The cover is good. The synopsis is compelling. But, somehow it didn't work out for me. It was like I'm forcefully reading this book just for the sake of it, and badly wanted to get over with.

**I received an e-ARC of this book for an honest review.

So I really didn’t enjoy the first book in this duology. It was a lot of world building without much else happening. There were a few moments every so often that kept me going in the book. Then it ended on a bit of a cliffhanger. This made me interested in the second, and boy am I glad I gave it a chance.

I do feel like this could’ve been one stand-alone. I think the first book could’ve been condensed down into maybe 5-10 chapters of world building and added to the front of this book.

The pacing of this book was great. I read it in a day! The character development that Akrist went through really redeemed his character for me. It was a romance driven plot without being a romance dominated plot.

There are themes of revenge, found family, the fight between right and wrong, and love versus duty. There is a subtle corrupt religion subplot.

Akrist grows through learning how to navigate a world where he isn’t to be sacrificed to Nasheira, a world where he is a speaker. Unfortunately, his demented brother is also marked and starts to turn people against him. It isn’t hard to do with Akrist not believing in his own worth and a religion backing most camps current beliefs. It’s a journey of discovering self worth and envisioning a new world.

This book was so so much good than first book and my heart is breaking for Akrist. The world building is quite unique.It was so very well written and I was holding my breath till the last page!

I absolutely love this series. What a unique take on the stone age and dragon lore. It's fantastically well-written with real, heart-felt characters that make The Marked Son books unforgettable.