A YA fantasy book that an adult can really get into...
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| Marking Time (Book One in the Immortal Descendants Series) |
I received my copy of the book Marking Time
by April White and I was intimidated to say the least..it's a whopper of a book at 431
pages and it's a fantasy novel. I don't have that much freakin' experience in YA fantasy. Am I too old for YA Fantasy?? The description had me intrigued and I was ready to tackle
it...full steam ahead!! And I will say no matter the age it's a great book with a great plot, lots of mystery and plenty of excitement.
We are immediately introduced to Siara Elian, a 17 year old tom-boy tagger with a great and useful skill of night vision and a fear of shadows. So the book begins with her being caught marking up a tunnel by two cops..but not before she runs across some shady guys engaged in scandalous conversation. Intrigued to find out who they were she comes across another problem...her mother has been missing..which is typical of her mother..and she is forced to live with her grandmother Millicent until she returns per the cops orders. So she is off with her grandmother to Elian Manor in England...far away from the home and the home life that she is use to. Once at the massive Elian Manor she faces yet another ordeal...the posh life and the rules that Millicent has strongly enforced on her. Millicent is not so kind to Siara..she is cold and direct except when it comes to speaking to Siara about her mother and her past..suddenly it's a cryptic mess that only intrigues Siara even more. They get into a discussion about her mother..to which Siara shows her a drawing of a clock...a clock that was given to her by her father, another total mystery. Much to Siara's curiosity, Millicent becomes enraged to see the design of the clock and forbids Siara to ever draw such a thing. Not one to follow rules Siara flees the manor to search the woods nearby...while there she soon discovers that she is being followed...by two very different people. One being "Slick" one of the guys in the tunnel back at home and "Wolf" someone that is trying to help her to get away. Not sure whether to trust 'Wolf" she knows she has no choice..he leads her to a train station where he tells her to find "the spiral at White Chapel"...having no clue but needing to escape whoever "Slick" is she does so...hiding herself in a service alcove. And that's where things really start to get weird. Focusing on a spiral, she instinctively begins to trace it with her fingers...she hears an intense hum followed by violent shaking and a puking outburst...then she is in another time...the Victorian Era..only she does not believe it and thinks it is a play or a city tour experience. Again she comes across 'Wolf" who is drawn to her and wants to help her. There is a whole other dramatic suspenseful experience when she comes across Jack the Ripper...(I won't even get into all that although it is very important to the story). So there in the 1880's Victorian London "Wolf" goes on to fill her in on some facts...that his name is Archer Devereux and that she is what is known as a "clocker" which is a time traveler. Everything is a mystery to Siara and she does not know what to believe. Frustrated with Archers new information she flees only to run into Jack the Ripper who is for whatever reason out to get her. Archer comes to her rescue....and just when she is tracing the design of a spiral to go back home she spots her mother.....then she is back in her time...and "Slick" is waiting for her. She escapes and heads back to her grandmother's. It is there that she is presented with more cryptic clues to who she is..who her mother is and what her family is about. There is a book...pictures...and the truth of her lineage (sorta but not quite and only what little info Millicent wants her to know) She gets sent to St. Brigid's where things get even weirder..she discovers many new family secrets..meets many other strange characters....there's bears (shape shifters) a Vampire..werewolves...experiences many more time travels and yet the mystery continues to remain...where is her mother?? and who is Siara really??..Why is "Slick" and his goons after her??....Why is Tom( Adam and Ava's cousin that went missing from St. Brigid's) missing and found back in 1888??..how and why does Jack the Ripper play into all this?? The story takes you on many turns and "spirals" and in every chapter there is some new mystery and also some answers. Engrossing to say the least. This book does not quit.
On a personal level, I especially loved the wide range of characters...the descendants...family lineage and what they stood for. From the Aislin's..the descendants of fate. The Duncan's..the descendants of war. The Gorans..the descendants of nature. Elians...time travel. Aeron...death. Then there are the Suckers...and the Ungees...the Seers. I love all the witty nicknames that Siara's character gives to everyone and anyone that comes across her path before she figures out who they actually are. I loved Siara's character...tomboy...into parkour...a rebel at heart. I could easily imagine that edginess she portrayed but also see all her wild vulnerability. That is what made the book so fun..she was willing to take risks to get to the truths of all these mysteries..and for one goal..to find her mother even though romance and friendships get involved in the whole sorted mix. There is toooo much going on..and sometimes too much is frustratingly too much but not in this case...it is welcomed happily.
I really enjoyed this book. Again, I would classify this as a YA fantasy...and although I don't have much experience with YA this book did it for me...I am captivated no matter my age. It's complex...funny...and mysterious...an entertaining read until the very end. I am even more excited to learn that there is more...more of this story and I look forward to reading every single book that comes out in this series (The Immortal Descendants). April White is an amazing writer and she has me hooked completely.
