Jaymin Eve

It's time for the dragon marked to rise... Jessa Lebron doesn't have a lot to complain about. Her father is the alpha of their wolf pack, she lives in Stratford, a protected supernatural prison town, and her best friends, the Compass quads, are the strongest dudes of the four races: shifter, vampire, fey, and magic user.Yep, life is pretty much exactly how she wants it. Until the fateful day, just after her twenty-second birthday, when the mother who abandoned her, returns to the pack bearing secrets that change everything.The biggest secret of all: Jessa is dragon marked, a designation that places her in grave danger. For a thousand years, every supernatural child born with the mark was eliminated to prevent the rise of the dragon king, a fearsome ancient warmonger. In a bid to learn more about her fate and how to avoid the hunters, Jessa finds herself locked in Vanguard, the notorious supernatural prison. Thankfully she's not alone. Braxton Compass, the most feared of the dragon shifters, is right there with her. Together they'll have to survive long enough to free themselves and the other dragon marked. Before the king rises. *Note from author: this story was previously published by Skyscape. There are no changes to this version.

Dragon Marked

Sarah Escorsa

► 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.

Nickie Mohler

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.

Totally Addicted to Reading

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.

Book 1 in Upper YA/NA Paranormal Romance Trilogy.There are supernatural prisons hidden across the globe. Contained within these fortresses are some of the deadliest criminals from the five supernatural races: vampire, shifter, fey, magic users and demi-fey.Jessa Lebron, twenty-two, has spent her entire life in Stratford, Connecticut, one of the gateway towns adjoining these prisons which protect the fortified borders. She's a wolf shifter, and her father leads the town council. She learns that much of her life has been hidden from her, secrets which threaten to tear apart the very fabric of her world. Especially the biggest secret of them all.She is dragon marked.Jessa only knows what she's been told about the dragon marked, that they are dangerous and must be eliminated to prevent the rise of the dragon king, the powerful warmonger who had his head removed a thousand years ago. So now Jessa's on the biggest hit list of all. Dragon mark hunters are lethal and her only hope to evade detection is to keep the energy contained.As more secrets unfold she finds herself locked up in Vanguard, the notorious American supernatural prison. Thankfully she's not alone. Braxton, the dragon-shifter has her back. Together they must survive long enough to free themselves and the other dragon marked.Because it's time for the dragon marked to rise.Excerpt:I glared at the deadly but visually stunning dragon. He was massive; he'd had to tuck his wings in at his side to have room for movement. The black and blue of his scales shone even in the dying light. The bright yellow eyes surveyed the room, before locking me in his gaze. He roared again and I decided to take a stand. In general I didn't think much before I acted, and my plans were often considered to be brave or stupid. Usually both."Braxton Compass," I scolded him, moving right up into his strike zone, my hands on my hips. "Your scaled dragon ass is blocking the doorway."Jacob, Tyson, and Maximus crowded behind me. They were ready to snatch me up if their brother made the wrong move. But I knew it would have to be pretty exceptional circumstances before Braxton would lose enough of himself to hurt me.The massive beast lowered his head until we were eye to eye. He would scent trickles of my fear, but despite my body's involuntary response, I wasn't really afraid of Braxton. His dragon was a little unpredictable, but he was strong enough to keep both of them controlled. I knew he'd pulled this stunt to remind the council where the real power lay and that he didn't like secrets being kept, especially when they personally affected us.The dragon and I continued our stare-off, my dark blue eyes locked on his yellow. "Let's call it a tie," I finally said, grinning and raising my eyebrows at the same time.

Dragon Marked

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