attack, Anara approaches Ryan, a human vampire hunter. Anara and Ryan fall in major insta-love. Seriously, the L-word is being whipped out within a day or two. I liked Ryan - but I want to know more about him. We know more about his brother (Beau) than we do about Ryan, and Beau is only a small secondary character. I would have liked to learn more of the back story as to why Ryan and Beau are hunting vampires. The other two secondary characters, Sage and Baby, are very cute and angelic children characters. They were sweet enough - but I want to know why the vampires are hunting them. So they are innocent? How does that help the vampers? I got a little aggravated because I was only getting the surface of the story when I really wanted those deep waters.

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. It was an okay start, but I am hoping for more out of the rest of the series. show less

Shea Berkley is an amazing writer. From the beginning, she engages us with the mystery of the girl in white, the girl who never speaks and whose face Dylan has trouble remembering outside his dreams. Dylan is a rare male narrator, and I enjoyed reading from his perspective. His thoughts are straightforward and often sarcastic. Deep inside, however, he has a caring nature and passionate resolve, and he has strong support from his good friends Leo and Jason. He’s a modern high-school show more hero.

While Dylan is the hero of this story, the story is told from the alternating perspectives of Dylan and Kera, the girl of his dreams. If you only knew Kera from Dylan’s dreams, you would think of her as a mysterious beauty. In reality, Kera is a headstrong, brazen girl. One thing hasn’t changed from the dreams, she does care for Dylan, and the feeling is mutual. There is nothing Dylan wouldn’t do to protect the girl of his dreams and her home world: the world of Teag, a fantastical world filled with diverse supernatural beings.

Boys and girls alike will love this book: not only because of the alternating perspectives, but also for the adventure and amazing storytelling. While Dylan is the true hero of the story, Kera is a strong heroine who doesn’t let Dylan overshadow her role in the story. She plays her part with fiery spirit despite the ordeals she must endure. There is romance in this story, but it’s nothing of the chick-flick sort. Dylan and Kera have known each other through their shared dreams since they were children, and their love is true and pure.

The Marked Son is filled with a wild cast of characters, gorgeous settings, and magical storytelling. I laughed, cried, cringed, and literally lost myself in the world that Berkley has created. If you are looking for an action-packed paranormal/fantasy read, I highly recommend this novel. show less