Image Map Image Map

Tuesday, June 7, 2016

The Marked Girl by Lindsey Klingele ARC Review

The Marked Girl by Lindsey Klingele
Published by HarperTeen
Publication Date: June 7, 2016
Buy it: Amazon | B&N | Book Depository
Once upon a time, in a land far, far away (Los Angeles)…

When Cedric, crowned prince of Caelum, and his fellow royal friends (including his betrothed, Kat) find themselves stranded in modern-day L.A. via a magical portal and an evil traitor named Malquin, all they want to do is get home to Caelum—soon. Then they meet Liv, a filmmaker foster girl who just wants to get out of the system and on with her life. As she and Cedric bond, they’ll discover that she’s more connected to his world than they ever could’ve imagined…and that finding home is no easy task…


Action-filled and steamy, The Marked Girl combines parallel universes and time travel, resulting in a wonderful debut novel packed with romance, adventure, and demons! It's a unique premise with characters that have intriguing, interconnecting story lines, and I can't wait to find out where the next book takes us. With all of that said, the book did slow down a bit towards the middle, and some aspects of the plot were slightly predictable. However, I still greatly enjoyed The Marked Girl, and would undeniably recommend it to all young-adult fantasy lovers!






1) My favorite part of the book was the dialogue—particularly between Liv and Cedric. It was hilarious, electric, and it hit me right in the feels each time.



2) Each time Liv had to explain to Cedric and his friends about modern day living was hysterical. I especially enjoyed Liv telling Cedric how it isn't normal to carry a sword onto public transportation.


3) The family dynamics in this book are eye-opening. The Marked Girl sheds a light on the foster care system, and how siblings can be torn apart; It depicts both loving family relationships, as well as dysfunctional ones.

4) The teenagers aren't just running around with swords and fighting demons without anyone noticing—there are actually cops and government officials involved. This almost never happens!

5) Action scenes are among the hardest to execute in a book. It's not easy to write a fight scene that gives me an adrenaline rush, and in most cases, I find action scenes nonsensical and dizzying (and not in a good way). I didn't just love the action scenes—I simply couldn't get enough of them. They were clear, well-written, and read like a scene from a movie.

6) The chemistry between Liv and Cedric was awesome! There was a great connection and energy between. For book two, I just hope my ship doesn't sink . . .


1) Villain monologuing . . . I've never been a fan of it. It takes away from the villain's evilness, and I like my villains evil.



2) I enjoyed The Marked Girl's plot, but around the middle of the book, the pacing slowed and I wasn't sure where the story was going. I felt that some of the side characters involved didn't add much to the story, but rather took away from the main focus of it.

3) The Marked Girl is told through Liv and Cedric's POVs, but it's predominately told through Liv's. I would have preferred more balance so that I could see more of the story from Cedric's side.







12 comments:

  1. Great review! I've seen this book around but haven't seen many reviews. Definitely need to grab this one!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm so glad you liked my review! I hope you enjoy The Marked Girl!

      Delete
  2. Lovely review Brittany :D Yay for liking this one. <3 But aw, I'm sorry you did not love it :\ It looks so pretty. But I have heard bad things about it. Sigh. So not a book for me, lol :) But glad you didn't dislike it, so yay :D Thank you for sharing. <3

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. 4 Stars is still love territory for me, it's just not one of my all-time favorites! So, don't count this one out ^_^

      Delete
  3. This is one that I keep seeing around and wanted to read. Based on your review I'll have to give it a try! Great review!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Great review, very helpful. I will check out this book as I love great dialogue.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dialogue is what I love most about books. So if the dialogue isn't good, then I often end up not liking it. Thank you so much for reading my review, I'm glad you found it helpful ^_^

      Delete
  5. This one sounds so interesting. I really love the concept and the fantasy genre is my favourite, so this book might be right up my alley. Definitely one that I will have to check out. Lovely review! :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It's a really interesting concept with a unique twist that I've never seen before, so definitely check it out!

      Thanks for stopping by!

      Delete
  6. The Marked Girl sounds super good!
    Lindsey is actually coming to the Barnes and Noble near me for Bfest but I don't think I can go *cry*
    But I'll definitely have to pick this one up :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Aw I'm so sorry you couldn't see her at BFest! Hopefully, you'll have more opportunities ^_^

      Can't wait to see what you think of this book! Thanks for stopping by <3

      Delete