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spicycronereads's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
If you have not read Legendborn, do not read on because this review contains spoilers for the first book. The sequel was almost as good as the first one of the series.
Bree’s story continues to evolve, and we see her grow in confidence, skill, and self-awareness. She struggles with being a Scion but starts to come into her own. Her connection to Selwyn also continues to evolve as they deal with events, with Nick still missing. Nick continues to be the perfect boyfriend, even from captivity. it did feel a little unfair that Bree reacted so dramatically to Nick killing that mageguard. But perhaps that is what opens the way for her and Selwyn, so maybe I’m OK with it?
Many of the things that I loved about the first book continue in this one: Bree dealing with the racial legacy of the order and UNC; the rich diversity of the characters and their relationships, the very cool magic system, and so forth. There were some jaw-dropping moments. And some laugh out loud moments. And some heart-pumping action moments. And some moments I couldn’t keep the tears from falling.
It was great to see Alice become more central to the narrative. There are some charming new characters, like Valechaz. and then there are some really horrible new characters that you want to punch in the face. Looking at you, Erebus.
The plot and storyline are a little bit looser in this one. We have the introduction of new villains with new motivations that kind of dilute the focus a little bit. I found myself confused about what was happening from time to time, and I don’t think that was the author’s intention. I’m hoping that in the next novel things tighten up a bit.
I decided to stop rating chili peppers on books like this that are clearly not meant to be spicy. So I am rating it with hearts instead. There is lots of pining and kissing in this one. Five out of five hearts. 💖💖💖💖💖
Overall it was a great read. 4.25 ⭐️ and 5 💖. I can’t wait for book 3, which I think is not coming until early next year 😭
Bree’s story continues to evolve, and we see her grow in confidence, skill, and self-awareness. She struggles with being a Scion but starts to come into her own. Her connection to Selwyn also continues to evolve as they deal with events, with Nick still missing. Nick continues to be the perfect boyfriend, even from captivity.
Many of the things that I loved about the first book continue in this one: Bree dealing with the racial legacy of the order and UNC; the rich diversity of the characters and their relationships, the very cool magic system, and so forth. There were some jaw-dropping moments. And some laugh out loud moments. And some heart-pumping action moments. And some moments I couldn’t keep the tears from falling.
It was great to see Alice become more central to the narrative. There are some charming new characters, like Valechaz. and then there are some really horrible new characters that you want to punch in the face. Looking at you, Erebus.
The plot and storyline are a little bit looser in this one. We have the introduction of new villains with new motivations that kind of dilute the focus a little bit. I found myself confused about what was happening from time to time, and I don’t think that was the author’s intention. I’m hoping that in the next novel things tighten up a bit.
I decided to stop rating chili peppers on books like this that are clearly not meant to be spicy. So I am rating it with hearts instead. There is lots of pining and kissing in this one. Five out of five hearts. 💖💖💖💖💖
Overall it was a great read. 4.25 ⭐️ and 5 💖. I can’t wait for book 3, which I think is not coming until early next year 😭
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Death of parent, Racism, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Torture and Sexual content
booksthatburn's review
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
---Contains spoilers for the first book---
BLOODMARKED is about grief and reconciliation, building some thing new out of the ashes of what was. It's a tale of power and legacy, how people choose whether to continue in the paths that are handed to them or to try and make something better and new. It’s also a story of intimacy and trust, particularly between Bree and her loved ones.
One of my favorite worldbuilding aspects is the way Bree gets an opportunity to delve more into Rootcraft as a community practice, expressed in a particular way through her, but also continuing to emphasize that she's not alone. LEGENDBORN is in many ways about her entering an almost entirely white space and figuring out how to exist under their rules, while in BLOODMARKED she is gradually figuring out where she fits into a larger Black community of Rootcrafters. The Legendborn Council members seek to confine and control her, seeing her blackness as an impediment or something they have to deal with in pursuit of their own aims. For most of the book she’s on the run, constantly on the news with her friends and hours, never quite feeling safe and desperately needing somewhere to land. She's trying to stay ahead of the racist institution which wants to use her while pretending that they and their ancestors didn't do anything wrong.
Alice really gets to shine, or at least have much more of a role now that she knows what’s going on with Bree and can be part of the main action. I’m also very happy with how much William is around. I love books with a beleaguered medic who knows that almost none of his instructions will be followed by the heroes who keep getting injured and only barely making it out alive. I particularly love the arc of Bree’s dynamic with Sel. Their relationship has always been complicated, but by having Nick be elsewhere for most of the book there is room for the two of them to work out a lot of stuff even while his presence is still felt.
