Series Review: The Marked Series by Bianca Scardoni

Ever run across one of those series that is bad but somehow still managed to reel you in so you continue reading to find out what, finally, happens to the stupid heroine?  That’s the Marked Series for me.  I was sucked in by the cover and rode the slippery slope that is 8 books in a series that really has a heroine that is a lying baby, a hero that is a freaking doormat and the anti-hero that was somewhat perfect the way he was until he was shoved into a place where he didn’t need to go.

Jemma is a 17-year-old girl who has her world turned upside down when she realizes everything she thought made her crazy was true.  From there, we speed through Jemma being a weapon the council wants to us, she’s drawn to Trace who has a bitchy, clingy girlfriend, she’s attacked and befriends vampire brother and she has to figure out how she fits into the grand scheme of things in this world.  Turns out, she truly is a weapon the elders would rather use than kill, but only after that attempt went wrong.  Trace is her soulmate, but she continues to treat him like shit every chance she gets.  Gabriel wants nothing but to help Jemma, but somehow many books in she manages to screw him so badly it’s not even funny.  Then there’s Dominic.  He was the perfect anti-hero that went down a path that truly wasn’t necessary.  We already had enough bad guys, there was no need to do what was done to him.  If Jemma needed to break off that relationship with Trace, the author already had the perfect setup and should have let Dominic bow out gracefully.

After investing so much time in this series, I wish I could say I liked it more as this went on but I didn’t.  The only consolation for this is the fact that it was in Kindle Unlimited so it didn’t hurt quite as bad.  Kudos to the author for sucking me into 8 books.

Below is the info on the remaining books in the series if you are interested in this journey.  The final book is scheduled to be released late October/early November (as of this post).  And yes…I’ll undoubtedly pick up the last book because I’ll have to see how this hot mess ends.

The steep descent into Hell is always paved with good intentions.

My name is Jemma Blackburn, and I'm a Slayer. Finding out I wasn't human was only the beginning of my problems. My best-friend, Taylor, is still missing, and so is the Immortal Amulet, and it's my job alone to get them both back. I don't know who I can trust, and I'm still not sure I'm cut out for any of this, but I'm determined to figure it all out, or die trying.
As if that wasn't bad enough, there's a new enemy in town and they've come bearing gifts—an ancient prophesy that is going to blur the very lines between good and evil. And, apparently, my blood is tied to the center of it. I don't have all the answers yet, but I’m getting closer and closer to discovering the truth. The truth about my bloodlines, and about who I really am.
And, believe me when I say, it's going to change everything.

THE MARKED SAGA, BOOK 3
The end came at me jagged and skewed like puzzle pieces to a game I didn’t know I was playing. There was a distinct method to the madness, every move propagated to force my hand, to lure me out of hiding with the sweet promise of finality. I took solace in knowing that something better waited for me on the other side, something as pure and deep as the ocean itself.
But there was no end in sight.No peace to be found.The end was only the beginning.

Hell is empty. The Devil is here.

There is no road so long and winding as the one that leads you to the finish line. Every bend is meant to test you, every junction meant to bring you closer to that place where love and sacrifice meet. To that place in the valley where the sun doesn’t quite reach.

I know now that my life will only ever be a battle against the darkness—a darkness that is infinite and eternal in its very nature—and it will remain that way until the inevitable day when the darkness takes my last breath.

That is my purpose.
That is my destiny.
My name is Jemma Blackburn, and this is my Hell.

Some Fight the Darkness; Others Will Become it…
My name is Jemma Blackburn and I’m a Slayer. After being forced to watch my boyfriend take his last breath in order to send Lucifer back to Hell, there was only one thing I could do to cope with my loss: Get as far away from Hollow Hills as I possibly could.

It turns out that being on the road with my sister was exactly what I needed to move on from what happened and to finally accept my fate as a Slayer. Unfortunately, there was still one thing standing in the way of my destiny; of fully giving in to a life of hunting things that go bump in the night: High School Senior Year.

My plan was simple. Keep my head down and finish the year, and then leave this place and all its tragedy once and for all. But plans never work out quite the way you want them to. Not only was I hit with the biggest shock of my life when I discovered that people who die don’t always stay dead, but there was a brand-new evil headed to Hollow Hills and it was going to make Lucifer look like a chump. New plan: Keep my head down, finish the year, and save the world before graduation. It sounded simple enough, but I’d forgotten one important detail:

This is Hollow Hills and things are never as they seem…
Welcome to Season Two of The Marked Saga.

Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that.Welcome Back to Season Two of The Marked Saga
My name is Jemma Blackburn and my life's just been turned on its head again. With my boyfriend back from the dead, and the vampire I'm bonded to being forced to shut his emotions off, the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse arriving in town is really just the beginning of my problems.
As with all ancient prophesies, the clock is ticking, and time is running out for all of us. Mostly because of that parting gift Lucifer so kindly left us with. My best advice at this point? Hang on tight because it's going to be one hell of a ride.
INCIPIENT is the highly anticipated sixth book in The Marked Saga. A fast paced YA paranormal romance full of steam, supernatural adventure, and jaw-dropping twists that will keep you guessing until the very last page.
Perfect for fans of The Vampire Diaries, Twilight, and Fallen Angel Romances.Reader Discretion: this book contains graphic language and sexual content and is not suitable for readers under 17.

THE MARKED SAGA CONTINUES...
If I thought things couldn't get any worse with Dominic's emotions completely shut off and the Son of Perdition on its way, I was dead wrong. Destiny wasn't done with me and she was about to pull the ground out from me all over again.

Old friends and foes have come back to guide me toward a Fate sealed in my blood long before I was born. Whether I wanted it or not, everything was riding on me fulfilling that calling: Life as we knew it. Dominic. And now even Trace. There was no room for mistakes. One wrong move and everything I loved and worked for was going to come crashing down on me in the worse way possible. But I was determined to stop it; to fight destiny; to right the wrongs that had been done. Even if it meant signing away my own life in the process.

Welcome back to my fresh new Hell.

IRREVERENT is the highly anticipated seventh book in The Marked Saga. A fast paced paranormal romance full of steam, supernatural adventure, and jaw-dropping twists that will keep you guessing until the very last page.

Perfect for fans of The Vampire Diaries, Twilight, The Mortal Instruments, and Fallen Angel Romances.
Reader Discretion: this book contains graphic language and sexual content and is not suitable for readers under 17.

** This is a 100K full length book part of an 8 book series and ends in a cliffhanger.**