Series or Stand-alone:
Stand Alone
How I got it:
ARC courtesy of Netgalley
Pages: 416
Publisher: Bloomsbury USAHow I got it:
ARC courtesy of Netgalley
Pages: 416
Genre: Young Adult / Urban Fantasy
First Published: June 19th, 2012
First Lines: “The walls of the Burning Court were high and white-tiled, its ceiling one giant chimney. If the young witch at the stake had been able to look up the funnel, she might have glimpsed a distant pane of sky.”
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Book Trailer:
The music is intense, right?
The GIST (From Goodreads):
OVERALL:
Glory is from a family
of witches and lives beyond the law. She is desperate to develop her
powers and become a witch herself. Lucas is the son of the Chief
Prosecutor for the Inquisition—the witches’ mortal enemy—and his
privileged life is very different to the forbidden world that he lives
alongside.
And then on the same day, it hits them both. Glory and Lucas develop the Fae—the mark of the witch. In one fell stroke, their lives are inextricably bound together, whether they like it or not . . .
And then on the same day, it hits them both. Glory and Lucas develop the Fae—the mark of the witch. In one fell stroke, their lives are inextricably bound together, whether they like it or not . . .
OPINION:*
“Burn Mark” follows the stories of Glory Starling Wilde and
Lucas Stearne, two teenagers who are just getting their powers as witches or
what’s called their Fae. The story takes place in a modern day Britain but with
an urban fantasy twist; witches are common and well-known with government
branches used to either contain or utilize their powers and a lot of prejudice
towards them.
Glory’s and Lucas’ experiences getting their Fae are two
very different ones. Glory was born into a powerful witch family and she has
been eagerly anticipating her powers her whole life so she can become the head
witch of her coven. Lucas is the son of a high-up Inquistor (someone who deals
with policing and containing Fae powers) and it is the ultimate shame for him
to get the Fae.
What I liked the best about this book was the world building.
The author crafted an exemplary model of an Urban Fantasy. She easily managed
to add modern elements, like current technology, with the history of witches so
well that I had no problem believing that Britain doesn’t have witches walking around. Does it?
Anyway, the way she wove in British history to connect with modern day witches
was great.
I liked the novel’s characters too. They each had pretty
distinct personalities and I liked how they interacted. Glory was an overly
confident, know-it-all girl who struck me as a little ghetto. What would
British people call a ghetto person? Again, anyway, Lucas was smart and funny but
reckless with good intentions.
The only problem I have with the book is that I can’t really
remember the plot other than Glory and Lucas dealing with getting their powers.
And that was interesting enough, don’t get me wrong, but there was a larger
plot about warring groups of witches but I’m at a loss about what happened. If
I have to flip back, it usually means it wasn’t too strong.
The book set ups for another with a few loose ends but it’s
one cohesive story that can stand on its own.
I liked it. The ending leaves room for a sequel and I would definitely read that. Credit to the author for the great world building and characterization. I recommend it---7.5/10
