First Impression:Book One of the Delcroix Academy series, now titled The Talents, was one of my top 5 reads of 2010. Seriously, that book was amazing! And repackaging of this series aside, I was super excited to finally get aback into this world and figure out what was going to happen next.While Reading:The Marked takes readers back to Delcroix Academy. Dancia, in her second year, has a lot of surprises in store. The Watchers are pushing her to gain further control of her powers. Her boyfriend Cam is always there for support and to push her to her limits. And an old friend returns.Last year when I finish The Talents, I had all these grand ideas in my head about what book two would hold. Sadly, The Marked totally went in a direction that I was not expecting. Not even in my wildest dream did I imagine this plot. All together The Marked was a good step forward in the series. But I was really disappointed with Jack's character. If you remember from The Talents, Jack was one of Dancia's best friends and possible love interest. For me, Jack made book one of the series memorable. In my grand ideas for this book, I was hoping Jack would come back, Dancia would ditch Cam (sorry Cam, I don't like you), and they could pick up where things left off. But The Marked gave me none of that. Instead, Dancia is falling deeper in love with Cam. Jack has undergone a complete change, and is barely the same character that I loved from The Talents.Final Verdict:I want to be able to say that I loved The Marked. But I can't. If I push aside the issues that I have in regards to the changes with Jack, it is easy to say that I liked The Marked. Dancia is still a wonderful character. I enjoyed going back to Delcroix Academy and watching everyone grow. But sadly, it all comes back to Jack. His character was one of the things that really drew me into The Talents to begin with. And to see what has become of him, kinda mad me sad. I wish that I felt more secure about this series, but The Marked has given me some big doubts. And I am not sure how I feel about this series now. At this point, I am willing to give the third book a shot. But I am currently not holding out high hopes.
