Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Date of Publication: May 1st, 2007
Source: Bought
Pages: 306
Goodreads Summary:
The House of Night series is set in a world very much like our own, except in 16-year-old Zoey Redbird's world, vampyres have always existed. In this first book in the series, Zoey enters the House of Night, a school where, after having undergone the Change, she will train to become an adult vampire--that is, if she makes it through the Change. Not all of those who are chosen do. It's tough to begin a new life, away from her parents and friends, and on top of that, Zoey finds she is no average fledgling. She has been Marked as special by the vampyre Goddess, Nyx. But she is not the only fledgling at the House of Night with special powers. When she discovers that the leader of the Dark Daughters, the school's most elite club, is misusing her Goddess-given gifts, Zoey must look deep within herself for the courage to embrace her destiny--with a little help from her new vampyre friends.
My Rating: 3.5 / 5
What I thought about it:
Marked takes a few YA clichés and combines them in a fast-paced and cute read. We get some of the usual and some new vampire aspects, a boarding school and some surprises, which results in a story that is easy to read and leaves room for the need to read more.
Ever since Twilight, vampires have been everywhere in literature, which was nice at first but could get tiring after a while. After having read many vampire stories it takes a lot to surprise me and to get me hooked on a story like that. While Marked has some of the typical YA boarding school clichés like the nice roommate, the pretty but mean blonde girl and the hot guy who – surprisingly – is the ex-boyfriend of said mean girl.
But overall the new approach of vampires could cancel out those clichés and made it more special. When you become a vampire, you aren’t bitten but marked with a crescent moon on your forehead. To change into a vampire, you have to visit a school (House of Night) and the scariest thing is: Your body might reject the change and you might die.
I have to admit that the story started out a little bit slow, so in the end this novel really looks more like an introduction into this series. Most of the secondary characters are lacking some depth and are reduced to a few character traits, but I hope that this will change in the future novels.
Actually I have a similar “problem” with the love interest. While Erik is an incredibly hot guy and at first he appears like someone very likeable, I’m still not quite sure what to think about him. His interest in Zoey came quite fast and I couldn’t really detect any development in their attraction. Therefore I’m curious to find out what will happen to them.
All in all, Marked was an enjoyable read and I’m looking forward to see how the storyline will develop. A lot of questions still need to be answered and I’m sure it could get even more interesting. Zoey is a likeable main character and I’m sure that I will like the next story told from her point of view as well.
Following books of the series:
2. Betrayed
3. Chosen
4. Untamed
5. Hunted
6. Tempted
7. Burned
8. Awakened
9. Destined
(October 25th, 2011)
Have you read Marked / the House of Night series? What did you think about it?
Carina
