Marked (Soul Guardians Book 1)

I absolutely loved it. I couldn't stop reading. This book was absolutely amazing! I think that it had a great story line and amazing details, which made this book even better. I loved it, cannot wait to but the next book in the series!

The Soul Guardians series surprised me. I was expecting pedantic and it so wasn't. It was quirky and charming with action and a plot that managed to hold fast as it unwound itself through the series. Each book is well worth reading.

I absolutely love all the books to this series. After reading Marked, I couldn't wait to read the rest. I haven't gotten to Netherworld yet but I will be this weekend and I can't wait!!! Great author and great books.

I really enjoyed this book because it is different from most other books I have read lately. The only issue I had with this book was the amount of typos that made you guess what the author really meant.

It was very slow for the first half of the book. At times too detailed and I felt lost amongst the details. At one point the book started to pick up but it felt rushed. Almost as if the author wanted to just end the story quickly.

This story had an interesting concept which kept me reading. Overall I enjoyed the story but have to admit I found the main characters a bit lacking in depth. The preview to book two looks good so I will follow up and try the next in the series.

This is truely a work of art, the world Kim Richardson created is so real and engaging, you can't help but be drawn in by the characters and plot. This is an amazing book everyone should read. I can't wait to read the next one.

This story had an interesting concept which kept me reading. Overall I enjoyed the story but have to admit I found the main characters a bit lacking in depth. The preview to book two looks good so I will follow up and try the next in the series.

This is truely a work of art, the world Kim Richardson created is so real and engaging, you can't help but be drawn in by the characters and plot. This is an amazing book everyone should read. I can't wait to read the next one.

A good story line and a quick read. It wasn't a wower, but it wasn't so horribly bad that I didn't want to finish the book. One concern I have with the book is that there are a lot of typos and words that seemed like they were corrected using a spell checker since some words were not used in the right context at all.

Since I read this book on my Kindle for free, I decided I could try the next book in the series for $2.99. Let's hope this one was put together better.

I don't like to give 3 star ratings; but unfortunately, I couldn't give the book any more stars. I was looking forward to reading this because of the unique story line. I like how the book starts out, but when Kara gets to the after life and becomes a guardian angel in traing, it falls apart for me.

Biggest issue I have is the different type talking primates as elevator operators. Was this suppose to be funny or a comment on society or something? They were crude and rude, picking their butts and picking things from Kara's scalp and eating what they picked up. This scene repeated several times in the book. It wasn't funny the first time and became further obnoxious in the story.

An other issue I had was the lack of info Kara was given when she got to the Guardian Legion place. She was treated as if she knew what to do and no body answered her questions completely, just partial answers. And when she messed up on the first assignment, she was treated poorly. Then they decided she needed fight training. Who sends out a rookie with out any type training and expect that rookie to do a good job?

And finally, I was confused on how and when she was marked? And why wasn't it discover when she arrived to the Legion place when she died? I guess I missed that important info due to the monkeys picking their butts.

On a positve note I liked the ending. Don't worry I won't give it away. I thought it was a nice little twist and a good lead for the second book. I probally will not read it. But then again, I might read the second book just for curiosity sake.

This is a great book to read. I would have given it 5 stars, but there are errors in the book such as leaving out words in a sentence, words are misspelled, and the wrong words are used. Maybe this is why the book is not expensive???? I'm on book 3 right now and intend on getting the next book, too, providing the price is affordable.
A very enjoyable read!

I am pretty particular about books but this was decent for a free read. I liked the concept of the chosen guardian angels and the demon fights were interesting. The way Heaven is portrayed was unusual, not like anything I have read. Also kinda cool that the characters are really looking out for others.
It reminded me somewhat of the Shadowhunters in Cassandra Clare's series, which I enjoyed.

The story was a decent read, not going to gripe too much since I got the book for free. My biggest issue was with the obvious lack of any editing or proofreading. There are grammar and spelling mistakes galore. On many pages I had to fill in the blanks while reading because so many words were missing in action.

The dialogue is also an issue. I enjoy reading these kinds of books, but have never seen the teenage heroines or heroes sound so utterly immature. They sounded more like a group of kids hanging out at Chucky Cheese, rather then a group of Guardians Angels who were out to save our precious souls from demons.

What was supposed to be interesting about the Elevator Monkeys? If I ever meet a talking Chimp/Orangatan/Monkey with a British accent I will be sure to run the other way. Then again, I don't have a feast of dandruff on my scalp like Kara has, so I guess I would be safe...

Overall, I am glad I didn't pay for this book. It's an ok read, interesting enough for me to finish, but not enough for me to want to read more in the series.

This book was just so far beyond scifi and fantasy, It has moved into the realm of weird and annoying. it included flushing ones self through to the heavens face first in a filthy toilet, orangutan as elevator drivers who preen you, angels demons and so much more non sequeteur ideas that I have put it down before finishing the third chapter. not worthyour time or money.

The main characters are annoying and unlikeable and the dialogue is consistently bad. I could say so many things, but I feel like the one star reviewer covered most of it. The primates in the elevator are tiring and the bad guy is identified immediately without any effort. The guardian angel concept was really neat, but the execution left something to be desired. I normally love a good young adult novel, but this one doesn't cut it.

This book is definitely not for adults to read...it takes a much younger person to appreciate this book. I had to stop reading at 58% because the story was just too ludicrous. I have to agree with everything JHCJAG said in his one star review -- it was basically just a terrible book...it was free so I guess I can only complain about the time that I wasted on this book. When I downloaded it I didn't realize it was a YA book...I definitely have to be more careful about this in the future....

The concept of the book was very intriguing. However, getting into the book and dealing with the numerous typos, repetive descriptions and annoying characters kept me wanting to give up the fight and forget the book. Very frustrating to get into the concept when you are continually noticing typos. It was quite understood that Character David an arrogant idiot who smiled all of the time. He and Kara just strutted all over the place without a clue. The plot finally got somewhat interesting by chapter 9 but even the fantasy of the story can't keep me. Very disappointing.

This is a book that promotes reincarnation. This is sneaky way to promote the enemies lies. God, the Father ...would not approve of the content. I don't know how this book got Christian label. It definitely is not.. when it says that a soul can come back after death as a new born baby. Hogwash. Kay

okay, so I read a decent amount of YA fiction. More than you would think for someone my age. So I think I know enough to say that most of what's out there is better than this. At the time I'm writing this there are not quite 500 reviews posted here and somehow there is a 4star average. This absolutely confounds me. I'm seriously tempted to drop my rating to 1 just to help balance out the average.

