I would describe this as a supernatural thriller, with elements of romance and Peruvian/Incanfolklore. The concept was interesting with the main character having these "birthmarks" and dreams relating to the past linked to these marks. I liked the plot, it kept me reading although some of it was fairly obvious. The characters were a bit meh, and needed a bit more fleshing out to truly feel anything for them.
All in all this was on OK read but I'm in no rush to continue the series.

An exceptional concept for a new book series.

Fast paced action and a story that has you hooked straight away. Really exciting read. With lots of twists and turns. Looking forward to reading the next book!

DNF at 25%

I'm sure there is a good story somewhere in there, since a lot of people seem to like this book. Unfortunately, I'm not engaged enough to stick around and find out.

I don't know if it's the style in which the story is told, or the fact that I could barely tolerate any of the characters which POVs I had to follow, but I just couldn't get into this book. Most of the characters are rather dislikeable and make plenty of stupid decisions just to keep the plot going. I also wasn't particularly engaged with the main mystery here - Jane's marks and why they are disappearing.

Heck, I started and finished 2 other books while I tried to read this and barely made it to 25%. I find myself constantly making excuses to read something else, so why torture myself?

PS: I received a free copy of this book via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I got a free copy from Netgalley all opinions are my own.

This review may contain spoilers.

I liked the short chapters, it often makes books so much easier to read. We also have changing POV's. There's is Jane the MC, Sadie her roommate and Dick, sorry I meant Rick🥴

I got really tired of the changing POV's around the 35% mark.

This book also had some characters that really made my blood boil, which just shows that McLean knows how to write douche characters, which is good. Not that I liked reading about them lol.

I knew from the moment that we met him that Rick was a slimey guy, and I was not wrong. I hate men like him.
I didn't really like any of the characters at all.
I understood the reasons for their actions and how they behaved but it still annoyed me. And it still made me not like them.
I know that our main girls had a hard life growing up, but Sadie just really annoyed me with her choices.
And Sadie is supposed to be street smart, but why is she so stupid then??

The plot was interesting, and I don't think that it was excecuted badly, but the book wasn't that much for me. Like I said the ever changing POV's got to tiring.
The plot did keep me hooked enough to want to finish this book and find out the ending. But I didn't particularly enjoy the book.
I think that this book is great as a standalone, so I won't be continuing with this series.

I liked the ending.

And yeah this book is at most 3 stars from me. But fret not, since so many other people have given this 5 stars. It's not a bad book. It just wasn't for me.

When you mix a thriller with a measure of supernatural flavouring, you have my attention. But like all dishes, too much of an ingredient and the taste is off, too little, and you wonder why you bothered. JP McLean has delivered the perfect recipe in her latest book Blood Mark. The story was refreshingly unique and a great blend of pace, taut psychological thriller, and intrigue as we ponder who can be trusted, who is the threat, and why can’t I put the book down.

Jane Walker was born with a birthmark that encircled her whole body and displayed an Aztec symbol when she lay in the foetal position. Port wine or blood-red stains they were described as, and often as a source of ridicule growing up, they left Jane feeling self-conscious and resentful. Her best friend Sadie had been with her through childhood foster care, and they now lived together, hand to mouth, in a tiny bedsit. Jane is extraordinarily cautious and suspicious of everyone and hates Sadie’s job, bringing her into contact with unsavoury people. Jane’s dreams seem all too vivid as she appears to be a fly on the wall watching a woman under duress from a doctor. She wakes heart-racing from these dreams, and as her friend can attest, she is catatonic and cannot be woken. What is disturbing is that Jane realises she has a connection with the people in her dreams, and even Sadie will appear.

Jane discovers more about her birthmark from Aztec experts, however, as she approaches her twenty-fifth birthday, the birthmarks start to disappear. What seemed to be a curse now appears like protection – but from What? Who and Why? This aspect of the story was fascinating, and the way JP McLean weaved together the paranormal element with great storytelling and characters that mashed together all levels of suspicion, argument and help was impressive.