As a sequel, BLOODMARKED directly addresses the revelation from LEGENDBORN that Bree is a scion of Arthur. There’s a mostly new storyline related to machinations by the council, trying to exploit Bree while simultaneously ignoring or at least downplaying the implications of her existence. I’m not sure whether anything is fully introduced and resolved, but the way that most of the book takes place away from campus means that this has an entirely different (though complementary) feeling from LEGENDBORN. There are frank discussions of the fact that many of Bree's ancestors were enslaved, that a particular one of them was raped by a descendent of Arthur, leading to his power in Bree's veins. As a series, The Legendborn Cycle is about how racism in the past has impacts on the present, how the path to get here matters for what we do in the present. When people and institutions continue to benefit from racism in the past, they have incentives in the present to perpetuate inequalities, as well as to be overtly racist when their power allows them to get away with it. Bree's very existence forces the Legendborn to deal with their racist past, and then some of them choose to deal with it by helping her, breaking that cycle, while others do everything in their power to bury her and pretend that nothing bad ever happened.
This isn’t the last book in the series, and there’s a development towards the end which specifically sets up a new paradigm in the next book. Except for a very short section towards the end, Bree is the narrator and her voice is consistent with her style in LEGENDBORN. The story is self contained enough that it would mostly make sense, even if someone hasn’t read the first book. It does a pretty good job of explaining backstory as it becomes relevant and generally avoid potentially confusing infodumps while getting the reader up to speed.
The ending is excellent! The final section upsets the status quo in a variety of ways, some of which are terrible for various characters and their plans, but all of which were narratively interesting and unexpected to me. I definitely didn’t expect some of the decisions made right at the end, and I look forward to how those will be handled in the next book.
BLOODMARKED is about grief and reconciliation, building some thing new out of the ashes of what was. It's a tale of power and legacy, how people choose whether to continue in the paths that are handed to them or to try and make something better and new. It’s also a story of intimacy and trust, particularly between Bree and her loved ones.
One of my favorite worldbuilding aspects is the way Bree gets an opportunity to delve more into Rootcraft as a community practice, expressed in a particular way through her, but also continuing to emphasize that she's not alone. LEGENDBORN is in many ways about her entering an almost entirely white space and figuring out how to exist under their rules, while in BLOODMARKED she is gradually figuring out where she fits into a larger Black community of Rootcrafters. The Legendborn Council members seek to confine and control her, seeing her blackness as an impediment or something they have to deal with in pursuit of their own aims. For most of the book she’s on the run, constantly on the news with her friends and hours, never quite feeling safe and desperately needing somewhere to land. She's trying to stay ahead of the racist institution which wants to use her while pretending that they and their ancestors didn't do anything wrong.
Alice really gets to shine, or at least have much more of a role now that she knows what’s going on with Bree and can be part of the main action. I’m also very happy with how much William is around. I love books with a beleaguered medic who knows that almost none of his instructions will be followed by the heroes who keep getting injured and only barely making it out alive. I particularly love the arc of Bree’s dynamic with Sel. Their relationship has always been complicated, but by having Nick be elsewhere for most of the book there is room for the two of them to work out a lot of stuff even while his presence is still felt.
As a sequel, BLOODMARKED directly addresses the revelation from LEGENDBORN that Bree is a scion of Arthur. There’s a mostly new storyline related to machinations by the council, trying to exploit Bree while simultaneously ignoring or at least downplaying the implications of her existence. I’m not sure whether anything is fully introduced and resolved, but the way that most of the book takes place away from campus means that this has an entirely different (though complementary) feeling from LEGENDBORN. There are frank discussions of the fact that many of Bree's ancestors were enslaved, that a particular one of them was raped by a descendent of Arthur, leading to his power in Bree's veins. As a series, The Legendborn Cycle is about how racism in the past has impacts on the present, how the path to get here matters for what we do in the present. When people and institutions continue to benefit from racism in the past, they have incentives in the present to perpetuate inequalities, as well as to be overtly racist when their power allows them to get away with it. Bree's very existence forces the Legendborn to deal with their racist past, and then some of them choose to deal with it by helping her, breaking that cycle, while others do everything in their power to bury her and pretend that nothing bad ever happened.