If you want to know why this book is bad, there's a 1-star review on here by JCJAG. Find it. Read that. Everything he (she?) says is absolutely correct. And no, I don't personally know that person even though we apparently live in the same town.

What JCJAG doesn't say, and the reason I'm giving this two stars instead of one, is that at ghe heart of it all there is actually a decent story. It's no instant classic - Even in the hands of a more masterful writer. But if you can get past the many inconsistencies and stupid actions, and if you can force yourself to like the characters even though there's no reason to... then beyond that, it's actually a semi-enjoyable read. A good time waster in a way. But if you're the sort that likes to think about what you're reading - put yourself in the character's shoes and imagine what you would do - well then, this is NOT the book for you. It's a nice little story where she falls down the rabbit hole, gets dragged around by the hair for a while then has to go save the world and kick some butt in the process. (That was an allegorical description; not a literal one).

But it does have some very pervasive problems. Which is why I put such a limited age range in the title to this review. In truth it's probbly not suitable for any age. I would normally have suggested 6 to 10, but there's violence. More than enough to give nightmares to most six year olds. Not just fighting but there's stabbings and blood, and limbs being torn off (and falling off, and cut off), and more blood (demon blood is black apparently), and people die (and even angels can die - and there's no heaven, it's just permanent). ...Yeah, not good for six year olds. But older kids and teens that can handle the violence (and it really isn't so bad anyway) will have developed enough to question things and will have lost that ability to automatically trust that the hero is a good guy and that Authorities are Righteous. So somewhere in between there is that little six month window where you can handle the violence and still fake the lack of discernment. And that right there is where you have to be to enjoy this book.

Which means... for most people, not a recommendable read.

That's basically the end of the review. you can stop reading now, but before I quit there were some specific things I really wanted to co.plain about. The rest of this is more for me than for you...

Like, near the beginning when she dies and finds herself in "Horizon" on an elevator being operated by wat is first described to us as a monkey. Other people complained about the monkeys but this is actually something I would normally like. It has nothing at all to do with the plot so the uthor could as easjly used people or robots or had no operator at all and the elevators could just automatically go where they are needed. What choice the author makes adds depth to the world and helps to make it interesting. So that's good, but then the monkey is described as having powerful shoulder muscles and a couple other things that made me think that the author apparently doesn't know anything about real monkeys (which are tiny little creatures that always surprise you with how strong they are because they look so weak and fragile). So I was starting to get a bit ticked off until a couple paragraphs later the primate in question gets angry himself and yells at her that he's a chimpanzee. (Though we could have done without the all-caps dialogue. There are better ways for a skilled author to express anger.) Now this made sense as I realized that it was the character's viewpoint I was reading not the author's. Entirely believable that a 15 year old might not have spent much time watching the Nature Channel. But of course instead of apologizing she gets angry at the "monkee" for having corrected her. Even after being corrected she refuses to acknowledge the truth and just gets mad and even does it again. So this just makes me feel that our heroine is a self-righteous prig. But then in a later scene an orangutan in a different elevator yells at her before she even says anything. So now that's just confusing things and I don't know wat to think. More than anything else it just makes me wish I were reading a different book.

Also: After she gets to "Horizon" they make her swear a "binding oath" to fulfill the duties of a member of "the Legion"... Really? Without knowing what any of those duties are? So she's not too bright either I guess. Personally if I die and end up somewhere that isn't heaven and they want me to swear an oath you can be damn sure I'm gonna read the fine print first.

And the archangels? They seem so incompetent. As soon as she gets there they are so back-logged that they have to send her out without even telling her what to do? And when it goes wrong they don't even ask what happened. But then she's not bameless here either. She never sticks up for herself or her partner/trainer. She never asks questions or demands explanations. It is just maddening. And after starting out in such a hurry,afterward there's no problem with her disappearing for three or more weeks of uninterrupted training? We aren't actually told how long - just that it's a long time and that it's nonstop since they don't need to eat sleep or rest and their wounds heal instantly. But I'm guessing several weeks at least.

by the way... saw some people on here complaining about the training thing. I think it isn't so bad as explained. considering they can train 24/7 as explained. IRL a person might practice only two to four days a week for a total of maybe eight hours per week. So one day of angel-training is like three weeks of real life. And three weeks A--T is about two months of RL. Two months is kinda fast to go from complete novice to expert but if we make allowances for her possibly not being completely ignorant and aybe being an exceptional student or gifted in some way... well it's still a stetch but less so, and the whole "training montage" is kind of a staple in the action genre anyway. So I think it evens out to being mostly okay to have it there. Although that still doesn't explain how they can afford to take off even that much time after being told everything is so rush rush...

And that trial? When they find out she's been "marked" by a demon (thus the book title) they call her up to question her about it but then never actually ask her even one single question. Basically they just argue over her head and finally take a vote. And not even an intelligent argument - they just keep repeating the same things until everyone is sick of hearing it. The whole scene feels like it was written by an eight year old. Little kids don't really understand how authority works. It's just a bunch of Grups making noise and then they either yell at you or tell you it's okay. And that's exactly the way this scene plays out. Just bad writing if you ask me.

I read this book as part of a box-set compilation of various authors. I read a lot of those. Usually I give a rating/review to the compilation and that's it. Occasionally I will like one of the individual titles enough to find it and review it separately. This is the first time I've felt the urge to do so for a negative review.

I pride myself on reserving judgment on novels until I've finished them. Leaving books unfinished leaves a bad taste in my mouth until I get around to read them in full, and I don't think it's fair to review a book you haven't completely read, just in case the end compensates for some of the flaws.
But for once in my life, I find myself unable to make myself finish a book. It was that bad. I'm 83% through it and i just can't make myself finish it.

