Synopsis from Goodreads:
In a galaxy powered by the current, everyone has a gift.
Cyra is the sister of the brutal tyrant who rules the Shotet people. Cyra’s currentgift gives her pain and power — something her brother exploits, using her to torture his enemies. But Cyra is much more than just a blade in her brother’s hand: she is resilient, quick on her feet, and smarter than he knows.
Akos is the son of a farmer and an oracle from the frozen nation-planet of Thuvhe. Protected by his unusual currentgift, Akos is generous in spirit, and his loyalty to his family is limitless. Once Akos and his brother are captured by enemy Shotet soldiers, Akos is desperate to get this brother out alive — no matter what the cost.
The Akos is thrust into Cyra's world, and the enmity between their countries and families seems insurmountable. Will they help each other to survive, or will they destroy one another?
Carve the Mark is Veronica Roth's stunning portrayal of the power of friendship — and love — in a galaxy filled with unexpected gifts.
What I thought:
I was unprepared for the roller coaster of emotions that
overtook me while reading Carve The Mark. It’s such an emotional fantasy novel.
I didn’t want to put it down and when I did I couldn’t wait to get back to it.
Carve the Mark was better than I expected.
The whole plot was pieced together so delicately. The past,
who made them who they are, the present, and the future selves they constant
worry over. It is exactly why we shouldn’t be able to see our futures.
Every character is in on the plot. The future everyone’s
seen but are simultaneously trying to change it.
Cyra is friendless and feared. She knows what’s expected of
her and she’s always played that position well enough. Until determined Akos comes along, telling
her, she doesn’t have to be the person they’ve made her. Regardless of what
she’s done, she was still worthy of mercy and redemption.
Cyra had been afraid all her life, from her father first to
her brother, Ryzek. Her only desire had been to live. But she realized, that as
long as she worked with Ryzek, she was just one of his prisoners, like Akos.
Akos has been desperate for years, since his kidnapping, through army training
and earning armor, to do one thing, get his brother Eijeh and escape the city.
Thanks to Ryzek, Eijeh doesn’t want to leave, making it an impossible task.
I could say so much about this book but I don’t want to ruin
any of the enjoyable waves of this book. Cyra, Akos and a patched together band
of misfits will have to learn to work together, trust one another, and prepare
the inevitable war approaching them.
I love how Veronica Roth made each character a healthy
balance of both good and bad. I love the current and the currentgift each
person possesses thanks to the current. I am always interested and enthralled
with EVERYONES currentgift. What would my currentgift be, if it comes from
within us and who we are? I love the cultural difference of each nation and how
much Cyra valued it.
I DID NOT LOVE THE CLIFF HANGER!
I’m just gleefully approaching the end, thinking, how will
she sum this all up, I guess theres a few more pages. But it was acknowledgments. I was so
disappointed. I still have so many questions I need answers to! More than I did
even halfway through. And I can’t deny my own mental hang up. My lack of
patience for waiting. My love of the characters dwindle around 12 months or so.
I fear the second book will feel like its dragging a good story out. I enjoyed
the fast paced feeling of this novel. I don’t want it to be too much. There adventures to be too big for them to overcome. And if she
kills Cyra at the end I refuse to read another Veronica Roth book.
