Marked by Joely Skye

TITLE: Marked
AUTHOR: Joely Skye
PUBLISHER: Samhain Publishing
LENGTH: Novel (roughly 50k)
GENRE: Werewolf gay erotic romance
COST: $4.50

Alec isn’t looking for a relationship. He’s looking to hide, which means taking a minimum wage job at a library, never going out at night, and avoiding most social contacts. When a socially awkward child coming to the library latches on to him, he gives his friendship, but meeting Ira’s older brother turns his world into chaos. Liam is beautiful and enigmatic, but the attraction is undeniable. What Alec doesn’t know, however, is that Liam is a werewolf, a fact he is desperate to hide once he discovers Alec has been marked as prey by a pack of rogue wolves. The truth always has a way of coming out, though…

Though the name is different, this is the same author who wrote The Strength of the Wolf and The Strength of the Pack, two werewolf books I really enjoyed. When I saw that this one was set in the same world as those, I was very eager to read it. As Jorrie Spencer, I really liked this author’s voice, devouring both of the previous books in mere hours. Unfortunately, the voice in this particular installment is quite different from the first two, and as a result, my enjoyment is less, much to my chagrin.

Though technically solid, the prose maintained a rhythm mirroring that of its main characters’ moods. Where they are tense and agitated through the vast majority of the book, the story is as well, jerking along in spurts so that reading it is much like being in a car that is constantly stopping and starting. The story itself doesn’t stop, however. It hurtles along at a breakneck speed, leaving me absolutely no room to stop and catch my breath. In fact, halfway through the story, I wondered what I had missed. Much of the backstory in this read like it had occurred in a story that happened between the first two books I read and this one. Many times when details were provided, it felt like I was only getting half the story. But when I went back to check the author’s sites, I couldn’t find indication that there was another book set in this world. Maybe I’m missing something, but as it stands, if this was the book I had chosen to introduce myself to this writer, I might not have come back for more.

Where the author excels is world-building. I really like the world she’s created with these werewolves, and not just because I loved Seth and then Veronica. There’s a lot of potential in the way she presents her characters, their interactions, their histories. There’s even potential with Liam and Alex, but I just couldn’t ever get a grasp on the rapid mood swings these guys had, or understand Alec’s continuing need to be so physical. Well, that’s not entirely true. Once I learned about Alec’s history, it made more sense, but it always seemed to come completely out of the blue, and it was very difficult to follow along when it occurred. I think I would have ended up liking this story much more if they’d never had sex, actually. That was when the worst of the fighting and mood swings happened. Take out those scenes, and the story works quite well. The problem is, they’re in there. More than once. And I walked away from the story feeling as agitated as either one of the guys.

As far as HEAs go, that’s not really my favorite way to end a book.

Readability	6/10 – Disjointed and not nearly as fluid as the previous stories
Hero	5/10 – I never really grasp the violent swings in temperament, which combined with the rough prose makes it difficult to get a full handle on Alec.
Hero #2	6/10 – Liam’s edginess is mirrored in the prose, though I found it difficult to connect with him.
Entertainment value	6/10 – I finished the story feeling punchy and anxious, much like the characters. I’m not sure I particularly like feeling like that.
World building	8/10 – A fascinating world she’s created, though the history that is introduced makes it feel like there should have been a book between this one and the last two.
TOTAL:	31/50