Burn Mark by Laura Powell

                It seems like forever since I’ve finished a book.  Bright side is my new job is pretty cool so I can’t complain too much about it cutting into my reading/writing time.  So on  my lazy Saturday I finished the last half of Burn Mark by Laura Powell that I received as an ARC from NetGalley.com and Bloomsbury Children’s Books.

                In a modern world where witches are hunted down and burned at the stake two people who have lived completely different lives find they have more in common than they ever would have thought.  Glory is from a family of witches, and prays every day that she will develop the ‘Fae’ and become a witch herself.  Lucas on the other hand is son of the Chief Prosecutor for the Inquisition, a long line of Inquisitors for that matter.  His privileged life is completely different from the witches he has been raised and trained to prosecute.  Then one day, both Gloria and Lucas develop the Fae.  In one day their lives are changed forever and they start on a path that will entwine their lives together.

                So first let me say that this book does have some random terminology I was unfamiliar with, authentic slang from London I guess and I liked it.  I only mention it because I did do a quick good search to be sure that my understanding of a couple of words were correct, and they were so go me, so it’s nothing that will detract from the book in the least, I felt if anything it made it more authentic.  I will say that the versions of witches in this book is more elemental.  No simple phrase or thought and things happen, there is real work to do it.  I liked how gritty and complex it was.  For me it made it more realistic and not hyped up.  Fantasy but with limits.  Though I will say I don’t think I’d be practicing my Fae as I’m a slight germaphobe, but even as I cringed I enjoyed the way they had to do the work to make things.

                Character wise I liked Gloria and Lucas.  They are like two sides of a coin.  Gloria is tough and rough around the edges where Lucas is proper and refined.  They rub against each other and create this great tension and as a reader you are see both their sides and can understand them both.  I loved seeing things from both of their viewpoints.  I constantly felt myself being pulled to one side then the other over and over again with who I felt was right.  Seeing two characters who are so clearly different have to work together and eventually grow to understand the other slightly better while never really changing their core beliefs was amazing.

                Now the characters really sold me but they wouldn’t have been nearly as good without a great plot and let me tell you this one was stimulating.  A plot abound with undercover operations, mystery, intrigue and secrets galore.  I think the plot moved along very nicely pacing everything so as a reader you are always interested and not wanting to put the book down.  For me I’d finish a chapter and then think, just one more then to sleep.  Then that one chapter turned into four or five…  A good mix of suspense, action, and inner self development if you ask me.

                I give this book a solid 5 Stars.  Now this great book is set to come out June 19^th and I suggest you check it out.  Would you side with the witches or the Inquisitors?  Would developing the Fae be a blessing or a curse?  Let me know what you think?