Pretty in Black

Ellie Piper was a girl like everybody else. She had great notes

Ellie Piper was a girl like everybody else. She had great notes at school, a best friend, a boyfriend, and even a beautiful happy family. She even was the leader of the cheerleaders, and for this she was envied by many girls. She had a perfect life. Then, suddenly something has changed.

„I didn’t feel like myself anymore. The girl who used to be a cheerleader, I no longer knew who she was. The new me dressed different, spoke different, had different interests than the old me.”

Once with the death of her sister Darcy, killed by a murderer yet unknown, her parents’s divorce, and the moment she found out that her boyfriend cheated on her right when she was living a nightmare because of her sister’s death, her life turned from pink, to grey. Actually, even black.

„After my sister’s death, I thought I’d die, too. So, Declan decided since I couldn’t spend time with him, since I was “too busy grieving when I should get the hell over it already,” that now would be the ideal time to bail-out and cheat on me, which he did, and left me alone to cry. Two weeks before school started back, he told me he was sorry, he just didn’t know how to deal. I never forgave him.”

She gets to spend her time in the cemeteries and anywhere she can escape from the nightmare that her home turned out to be.Her dad moved to New York to have a better job, and her mother… her mother is like she wouldn’t exist, only worst than this. And like this wouldn’t be enough, she got stucked with a step father that seeks to make her life an inferno.
Spending her days wherever she can, her life is filling with more bitterness. She wishes she was asleep, like forever. Now, all she wants to do is to end with this life.

„I had an absent father and an irresponsible mother. I felt like disappearing at times because I couldn’t deal with my relationships with guys or any of the emotions I experienced. I didn’t care about my school work anymore like I used to. I just wanted this whole high school thing to be over and done with.”

Death doesn’t freaks her out, actually it’s quite contrary, she considers it the only solution. So being in the cemetery and having a blade, everything becomes clear like a mirror. She knows what she has to do…

“Death isn’t so bad— It’s the only thing that keeps me alive.”

…she thought she was dead, but death couldn’t be so kind, isn’t it? Like sleep without dreaming, but still awake with the consciousness. She gets ready to embrace her end, seeing the angel of death coming to collect her, something else couldn’t be, he was too beautiful to be human. Long, black hair, brooding eyes and the richest ruby lips she has ever seen. Then, Ellie realises her heart is still beating.
It’s not a dream, she is alive and everything is real.
And that angel of death is real too, only that he came not to take her into the deep darkness of death, but to bring her to the light. He is the one that wakes her up from the dream she thought it would have been the last one.

The mistery is floating in the air near the stranger with brooding eyes, and after many acid replies between them(more from Ellie than from the stranger), she finds out that his name is Marcus Marble, he is a totally freak, and… that’s it. Together, they look like the mice and the cat. Marcus seems to want Ellie, and she rejects him again and again, and again, until when this possibility is fading away.

<< He turned me around to face him. “I want to hear you say it.” My breath was short. “I don’t want you to kiss me, again.” “I think you mean everything but the ‘don’t’ part.” I shoved him. “Go away.” He inched back and leaned against the brick wall. I stared at him. He stared back. “You’re still here with me, Ellie.” “So?” “If you don’t leave right now, I’m going to kiss you again and you’re going to end up kissing me back.” >>

After many meetings with Marcus, more or less randomly, because he seems to be following her everywhere, Ellie gets to know him better and falls in love with him. Even though she doesn’t know much about him, she feels he is the one by the way she feels around him and by the way being with him changes her. Their love makes her feel more alive than ever.

„To be alive is to be able to feel.
It’s love unified with the possibility of death, but knowing that’s the only way to truly be alive.”

Only that next, faith is stubborning to show them how cruel she can be… Until the end, there is a long road, Ellie fiind out she is The Chosen, the one who must kill the ones from the Corvidae origin, the ones who come back to life, some monsters without any compunction. And when she discovers Marcus’s true nature, and that she is supposed to kill him, her life changes again… radically.
In the end, will their love survive?

My opinion:
I LOVED, I LOVE and I will always LOVE this book. It’s original, stunning, and the story and the characters are simply fabulous, they will totally conquer you. I was simply trapped in their web, from the very first page, leaving me torn apart, sighing for more, and more, and more. The main charachters are so charming, and I’m not exagerating. At all. :D And above all, they seem real. And not just them, even the secondary charachters are like this, all of them being very well built.
Ellie was marqued by her sister’s death and she’s suffering not only because of her, but also because of the life she once had. A perfect life. She’s changed radically since then, she talks, she dresses, and she feels different. She doesn’t feels entire anymore. And then Marcus appears, „the white raven”, and makes her feel complete again, alive. I love the hole story around him, with the Corvidae Dynasty, the Society, and the role he has it in it. You’ll see what I’m talking about when you’ll read the book, I guarantee you’ll like that. :D
Well, I think Pretty in Black it’s the first book I would reread again and again without feeling sorry about that. Maybe it’s because I fiind myself in it and in Ellie’s charachter. And the gothic style of the book, so dark, it’s wonderful, more than interesting. Especially the atmosphere designed, wich fits very well with the book cover and the story. I know, I praised this book like it’s the only one I’ve read, but I could not help myself, so much I loved it. I fully recommend it to everyone, but first, open your minds and make some time for it, so you can read it without interruption, and you’ll enter Ellie’s and Marcus’s world like you’d really be there.

