Dragon Marked

This review is also featured on Behind the Pages: Dragon Marked

Jessa lives in the magically cloaked town of Stratford, Connecticut. She's lived her life believing she was an alpha female wolf shifter. But when her mother returns to town with a sister in tow, Jessa begins to learn about the secrets that have been kept from her. She is dragon marked. And if anyone finds out, it is a death sentence.

There is a lot of information packed into Dragon Marked. So much information caused multiple instances of exposition that I could not retain. Jessa is extremely close to four brothers, the Compasses, but when they are introduced it is paragraph after paragraph of each one's description. A similar occurrence happens when you are introduced to the council. And honestly, readers don't need to know what each council member looks like right away because they do not immediately interact with Jessa. It would have been easier to see the descriptions spaced out a bit and worked in organically.

One of the major downfalls to Dragon Marked is how the characters behave. No one acts appropriately for their station or age. In the opening scene a teacher threatens Jessa. And then switches the class subject to ways shifters can die. The Compasses reciprocate by threatening the teacher, yet no one suffers repercussions. It sets the stage for constant tension between characters. Which I normally enjoy, but it was immature macho posturing throughout the entire book. And when Jessa tries to pull feminist views of not wanting to be lead by men, it's awkward because Jessa and the Compasses act like their are thirteen instead of twenty something.

I will say that Jaymin Eve did a great job highlighting the relationships between Jessa and her sister Mischa. The awkwardness of first meeting, and then trying to form a family tie was spot on. They were slow to develop towards each other and I loved how they started siding with one another. However, this is not a series I will continue.