The Summer Marked

by Rebekah L Purdy

Fresh off a break-up with her boyfriend, Kadie's glad to be home from college for Thanksgiving. All she needs is a rebound guy, a box of chocolates, and some girl time with her best friend, Salome. Problem is, Salome isn't returning her calls, and her family won't say where she is. Feeling sorry for herself, Kadie ends up at Club Blade, a place filled with pumping music, dangerous guys, and promises of a good time. However, when midnight strikes, Kadie's fun turns into a nightmare as she's ripped from the human world into Faerie by a vengeful Winter Prince named Etienne. For the first time in her life, she realizes the monsters Salome always spoke of are real, and they'll stop at nothing to destroy her friend. Salome thought the winter curse was behind her. But winter has left its mark. Not just on her, but on the whole summer court. The Kingdom of Summer is falling apart, and Nevin is hanging onto his throne by a thread. With war on his doorstep, he has no choice but to send Gareth into enemy territory, which means Salome will be left alone - vulnerable in a world she doesn't understand. A place where beauty is deadly and humans are pawns in the macabre games the Fae play.
Both Kadie and Salome will have to call on all their strength to survive in a world where humans aren't meant to be. With death and enemies all around them, it'll be a miracle if they can survive.

• ISBN10: 1633750108
• ISBN13: 9781633750104
• Publish Date: 22 September 2015
• Publish Status: Active
• Imprint: Entangled Publishing
• Format: eBook
• Language: English

Reviews

[bookishzelda]

The Summer Marked reminded me of so many different things. I sometimes thought of the Snow Queen, of course just any Fae story and also a manga/anime called Fushigi Yuugi (mysterious play). All of which are things I love so I’m not complaining.

I was kind of iffy on Salome in the first book. She probably drove me crazy for at least the first half. It wasn’t until Gareth that I really started to like her. This book she seems more mature and braver. She has a confidence about her that is good to see. Although at times there are things she does that I’m kind of like eh but I like how she holds her own. Her eyes are open and she is not so overly trusting. I also love the new friendship she forms with a particular character (I don’t want to give that away).

So we have two friends who have two very different experiences with the Faerie. If you think about it even though Salome has people after her, she also has people falling all over her to protect her. Where Kadie comes in and is forced into the horrors of the Winter court. She has a couple allies but it’s not a gaggle of people and Kadie doesn’t have a connection to Faerie to protect her. I felt so frustrated for Kadie because really Salome is the reason that she is there in the first place and then when she makes an impossible choice everyone just ditches her like well she’s piece of crap. Hello what about all those years she was there for Salome, it made me so angry. Which is funny because normally I would probably be on Salome’s side.

I love Gareth (he reminds me of my manga bf Tamahome) and the addition of Etienne. Oh Etienne, I have high hopes for you. Still can not stand Nevin. Ugh Nevin (I’m shaking my fist in the air).

I love books that evoke emotions from me. There were so many time I wanted to punch Nevin in face, rescue Kadie or tell Salome she was a terrible friend for not at least sending Kadie a letter telling her she left. The Summer Marked absorbed me.

Having the story told from both Salome and Kadie’s POV really gave the book the umph it needed to, in my opinion, outshine the first book. This book does not suffer from sophomore slump and I need to find out what happens with Kadie and Salome but mostly Kadie. There is so much potential for a great outcome.

[Kim Deister]

The Summer Marked I truly enjoy this series! I loved The Winter People and I love this sequel just as much! The author creates characters that are so complex and so realistic. Even as dark as the story is, it is beautiful with its weaving of our own reality and the dark reality of the Fae world. It is a far cry from the Disneyfied version of faeries and that is something I look for in fae novels.
 
The Summer Marked picks up not long after The Winter People ends. Salome, Gareth, and Nevin have returned to the Fae realm and it quickly becomes obvious that it is not going to be the eternal bliss that Salome had believed it would be. This is compounded by the fact that she is struggling to find her place as a transplanted human in a faerie world that most don't even believe exists. I love the mythology that the author uses to build her world and the unique ways in which she uses it. The realm was traditionally ruled by a single monarch that came from one of the four courts: Summer, Winter, Spring, Autumn. The idea is that a rotating court of control keeps power in check. However, things happened in the past that took down three of the four courts and now the last, Summer, is in danger. And it is this history that comes back and threatens to ruin the Fae world.
 
Many of the characters from the first novel are back in this one, with some surprising twists that truly change everything. I love that Salome grows in this book, coming into her own and not just being there because of love. She takes on the problems of the Summer court and makes them her own in surprising ways. She is faced with decisions that no one should have to make, but she makes them. Even as things seem to be happening to her, unexplainable things, she puts aside her worries in order to be there for her new people. There is a strength in her character that is beautifully written and rather inspiring.
 
This installment is told from the alternating points of view of Salome and her best friend Kadie. It is almost as much Kadie's book as it is Salome's. Kadie is the epitome of a complex character. It is difficult to get a true reading on her and that is why she is such a realistic character, even in a supernatural world. In realitty there is really no black and white in humanity and Kadie's character embodies this.
 
There are themes of love and forgiveness, trust and betrayal, sacrifice and second chances, I loved that the strongest theme was that of sacrifice for the greater good, the selflessness that a decision like that requires. This is an important message and it was clear without being at all "preachy."
 
My Recommendation
 
I highly recommend this book! It is a beautifully written book with a story that is extremely engaging!