The Markings - Becca In A Book

On Dather, an island once known as Oahu, Hawaii in the far future, a king is determined to either use or abuse the gifted for his own gain. Adaline is determined to follow her destiny and thwart his plan.

My Thoughts

Thank you so much to Books of Match Media and the author for this ARC in exchange for an honest review! The fantasy was a crazy thrill ride and the book world was so cool, but I just had a teeny weeny issue with the writing.

I thought this book had such an interesting book world! I have never read something like this and I really enjoyed the uniqueness of it. The book is set in the distant future in a setting I’m not really used to. There was a lot of wilderness throughout the book and the wildness of the setting added a thrilling and almost survival element to the plot. I very much enjoyed that aspect! It all felt primal and like an episode of Survivor. Sometimes the setting could take away from the overall plot, especially in the first book of a fantasy series where a lot of world building needs to take place. However, this book made the setting an important part of the plot and I liked it.

I also found the magic system so cool!

The powers focused on the senses and I can’t pick which one I would like more! I’ve also never encountered a magic system such as this one. All the characters showcased a different power and they all were so well developed and realized. They may have been intricate and complicated powers, but the author conveyed them in a way that made them simple and easy to understand. The magical objects that the author inserted were really cool as well. I want a magical journal that gives answers to different people that read it! Such a cool element omg.

I found the plot to be very unique as well. The twists and turns of the book were unpredictable, but they made sense. A lot of mysteries revealed themselves along the way and just when you thought you had it all figured out, BAM, another curve ball was thrown and you were super confused again. Some people might find that frustrating, but I liked it a LOT. However, the ending threw such a dramatic twist that left me slightly annoyed. I also wish we had gotten a little more inside into the royalty of the world, maybe in the next book?

Although I was delighted by the plot, the magical system, and the book world, I found the characters to be slightly annoying and I think that had to do with the writing itself. I found the writing to be so choppy sometimes. There were no real transitions between action scenes and downtime. I also found the dialogue to be a little cheesy and very choppy as well.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this fantasy and would be interested in continuing in the near future.