Marked

Written by J.A. Cipriano

Narrated by James Patrick Cronin

Pierce Ambrose. That was the name of the man I'd been sent to kill. The man I'd failed to kill. I have one day left to make good on my contract before the thugs holding my sister and her son start sending me pieces of them.
Pierce Ambrose. A man with a secret I didn't uncover until it was too late to turn back, too late to give up on trying to kill him. Now, if I want to see my sister and nephew again, I have to try one last time.
My name is Mac Brennan, and this time, I'm playing for keeps.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Tantor Media, Inc
• Release date: Jun 28, 2016
• ISBN: 9781515977209

Reviews for Marked

[myab-3 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This is the first time I have read this author and I enjoyed it a lot! Theron and Casey were great leads and were a wonderful match. Already on to the second book in the series!

[once1upon1a1chapter · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

“From the moment he walked into the club, Casey knew this guy was different. Men like that just didn’t exist in real life – silky shoulder-length hair, chest impossibly broad, and a predatory manner that just screamed dark and dangerous. He was looking for something. Her.”It’s definitely not a normal night at XScream, the strip club where Casey works. She’s used to the college idiots who make her job hell, but not the gorgeous blonde woman who moves discreetly towards the back of the club. Casey also isn’t used to the type of man, scratch that, Greek sex-god, who stalks in after the blonde.Theron is the leader of the Argonauts. The Argonauts are a group of seven who are descendants of the heroes of Greek mythology. Theron descends from the line of Heracles. Their role is to protect their kingdom of Argolea, a kingdom separate from the human realm. Atalanta, a fallen Greek heroine, has vowed she will take her vengeance against the Argonauts, Argoleans and any one else who stands in her way. She has never gotten over not being chosen as one of the original seven Argonauts. Atalanta has waged her war for thousands of years.Casey has never felt that she fit in anywhere. The same night that Theron enters the club, Casey saves him from things she can’t possibly explain. These monsters are daemons and Atalanta’s minions. Casey has no clue about everything she’s about to step into, but she’s inexplicably drawn to Theron for reasons she can’t explain. Casey is an important piece to the survival of the Argoleans but at what cost?I’m glad this is the first book in a series. There is much to look forward to. Elisabeth Naughton blends Greek mythology, romance and a gritty generations long war with ease. The plot line is stellar and original. I only have one minor complaint: the heroine is quite often referred to as Casey and Acacia, sometimes even on the same page. With that being said, there are several things to be pleased with in Marked. Naughton has been able to establish a world unfamiliar to our own but doesn’t spend unnecessary time world building. Argolea is easy to visualize and is beautiful. The vocabulary is also easy to grasp. There are very few unfamiliar words to learn and there is a helpful one page glossary at the end of the novel.Overall, if you’re a fan of paranormal romance, Marked is a book you do not want to miss!

[msralways · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Elisabeth Naughton made me fall in love with her with her Stolen Trilogy and now she's just upping her game all around. I really liked the world building here and all the history you get with the Greek mithology involved in the plot. I LOVED Casey and I learned to really care about Theron too by the half of the book. I'm so excited to read how all these sexy Argonauts are going to turn now from this point on.

[ijpanko · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I like the idea the author pushes into this book. She has obviously done some research and that shows. As far as romance goes I'm not to impressed. It was hurried and Casey doesn't feel like a needy girl. If all girls jumped into bed with a hot guy we'd be in trouble. Book was a bit confusing in places and I had some trouble. But that could be because even though my attention was grabbed in the beginning... it didn't hold it.

[maggiejaimeson · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Took me awhile to get into this, but once I did I was really glad. Great characters and a nice world set up. Now that it's all set up, I expect the next one will be amazing.

[pamkaye · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Theron is an Argonaut, sent to find the chosen one from a prophecy. Casey thought she was a typical human, just doing what she could to make it through life and keep her grandmother's business running. The princess Isadora in Argolea is dying, and needs her unknown sister. Sparks fly as soon as Theron and Casey meet. Typical romance theme. Boy falls for girl - girl falls for boy. Neither will admit their feelings and they make themselves miserable.There is a good plot to the book, with Casey being the chosen one to save Argolea. We have demons, Argonauts (heroes from Greek mythology) and Gods. I enjoyed the story line and the characters. I liked watching the growth and change in Isadora.This is book 1 in the series. Book 2 deals with Zander, an Argonaut who is cursed (or gifted depending on your point of view) with immortality.