First off, there's no content in this book. It almost completely consists of dialogue, and that's it. We don't need the monotonous commentary, mostly consisting of "Oh my god! Oh my god, I can't believe I'm doing this!" or "Crap! crap! crap!" - usually in capital letters. And I'm not kidding when I say it was pretty much all just dialogue. Come on, Kim Richardson, you're giving us the mere skeleton of a story- where's the flesh and bones? Were you never taught how to write more than a few lines without someone talking?
Speaking of speaking, the dialogue itself is simply terrible. I've honestly never read such melodramatic, poorly-done dialogue. Let me pull out a few gems, pulled exactly from the text and completely unchanged:
"Oh, my God! Oh, my God! Oh, my GOD!" (pg 232)
"And I thought monkeys were the ones on crack!" (pg 189)
"Ha! Take that! Stupid Mark! You've been zapped!" (pg 176)
"AHHHHHH!" (multiple occurrences- clearly, writing "he/she/it screamed/shrieked/screeched/howled" was too hard)
"Wow! I'm like a super hero. A super-hero chick!" (pg 81)
"YOU'RE MARKED! Only demon spies are Marked.... Don't try to fool me again, traitor!" (pg 154, apparently when the author realized she could use italics)
These are just a tiny, tiny fraction pulled from a few random pages.

Not to mention the terribly undeveloped characters, who manage to go the entire 232 pages I read without ever developing any semblance of a personality except for as follows:
All archangels except for Raphael are big, scary, bureaucratic jerks.
David McGowan is a cocky, incompetent, shallow moron.
Kara Nightingale is a weak, incompetent, shallow moron.

So, let's go on to our main character, a black-ballet-flat-wearing sixteen-year-old artist whose mom is a guardian angel, because why the hell not. She also has the mental maturity of a twelve year old.
Oh, and Kim Richardson doesn't want us to forget the fact that Kara has no boobs, because that little fact is apparently important. This is a reoccurring theme throughout the novel: Kara thinks she's unattractive and plain- mostly because of her "tomboyish figure" and the fact that she was never visited by the "boob-fairy." Also, David is good looking. Readers are reminded of these facts constantly throughout the novel. Nothing else seems to matter, despite that they're in Heaven Horizon, where most people would assume that it doesn't matter whether you have tits or not.
At one point, Kara says the following: "She hated herself for being so sensitive, so typically female. Good one Kara. I've become one of those girls I hate." No, darling, you've been one of *those girls* - one of those empty headed, banal, vapid idiots - the entire time. 37 pages before that, Kara thinks that "perhaps he was embarrassed and hated himself for kissing a girl whose feminine curves had been flattened by a giant spatula."
Aren't you excited by the prospect of reading about a sixteen year old's insecurities and how she never gets over them?
Not to mention, that Kara is a class-A moron. Despite living in Heaven Horizon, surrounded by people with tattoos on their foreheads and various primates, she seems to be completely unable to grasp the fact that she's dead as a doorknob. She somehow manages to completely forget the fact that she's a "guardian angel" now, despite being inundated with reminders.

A few more things:
-The first 'bad guy' we are introduced to, Benson, hates David solely because David was responsible for Benson's friend's death. Somehow, that's not supposed to be a valid reason for hating someone.
-The elevator monkey gimmick was stupid. Flat out retarded. Please stop. It wasn't funny, at all. I can't even express how stupid it was. The only things that can be remotely humorous when it comes to elevators are as follows: old people, music, and farts. Note that "primates" are conspicuously missing from that list.
-You don't learn to sword-fight after one practice session, or even two or three or ten. This is a recurring problem in fantasy novels. Knock it off.
-If David was Kara's GA, why did he ask her how he died? Either the author decided to randomly stick that in there, or she forgot about it.
-A note to the author: "You're" =/= "Your." Please learn the difference

I couldn't put this book down and from page one I knew this would be a book I would finish within a day. I hated putting my kindle down for more than a few minutes to make a drink.

The action starts immediately. Kara, our protagonist, is racing towards her dream of becoming an artist...but she is late for the presentation. Running across a road she is splattered by a bus...and when she wakes in Horizon (Heaven-like place) we learn she was chosen to become a Guardian Angel. Her petty officer David soon becomes her friend and the not-quite-there romance between them is fun to read. At one point I did think the whole insta-love was going to happen and was pleasantly surprised when it didn't. Their relationship gradually builds....and then is thrown in to complications by a Demon Mark that appears on Kara's ankle, labeling her a traitor to angels, she must fight to prove her innocence and regain David's trust.

I enjoyed the pace of the story, how it all unravels piece at a time, and the extra surprises thrown in for fun. I wont say it was the most complicated plotline and some of it was predicable but with the fantastic standard of writing, the character voices clinging to your brain and begging to be read and the amazing descriptions and imagination you can easily forgive the straight forward plot.

I enjoyed Kara as a character. She was brave and not as whiny as the average teenage 'voice' in YA books and had a sense of independence that I really respected. Recently there have been a spate of books and writers that have created very weak female protagonists who cling to the male love interests and lose themselves. I am glad Kara is capable of looking after herself in times of battle. David was fun, flirty, with the typical young lad ego and it was fun listening to his jokes and care free attitude.

I enjoyed Marked and will soon be buying and reading the rest of the series. I hope they are all as good as this one.(

I knew this was a book for young people going in. However, I feel even young people deserve good writing. Others have summarized the plot, so I'll just comment.
The afterlife is amazingly like this life. Bosses, underlings, friends, enemies, jobs, paper files. Hierarchies of "angels" have seemingly random powers and incredibly low levels of knowledge. Kara is "marked" and everyone, even high angels, disagree whether she's a traitor. No investigation? Wouldn't an archangel know if she was evil? Would the Boss choose a demon for a critical mission?
Even the bad guys seem random. Weapons designed to fight them work or don't as the plot requires.
It all just seems like, "OK, what do I need to put on this page to pad this to book length?"
I'm sorry if this outrages anyone, it's just how I saw it.

This book was just so far beyond scifi and fantasy, It has moved into the realm of weird and annoying. it included flushing ones self through to the heavens face first in a filthy toilet, orangutan as elevator drivers who preen you, angels demons and so much more non sequeteur ideas that I have put it down before finishing the third chapter. not worthyour time or money.

The main characters are annoying and unlikeable and the dialogue is consistently bad. I could say so many things, but I feel like the one star reviewer covered most of it. The primates in the elevator are tiring and the bad guy is identified immediately without any effort. The guardian angel concept was really neat, but the execution left something to be desired. I normally love a good young adult novel, but this one doesn't cut it.