Happy reading!!! :D

“I ran the blade across both my wrists, and collapsed ont

“I ran the blade across both my wrists, and collapsed onto the ground. I felt the fire, the ache, the sting. My pulse pounded, my life poured out of me. My vision grew dark. I waited for the darkness.”

Ellie Piper wanted to die. She didn’t ....not yet.....

This is a hauntingly beautiful story, which I found quite original, but, at the same time I have many questions.

At times this book flows beautifully and at other times it was maybe too fast, I wasn’t catching my breath, I needed more information. The potential is for an amazing series of books.

I adore Marcus Marble. He is a beautiful character that wears his heart on his sleeve. He loves Ellie. She is his enemy. Oh what a conundrum this makes for the people who care for him. And can he kiss!

The first part of the story belongs to Ellie, the second part Marcus owns. We learn a lot of answers to this mysterious guy who comes out of the blue and falls for Ellie, appearing instantly in love. But...he has watched her.

Ellie has a difficult life. Her sister Darcy , raped and murdered. Her parents break up. Her mother turns to Nick and substance abuse.

In some ways I felt like part two of this book, maybe should have been told first...maybe, well some of it.

I found Marcus and Ellie’s communication/dialogue at first to be quite staccato in the opening chapters. Which was a little odd but it also worked.

I really enjoyed this gothic read, it was so beautifully poetic in parts and sometimes spontaneous...if I am making sense. It is quite an unusual feeling I had when reading it. The story is gorgeous but sometimes the dots weren’t joined properly. Yet at the same time I give it 4 stars as I really loved Marcus and want to know more.

I loved the Black Gothic Castle and the visual I got from Marcus’s Nevermore.

Marcus is an Evermore a guardian of the dead , guides dying to otherworld, the afterlife and a destroyer of evil. I am still a wee bit fuzzy on that.

Ellie is a Chosen One, a Corvidae Hunter, I just don’t think she fully understands what being with Marcus means. I am a little fuzzy myself on a couple things.

I absolutely loved how birds are used with Evermores. Marcus is a white raven, Michael a black raven. Emilie is a Jay. Lesser Class females are magpies. This I found beautiful in my mind.

There is of course the troublemaker, the one that does not want Marcus to have a HEA - Happy Ever After and that is Jillian. She is in charge of the Red Society. I think I need to understand more some of the people that make up the parts of this world where everybody is dead, but..........

I am looking forward to Black Satin. This is a very intriguing series for me.

Pretty in Black is about a young woman named Ellie who has lost

Pretty in Black is about a young woman named Ellie who has lost her sister, her perfect life, and she is seeking death. Marcus Marble saves her in more ways than she knew she needed saving. But he has a secret, many secrets, that he's keeping from her.

To further the story, Ellie is also a Corvidae hunter, and her purpose is to hunt down the Evermore. She is warned that if she fails, or allows one to live, that she too would be hunted down. Can she come to terms with this crazy notion? Will she run when Marcus uncovers his great secrets?

I would have enjoyed more action, more of the Evermore and Corvidae story. I think it's why I wasn't overly thrilled after I finished reading. It's entirely possible that there will be more in the future, and I would gladly read it. Instead we got more of the love story between Ellie and Marcus, which was very well written. I enjoyed the dark twists, the forbidden love, as well as the poetic edge that was taken.

I was also a bit confused by the ending when the author switched the point-of-view. It took me a few pages to realize this, but once it registered in my brain all was well again. I'm hoping that there is more to this story, and that this really only the beginning.
Originally Reviewed at: Mother/Gamer/Writer
Reviewer: Heather

Beautiful

"I never really wanted to die. But I followed through anyway. The pain in my heart was excruciating, and death was beautiful."

I started this book knowing next to nothing about it. The cover is what drew me in, I couldn't have not read it. And then I signed up for a Black Satin tour. So then I had to read this book, to prepare for that one. That all worked out quite well!

This felt like it was a relatively short story, overall. But it is over 300 pages. I guess I enjoyed it so much that I just flew through it. Ellie Piper is a teenage girl whose sister has died. She is depressed and suicidal. Life has flipped since her sister's death, and nothing quite seems worth it. So she decides suicide is the answer. And on that fateful night she meets Marcus.

