Mark of Orion by S. L. Richardson

🪽Mark of Orion by S. L. Richardson🪽

Book One in the Guardians of Orion trilogy.

Blurb:

If you like sinister demons, warrior angels, supernatural powers, ancient lineages, with a twist of deception and ruthless revenge… then you don’t want to miss this new exciting page-turning series!

Three Teens…

Three Fallen…

Humanity’s future is at stake.

Seventeen-year-old Olivia has seen some wild things living in Las Vegas—but never a demon—until one attacks but fails to kidnap her. Left with a celestial mark on her chest, Olivia sets out on a treacherous journey with two friends who share in her mystical lineage, only to find herself blindsided by the unwelcomed return of her absent father. Now, she must unravel her parent’s deceit and grapple with her painful past all the while unlocking the powerful secrets that will forever change her world. Except she’s also fighting her growing attraction to one of her friends while thrust into the unending war between the Fallen and Archangels.

When the Fallen maliciously strike against her and plot revenge upon those she loves, Olivia finds herself faced with an impossible mission.

Can she leave her life behind and enhance her powers to master the supernatural skills needed to slay the Fallen while guarding the secrets of Orion?

Of course. Not a problem. Except if she fails, the balance between Heaven and Hell will shift—leaving mankind at the mercy of the ultimate evil and his bloodthirsty horde.

My thoughts:

Wow… I really wasn’t expecting this. I got so much more than I was expecting. It was different than my usual read, but a good different! I would say that’s it’s either a hit or miss. I know some people have a problem with Angels and Demons being in books, but then some don’t, so it really depends on you. 😉

The plot was pretty crazy! I really liked how the author mixed both the story in the beginning of Genesis and Fiction together. The moment when they became Guardians??? So cool! There was so much action and suspense to keep me going. 

I really liked all the characters! There was a lot of character development in our trio. 🙂 I liked Olivia.. she was alright! She was going through some hard things but still managed to be strong. Although I really wished she could’ve forgave her dad. Sergio was a good best friend! Loyal and supportive.. I kind of got worried for him by the end 😕🫠 Zach… ahh he was my favorite! The cute guy who Olivia had a crush on.. the sweetest guy Liv could ask for! So reliable too! 

(NOTE!)

There were some parts that were just… kinda dark, mostly where the demons and Lucifer were involved. I liked how it didn’t go over semi-detailed in those parts, though. We also see the perspective of an angel who has “sinned” and turns evil. 

Overall, Mark of Orion was a great start to this trio’s journey! I really enjoyed it although I would caution for younger readers.

 I would recommend to those who enjoy and are okay with:

🪽Supernatural Fantasy 

🪽Books that involve angles and demons 

🪽Light vs. Darkness 

🪽Heavier topics and themes 

🪽Action packed books 

⚠️ Age recommendation: 15-16+ *See content info* ⚠️

My rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Ages 10-12 rating: ⭐️

Ages 13-14 rating: ⭐️⭐️

Ages 15-16 rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Sexual Content:

3 kisses (1 lightly detailed and 2 semi-detailed), a forehead kiss, and a temple kiss. A mention of wanting more after kissing (not in a sexual way). Looking at lips and thinking about a kiss. Seeing married couples kiss. Holding hands and embraces. Attraction, Warmth, Heat, Noticing (curves and muscles as well), Touches (nothing inappropriate), Blushing, Tingles, and Flirting. A mention of a guy making a comment about “having a little fun with a chic”. Chic and Chica are said a couple times. A guy says that a girl is “hot”. A mention of having a crush. Seeing a married couple embrace. Seeing another couple embrace and kiss (not detailed). A guy calls a girl “bella chica” which means beautiful girl. There was a moment where an angel (Delilah) was naked and a demon looked at her with desire and lust (She closes her wings over her body soon after that). Lucifer licks Delilah’s neck once, he finds her attractive and pleasurable to him. A mention of an angel who “gave herself to a man”. A mention of Lucifer and Delilah being in his chambers for a long time and a fallen telling another fallen that “he can fill in the blanks”. A mention of thinking that someone got a hot date. A mention of Lucifer’s eyes traveling down Delilah’s body (she had a one-piece body suit). A mention of having a thrill of desire and that she’d never known such intense passion and has never planned on it happening with Lucifer. Zar has always loved Delilah, and him thinking about her with Lucifer “laughing, kissing, mating, plotting”. Some love and the emotions.

Profanity: 

Pissed is said once and damn is said twice. Stupid is said. 

Violence: 

Death, killing, blood, fighting, torture, and evil intentions. Seeing some dying and dead. (Lightly detailed) Olivia and the others often see demons (tells us what they look like). Being held at dagger point. A demon tries to attack Zach in his bed almost in a sensuous way.. and the details of that. (3x) Seeing a fallen drown (semi detailed). All of this gets to semi-detailed. 

Trigger Warning ‼️: *May contain spoilers*

Olivia’s Dad left her when she was a little girl. (And her feelings afterward) Parent Neglect. 

POV’s:

Multi POV 

Mainly between Olivia, Sergio, and Zach. But we also see Delilah’s and Zar’s POV. 

331 pages