Blood Mark was a book I was immersed in, and it would have been perfect only for a few questionable stretches in the plot and how the characters sometimes managed situations. I highly recommend reading this book and will be reaching for the next in the series when it is released. I want to thank BooksGoSocial and NetGalley for providing a free ARC in return for an honest review.

Thanks to Netgalley, the author and publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this ARC.

This is well written. The plot sustained my interest throughout, despite a few predictable plot points.

Refreshingly, the paranormal aspect is based on Incan mythology. It ledt me wanting to learn more about it.

The characters were interesting and relateable. Despite (or because of) the MC's horrible childhood, she retains a clear sense of morality

I recommend this paranormal thriller.

Thank you Netgalley for the advance reader copy of Blood Mark by JP McLean in exchange for an honest review. This was a very intriguing new version of an old story. The writing was excellent and created a character that I really felt for. I enjoyed this book and can't wait for more.

4 1/2 stars

Blood Mark is a clever paranormal thriller. The basis for the storyline is one that I haven't seen done before and I was quickly fascinated by it. I found myself quickly immersed in the book as I read and wanted to see how everything played out. I enjoy books with strong heroines and the main character, Jane is definitely that. Her life is anything but easy yet she keeps pushing through and doesn't let her guard down.

I found the inclusion of Incan mythology to be quite interesting. It's something I'm not familiar with so that made it even more enjoyable to read about. The way that the author wove it into the storyline was seamless. In addition, the character development and other world building was done in a way that felt effortless. It all flowed within the story and didn't feel as if you (the reader) were being told facts. Everything was just gradually shared with you in a natural way. The supporting characters in this book were also critical to the plot and written well. Of course, I'm always a fan of a good romance and the attraction between Jane and Ethan was a winning part of the story for me as well - - especially the fact that he was unaffected by her marks.

Lastly, there is definitely a worthy villain in this book. We get the story from multiple points of view and one of them is from his. It really helps to get things from that viewpoint and see how his mind thinks. He's definitely a "piece of work."

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with a complimentary reader's copy. I chose to read and review it and the opinions contained within are my own.

I absolutely loved this. Jane's story was intricate and mysterious and the story had me turning pages so fast! I'm so happy I decided to pick this up. And a special thanks to JP McLean & Netgalley for the ARC. If you need a fast paced supernatural Thriller this is definitely the one to pick up!

I really love it when I find a new author I can put in my tbr list. I’m not much of a dark fantasy reader but this book intrigued me so I had to read it. Once I started it was hard to put down. I’m glad I gave it a go.

You know from the first few lines if you are going to enjoy a book. This one introduced a strong female lead, a little bit of fantasy/old age mysticism, and I was hooked. The author then perfectly drip fed the characters, with me trying to work out where they fitted in, and slowly built up the pace right to a thrilling end. This is a complete book, but there are obviously more to come in this series, I can’t wait to see where Thank you to WindStorm Press and NetGalley for the ARC. The views expressed are all mine, freely given.

Honestly I had no idea what I was getting into when I began reading this book. I requested it solely because the cover intrigued me. Afterwards, I read the blurb and was even more drawn in.
A mysterious "birthmark" , dreams about people's secrets, and a kind of loner personality. Yeah I might have some keywords lol.
I can kind of relate to Jane as I was foster kid. Granted I did not have the trauma she did, but I was one of the lucky ones. The mystery that surrounds her lineage and the unraveling kept further drawing me in.
I wanted to punch her roommate several times because, "Come on!" I can't say more because obviously spoilers.
The partial ending is a particular guilty pleasure of mine so yay.

Blood Mark is the first in the Dark Dreams series by JP McLean, and is described as a paranormal thriller. This was really great! I rated it 4.5 stars, rounded up to 5 stars.

I didn't know what to expect but this book really drew me in with its engaging writing style and an interesting, unique concept that combines thriller aspects with Inca traditions, time-travel (kinda) via Jane's dreams and changing the course of history.

One of the things that I particularly loved about Blood Mark was the depth of the characters, they were really multidimensional. I adored Jane and Sadie's friendship, and how their differences complemented one another. Their dynamic, as well as the grittiness of the setting reminded me a lot of Samantha and Ava in Mona Awad's Bunny.