This book is definitely not for adults to read...it takes a much younger person to appreciate this book. I had to stop reading at 58% because the story was just too ludicrous. I have to agree with everything JHCJAG said in his one star review -- it was basically just a terrible book...it was free so I guess I can only complain about the time that I wasted on this book. When I downloaded it I didn't realize it was a YA book...I definitely have to be more careful about this in the future....

The concept of the book was very intriguing. However, getting into the book and dealing with the numerous typos, repetive descriptions and annoying characters kept me wanting to give up the fight and forget the book. Very frustrating to get into the concept when you are continually noticing typos. It was quite understood that Character David an arrogant idiot who smiled all of the time. He and Kara just strutted all over the place without a clue. The plot finally got somewhat interesting by chapter 9 but even the fantasy of the story can't keep me. Very disappointing.

This is a book that promotes reincarnation. This is sneaky way to promote the enemies lies. God, the Father ...would not approve of the content. I don't know how this book got Christian label. It definitely is not.. when it says that a soul can come back after death as a new born baby. Hogwash. Kay

Of all the books in the GODS AND MORTALS collection, I thought I'd passed the worst one. Not true. This was actually kind of painful to read. I very nearly skipped the whole thing. The characters were annoying idiots. Even the side characters did made me roll my eyes. "Oh, there's a colossal threat that could eradicate us all, but one person rookie survived so clearly we need to sit on our asses and let her save us all when she clearly has no idea what she's doing? Genius! Why didn't I think of that?" Give me a break. The dialogue was cringe-inducing. NOBODY TALKS LIKE THAT. Sorry, you didn't appreciate the caps lock? Me neither. There are block capitals everywhere, often mixed with italicized sentences. If you thought that was annoying, just wait until you check out all the ellipses. EVERYWHERE... ALL... THE... TIME... I kind of felt like I was reading something from a circus, complete with talking monkeys and birds. Yeah. I know. I wouldn't have minded the monkeys, if every encounter with them didn't have a second where they scratched their ass. Way to make my sympathize with them. Oh, and speaking of sympathizing, it's never smart to refer to a child as an "it" when he's clearly a "boy," and if he's half human, you don't get to name him. God, this book was awful. The more I think about it, the more I dislike it. The only reason I rated it at all was because I was interested in the concept of the world, and not even that was given the credit it deserved. Skip this one.

okay, so I read a decent amount of YA fiction. More than you would think for someone my age. So I think I know enough to say that most of what's out there is better than this. At the time I'm writing this there are not quite 500 reviews posted here and somehow there is a 4star average. This absolutely confounds me. I'm seriously tempted to drop my rating to 1 just to help balance out the average.

If you want to know why this book is bad, there's a 1-star review on here by JCJAG. Find it. Read that. Everything he (she?) says is absolutely correct. And no, I don't personally know that person even though we apparently live in the same town.

What JCJAG doesn't say, and the reason I'm giving this two stars instead of one, is that at ghe heart of it all there is actually a decent story. It's no instant classic - Even in the hands of a more masterful writer. But if you can get past the many inconsistencies and stupid actions, and if you can force yourself to like the characters even though there's no reason to... then beyond that, it's actually a semi-enjoyable read. A good time waster in a way. But if you're the sort that likes to think about what you're reading - put yourself in the character's shoes and imagine what you would do - well then, this is NOT the book for you. It's a nice little story where she falls down the rabbit hole, gets dragged around by the hair for a while then has to go save the world and kick some butt in the process. (That was an allegorical description; not a literal one).

But it does have some very pervasive problems. Which is why I put such a limited age range in the title to this review. In truth it's probbly not suitable for any age. I would normally have suggested 6 to 10, but there's violence. More than enough to give nightmares to most six year olds. Not just fighting but there's stabbings and blood, and limbs being torn off (and falling off, and cut off), and more blood (demon blood is black apparently), and people die (and even angels can die - and there's no heaven, it's just permanent). ...Yeah, not good for six year olds. But older kids and teens that can handle the violence (and it really isn't so bad anyway) will have developed enough to question things and will have lost that ability to automatically trust that the hero is a good guy and that Authorities are Righteous. So somewhere in between there is that little six month window where you can handle the violence and still fake the lack of discernment. And that right there is where you have to be to enjoy this book.

Which means... for most people, not a recommendable read.

That's basically the end of the review. you can stop reading now, but before I quit there were some specific things I really wanted to co.plain about. The rest of this is more for me than for you...

Like, near the beginning when she dies and finds herself in "Horizon" on an elevator being operated by wat is first described to us as a monkey. Other people complained about the monkeys but this is actually something I would normally like. It has nothing at all to do with the plot so the uthor could as easjly used people or robots or had no operator at all and the elevators could just automatically go where they are needed. What choice the author makes adds depth to the world and helps to make it interesting. So that's good, but then the monkey is described as having powerful shoulder muscles and a couple other things that made me think that the author apparently doesn't know anything about real monkeys (which are tiny little creatures that always surprise you with how strong they are because they look so weak and fragile). So I was starting to get a bit ticked off until a couple paragraphs later the primate in question gets angry himself and yells at her that he's a chimpanzee. (Though we could have done without the all-caps dialogue. There are better ways for a skilled author to express anger.) Now this made sense as I realized that it was the character's viewpoint I was reading not the author's. Entirely believable that a 15 year old might not have spent much time watching the Nature Channel. But of course instead of apologizing she gets angry at the "monkee" for having corrected her. Even after being corrected she refuses to acknowledge the truth and just gets mad and even does it again. So this just makes me feel that our heroine is a self-righteous prig. But then in a later scene an orangutan in a different elevator yells at her before she even says anything. So now that's just confusing things and I don't know wat to think. More than anything else it just makes me wish I were reading a different book.

Also: After she gets to "Horizon" they make her swear a "binding oath" to fulfill the duties of a member of "the Legion"... Really? Without knowing what any of those duties are? So she's not too bright either I guess. Personally if I die and end up somewhere that isn't heaven and they want me to swear an oath you can be damn sure I'm gonna read the fine print first.

