Inception: A Dark Paranormal Romance (The Marked Book 1) by Bianca Scardoni

Dark. Thrilling. Romantic.

My name is Jemma Blackburn and I have a secret. I know vampires are real. I watched one murder my father eight months ago, and even though they tried to convince me it didn’t happen—that I’d lost touch with reality due to the trauma, I know what I saw was real.

Hollow Hills is now the place I call home. It was supposed to be my chance at a normal life. My chance to bury my secret and start over. But everyone around me is keeping their own secrets, whispering lies into my ears like promises, and one of them is about to turn my entire world upside down.

I thought I had it all figured out. I thought I had the answers. I thought I knew who I was. The truth is, I didn’t even know the half of it. There’s a reason these vampires are still after me. There’s a reason they will always hunt me. Because I’m not human.

I’m the devil they fear and the angel they crave.
Only problem is, I don’t know it yet.

My Review

The preface of this book is profound. Jemma is a matching image of her father and brother. After six months in the psycho facility, she just moved in due to a mental break because of trauma. She managed to get released but still believes she saw her father murdered by a vampire. Jemma has a sister who seems close to her but is only 17 and needs a guardian.

Her uncle doesn’t send to be the caring type; he is more aloof, not doing simple things like home tours and hugs. But he does provide a home for her in Hollow Hills, Canada, a very far away place from her town in Florida.

She starts her first day at a new school in a new town at a pretentious academy. Not quite what she was expecting. The first day goes interesting. She makes a friend, an enemy, and a creeper who can’t stop staring at her. Things didn’t go as planned the first night she tried to have fun. Then her uncles got her a job where she was just asked to stay away from odd things. She is attracted to Trace, but of course, his hideous ex doesn’t help. But Dominic, in all his secretive behavior, is alluring too.

Her uncle reveals a lot of confusing paranormal history. Telling her, she is a Slayer, a warrior descendent, meant to hunt and kill the revenants. The revelations will throw her. I’m left wondering what Dominic is and Trace since they both seem to be part of her new life. The answers are to come, and wow, what a surprise. They added in another hottie Gabriel who becomes a big part of the story.

This book has shifted from dark paranormal romance to more fantasy. They have added in a reaper with time manipulation skills and portal skills. Trace is an extraordinary character, and I love to see the romance bloom. He does save her a few times, and she seems hazard-prone.

All seems to be going well until it isn’t, and wow, they ended with a cliffhanger. I don’t love that the romance was torn to shreds, but I look forward to seeing what the next book holds. This series so far is fascinating, a combination of paranormal and fantasy blended together. The author does a great job in descriptions and character profiles. You feel what the main characters do, and she is describing or talking about it. It seems mostly from her point of view, but I kinda love that the perspective is jumping around. Our heroine slayer is newly in training and so unprepared for all the crisis she is thrust into. She really is a broken person with so much hurt, damage, and issues in her own life. Add bits of hazard to that, and you get a volatile, non-trusting person. But even at that, she ends up in some scary situations.

The little bit for romance that was in this book was very YA. I loved every minute of it and the time the author took to describe her feelings. I was hoping it would last longer, but I’m anxious to see what happens next.

If you would like to read Inception by Biance Scardoni you can find it on Amazon. As an Amazon associate I earn on qualifying purchases. I will be reading and reviewing other books in The Marked Saga there are seven books total, This is the first book in this series.

If you liked this book you may also like books with these tags an catergories Highschool , Paranormal Fiction and Fantasy.