Cursed by God, hunted by demons, desired by Cain and Abel... All in a day's work.

For Evangeline Hollis, a long-ago fling with a bad boy from the wrong side of the tracks just became a disaster of biblical proportions. One night with a leather-clad man of mystery has led to a divine punishment: the Mark of Cain.

Thrust into a world where sinners are drafted to kill demons, Eve knows her learning curve must be short. A longtime agnostic, she begrudgingly maneuvers through a celestial bureaucracy where she is a valuable but ill-treated pawn. She's also become the latest point of contention in the oldest case of sibling rivalry in history...
But she'll worry about all that later. Right now she's more concerned with learning to kill while staying alive. And saving the soul she'd never quite believed she had.

What can I say about this book that hasn't been said more eloquently by better people, other than I've been a long-time fan of Sylvia Day, and I'm even more impressed with the new S.J. Day series. Probably not a lot, but I still want to make my $0.02 known.

When we first meet Eve, she is in the middle of some rather intense on-the-job training, and she's having a little trouble adjusting to her new lifestyle as a Mark. Two very significant events in Eve's life lead her to be where she is today, and they involve those feuding brothers of the Bible: Cain and Abel. Agnostic by nature, Eve can no longer go through life blissfully ignorant of the very threatening presence of demons, or deny the fact that now she is supposed to be on the side of the good guys, headed up by The Big Guy. Yep, you guessed it. God.

You know, most times when I read a book, I'm in it mainly for the hero. I'm not ashamed to admit that. And here we have two delectable leading men who both desire Eve. Right now I've tentatively selected which camp I'm in, but from the brief glimpses I've read about Book #2, I might be defecting to the other side, though I kinda hope not. But I'll worry about that later. However as I was saying, normally I'm all hero, all the way, but this time, I am digging the heroine.

It's not the first time in recent memory I've been such a fan of the leading lady, but in this series, I'll get to see her for at least another 2 books, and I want to be sure to like her. So far I do. Very much. Eve is rather well-adjusted and likable, and very, very human. She comes into her gifts rather late in life, and most unwillingly. Yet after some griping about the circumstances, Eve gets down to the business of dealing with things. She's not fearless nor particularly adept, but she's good with facing the dangers and obstacles she needs to face in order to survive. She has the normal issues with her family that many people do, but she loves them, and she also has a strong affection for her elderly neighbor Mrs. Basso. She had a career she loved and worked hard at, yet all that changes when she is Marked. Now she has to rearrange her priorities. Instead of being mad at Alec and Reed, the two men she shared two separate, torrid encounters with that lead to her being Marked, she sticks with them so they can both show her the ropes and hopefully prevent her from being killed. Eve is just starting up her training and has A LOT to learn. I can't wait to watch her trying to master her various new responsibilities and figure out her new abilities. And if she gets to spend some time in bed with either Alec or Reed, well, all the better ;)

Speaking of the hotties, Cain and Abel are based on the very brothers in the Bible with the same names, and the rivalry continues now in modern times. Both are very sexy, intriguing men in their own way, and each is strongly attracted to Eve, and she is equally drawn to each of the brothers. Cain is a loner, more rough around the edges, yet he cares very deeply for Eve. Abel, curious about the woman who has won his brother's affections, is more polished, and definitely one to do things by the book, yet that doesn't make him any less of a bad boy. It will be interesting to see how each of these compelling men deal with their feelings for Eve, and just how far each will go to claim her for his own. I'm very much looking forward to finding out...

Rating: ****1/2 out of *****

Labels: S.J. Day