Monday, August 15, 2011

The Marked Son by Shea Berkley

The Marked Son (Keepers of Life, #1)Description:
Seventeen-year-old Dylan Kennedy always knew something was different about him, but until his mother abandoned him in the middle of Oregon with grandparents he's never met, he had no idea what. 
When Dylan sees a girl in white in the woods behind his grandparents' farm, he knows he's seen her before...in his dreams. He's felt her fear. Heard her insistence that only he can save her world from an evil lord who uses magic and fear to feed his greed for power. 
Unable to shake the unearthly pull to Kera, Dylan takes her hand. Either he's completely insane or he's about to have the adventure of his life, because where they're going is full of creatures he's only read about in horror stories. Worse, the human blood in his veins has Dylan marked for death...
What really captured me with this book was the human characters at the beginning of this book. The mother was portrayed perfectly as a parent who is abusive to his son. I know that is strange praise, but I really felt it was true to form and usually authors tread lightly around this subject. I thought the subject was handled with great care and realistic. She is also not a one dimensional character, but later we see some of her motivation as to why she was so abusive. That perhaps was less realistic, but at least we come to see that a little information does shed a lot of light on the subject. I should quickly add, it still didn't make me like the mother. ;)

The main character, Dylan was someone you really could connect. You felt his pain and his growth in this book showed you that he really had a good heart. He was blinded by some of the same things that blinded others in his position of power, but unlike the others, he listened. I really love that in a character. I also enjoyed the secondary characters. Ones that Dylan learns much... most importantly trust and responsibility.

Of course I did like some of the characters in Teag. Not only did I like Kera, but my favorite had to be Bodog. Sort of the same situation we saw in the Harry Potter books; other magical creatures of the realm were deemed unworthy and subservient. Bodog, having a position below the land of Teag sees and hears all, most importantly the truth without blinders. He makes a great grumpy companion to have in Teag. You just have to read this book to meet him!

The story is well done and keeps you interested in what is going on and what will happen next. There is a good romantic story line and I think it is done well. There is no cliffie as the main mystery was solved but at the very end a door widely opens for you to want the next book in this series quickly. Therefore, I give this book 4 stars and am impatiently awaiting the next book. If you are in the mood for a good bit of fae action, a realistic opening, and a good male protag, pick up this book. I think you will enjoy it.
I was given this book by the publisher for review and no compensation was given.




Btw, if you missed it, I am currently a part of a blog tour and am giving away this book! Just go HERE to enter! Btw, all giveaways are listed right below the blog header! Good luck! 

19 comments:

  1. A very nice review, I like books that are as close to reality as they can.

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  2. I wasn't sure about this book but you have made me want to read this now. I really like characters that grow and learn throughout the story and sounds like Dylan did that. Awesome review Mel :)

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  3. I'm really interested in reading about this mother and learning her motivation for abusing her son, I can't fathom her reasoning. Love that there's no cliffhanger but you're still left impatiently awaiting the next book!

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  4. Great review, I like the sound of this as it sounds full of interesting characters. A scary front cover though.

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  5. I really enjoyed this book as well. I liked the two different worlds and they characters. Nice review!

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  6. No cliffie is always a good thing, make that an excellent thing :D

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  7. The humans in this book were my favorite. I loved Grandma and Grandpa!

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  8. Dude!! Win!! I'm getting WAY excited for this book now!!

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  9. I just finished this book and have to say I LOVED Kera, Grandpa, and Grandma (especially towards the end). The 1rst part of the book I wanted to strangle the Mom!

    Great Review!

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  10. @anachronist... only the first part was that way. Then it became paranormal.

    @Nic... I really did like this one. The characters were well written!

    @Jenny... It doesn't excuse it at all, but I am glad they put in her motivation. I still didn't like her tho. :)

    @...Petty... it does have good characters. I don't see the cover as scary, tho. ;)

    @Savannah...Oh and I LOVED Bodog!!

    @Blodeuedd... SO true!!

    @Smash... Oh they were great!! Loved them!

    @Ashley... Yes! You need it! :)

    @Felicia... Oh so did I! Both rocked! I too wanted to strangle mom! I'm just glad the author didn't shy away from the subject!

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  11. ooh another great book to add to my large tbrlist. I love some good fae action! Yay! ;)

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  12. Ive seen this on Netgalley and Ill admit the cover kind of looks cheesy...:(

    But I might give it try seeing how you liked it so much....;)

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  13. Ooooo fae fiction sounds good to me :D TY great review

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  14. Gah! That cover again! You know what it does to me.... *swoon*

    And that is a strange thing to praise, but then again I can always count on you to let me know how it is. I'm definitely intrigued, especially by how such a sensitive subject was handle realistically. I'm sure it will be tough to read, but worth making that character connection.

    Great review Mel. Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got a face to stare at.

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  15. I'm glad you liked it so much :D the boy in the cover reminds me of Jonathan Rhys Meyers!!

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  16. Interesting. Sounds like a wonderful read. Thanks for sharing this one.

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  17. This one sounds like a good balance of everything! I also love that there's no cliffhanger! :)

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  18. Thank you for your review today - I have been haunting this tour and would love to read this book :)

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  19. cool review
    that what i tough to

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