The book takes place in one planet, Thuvhe, which is divided between to communities: the Thuvhesits and the Shotet. In a place where everyone has a gift, there are ones better than others and you can’t choose which one you get. Apart from this special power, everyone has a destiny that no matter what you do it will come true, you just don’t know when or where. Cyra and Ryzek, two siblings that rule the Shotet people and are hated by everyone. On the other hand Akos, Cici and Eijeh are the sons of an oracle which made them the most important family in all Thuvhe. Cyra and Akos’s paths will collide and an unexpected friendship will blossom. Can they stop both communities from destroying one another?

First off, let me start with the outside. I can’t even describe how amazed this cover makes me feel. Every time I look at it is like I’m seeing a new detail I’ve never seen before. The weight of the book was what surprised me the most when I first grab it. Later I found in a bookstore the translated paper edition -already?? So soon – and it weighed more than my hardcover edition #hardcovergoals!!

Now back to the review…

It always feels sad to close a book. It feels as a world had just stopped existing. Opening it again releases all those characters, those relationships, those stories. But closing a book for the last time is even sadder. In those times we know it was a good book, we know it was worth the time. Carve The Mark was not an exception.Veronica Roth steps out from a small city on Earth – Chicago, from Divergent series – to create a whole new galaxy, and a new solar system and planets beyond our imagination.

As I was reading it I didn’t know what to expect. I was having so many doubt in my mind if I liked the book or not. I couldn’t think about what was going to happen or even if I tried to picture a scenario wouldn’t make me excited for it. So I was literally living those words without thinking what would come next. But there was something there that made me wishing to spend all day reading it and fly through the pages. Like a hunger that was never fulfilled. It was strange because I never had this feeling of wanting to read without being so excitement just by thinking of the situation I left on the book. I just wanted to open it and read until the end, flying from one page to the other, stop my life and fully concentrating on the story.

When I turned the last page and read the last words, I feel some emptiness inside. I feel as I know so much and at the same time nothing at all. I believe this is called a book hangover when you don’t know what to read next and don’t want to move forward but instead back inside that world. It was hard to move on and I was expecting to take more time reading it and not just two weeks to devour it – I’m becoming a monster!!! I’m anxiously waiting to be released the next book and at the same time, I just want to reread this one. The book wasn’t my happy place but it was a new place, with a new culture, new values, new perspectives of life and fascinates me how can one person create so much.

What interested me the most was how people that live in the same planet have such different perspective of the world/galaxy. I’ve started to get in that realisation in the past years and a lot of the time people don’t take the time to stop and think why someone is saying that or what made them think that way. And sometimes the line between right and wrong is really thin and imperceptible. The whys always fascinated me and made me keep an open mind and stop judging people. And once I realised Veronica was touching on that subject I just got radiant by the thought of her made other people see similar to me, to make other people stop judging, and see that each one of us think differently because of our different past.

The romance wasn’t the centre of the story. You start reading it and you see both characters and you know it’s going to happen but they take the time to firstly know each other. Also, it wasn’t love at first sight which, in my opinion, is more realistic – I don’t believe you can fall in love with someone you don’t know. Actually is refreshing to read a story without fantasising when they will kiss for the first time or realise they are in love with each other. Sometimes is good to take a break from “the usual” romantic book and read something completely different without losing the romance. They still have a few intense romantic moments but is not the main focus.

The book is shockingly violent. If you thought Peter stabbing Edward in the eye with a knife was terrifying (in Divergent) this book is a completely new level. Veronica did not spare the readers of such brutality. If you are looking for a good laugh don’t read this book because you won’t find it here.

I also know it has been some buzzing around this book making a few readers getting upset with the author and she even replied to a few of the comments. I don’t know exactly what they are about because I haven’t read them yet. First I want to publish my review of what I took from the book and later reading those comments. Maybe it isn’t a big deal or maybe it is. Either way, if I have something to say about them I will edit this post to let you know.