Marcus has long black hair and brooding eyes. He is quiet and mysterious. He has secrets, big secrets. He stops Ellie from killing herself, now only if she knew!

"So I stayed. I kind of adored his smile. And I really loved his eyes."

Sometimes it just takes a word to describe someone. Depressed. Cutter. Suicidal. And of course, you can't encompass someone in that one word, but when you are the person in that spot... well, that's all you see in yourself. You don't see the vibrancy you once had, you don't see the smile that people miss. All you really can see is the end, and you wonder how in the hell you can get there because you are just...done.

That was Ellie. I found her to be quite compelling. This was a girl who was vivacious and cheerful, in fact she was a cheerleader. Then her sister dies and life as she knows it ceases. I really liked her. And then she met Marcus and I thought, whoa, this guy is special. Seemingly the epitome of a vampire, except he's not a vampire, he's an Evermore. They are slightly different, but the story will explain that to you better than I could. But the two of them, to me, was like picturing the gothic prince and princess come to life. I just liked them.

There were a few things that rubbed me the wrong way about this story. Things that I felt have been done before. But those instances were short, and didn't really detract from the story.

What I did love about this story, and it made me jump to read Black Satin (the next book in the series) was this beautiful imagery and language that the author used. She was able to set up a scene with such dark beauty, you definitely felt like you were there. You could feel the desolation, the sadness... and then you could feel the hope and what could only certainly be young love. Some of the imagery was very dark, but it was beautiful. The beginning dealt with the issue of suicide, which can be a very touchy subject for some. But in this story it was handled beautifully.

You get a little bit of history on Marcus, and what is going on with him. There is a lot that is explained even more in book 2. All I can say is that this is shaping up to be a wonderful series, and I can't wait to get on to book 3!

Pretty in Black was a very interesting read. It was a "dar

Pretty in Black was a very interesting read. It was a "dark" romance. Ellie Piper has lost her sister, her father is gone, and her mother has married a creep and moved her into a trailer park. Ellie likes to hang out in cemeteries, she's depressed, and she cuts. Then she meets Marcus Marble, and her whole life changes. She tries to stay away from Marcus, but finds herself compelled to be with him. He is mysterious, charming, attractive, and has his own dark side. Ellie struggles to keep focused on school, but keeps finding herself pulled to the woods, to the cemetery, drawn to be with Marcus, but Marcus is not what he seems, Marcus isn't even alive. Ellie must make difficult choices, not only regarding Marcus, but also her destiny.

I typically don't read a lot of Gothic romance, so this was different experience, and I have to say I enjoyed the story very much . Marcus Marble was very swoon worthy and mysterious. The first part of the book is told from Ellie's point of view, and the second part is told from Marcus' point of view, and gives you more of a history of where he has come from, which was very interesting. Ellie was a very complex character, though very depressed and grief ridden, she was also desperate to love and to be loved. The romance between Marcus and Ellie was dark, yet endearing. It will be interesting to see where the next book in the series, Black Satin, takes Ellie and Marcus. I am anxious to find out what is in store for them. If you enjoy dark Gothic romance, coupled with the element of fantasy, then you will enjoy Pretty in Black. Additionally, the book also addresses real life issues such as death, tragedy, grief, and depression, but at the same time, incorporates romance and gives you a hot guy to swoon over, so that you aren't consumed by the issues the character faces.

Intriguing paranormal story

I absolutely love the cover of this book, so when the opportunity arose for me to be a part of the tour, I just HAD to jump on board! There are several parts of the story line that will remind you of other paranormal stories that are out there, but the concept of the book is completely different from any other story you have read so far. I enjoyed the book so much that I literally read it in one sitting, even with distractions! The author weaves such a great tale that it's hard to pull yourself away. I tried setting the book down to go to bed, but ended up daydreaming about what was happening so ended up picking it back up and finishing it. The characters are easy to love and I can't wait to see what happens in the next book :) I recommend this book to anyone that loves a good paranormal action/romance book :)

A "Have to Read"

I'll admit, when I first started this book it had a real "Buffy" feel to it. With the girl being an ex-cheerleader who'd was now facing some dark times in her life due to a family crisis, and then ending up being the chosen one and proving it by catching the knife being thrown at her head. And then especially when I found that her "mentor's" name was Giles. Crazy... BUT...I will tell you, as I continued to read I fell into this story and found that it was nothing like Buffy and it certainly shined in it's own uniqueness. Marcus Marble is a character that I HAVE to know. Hachton's unique take on a new breed of supernatural had me reading this book in one evening. I simply couldn't put it down. It was quick paced and had me engrossed the entire time. The writing was haunting and I loved it. I can't wait for book two-Black Satin.

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