[florenceart · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

I wasn't expecting Jane Austen, but I do have my standards even for trash. The paper thin characters have an emotional depth that is slightly below the Barbie and Ken level. And reading such an incredibly original piece of dialogue as « I know modern women aren’t supposed to like to cook, but, well, I do » made me feel like I was betraying the whole female sex just by reading this. I did smile at some of the reactions of a 21st century woman suddenly confronted with Greek gods and heroes, but I'm not sure the humor was intended, and even if it was, the genuine potential of the situation was woefully under-exploited. I only finished this one because I'm a romance addict.

[historicalbooklover · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Wow, I loved this book. What a great start to a new series.

[addictofromance · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Casey, is beyond exhausted, working two jobs. Her day job, a book shop, which was her grandmothers, and now is Casey's. But things are tight, so she works as a waitress at a strip club, where she runs into a stranger, a stranger that takes her breath away like never before. But what happens next shocks her. As she heads to her car after work, she sees the same stranger, battling creatures that look like demons. Upon her arrival, they disappear and she takes the wounded man to her apartment. Theron, has come to the human world, to track the King's daughter, who has fled. He must find her and return her before the King returns. However while on his way of returning her, he comes across demons and he is outnumbered with no backup. So he sends Isadora back home, and tries to fight the demons, knowing it was going to be very painful. Then he wakes up in a strange home, in a woman's bed. From the moment he catches eye of Casey, he is enthralled by her beauty and her caring nature. Before either of them realizes he they share a sensual night in each others arms, but Theron leaves not knowing if he would ever see her again. Then he learns from the King that he must find Isadora's sister to save her life, and he suspects the sister is Casey, knowing if he does complete his mission it will kill her in the process. Will Theron be able to choose between duty and a fierce desire turned into love?Marked is the first in the Eternal Guardians. This is not the first time I have read from this author. Earlier last year, I was able to read Bound, and I was hooked into this series. I have been wanting to read the earlier books ever since, so I was very excited to get this through Audible. I love the idea of this series. I have always admired Greek mythology, and its so exciting to see a author mix it into her books as Naugton does with the Eternal Guardians. The Eternal Guardians are descendants of half breeds of the gods. They are chosen to protect and fight the demons that are growing in a large number. This was such a thrilling and exciting story, the suspense and adventure would just NOT stop, and I LOVED it!!! I was curious to see how this story would be on audio book, and I have to say I am going to get the rest of the series through Audible, I enjoyed it that much. The narrator was awesome, and I loved her variety of tones of voices of the characters. The story was such a roller coaster of romance and adventure. There was quite a conflict, well a BIG conflict, since the heroine is fated to die, but it definitely will shock you how the story turns out, it did for me. I was on tinder hooks, wondering how on earth this couple would ever manage a HEA, but I was left feeling fully satisfied by the end.Overall I adored Marked. Such a wonderful romance, with a beautifully written mythology theme to it, that just grabs your attention and makes you never want to put this down. The relationship between Theron and Casey definitely was full of rocks, twists and turns, but yet there was such a intense feeling to it that leaves the reader breathless. A STELLAR ROMANCE!!!

[glennis.leblanc · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Alex is tracking down the magical objects that were lost in the last book. He is still working for the Council and they still don’t trust him. The feeling is mutual and Alex is always looking for the knife in the back from them. When they decide he needs to help them convince Richard to come to their side everything goes to pieces. I really don’t want to say what since going into detail will ruin the twist.
An enjoyable book and I really like the narrator for these audios.

[jennybeast · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Still love this series, but it's falling into patterns, as the politics repeat and repeat. I feel as though this one indicates some serious character growth that may lead to new things in the future, and I'm excited to see where it leads.

[wyvernfriend · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Alex has to help the sceptical Light Council negotiate with the Dark Mages to help find the missing artefacts. He also has to deal with events from previous books and deal with problems from previous adventures. He's also having to ask some questions about his own motivations and emotions.Some of the details are messy but it does across as realistic, the politics is well thought-out and messy and the magicians come across as very human.

[jsburbidge · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I usually pick up the annual Alex Verus novel as soon as it comes out. They're a cut above the average urban fantasy out there.

As with all the Alex Verus novels, this is a fun, quick read with deft characterisation and a self-contained plot which also feeds into a larger story arc.

Jacka has talked about the series up to now having been mainly about getting the players in place for the core series arc; there's one critical change in this novel, and some minor blurred lines are made a little clearer.

As a stand-alone, it essentially is a caper novel - a failed caper novel, much as many spy novels are about failed operations. This isn't much of a spoiler: Verus expects it will fail, the perspective of the reader suggests it will fail: the interest lies in seeing how it fails and what the aftereffects are.

Up to the standards of the rest of the series.