The book is written with chapters from the perspective of Jane, Sadie and the mysterious Rick, who is completely unlikeable in the best way. He is slimy, manipulative and a creep, which makes him an excellent villain.

Even the supporting characters were really well developed. In particular, I was really invested in Buddy's story and I loved Ethan as the love interest. He comes across as such a hottie and a nice guy too. I was rooting for him and Jane the whole way through and the romance added a nice contrast with the darker elements.

Blood Mark combines so many things that draw me in to a book; a dark atmosphere, thriller aspects, realistic multidimensional characters, romance, good pacing and a few twists. I did guess a few of them, like who Rebecca and Andy were, however there was still so much mystery.

The climax did fall a little flat with me, however the rest of the book vastly exceeded my expectations and so that didn't tar my overall experience. I'm already excited to read Ghost Mark, which comes out in November. Overall I would absolutely recommend Blood Mark, it's such a hidden gem!

I love a good paranormal thriller, especially a time travelling one. This book kept me engaged and suspended all the way through. The only things I saw coming was the "I'm her daughter" thing, and the "don't mess with the pimp" thing.

Well written and well executed. Thank you !

A fascinating new and different concept and take on this subject. Fast paced action and a story that grips from the start. The Blood mark and nightmares are guides, friends and foes, protection or the enemy. the story intrigues and questions and leads you on a journey of fear and accomplishment, Jane needs to clear her head and find her path through the confusion of discovering who she really is. That's if she can and if she wants to. Fascinating, compelling read.

This book is written from different peoples stories, they do all tie in to the one though.
At first I struggled to get into it as it seemed quite slow and at one point I did wonder about carrying on but boy,am I glad that I did. Turned into a brilliant book, lots of action, twists and disbelief.
I have already looked to see when the next one is out and I will definitely be getting it.

I have never read a book anything like this. This book follows a young 24-25 year old woman as she discovers why she is who she is, and what she is truly meant for as well as the threats to her life in the process. Jane’s story intrigued me from the very beginning, the marks wrapping her body, the dreams that paralyzed her, her past in the system, all of it just made me want to learn more about this mystery woman. Jane is strong, and one of the most resilient FMC’s I have ever had the pleasure of reading about. I thought this book was very well written and re-captured my attention with every single paragraph. I absolutely cannot wait for the next book to come out and to follow more of Jane’s discovery into herself, her budding relationships, and the battles that I’m sure will be coming her way next. I am thoroughly impressed.

Thank you everyone for a free e-arc to review!

Unfortunately this one missed the mark for me, I was enjoying the beginning but i was lost with all the short paragraphs in different POV, it was a little too confusing for me. It was also very simple conversations? I'm not sure how to explain it, I enjoyed the world building but not the conversations.

Never judge a book by the cover or the blub. This blub had me excited I hadn't read a book by J.P. Mclean, so I wasn't sure what to expect.

The story wasn't what I expected the author writing style was to jump from different point of views within the same chapter and at times from paragraph to paragraph. Can cause confusion for some reader and turn off others.

The story as a whole was interesting but not enough to get past the fact it is in need of more editing to help the flow of the story to keep readers from dropping off at about 25% mark in the story.

Thank you to Netgalley for the advance copy of Blood Mark by J.P. McLean.

Fantastic!

I’m a big fan of fantasy / sci-fi reads and this blends the line perfectly between being grounded in our world and having a dash of the occult / mysterious about it,

Our main character Jane has - what she believes to be - a birth mark covering a large part of her body. She also suffers from a particular form of narcolepsy which gives her paralysing and incredibly vivid and disturbing dreams. She is soon to learn that her birth mark isn’t all that it seems and her powers extend further than she could imagine.

I really enjoyed the relationship between Jayne and Sadie and the question posed about how the butterfly effect may pose real life consequences for Jayne.

Brilliant book and will definitely read the sequel.

Thanks to netgalley for the ARC of this book.