Book Description:

Marked. Hidden. Trained. But the terror awaiting is greater than any of them can imagine.

Sienna has spent her entire life inside the DEZ, a glorified orphanage for unwanted Marked kids. Finally, she’s only months away from graduation. For over a year she’s worked hard to prepare for life outside the DEZ, but being the arena’s champion isn’t always an easy task…even for the notorious Blaze. Fighting in the Underground isn’t about the thrill or the glory, though Sienna has achieved both, it’s about the money—and a way out.

When an explosion rocks the city of Cytos, the Marked kids find themselves at the center of a brewing war. Desperation brings Sienna into the arena one last time, only her opponent, the Wraith, won’t be so easy to defeat. And for Sienna, failure is not an option.

Jayla is a Watcher. She's been tasked with keeping her city safe from an enemy the citizens don’t even know exists. For over 150 years the Watchers have kept them safe, but a darkness has awoken, and even the shadows have gone quiet in fear.

Reviewed bu Laura Fabiani

A few years ago I read the Watcher trilogy by AJ Eversley and loved it. It was one of the best dystopian trilogies I had read. So when I saw this new series I knew I wanted to read it. EverMarked is the first book in the series and takes place about 150 years after the last events in the Watcher trilogy.

Once again, Eversley had me hooked from page one and I finished the book in a couple of days. There are two main characters in this series, Sienna and Jayla, or we can say two main couples. Once again, I was immersed in the world of Watchers and Carbons, although not as intensely as in the Watcher trilogy. This time the focus is on the Marked kids and the mystery that surrounds them. Why are they hidden from society and what happens to them once they graduate from the DEZ? The answer lies in something that occurred 150 years ago. The novel comes to a cliffhanger ending that had me searching to purchase the second book DeathMarked which will be released on Sept 8. 

The female characters in Eversley's books are always strong but inwardly vulnerable. It's this combination that makes them not only interesting but relatable since most of the time they are kickass heroins that seem to overcome difficult situations with ease. This novel is escapism sci-fi that I enjoy for the pleasure of being transported to a different world with plenty of action, suspense and the scary unknown.

Although the Watcher series gripped me more emotionally than this one thus far, I thoroughly enjoyed EverMarked and I'm counting down the days to read the second book as the saga continues. If you haven't read the Watcher series, I highly recommend you do, although this new series is a stand-alone and can be read without having read the Watcher series.

If you're a fan of YA dystopian novels or just clean books with a great plot and fun characters, I recommend checking out AJ Eversley's books.

You can read my reviews for the Watcher trilogy: Watcher, Carbon and Savior.