Lyla Mercer’s life changed the moment her dad was murdered, and again when she heard that she could be next. Forced to move to Salem for safe keeping, Lyla soon discovers her family has a dark history in the small town, and when a glossy black moon appears on the back of her neck she becomes the newest part of that legacy. Her family is marked and being hunted, but Lyla may be just the weapon they need to survive. Whispers and rumors follow her everywhere in the town and she thinks nothing can ever be normal for her again until she meets Caleb, the minister’s son, and the absolute wrong boy to be dating a witch. He’s everything she wants to be, just a normal kid from a normal family. At least that’s what she thinks, but nothing is as it seems in Salem. Caleb has secrets to keep that rival her own. Until recently, her father’s murderer has managed to keep his true identity a secret, but when Lyla uncovers the truth about him, nobody is safe, especially her.
I got a copy of A Marked Past from the author for a fair and honest review…so here goes. Lyla is a typical 16 year old from a good home with loving parents, cheerleader, boyfriend the whole shebang until her father is killed and her world falls apart. Her mother moves them from theChicagosuburbs to her father’s family home inSalem. It’s here she learns her family secrets, that her father didn’t die in an accident but was killed by a man hunting her family since the witch trials. Lyla also learns about her own power and she must learn to use it to keep them safe
or they are next. All Lyla wants is to live as a normal teen but her family legacy make that impossible.
I have to say I was surprised by how much I liked this book, I started reading and as soon as I saw the word cheerleader I cringed and thought “oh gawd another YA book I am gonna hate…” and if I am honest it did start
out that way. The first couple of chapters dragged and I almost gave up reading, until they moved to Salem and you meet Nathan and the rest of Lyla’s family and learn some of the history of their magic and the price
the family has had to pay for it.
I actually really liked the character of Lyla, Ms Deaton actually wrote her as a typical teenager. Sometimes whiny, sometimes selfish and sometimes I wanted to smack her but that’s what made it more realistic for me, her relationships with her friends, her family and her boyfriend were what I expected in a 16 year old. After the first couple of chapters the plot moved at a good pace that kept me turning pages to find out what happened next. I liked the world Ms Deaton created where everything wasn’t black and white and the good guys don’t always win. I will grab the next book in this trilogy as soon as it comes out I want to know what what comes next for Lyla and the crew.
4 stars. I really enjoyed it.
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