I thankfully received my copy of this book via giveaway in exchange for an honest review...to which I have happily done so!!
We are immediately introduced to Siara Elian, a 17 year old tom-boy tagger with a great and useful skill of night vision and a fear of shadows. So the book begins with her being caught marking up a tunnel by two cops..but not before she runs across some shady guys engaged in scandalous conversation. Intrigued to find out who they were she comes across another problem...her mother has been missing..which is typical of her mother..and she is forced to live with her grandmother Millicent until she returns per the cops orders. So she is off with her grandmother to Elian Manor in England...far away from the home and the home life that she is use to. Once at the massive Elian Manor she faces yet another ordeal...the posh life and the rules that Millicent has strongly enforced on her. Millicent is not so kind to Siara..she is cold and direct except when it comes to speaking to Siara about her mother and her past..suddenly it's a cryptic mess that only intrigues Siara even more. They get into a discussion about her mother..to which Siara shows her a drawing of a clock...a clock that was given to her by her father, another total mystery. Much to Siara's curiosity, Millicent becomes enraged to see the design of the clock and forbids Siara to ever draw such a thing. Not one to follow rules Siara flees the manor to search the woods nearby...while there she soon discovers that she is being followed...by two very different people. One being "Slick" one of the guys in the tunnel back at home and "Wolf" someone that is trying to help her to get away. Not sure whether to trust 'Wolf" she knows she has no choice..he leads her to a train station where he tells her to find "the spiral at White Chapel"...having no clue but needing to escape whoever "Slick" is she does so...hiding herself in a service alcove. And that's where things really start to get weird. Focusing on a spiral, she instinctively begins to trace it with her fingers...she hears an intense hum followed by violent shaking and a puking outburst...then she is in another time...the Victorian Era..only she does not believe it and thinks it is a play or a city tour experience. Again she comes across 'Wolf" who is drawn to her and wants to help her. There is a whole other dramatic suspenseful experience when she comes across Jack the Ripper...(I won't even get into all that although it is very important to the story). So there in the 1880's Victorian London "Wolf" goes on to fill her in on some facts...that his name is Archer Devereux and that she is what is known as a "clocker" which is a time traveler. Everything is a mystery to Siara and she does not know what to believe. Frustrated with Archers new information she flees only to run into Jack the Ripper who is for whatever reason out to get her. Archer comes to her rescue....and just when she is tracing the design of a spiral to go back home she spots her mother.....then she is back in her time...and "Slick" is waiting for her. She escapes and heads back to her grandmother's. It is there that she is presented with more cryptic clues to who she is..who her mother is and what her family is about. There is a book...pictures...and the truth of her lineage (sorta but not quite and only what little info Millicent wants her to know) She gets sent to St. Brigid's where things get even weirder..she discovers many new family secrets..meets many other strange characters....there's bears (shape shifters) a Vampire..werewolves...experiences many more time travels and yet the mystery continues to remain...where is her mother?? and who is Siara really??..Why is "Slick" and his goons after her??....Why is Tom( Adam and Ava's cousin that went missing from St. Brigid's) missing and found back in 1888??..how and why does Jack the Ripper play into all this?? The story takes you on many turns and "spirals" and in every chapter there is some new mystery and also some answers. Engrossing to say the least. This book does not quit.
On a personal level, I especially loved the wide range of characters...the descendants...family lineage and what they stood for. From the Aislin's..the descendants of fate. The Duncan's..the descendants of war. The Gorans..the descendants of nature. Elians...time travel. Aeron...death. Then there are the Suckers...and the Ungees...the Seers. I love all the witty nicknames that Siara's character gives to everyone and anyone that comes across her path before she figures out who they actually are. I loved Siara's character...tomboy...into parkour...a rebel at heart. I could easily imagine that edginess she portrayed but also see all her wild vulnerability. That is what made the book so fun..she was willing to take risks to get to the truths of all these mysteries..and for one goal..to find her mother even though romance and friendships get involved in the whole sorted mix. There is toooo much going on..and sometimes too much is frustratingly too much but not in this case...it is welcomed happily.
I really enjoyed this book. Again, I would classify this as a YA fantasy...and although I don't have much experience with YA this book did it for me...I am captivated no matter my age. It's complex...funny...and mysterious...an entertaining read until the very end. I am even more excited to learn that there is more...more of this story and I look forward to reading every single book that comes out in this series (The Immortal Descendants). April White is an amazing writer and she has me hooked completely.
I thankfully received my copy of this book via giveaway in exchange for an honest review...to which I have happily done so!!
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