Dragon Marked Supernatural Prison #1

► BR with my MacHalo Freaks starting February 1, 2016. ☠ DNF at: who the hell knows? I didn't bother checking. This Faster-Than-Light DNF (FTLD™) is the result of hours of self-preservation practice. Yes, absolutely. Because one of my resolutions for this year is to use discernment when it comes to reading books. One of my resolutions for this year is to stop letting the masochist in me out. One of my resolutions for this year is to stop reading Stupidly Stupid Pieces of Crap (SSPoC™). If I hadn't been such a noob in the Discernment Department, I wouldn't even have tried reading this thing. I mean, it has been shelved as both Romance *shudders* and NA *dies* by Clueless Goodreaders. But you know me, always expecting the best, willing to see the bright side of life and all that crap. Besides, dragons, people! Dragons! Yeah well, all my dragon reads of late have been SSPoCs™, so I think I'll stick to barnacles from now on. Yes, that's right, barnacles. Got a problem with that? But anyway. You know what really sucks here? It's that this thing isn't even NA. Oh no, NA would have been much too evolved. This is nothing but a Stupidly Stupid Piece of Crappy YA Crap (SSPCYC™) in disguise. Featuring a whole bunch of immature, supposed-to-be-in-their-20s-but-acting-like-13-year-olds special snowflakes. And I might not have made it very far in the book, but let me tell you, the Stupid was strong in this one. Really strong. So I did the self-preservation thing, and here I am. Still alive. I didn't throw my Kindle across the room in a fit of sudden I-just-read-a-SSPCYC™-rage while reading this thing. I didn't let the homicidal maniac in me out, either. I'm not even in a ranting mood. I don't even want to annihilate all life on the planet. Peace and enlightenment are me. So much so that I even considered giving this thing another try. Unfortunately, something just came up and I won't be able to read this delightful thing after all. Damn. Life really sucks sometimes. Sorry people, I'm outta here. I have to go attend a funeral and stuff. PS: please say hi to Edward, my Let's Bail Snail.

Jessa Lebron is a wolf shifter. She lives in Stratford, a supernatural community. Stratford is also home to Vanguard, a supernatural prison. She goes to college, and hangs out with her pack, the Compasses. The Compasses are quads, and each is a different type of supe. They are also destined to sit on the Council in a few years, but someone has other plans for them. Jessa's mother decides to come back into the picture after 22 years, and someone is gunning for Jessa, or is it the Compasses, or both? This book was fast-paced, I just had to move past the YA moments. Luckily, they weren't enough to kill the story for me. I still enjoyed it, and since it left me hanging, I started the next one too.

Dragon Marked tells the story of Jessa an alpha wolf shifter with attitude and sass. Jessa is a firm believer in justice and would fight to the death to protect those she loves. She lives in a world where a variety of supernatural beings coexists with each other. However, like the human world there are persons who seek power at any cost, as Jessa would discover when her close friends, protectors and future council members being framed for murder. Amid dealing with the threat to her friends, she discovers she has a twin sister and that they both were Dragon Marked, which meant she was in danger if discovered. This discovery would render changes she never expected. Jessa’s best friends and protectors are quadruplet brothers destined to be leaders of the supernatural council when they turned 25. Braxton a Dragon shifter, Maximus a vampire, Tyson a wizard and Jacob a fey. They were friends since childhood and throughout the years; their protective streak as it relates to Jesse grew tenfold. Their desire to protect her will prove a blessing when she learned what being Dragon Marked meant. Now based on all of this I expected an exciting and suspenseful story. However, it did not deliver as expected. I found the story predictable and so the excitement and suspense I expected was lacking. Based on the route the author took It was clear that a connection existed between Jesse and one of her best friends/protector. The author kept hinting on it, but she never built on it. The main characters would be considered adults as they are in their early twenties; however, their actions were more in line with teenagers. Recklessness and stubbornness made up their personality traits. The most levelheaded person among the group of supernaturals was Braxton. Jessa despite her penchant for justice and fighting for those she loved had a stream of recklessness, which placed her in some precarious positions. She acts without thinking things through. I found the world interesting. Here we have a group who lives in a world without humans. They have their own schools, prisons and government. It mimicked the human world with a few exceptions. There was no need for the use of currency and hospitals, but like the human world, there was a power struggle. This is a world where the offspring of a supernatural may not necessarily share the characteristics of their parents. My biggest peeve with the story is the amount of time spent reminding me of Jessa’s love for food. I get that she loved good, but no need to remind in every chapter. Conclusion/Recommendation Although this installment did not provide me with the suspense, action and romance, I expected I am looking forward to reading book two. Based on the ending of Dragon Marked, I am expecting the events in book two to be exhilarating.