Reviews

Marked by Bridget E. Baker

writings_of_a_reader's review against another edition

4.0

If one touch can infect. . .

Then a kiss is deadly. . .

Marked is the first book in a new YA post-apocalyptic trilogy and it was very hard to put down. I have to say that it was one of the best self-published books I've ever read. In fact I really couldn't tell it was a self-published book. It didn't have a lot of the issues I've run into while reading most of them. The plot was good, there were no grammar or spelling issues that I noticed, and I felt like the characters were consistent.

As for the characters, for the most part I liked Ruby, although she annoyed me a few times with her self-loathing and headstrong behavior. Despite those weaknesses, she was a strong, independent thinker. I kind of liked that her strengths were not in physical strength or combat, but in other areas. I also felt like the love triangle was handled pretty well, and the fact that there was a love triangle in this book didn't annoy me at all, which was a relief, because sometimes they can be so bad. The guy who becomes the main love interest in the book was a bit over-protective at times, but at least he listened to her when she asked him not to do something, and I was also really happy when she called him out on some of his behavior. That's more than I can say for some of the adult characters I've read about in books (see my review of A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness for an example).

There were some nice twists in the book. I did predict a couple of them, but that was ok, it didn't make the book any less enjoyable. I recommend this if you like post-apocalyptic YA books. I'm really looking forward to reading the next book in the trilogy.

Thanks to the author for providing me with an advanced copy of this book.

Review also posted at Writings of a Reader

littlemizz10's review

I could not get passed the overloaded dialogue where the characters where telling each other the history and trying to "set the scene" and provide context to set up the book. I feel like this could have been revealed another way and didn't fill me with confidence about the rest of the book/series. 
I also could not get passed the teenage drama of boy crushes and "who kissed who" part of the story telling. The character is too YA for my taste.

flick09's review against another edition

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No

2.5

Meh. Writing was all over the place 

jlturner07's review

adventurous emotional mysterious sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

aug11992's review

adventurous challenging dark funny mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

_fabs_'s review against another edition

1.0

I think this was my karma book :) the punishment for the bad things I’ve done until now. Insufferable characters. The main one? Useless. She wants to do things by her own, and forgets that she’s useless. The first time being reckless? I can understand that, she’s 16. The next 1981827272 times? No.
Also, she says she loves someone, and the next 100 pages she says something along the lines “He’s my friend. I had a crush on him” :> girl, no, you said you loved him.
The premise was good, the execution however…

annaka's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad tense fast-paced

3.5

The MC is a bit annoying with her self-depreciating, often missing obvious information dialogue (especially when you consider that she’s supposed to be a genius in the field of science). The twists and turns feel a bit like many other dystopian/virus stories but there were a few that I didn’t predict. Typical love triangle/teenage dystopian drama. There are also some wiring issues where something doesn’t make sense (timing not lining up it a character facing one way and then doing something they had to turn around to do without any clue they had turned)… small issues but took me out of the story for a minute. However, some of the other characters are pretty likable and the plot was fast enough that I finished it quickly and it held my interest. I received it for free during a stuff your kindle ya promotion  which may cause me to be lenient on quality issues. Story was good if you can look past a few flaws. 

frankoats's review against another edition

4.0

4/5

As an adult, I was like, "huh, probably a teen book." I was mostly right, but in a good way! I felt like I was able to become a late-teen/young adult again with this book! Bridget E. Baker writes very well, and even if I felt a little young reading it, I felt the language of the writing was adult (well, as adult as you can be in a POV of a 16 year old!). I wanted to continue reading, and it was hard to put down with all the fun twists and turns of figuring out this world.

Pros:
- Fun to read, felt like a teen again, was impressed by the writing, twists and turns

Cons:
- A bit silly at times, some of the twists I felt like "god, another one?!", the characters felt a bit cliche

antoinetteo's review against another edition

adventurous hopeful mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

bezzarina's review against another edition

adventurous emotional tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5