The Mark of the Tala

Today's post is on The Mark of the Tala by Jeffe Kennedy. It is the first in her The Twelve Kingdoms series. The cover has the main character looking at a black-red feather. The intended reader is someone who likes fantasy and romance. There is some mild language, multiple sex scenes and violence in this book. The story is told from the first person close of the main character. There Be Spoilers Ahead.

From the back of the book- Queen of the Unknown
The tales tell of three sisters, daughters of the high king. The eldest, a valiant warrior-woman, heir to the kingdom. The youngest, the sweet beauty with her Prince Charming. No one says much about the middle princess, Andromeda. Andi, the other one.
Andi doesn't mind being invisible. She enjoys the company of her horse more than court, and she has a way of blending into the shadows. Until the day she meets a strange man riding, who keeps company with wolves and ravens, who rules a land of shapeshifters and demons. A country she'd thought was no more than legend- until he claims her as its queen.
In a moment everything changes: Her father, the wise king, becomes a warlord, suspicious and strategic. Whispers call her dead mother a traitor and a witch. Andi doesn't know if her own instincts can be trusted, as visions appear to her and her body begins to rebel.
For Andi, the time to learn her true nature has come...

Review- This book does so much wrong. I wanted to like this book or at the very least have a good time reading it. I did not have a good time reading it. The hero is a high-handed ass who cannot hear the word no. The heroine is not brave. She gets pushed into a corner by the hero and the plot and gives in. I could not even read them having a kiss without feeling a little sick to my stomach. I just out right skipped the sex scenes because just thinking about them now, as I am writing this review, makes me feel ill. The writing is not terrible. The plot feels too high-handed for me. I believe that the writer wanted to have a reluctant heroine, for whatever reason, and that comes across very well. Everything felt like it was stacked against her from the beginning. The word no is not used in the sex scenes, I did skim for that, but I do not believe that the heroine could have said no. The hero is very sexual and very interested in getting to have sex with the heroine, who he has only meet three times for just a few minutes each. Andi even thinks that about him, that she is only to be used for her vagina. I believed that too. If damsel cannot say not say no to overly sexual hero is your thing then read this. You will like it. If the word no or the ability to say no means something to you, skip it.

I give this book a One out of Five stars. I get nothing for my review and I, thank god, borrowed this from my local library.