Marked: A House of Night Novel

Follow the story of Zoey as she gets "Marked" which means she has been chosen to change into a vampire. She is also gifted with special markings and powers from the goddess Nyx. All she wants to do is fit in. However, the goddess has other plans. I thought it was a great read and it takes me back to high school with some of the comments and things that are made. I can't wait to reread the rest of the series.

Well, it's not exactly classical literature, but it was a fun read. The story line was interesting, and the characters likable (except for the ones you're supposed to hate). One major objection: random use of the "R" word. Three times. Not cool.

So Marked starts with our heroine Zoey getting “Marked” by a Vampire Tracker (not to be confused with a bounty hunter, though that would’ve been more interesting), thus sending her to the House of Night—aka Vampire Hogwarts with more eyeliner and way more teenage drama. From there, it’s a chaotic spiral of forehead tattoos, elemental magic, and a whole lot of Destiny.

Let’s talk about Zoey. She’s not like other girls. No really, she’s literally not like other fledglings because she immediately gets blessed by the vampire goddess Nyx and conveniently has control over all five elements. Because sure, why not go full Avatar: The Last Bloodsucker?

Then there’s the villain, Aphrodite, who runs the “Dark Daughters”—basically a Mean Girls coven with a dark streak and some oddly specific rituals involving blood and candles. Zoey must stop her... with the help of her loyal band of misfit friends, lovingly referred to as the “Nerd Herd.” (Because we’re just casually name-calling in sacred vampire temples now, I guess?)

The writing is about as subtle as a glitter bomb and has the pacing of a caffeine-fueled teenager trying to summarize Buffy after bingeing an entire season in one night. Also, the slang? Peak 2007 cringe. Expect a lot of forced sass, random "OMG!"s, and moments where you’ll wonder if anyone in this world has ever spoken like that.

To be fair, it’s campy fun if you’re into magical chosen ones, high school cattiness with fangs, and plot twists powered by moonlight and melodrama. Just don’t ask too many questions—or try to take it seriously—or you might find yourself rolling your eyes so hard you pull a muscle.

But hey, if you ever thought Twilight needed more eyeliner and elemental summoning circles, Marked might just be your new guilty pleasure. Just… maybe keep your expectations buried deep in an unmarked vampire grave.

read it during high school years, have fond memories of the series

Zoey is at school when a tracker vampyre stops her and "marks" her, meaning she is to become a vampyre and must move to the "house of night" to live and go to school there. Her mother and stepfather don't want her around (the stepfather is very religious, the mother only seems to care about the stepfather), they feel she's needing to be blessed and prayed for. Zoey goes to her grandmother to find out what she should do- she ends up passing out and hallucinating, waking up in the house of night, which her grandmother made sure she got to safely. Zoey meets a bunch of friends who are not exactly in with the "in" crowd- The "in" crowd tries to get her to join them when she does, she learns that the leader of the Dark Daughters, Aphrodite, is a bully. She also meets Erik, she falls for him. She overtakes Aphrodite with help from her new friends and becomes a high priestess in training and new head of the Dark Daughters.