And the archangels? They seem so incompetent. As soon as she gets there they are so back-logged that they have to send her out without even telling her what to do? And when it goes wrong they don't even ask what happened. But then she's not bameless here either. She never sticks up for herself or her partner/trainer. She never asks questions or demands explanations. It is just maddening. And after starting out in such a hurry,afterward there's no problem with her disappearing for three or more weeks of uninterrupted training? We aren't actually told how long - just that it's a long time and that it's nonstop since they don't need to eat sleep or rest and their wounds heal instantly. But I'm guessing several weeks at least.

by the way... saw some people on here complaining about the training thing. I think it isn't so bad as explained. considering they can train 24/7 as explained. IRL a person might practice only two to four days a week for a total of maybe eight hours per week. So one day of angel-training is like three weeks of real life. And three weeks A--T is about two months of RL. Two months is kinda fast to go from complete novice to expert but if we make allowances for her possibly not being completely ignorant and aybe being an exceptional student or gifted in some way... well it's still a stetch but less so, and the whole "training montage" is kind of a staple in the action genre anyway. So I think it evens out to being mostly okay to have it there. Although that still doesn't explain how they can afford to take off even that much time after being told everything is so rush rush...

And that trial? When they find out she's been "marked" by a demon (thus the book title) they call her up to question her about it but then never actually ask her even one single question. Basically they just argue over her head and finally take a vote. And not even an intelligent argument - they just keep repeating the same things until everyone is sick of hearing it. The whole scene feels like it was written by an eight year old. Little kids don't really understand how authority works. It's just a bunch of Grups making noise and then they either yell at you or tell you it's okay. And that's exactly the way this scene plays out. Just bad writing if you ask me.

I read this book as part of a box-set compilation of various authors. I read a lot of those. Usually I give a rating/review to the compilation and that's it. Occasionally I will like one of the individual titles enough to find it and review it separately. This is the first time I've felt the urge to do so for a negative review.

I pride myself on reserving judgment on novels until I've finished them. Leaving books unfinished leaves a bad taste in my mouth until I get around to read them in full, and I don't think it's fair to review a book you haven't completely read, just in case the end compensates for some of the flaws.
But for once in my life, I find myself unable to make myself finish a book. It was that bad. I'm 83% through it and i just can't make myself finish it.

First off, there's no content in this book. It almost completely consists of dialogue, and that's it. We don't need the monotonous commentary, mostly consisting of "Oh my god! Oh my god, I can't believe I'm doing this!" or "Crap! crap! crap!" - usually in capital letters. And I'm not kidding when I say it was pretty much all just dialogue. Come on, Kim Richardson, you're giving us the mere skeleton of a story- where's the flesh and bones? Were you never taught how to write more than a few lines without someone talking?
Speaking of speaking, the dialogue itself is simply terrible. I've honestly never read such melodramatic, poorly-done dialogue. Let me pull out a few gems, pulled exactly from the text and completely unchanged:
"Oh, my God! Oh, my God! Oh, my GOD!" (pg 232)
"And I thought monkeys were the ones on crack!" (pg 189)
"Ha! Take that! Stupid Mark! You've been zapped!" (pg 176)
"AHHHHHH!" (multiple occurrences- clearly, writing "he/she/it screamed/shrieked/screeched/howled" was too hard)
"Wow! I'm like a super hero. A super-hero chick!" (pg 81)
"YOU'RE MARKED! Only demon spies are Marked.... Don't try to fool me again, traitor!" (pg 154, apparently when the author realized she could use italics)
These are just a tiny, tiny fraction pulled from a few random pages.

Not to mention the terribly undeveloped characters, who manage to go the entire 232 pages I read without ever developing any semblance of a personality except for as follows:
All archangels except for Raphael are big, scary, bureaucratic jerks.
David McGowan is a cocky, incompetent, shallow moron.
Kara Nightingale is a weak, incompetent, shallow moron.

So, let's go on to our main character, a black-ballet-flat-wearing sixteen-year-old artist whose mom is a guardian angel, because why the hell not. She also has the mental maturity of a twelve year old.
Oh, and Kim Richardson doesn't want us to forget the fact that Kara has no boobs, because that little fact is apparently important. This is a reoccurring theme throughout the novel: Kara thinks she's unattractive and plain- mostly because of her "tomboyish figure" and the fact that she was never visited by the "boob-fairy." Also, David is good looking. Readers are reminded of these facts constantly throughout the novel. Nothing else seems to matter, despite that they're in Heaven Horizon, where most people would assume that it doesn't matter whether you have tits or not.
At one point, Kara says the following: "She hated herself for being so sensitive, so typically female. Good one Kara. I've become one of those girls I hate." No, darling, you've been one of *those girls* - one of those empty headed, banal, vapid idiots - the entire time. 37 pages before that, Kara thinks that "perhaps he was embarrassed and hated himself for kissing a girl whose feminine curves had been flattened by a giant spatula."
Aren't you excited by the prospect of reading about a sixteen year old's insecurities and how she never gets over them?
Not to mention, that Kara is a class-A moron. Despite living in Heaven Horizon, surrounded by people with tattoos on their foreheads and various primates, she seems to be completely unable to grasp the fact that she's dead as a doorknob. She somehow manages to completely forget the fact that she's a "guardian angel" now, despite being inundated with reminders.

A few more things:
-The first 'bad guy' we are introduced to, Benson, hates David solely because David was responsible for Benson's friend's death. Somehow, that's not supposed to be a valid reason for hating someone.
-The elevator monkey gimmick was stupid. Flat out retarded. Please stop. It wasn't funny, at all. I can't even express how stupid it was. The only things that can be remotely humorous when it comes to elevators are as follows: old people, music, and farts. Note that "primates" are conspicuously missing from that list.
-You don't learn to sword-fight after one practice session, or even two or three or ten. This is a recurring problem in fantasy novels. Knock it off.
-If David was Kara's GA, why did he ask her how he died? Either the author decided to randomly stick that in there, or she forgot about it.
-A note to the author: "You're" =/= "Your." Please learn the difference

I couldn't put this book down and from page one I knew this would be a book I would finish within a day. I hated putting my kindle down for more than a few minutes to make a drink.

The action starts immediately. Kara, our protagonist, is racing towards her dream of becoming an artist...but she is late for the presentation. Running across a road she is splattered by a bus...and when she wakes in Horizon (Heaven-like place) we learn she was chosen to become a Guardian Angel. Her petty officer David soon becomes her friend and the not-quite-there romance between them is fun to read. At one point I did think the whole insta-love was going to happen and was pleasantly surprised when it didn't. Their relationship gradually builds....and then is thrown in to complications by a Demon Mark that appears on Kara's ankle, labeling her a traitor to angels, she must fight to prove her innocence and regain David's trust.

I enjoyed the pace of the story, how it all unravels piece at a time, and the extra surprises thrown in for fun. I wont say it was the most complicated plotline and some of it was predicable but with the fantastic standard of writing, the character voices clinging to your brain and begging to be read and the amazing descriptions and imagination you can easily forgive the straight forward plot.

I enjoyed Kara as a character. She was brave and not as whiny as the average teenage 'voice' in YA books and had a sense of independence that I really respected. Recently there have been a spate of books and writers that have created very weak female protagonists who cling to the male love interests and lose themselves. I am glad Kara is capable of looking after herself in times of battle. David was fun, flirty, with the typical young lad ego and it was fun listening to his jokes and care free attitude.

I enjoyed Marked and will soon be buying and reading the rest of the series. I hope they are all as good as this one.(

To be honest I hated this book. The character was confused the whole book and then bam she needs to save everyone. David is a massive douche bag and flirt. I really didn't like this book. Hated the end she treated her mother so bad and all she wanted was to go back. I just really hated the story and the details in the book. Like all the different elevator scenes. Will not be reading anymore.

I knew this was a book for young people going in. However, I feel even young people deserve good writing. Others have summarized the plot, so I'll just comment.
The afterlife is amazingly like this life. Bosses, underlings, friends, enemies, jobs, paper files. Hierarchies of "angels" have seemingly random powers and incredibly low levels of knowledge. Kara is "marked" and everyone, even high angels, disagree whether she's a traitor. No investigation? Wouldn't an archangel know if she was evil? Would the Boss choose a demon for a critical mission?
Even the bad guys seem random. Weapons designed to fight them work or don't as the plot requires.
It all just seems like, "OK, what do I need to put on this page to pad this to book length?"
I'm sorry if this outrages anyone, it's just how I saw it.

This book by Kim Richardson was absolutely amazing and captivating.
I haven't read any of her books before, but have just rushed off to the store to buy more!
If you are looking for a fast paced read that just grabs you and doesn't let go...this is for you.
If you don't want a cliffhanger at the end, get the whole lot first.
Awesome.

I would never thought a book about an angel in the horizon could be so good. Though it is an amazing book that will keep you captivated to the end. Unlike some series the book quality does not go down as the series continues, so you will not be disopainted with the ending. There is a hint of romance, but not to much because romance is forbiden in the horizon. The carectars are funny, and specail in their own ways. If you are looking for a creative, worderful, magacent series to star on I would recomend this book, big time.

Overrall it was a good book, it had some humor in it and if it wasn't for the humor I would have gave a two star. And if wasn't for the action and twists that would've been another reason why I would have gave it a two star. I liked it, it came off a little stupid at first with the talking monkeys in heaven,but I let that pass.

This story is about a sixteen year old girl name Kara Nightingale or something, she had a lot ahead of her like being an artist and going to college. Until one day on her way to to an art orientation, on the run she ends up getting hit by bus right in front of the place because she dropped her phone.
SIDE NOTE: One thing you always do is look both ways before you cross the street!!!
She ends up going to heaven as a guardian angel, and ends up being with this HOTT guy name David who is her petty officer (which is someone who helps and train rookies like Kara to save mortals. Basically her partner) They end up with feeling they CANNOT have for each other,but don't speak of it.

Im not going to give all the juicey details out. Its up to you readers to find. Trust me this is my firt book I have actually fiished after all the horrible I read during the summer. So read it if you want. Its alot of "WHAAATS" and "WOOWS" at the end ;)

The first chapter got me hooked. I wanted to know more about Kara. Kim creates a world I would love to be in, a world full of angels. Kara is a rookie who learns the ropes through David, her mentor. David is so much fun to be around; it's hard for Kara not to have these feelings toward him. Their task is to save a person's life, but they find themselves fighting demons instead, and unable to fulfill their assignment successfully. Later, they found out that Kara has been marked from both sides. The twist and turns of the story captivated me that I couldn't put the book down. The ending was unique and different. I was pleasantly surprised. I hope there will be a book two because I enjoyed the chemistry between the two main characters. This well-written, entertaining, original story was so much fun to read, I would recommend it to all readers.

This is possibly the hardest review I've had to write. Not because the book was bad, in fact I was rather impressed by it. No, the reason that it's been hard to review is that it's closest book I've come to on this blog that could be classed as "chick-lit". It's unfamiliar territory for me.

But don't let this stop you from reading it! The majority of my blog's readers are male, but I would still say that they should consider this book. Especially if they are looking for a light, easy read.

But it doesn't matter how hard I found it to write the review, what matter is the book itself. I really did enjoy it, and the thing that stood out most was the afterlife. Apart from the fact that it was staffed by various primates, it was such an imaginative place that was really uplifting to read about. (And kind of made me jealous that I wasn't there...). It's interesting to think of heaven as a kind of office (albeit an odd office) where angels administer the world's affairs. I really enjoyed the scenes set in this Angel-Office, called Horizon, although it was interesting to note that while it was referred to by the names of various paradises - Heaven was not one of them.

With all books there a few things that I think could have been done differently, and I would say that I thought the beginning is a little too fast. The main character dies straight away, which is fine - the book is about her death, not her life - but then gets to work as a GA almost immediately. I felt that she should have had training before going out on a mission.

But Overall I found the book to be an enjoyable read, an easy read - it wasn't hard to follow, and a unique read. The plot, which I haven't spoken about much here, for fear of revealing too much, was interesting, and well-written. In an recent interview to promote my blog I stated that the best books are the ones that I'm disappointed to finish reading, and this one of those. The price of the eBook on the store is currently £0.70/$1.14 (UK/US), and to be frank, I think that it's worth more than that. Actually, despite finding eBooks difficult to read, and despite having a paperback version, I payed the 70 pence for the kindle thing because I think the book is more than worth that. I find that I'm quite likely to read it again, and that I look forwards to the sequel.

I don’t think I’ve ever read a book in which the heroine dies two minutes into the book, but that’s exactly what happens in Marked. I was quite taken aback by this turn of events, but soon I realized that this book is about her life in the afterlife. Awesome, I thought, just my cup of tea. I was, however, surprised at Kim Richardson’s version of Heaven and the afterlife. The interaction of the angels made me think of the Greek gods, because these angels did not act the way I thought angels would behave. They actually quarrel with each other. The book is fast paced and well thought out and I really like the ending. Good news: This book is the first of a series. I recommend this book to anyone who is into the paranormal.

Marked -by Kim Richardson is a compelling story.

The characters are interesting and their challenges draw the reader into the story.

The dialogue and character interaction are well written and based on present day city life.

While readers might struggle with believing the main character as a teenage girl, that is soon forgotten as one gets lost in the storyline.

I thoroughly enjoyed the book and look forward to the next one in the series.

Characters

Kara dies and goes to heaven to become a guardian angel. She is suppose to be 16 but she feels much younger to me with her incessant questioning. She is an artist but it doesn't seem to affect her world view (as in Maureen Johnson's Girl at Sea and Cassandra Clare's Mortal Instruments series) - so it makes me think this was thrown in in an attempt to make her more interesting. I didn't dislike her, but I couldn't find any reason to like her either. I would have liked her to be more proactive and a little smarter.

David is Kara's trainer in heaven. He is good looking, but doesn't have much of a personality - except for going hot and cold for no apparent reason.

My favorite side characters were the oracles (who know the future, but are forgetful) and the elevator monkeys chimps gorillas primates. All the other angels kind of blend together.

Plot

The plot (as in what happens) is pretty interesting. With so many YA angel books out lately, I was expecting a rehash, but I was pleasantly surprised. The end was satisfying, while also leaving the reader wanting to read the next book, though I would have liked to see Kara struggle a little more.

However, the pacing leaves much to be desired. It feels rushed and slow-moving in different parts.

Design

I like the cover. I think it's mysterious, but gives a hint to what the book's about. I received a .pdf copy of this novel and, when transferred to my nook, it made each line a hard return - which was obnoxious. I haven't had this problem with any other .pdf but it could very well be my own fault.

World Building

I can tell the author really enjoyed creating her version of heaven. I was tickled by the idea of heaven as a bureaucracy. The oracles, elevator primates, angels with attitude, and cool settings weave together to form a colorful tapestry of a heaven quite different from what you're used to seeing.

I do have one criticism: The training system in heaven is a big mess; it seems like something the oracles are in charge of, not the angels.

Writing

This is the level of writing I like to to call "almost there." There weren't many major grammatical/spelling errors, but information was often repeated and much of the writing is lacking impact. Descriptive passages (of new locations and people) followed the same formula every time. Casual readers probably wouldn't notice these specific issues, but might have a general "blah" feeling while reading.

Overall

I was really into the story until about page 90, when I became a little bored. Much of the middle of the book is Kara asking a gazillion questions and making observations that made her seem less than intelligent. It seems to wander a bit before finding its stride again. The pace picked up again at the end, but the conclusion seemed just a little too easy.

If not for the pacing issues (including when things happen AND when information was revealed) this could be a great book. Like I said above, I think this writer is almost there and would love to see her talent develop in another book.

Three and a half out of five stars

Review by: Sarah of Sift Book Reviews
Sift Book Reviews received a free copy for review from the author. This has, in no way, affected the reviewer's opinion.

OM AWESOME READ I SO LOVE KARA. I am so mad at myself as I have had this on my kindle for months and months and have just finished it. Loooooooved it and could not put down and am hookec would love to live on Horizon have already downloaded book two. Awesome read.

It is a book primarily for teenager, but even as an adult, I got hooked by the imagination, the speed, and the adventures troughout the pages. I really enjoyed the approach of Heaven's management. It's a change from most of the books where everyting in heaven is nice and cloudy and soft... here, it's full of action and it makes you want to become a guardian angel yourself ! I found myslef getting rapidly invloved in the emotions of the main characters when injustice or victories happened . Lots of characters, especially on the angel side, could be easy to get lost in the relation between them, but it's well done and easy to follow. Only downside.... I wish the first book was longer... but luckily, there's more in the serie of the Soul Guardians.

Kim grabbed my attention from the start with this magical adventure of courage, love, and action. Kara a 16 year old girl is on her way to a presentation when she shockingly get hits by a bus. Yet after that it's a thrilling adventure I read this whole book through in less then 5 hours. I couldn't put it down. Ignore the bad reviews! So what if she acts younger then her age? A lot of people do! I was cautious at first, but am very glad I read it. I am a Kim fan now!

Marked was a great read with a fun character, Kara, who used to live a rather mundane life that consisted of painting and eating ice-cream all the time before she's hit by a bus and dies. Waking up she finds herself in an elevator, light engulfing her as she's taken to Orientation. Pretty soon it becomes clear: prior to her birth, Kara was marked and now she's dead and alone in Heaven, waiting for her apprenticeship to begin. David is supposed to teach her how to be a guardian angel, which is the responsible position of leading souls safely to where they're supposed to go. Now that Kara would rather leave to someone she feels is more suited for the task, like David.

David does his job well, and soon Kara realised she likes him more than she should, which is a major distraction because something's wrong. You see, Kara is supposed to save mortals from demons who feed on their souls. But instead, of saving the ones she's supposed to save, Kara keeps drawing demons to her, risking both her and the mortals' souls.
It seems the angels were not the only ones who marked Kara. David and Kara are running out of time in their endeavours to find out what's going on before Kara is lost forever.

Marked is original, well-written and surprisingly easy to follow and to get into, which I didn't expect given the strong need for world building due to the ethereal setting and fantasy elements. I liked the voice (Kara picking a sword because it sparkles and is pretty was so funny). It's also a fast-paced story, and it's certainly very refreshing to see something that hasn't been done before. The story kept me guessing until the very end. I couldn't put it down. The romance elements were laden with chemistry. I hope there's going to be a sequel soon. I recommend this one to all YA and fantasy readers.

...the book is in dire need of editing and/or proofreading. Far too many spelling mistakes (e.g. she PEAKED around the corner, to name but one of a multitude) made for a stuttering read. I enjoyed the story very much, but just wish it had undergone some much needed corrections before publishing. Pity really. If I could have given it 3 1/2 stars I would have, the mistakes irritated me that much.

This is one of the best books i have read in forever.I couldn't out it down. And thats a good thing because i am a really picky reader.I hope this helped you know how good this book is. PS the next book is not free so if you can not get the next book i advise you to talk your parents into getting it for you. I will never regret getting this book.

Poorly written dialogue--and lots of it. No characterization to speak of and what there is of it makes you hate everyone. No introspection, move from one scene/crisis to another with no reflection. Silly take on the afterlife, felt like the author was simply trying to make it as bizarre as possible--and failed.

You want to read an excellent book about guardian angels and the afterlife, check out "The Dirty Streets of Heaven" by Tad Williams (but be warned if you're looking for a Christian PoV, look elsewhere.

This was an awesome book!! This is the best book I've ever written!! I read the second book, Elemental and was as superb as the first book!! I'm reading the the third book, Horizon. I hope Kim Richardson writes more books after Seirs!

I was hooked right after David entered the story. From the very bginning you could tell that him and Kara would be the best of friends. David prove himself to be a fun and hillarious petty officer along with an amazing friend. Everytime I read that he smiled or laughed or Kara laughed at one of his jokes, I couldnt help but laugh along. This book had me lauhging, crying and biting my nails becausfof its amazing and well thought out story line. All in all, you can expect me to be buying the rest of the series.

I adore Kara's bravery. It takes a lot of guts to accept being dead, let alone fighting to save all of Angel kind!!! I give the utmost praise for this book and I can hardly wait for the next book!!!!!! I'm gonna buy it faster than you can take another breath.:) I <3 David!!!!
Kara
+
David
=
<3

I really love the first two books. I hated when I finished the second,knowing i'd have to pay $9.00 if I wanted the whole series.absolutely wonderful! I can't wait to get the third.Kim Richardson did wonderfully! Certainly something to recommend.Can't beleive some people rated it one star!

We ordered three of these books in early December and didn't receive them until early January. The shipping time range was spot on but towards the later part of the range, the last day in fact. The packaging was torn and open on one end but the books inside were not damaged at all. My daughter is enjoying this book series very much so it was worth the wait. Thanks

Really enjoyed this book. There were many twists and turns. Kara and David had a great love/hate relationship. I will buy the next book soon. Some of Kara's reactions are a bit childish but what do you expect from someone who is seventeen

This book was very good. What hapens is; there is a girl named Kira who was hit by a bus and gets sent to "horizon" which is a hevan like place she was chosen to be a guardian angel and has to compleate quests which is saving souls. In all this is a very good book I would recommend it for some light reading.

This book is truly a genuine masterpiece- a witty page turner that will keep you guessing until the very end. The cover and description were the first things that peaked my interest in this particular book and I could tell from page one that it would not disappoint- and I was correct! A truly great read that I highly recommend.

I honestly could not put my kindle for one second this book pulled me in i do not know what possesed this author to wright this book but i am proud of kim,GO KIM KEEP WRIGHTING YOUR SOUL OUT GIRL -Hailes(short for Hailey)

this book is great for kids i would say 8~18. it was a great book, ignore all the bad responces, because they are all probably for 30 year olds. i bet some 30 year olds actually enjoyed this book, and some didnt, overall this is a great read, it has the reader hooked from the start! theres always that suprizing turn around n the book, i dont want to give it away! but GREAT book!!!!!!!!!! :)

It was all action and surprises! It was a creative plot with the angel world. It was really good if you like a action packed book but it didn't have the charm of other books I've read. I would recommend it if you like a book like this, not all social and real. I am always searching for a good book and this is a good one but I've read better.

I absoulutely loved this book, the attention to detail is amazing and the plot is a great idea. I would suggest this book for reluctant readers and people who love to read alike. You can't just say, "One more chapter, then I'll stop." It's definately going to keep you on your toes wondering, what comes next?

From the very beginning of this fast paced and imaginative book I was hooked. I couldn't put this one down until the very end. This is one I will be reading again for sure and I will be on the lookout for more books by Kim Richardson. I highly recommend this book .

Being a fan of suspense and the likes of Deen Koontz and Stephen King, I thought this book was a great first novel for Ms. Richardson.

The author tells a vivid story that captures your attention from the first literary word and holds it until the last suspenseful page. It's vivid in it's detail of the characters virtually allowing you to step into their shoes as you move through the storyline.

It's suspenseful and imaginative.. a great read. I look forward to some more titles from this enthuastic author !

This book is truly a work of art at its finest! It takes you through a unique world filled with action. I couldn't put it down! I will definitely buy the sequel! This book is great for anyone who loves action mixed with imagination and a small amount of romance.

Such a great book! I love the new take on angels and demons. Especially guardian angels. The two main characters have a fun entertaining relationship and it keeps the book interesting when “the action” isn’t happening.

I purchased Kindles for my 13 and 14 year old boy. I got them this book, and others, free for them to get acquainted with their Kindles and to check out some new series. The ordering process was simple,it worked well, and both boys enjoyed the books. Can recommend as a good option for young teenage boys.

From the very beginning of this fast paced and imaginative book I was hooked. I couldn't put this one down until the very end. This is one I will be reading again for sure and I will be on the lookout for more books by Kim Richardson. I highly recommend this book .

Of all the books in the GODS AND MORTALS collection, I thought I'd passed the worst one. Not true. This was actually kind of painful to read. I very nearly skipped the whole thing. The characters were annoying idiots. Even the side characters did made me roll my eyes. "Oh, there's a colossal threat that could eradicate us all, but one person rookie survived so clearly we need to sit on our asses and let her save us all when she clearly has no idea what she's doing? Genius! Why didn't I think of that?" Give me a break. The dialogue was cringe-inducing. NOBODY TALKS LIKE THAT. Sorry, you didn't appreciate the caps lock? Me neither. There are block capitals everywhere, often mixed with italicized sentences. If you thought that was annoying, just wait until you check out all the ellipses. EVERYWHERE... ALL... THE... TIME... I kind of felt like I was reading something from a circus, complete with talking monkeys and birds. Yeah. I know. I wouldn't have minded the monkeys, if every encounter with them didn't have a second where they scratched their ass. Way to make my sympathize with them. Oh, and speaking of sympathizing, it's never smart to refer to a child as an "it" when he's clearly a "boy," and if he's half human, you don't get to name him. God, this book was awful. The more I think about it, the more I dislike it. The only reason I rated it at all was because I was interested in the concept of the world, and not even that was given the credit it deserved. Skip this one.

To be honest I hated this book. The character was confused the whole book and then bam she needs to save everyone. David is a massive douche bag and flirt. I really didn't like this book. Hated the end she treated her mother so bad and all she wanted was to go back. I just really hated the story and the details in the book. Like all the different elevator scenes. Will not be reading anymore.