The Book Addicted Girl: Burn Mark by Laura Powell

Publisher: Bloomsbury

Format: ARC

Published: 7^th June 2012

Number of Pages: 416

Book: For Review*

Genre: Urban Fantasy, Paranormal, Mystery, Thriller, Suspense, Action-Adventure, Paranormal Romance, Fantasy, YA

Recommended Age: 12+

Contains: Violence, Swearing, Alcohol References

No Drug References

Author's Blog: Laura Powell

“I’ll win or I’ll burn – whatever it takes.”

Glory is destined to become a witch. When she does, she’s going to make sure her East End coven is one to respect and fear again.

But a dangerous mix of conspiracy and betrayal raises the stakes. And then Lucas Stearne – rich, privileged and a potential Witchfinder – enters her life.

Now Glory and Lucas must put aside their differences to form an uneasy alliance.

And fight for their lives.

Review

"Fae runs thicker than blood, quicker than water and wild as wind..."

Glory comes from a long line of witches. Her mum Edie was a witch - an unregistered one, hunted by the Inquisition. Glory's dad thinks Edie left to protect them. But thanks to amazingly vivid dreams, Glory knows differently.

Her mother was burnt at the stake.

And yet for as long as she can remember, Glory has prayed to be a witch. It's her birth-right, a way to bring glory back to her coven.

Lucas comes from a long line of Witchfinders, proud members of the Inquisition and hunters of those with the Fae. When he is older, he will be a Witchfinder too...

These two teens from such different backgrounds develop the Fae on the very same day, years before it usually appears.

From then on in, they must forge a shaky allegiance, as the two prodigies fight to bring down a powerful coven.

While also fighting for their lives...

I've always loved magic books. And I love paranormal books too. But have you noticed that lots of them kinda... blur together? They're all rather similar in places? The same kinda thing regurgitated a little differently gets boring after too long... But not Burn Mark. It's original, edgy, fast-paced, awesome and just so, so amazing! The minute I entered the world, I knew I never, ever wanted to leave. I cannot tell you how awesome it was! So if you're sick of cookie-cutter paranormal, you must check this one out... NOW! I'll be waiting...! ;)

Seriously, though. I’ve always had a really morbid fascination with the witch trials. I did a project on them in high school and can still remember how dreadful they were – but it all intrigued me anyway. I think it’s because I want to be a witch. So what with the creepy intrigue and witchy wishes, I knew I’d love this book! I had such high expectations and it managed to exceed every single one. I’m gonna just get on with my review, ‘cause now I’m just rambling excitedly in my head. It was just that good!

One of the many things I loved about this book was the characters and their relationships: they all felt really, really real to me. Like I knew the main characters so well they were my best friends. I loved Glory, our heroine: she was strong, brave, bold, street-smart and sarcastic. She was rougher and more reserved than Lucas, and therefore took longer to get to know; but once I did, I loved her! Lucas was someone I liked more-or-less instantly: he was cheeky, smart and also rather sarcastic. Something about his smooth, confident character was just so automatically loveable! Their relationship was amazingly done: how differently they both reacted to their newfound power, how their personalities were so different is some ways and identical in others. I loved how the distrust and hate slowly changed as they got to know one another: it was done masterfully. All the other characters were just as well padded out as the leads, all so believable and real. Some I instantly knew were good. Some I instantly knew were bad. And some I just couldn't figure out. As I said before - amazing. I must mention Trey Morgan real quick: he was such a conflicting character, one I loved trying to figure out! I can’t wait to see where he goes!

Laura Powell’s writing was simply amazing: beautiful, descriptive and horrid at times! I could feel the fire burning through Glory's dream, see and smell another witch burning though Lucas... Dreadful, incredible, addictive! And there was split POV between Glory and Lucas (happy dance)! Their voices were both unique: you could hear their different backgrounds in their speech. The plot… just, whoa! It was brilliant, and although the start wasn't as fast as the rest of the book, I just didn't care - I was too busy lapping up the world! And when the action kicked off - man did it kick off! Twisty and fast-paced, I loved every second and had no idea where everything was going. And I just have to mention the world, because it was amazing! It was horrible, but in the most brilliant way possible. The world building and backstory was mind-blowing – Powell took historical events and seamlessly changed them, adding witches to Nelson's fight against the French, etc. But the best bit was definitely the Mafia-mob side of the story: it was awesome and so original! Organised witch crime! How cool?! I just loved everything: the description of the world, of the Fae (Seventh Sense), how witches lived, gang war-witch terrorism and the fact that EastEnders will now be for the rest of time a witch soap in my head! But seriously, this world was just so real, it was like I’d moved there. It was just that good. And I totally want the Fae now. It’s awesome.

A totally original, breath-taking, action-packed, magical, gritty book that left me breathless and desperate for more, more, more! With a strong, kickbutt female lead, a totally cute and brave male lead, a few added hotties and baddies and the most awesome witchcraft ever Burn Mark had me hooked and on the edge of my seat from start to finish. Don’t you just love it when a book is so much more than you ever thought it could be 0 when it exceeds all your expectations? Me too! Which is why I’m recommending this to you all! It’s awesome, magical, addictive, incredible - with world you just wanna dive right into! I cannot wait for Laura's next book - especially if it's about Lucas and Glory!

P.S. Check out my interview with Laura: Here!

Star Rating:
4¾ Out of 5