Gwen’s review of Eve of Destruction (Marked, Book 2) by S.J. Day
Urban Fantasy released by Tor 2 Jun 09

As you know by now, Sylvia Day is one of my fav erotic romance authors, so this entry into the UF genre is something I read with avid interest. Few people can twist passion and emotion the way she can, wringing out every last erg of energy from the words and my feelings.  I just go along for the ride when I read her and I’m seldom disappointed. 

I reviewed the first book of this series, Eve of Darkness, a short while back. It was a good first book and introduced a new and different world of evil hunters, good guys, and villains.  The hapless humans caught in the middle are largely ignored, but that’s par for the course in most of these kick-ass-heroine urban fantasies.

The heroine in these novels is developing into quite the woman.  In this second entry, she’s trying to balance her personal life, her family, and her new profession.  All while being trained to kick ass and take names. Her love affair(s) take a back seat to the suspense plot, all while still being an important part of the storyline. Very fun tension is maintained and you never really know who to cheer for when she’s being wooed by one or the other hero.

The heroes are still scrumptious and wholly edible.  Some interesting things happen to the both and you’re left wondering what the hell is going to happen next when the book ends.  It’s all very tempting and satisfying at the same time.

Eve is still largely clueless to the larger machinations going on the Marked/Archangel ranks and her part in them, though she is starting to get an inkling that there’s something going on that’s deeper than what she’s seeing.  This all serves to ratchet up the intensity and tension in these books.  One day we’ll discover the purpose of all the moves the plot’s chess pieces are making.  Some resolve themselves in this entry, but there’s still some very tantalizing pieces looming on the horizon.

I’m not going to recap any of the plot in my review – too much can be given away and the blurb is spot-on with the description.  Just know that this is another terrific entry into Day’s UF world.  I enjoyed this Book 2 more, perhaps because I didn’t feel so behind the learning curve as I felt with Book 1. It’s full of good action and storytelling with great tension.  It has an excellent story arc that leaves us wanting more from the next book (coming soon, thankfully).

I highly recommend this book to fans of the author or fans of Urban Fantasy.  I recommend reading Book 1 before diving into this entry.

Grade: A-

Read more about this series by following its tag here.

Summary:
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When you’re learning to hunt demons, homework can be hell…
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Class is in, but Evangeline Hollis is far from being the star pupil. She’s struggling to get through the required training to be a full-fledged Mark — one of thousands of sinners forced to hunt demons for God. When her class goes on a week-long field trip to an abandoned military base, passing the course suddenly isn’t just a matter of pride… it’s a matter of life and death. There’s a demon hidden among them, killing off Eve’s classmates one by one.
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As the body count rises, a ragtag team of ghost hunters from a cable TV program unwittingly stumbles into the carnage. Now keeping the Mark system secret competes with the need to keep the “paranormal researchers” alive. With Cain on assignment and Abel investigating a new, terrifying class of demon, Eve must fly solo on her hunt to stop a killer before he strikes again.
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Read an excerpt (scroll down).

Other books in the series:

Gwen’s review of Eve of Darkness (Marked, Book 1) by S.J. Day
Urban Fantasy released by Tor 28 Apr 09

Let me just say that it’s nice to see some ethnic flavor in a heroine for once.  And this heroine kicks some serious butt.  Not to mention that the heroes (yes, more than one) are oh so yummy and kick butt right along with her.  Read on to see what else I thought about this new Urban Fantasy series from Sylvia Day – one of my favorite erotic romance writers on the planet. 

The Marked series is built on a present day world where angels, seraphim, and demons are a hidden, but very real power.  The soldiers of the “good” are the Marked, or Marks – humans who have the Mark of Cain as punishment for sin.  They have to serve, or fight for, Jehovah to work off the Mark and make it into Heaven.  To do this, Day uses the Catholic practice of “indulgences.” Yes, Martin Luther is laughing his protestant hienie off, but work with us here.

Archangels are the primary terrestrial power, running whole firms of Marks.  These firms are masquerading as large corporations that fund the Marks’ work.  Marks are jostling for seniority to be made archangels and to maybe run their own firm.  Archangels are jostling for power amongst each other for power and prestige, and the love of Jehovah, etc.  It’s all very “corporate politicky” at the terrestrial level, and could be a tad boring, but Day manages to keep it fresh and interesting.  Then, once you get past the archangels, it becomes very much about the seraphim and the absolute and consuming love of God.  A Christian God, but again, work with us here.

So that’s the basis of the series.  Then, for the Eve books, add into it the ages old struggle between the brothers Cain and Abel.  Both are attracted to the same woman, Evangeline (Eve for short – yeah, I know – nothing Oedipal about that ::smirk::).  She becomes one of the Marked because of her acting on this love/lust from the brothers.  Unbeknownst to her, her induction into the ranks of the Marked is linked to some bigger, deeper, older, more Machiavellian doings by one of the archangels.  This all unfolds slowly thru this book and into the next.  All pretty interesting and left me wondering what the heck was going to happen next as the pattern begins to emerge in EoD.

One of the criticisms I have of most new Urban Fantasy series is the amount of a novel’s real estate an author feels they must spend on world building.  And when you have a world as complex as this one, there is quite a bit.  It becomes worth it as you get further into this first book and as the variety of subtexts and subplots become apparent, but it’s a bit of a slog to get thru at first. Where the author is taking you is not quite clear, so there’s some reluctance to wade thru all that detail.  It’s worth it, though, for the surprises and tension it brings to the read.

As you can guess, the sexual and general tension between the three main characters – Cain, Abel, and Eve – is fun and is the real reason I finished the book.  While Eve seemed a little too accepting of this alternate reality, I realized the “fantasy” part of Urban Fantasy has to start somewhere.  Not to mention that Day excels at writing hot sex scenes and this book is no exception.  I love the passion she can imbue her characters with, while also making them doubt themselves – it’s a very humanizing thing to do for such mythic characters.

The villains in this first book are scary dudes.  You’re not sure how the heck Eve, et al, are going to protect themselves against them – particularly with their own side working against them to an extent.  It makes for a fun suspense thread and good action.

I recommend this book to any Urban Fantasy fans out there who like the plots a little twisted and the sexual tension high.  I recomend it to fans of Day’s historical romances – this is a different take from this wonderful author and one I didn’t regret reading.  The series promises to be a fun ride.

Grade: B+

Summary:
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Cursed by God, hunted by demons, desired by Cain and Abel… All in a day’s work.
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For Evangeline Hollis, a long-ago fling with a bad boy from the wrong side of the tracks just became a disaster of biblical proportions. One night with a leather-clad man of mystery has led to a divine punishment: the Mark of Cain.
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Thrust into a world where sinners are drafted to kill demons, Eve knows her learning curve must be short. A longtime agnostic, she begrudgingly maneuvers through a celestial bureaucracy where she is a valuable but ill-treated pawn. She’s also become the latest point of contention in the oldest case of sibling rivalry in history…
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But she’ll worry about all that later. Right now she’s more concerned with learning to kill while staying alive. And saving the soul she’d never quite believed she had.
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Read an excerpt (scroll down).

Other books in the series: