Marked by an Assassin: Eternal Mates Romance Series

by Felicity Heaton

• ISBN10: 1909306878
• ISBN13: 9781909306875
• Publish Date: 30 October 2015
• Publish Status: Active
• Imprint: Felicity Heaton
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 226
• Language: English

Reviews

[EBookObsessed]

DNF - I didn’t finish this book. It is part of the series so I tried really hard to finish. I even picked it up again after putting is aside and got 70% done but I just couldn’t make myself finish it.

I have read books 4 through 7 of this series and I have been enjoying them and to a point, you really need to read them all. I had forgotten about a scene where all of the different stories converge and all of the characters meet up at Cavanaugh’s bar in their respective story lines. I tried really hard to finish this one, but I just couldn’t get into the story and I couldn’t get into the characters.

Harbin is the brother of Cavanaugh (Craved by an Alpha) and the reason their tiny Snow Leopard shifter village was attacked by the human military group known as Archangel. Harbin was so horny, he kept going down the mountain in the human village for sex and met a woman who seduced and then drugged him for information about his hidden village. Because of Harbin, they were able to find the village and kill or capture all of the snow leopards. I am a little confused, because in Marked by an Assassin it seemed like everyone who wasn’t killed was captured, but in Craved by an Alpha, Eloise leaves the village because a tyrant Alpha was running the place to find Cavanaugh (who was their true alpha) and bring him back. So if Archangel knew where the village was, why would anyone continue to live there and why did they leave anyone alive to repopulate it. I really am confused. I don’t know if the Village was completely destroyed or partially destroyed and if not, why did the military group leave anyone alive to come back? I am not sure what I missed in this part of the series.

Harbin and Aya have a history. They were each other’s first kiss. Aya, in her internal reminiscing, seemed to want to do more, but then it seems she chickens out. Harbin, whose sex drive wakes up with that kiss, then sleeps with every single snow leopard in the village except for Aya and then moves onto the human women in town, causing the eventual destruction of his village because he can’t keep it in his pants.

It is twenty years between the time of the destruction of the village and this story when Harbin getting an assignment to assassinate a snow leopard. The target turns out to be Aya and although they grew up together and were each other’s first kiss, Harbin doesn’t seem to realize that his target is Aya until much later in the story. He talks about her like she is just a target who catches his fascination, not “Holy crap, it’s Aya from the Village.”

What bothered me in this story was the combination of the survivor’s guilt everyone seemed to suffer in this destruction of the village. First it was Cavanaugh in Craved by an Alpha and now Aya thinks it is her fault for Harbin needing to go find sex with the human women, and Harbin knows he is the one who brought them to the Village.

Aya has spent the last twenty years being very angry at Harbin because he slept with everyone but her and seems to leave out of her mental rants about chickening out. She also, after twenty years being pissed off, quickly changes her mind about being mad at Harbin and decides she is being too hard on him.

What pissed me off the most and what I simply don’t like it in any story is when the character realizes they are wrong about another character and then still rants about them. What I mean is simply, Harbin thinks Aya has set him up to be captured by Archangel (like she was after the village was attacked), just like the human did twenty years ago. He is now pissed off. He then realizes that Aya is acting all wrong doesn’t know the truth. She doesn’t know he was drugged and used by Archangel just like they are now using her. He realizes that he has to be fair and give her all the facts and that she deserves to hear the truth from him and it’s not her fault that she was deceived. But then he starts ranting all over again about what a bitch Aya is for betraying him and seeming to forget that he just forgave her and was determined to let her know the truth.

I absolutely hate in any story, whether it is paranormal, contemporary, erotica, whatever, when a character goes from hating someone to having an epiphany that they were misjudging them, and then starts ranting all over again about how they were done wrong. YOU HAD AN EPIPHANY!! YOU FORGAVE THEM! You had a rational internal discussion and realized that you were being an ass. You can’t just go back to hating them unless you have a reason or they have done you wrong again. No. No. No.

We also have the issue of the fated mate which Aya picks up on quicker than Harbin. Harbin is also a 99 1/2 year old leopard shifter who hits sexual maturity at 100. So now we have a bit of a blurred line between whether oversexed Harbin (remember: the one who couldn’t keep it in his pants and got all his people killed) is now oversexed because he found his mate or because he is hitting his sexual maturity and will start humping a tree if you leave him alone long enough. At one point he is locked in a room with Aya separated by plexiglass. He smells her and charges the glass, ripping and clawing at it until he captors want to see what he will actually do and they remove the glass. He charges at her and even Aya isn’t sure if he was going to kill her or rape her the way he comes barreling at her. I am not even certain Harbin knew himself before he was distracted and she escaped.

I hope Aya and Harbin find their HEA but I don’t really care. I think she is better off without him.

I have a copy of the next book in the series, Possessed by a Dark Warrior. This features the dark elf leader Bleu which a lot of fans have been crying for. I think Bleu was featured more in Books 1-3 which I did not read yet and hopefully I will still be able to enjoy it, even without finishing Marked by an Assassin because that is not happening.

Received an ARC from the author in exchange for an honest review.

[Melanie]

This series is become of my favorite paranormal romance series. I love how it is completely different from the other series that I'm reading right now. I'm a very character driven reader and Felicity Heaton writes some amazing characters. Everytime she introduces a new character, I want to learn more about them.

Both Harbin and Aya have a troubled past. They both have revenge on the mind. Harbin gave his life to a group of assassins so that he would have some way to make a living while still working on trying to get his revenge. Aya spent most of her time within Archangel. She eventually gets released, but she now has revenge of her own and is working with Archangel to get it.

Once again, Heaton has built on to the amazing world that she has been building throughout the series. She also continues to have the phenomenal characters. The storylines truly draw you in. Even with the shorter storylines of the novellas, the romance isn't overly rushed.

As per usual with me, I fell for a secondary character. I know that everyone is hounding for Bleu's story. With the introduction to Fuery, I think he has topped Bleu for me. His story is intriguing me. Fuery is one of the assassins that Harbin worked with who is damaged. I so want to hear his story. Ms. Heaton, you can be sure I will start hounding about Fuery's book until it appears on my ereader.

**Book was provided to me by the author. This review is my opinion and was not requested or provoked in anyway by the author.

[Nadz@Totally Addicted to Reading]

I have been following the Eternal Mates series from the beginning as such I am completely invested in the characters that I have encountered as a result. Marked by an Assassin, which is book #8 in the series was no exception. One may expect that after reaching this far in the series, there is nothing more that could be written to keep readers interested, however, this is not the case. Each story just keeps getting better and better. There are so many interesting characters that one cannot help but wonder if they would be getting their own story. It would be interesting to know what makes them tick.In the first couple of chapters, the author provides sufficient background information on the main characters which helped to set the pace for the remainder of the story. The story is filled with sufficient action, drama and romance to keep readers interested from start to finish.Marked by an Assassin is Harbin’s and Aya’s story. They are both snow leopard shifters. Harbin is Cavanaugh’s brother. Cavanaugh’s story was told in Craved by an Alpha. The history that existed between Harbin and Aya is what led to their current situation. A situation where Aya wants revenge against Harbin for what she believed was betrayal and Harbin wanting revenge against the Archangel huntress responsible for the decimation of his pride. To help achieve his goal Harbin had joined the guild of assassins. Being a part of the guild is what led to him crossing paths with Aya once again after forty years as someone had taken out a contract on her life. From the moment their paths crossed it was evident that they were attracted to each other. They tried fighting it, but it proved difficult, especially when they discovered they were each other fated mate. Will they give in to their desires or will their need for revenge, prevent from ceasing their destiny.One cannot help but like Harbin. He is bitter and angry about the events of his past. He came off as cold and ruthless, but as the story progressed it came to light that beneath that cold and emotionless exterior existed a man of honour and compassion. Aya proved to be Harbin’s equal in every sense of the word. She is strong, smart and compassionate. It was easy to see why they complemented each other so well.The writing is what I have come to expect from this author. The story grabs your attention from the first chapter and holds your interest to the very end. You can't help but feel as if you are a part of the story. The action was intense and the romance was heartwarming. One of the things I like about this series is the all the books can be read as a stand-alone and this one is no exception. If you have not read any of the books so far I would recommend that you do so now. A note of warning the moment you begin reading you need to be prepared as you would not be able to stop at just one as this is series that keeps you enthralled and leave you wanting more.I Received an ARC from the author in exchange for an honest review.I was not offered an incentive nor was I compensated in any size, shape or form. This review represents my honest opinion of this title.