This isn’t the last book in the series, and there’s a development towards the end which specifically sets up a new paradigm in the next book. Except for a very short section towards the end, Bree is the narrator and her voice is consistent with her style in LEGENDBORN. The story is self contained enough that it would mostly make sense, even if someone hasn’t read the first book. It does a pretty good job of explaining backstory as it becomes relevant and generally avoid potentially confusing infodumps while getting the reader up to speed.
The ending is excellent! The final section upsets the status quo in a variety of ways, some of which are terrible for various characters and their plans, but all of which were narratively interesting and unexpected to me. I definitely didn’t expect some of the decisions made right at the end, and I look forward to how those will be handled in the next book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Blood, Violence, and Torture
Moderate: Vomit, Medical content, Slavery, Kidnapping, Fire/Fire injury, Emotional abuse, Rape, Physical abuse, Toxic friendship, Gore, Death of parent, Confinement, Abandonment, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Alcohol, Self harm, Pregnancy, and Sexual content
naturally's review against another edition
adventurous
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
unfortunately, bloodmarked was a victim of the sophomore slump! the introduction of valec the cross roads baby from the memory walk in legendborn and the evolution of bree/sel were the only redeeming qualities of this book, for me. i still had a fun time reading. but, overall, bloodmarked is significantly weaker than it's predecessor...
the first 20% was very slow and infor-dumpy. plus, a large chunk of the story was spent away from the college setting that i fell in love with in book 1.
bree being disconnected from other black people worked with the themes that deonn wanted to explore in legendborn. however, bloodmarked, mostly exposes how bree's relationships with other black characters are centred around her having something to gain from them (be it therapeutic services, shelter or knowledge etc). the only relationship with a black person that feels non-transactional is the one she has with her father who wasn't around at all in book 2 :( . bree's attitude toward rootcraft was frustrating to read, because it was established that the practice was used to connect with the ancestors and that it focuses on reciprocal exchange. bree seemingly only calls on her ancestors when she needs them to teach her something, and the way she spoke to vera (an enslaved Black woman and victim of r*pe) was disgusting, disrespectful, UNGRATEFUL... whilst i understand that it was overwhelming for bree to deal with intergenerational trauma as well as her own...she displayed astoundingly little empathy and consideration for how vera suffered. vera made a deal with the shadow king and the ancestors so that her descendants (including bree) could LIVE. if not for that deal, her child, the true scion of arthur would have died. for a character who lamented about being unable to trace her lineage, it was strange that bree ended up destroying her own ancestral plane and sole method of conversing with the ancestors she only just discovered??? the series could be redeemed if bree reflects on her behaviour and choices, otherwise i'm failing to see what deonn wants the overall message of this series to be.
furthermore, i can at least appreciate that bree's messiness shines through in this book. her decision making,,,was not the best. as a reader, i was trapped in a weird cycle of witnessing her make the same dumb mistakes over and over and over again. how many times did i watch bree recklessly run into fights, knowing that her friends would put their lives on the line to save her untrained self???
perhaps it's that i read book 1 and 2 back-to-back, but the love triangle has lost it's flair a bit. the toxic side of me enjoyed sel and bree's chemistry - not a delena shipper, but their dynamic mirrors elena and damon in vampire diaries season three. however, it doesn't sit right with me that bree gave significantly more grace to her white love interest than her own ancestor...
nick was kind of a non-factor in this book, despite having a rescue mission triggered by his kidnapping. i'm confusion??? at least two more books are needed to flesh him out as a character and love interest, because bloodmarked exposes how little they know about each other outside of bloodline history and lust.
this review marks me taking a break from the series to get my head together. i'll probably return when the series has concluded.
going forward, i hope to see:
the first 20% was very slow and infor-dumpy. plus, a large chunk of the story was spent away from the college setting that i fell in love with in book 1.
bree being disconnected from other black people worked with the themes that deonn wanted to explore in legendborn. however, bloodmarked, mostly exposes how bree's relationships with other black characters are centred around her having something to gain from them (be it therapeutic services, shelter or knowledge etc). the only relationship with a black person that feels non-transactional is the one she has with her father
furthermore, i can at least appreciate that bree's messiness shines through in this book. her decision making,,,was not the best. as a reader, i was trapped in a weird cycle of witnessing her make the same dumb mistakes over and over and over again. how many times did i watch bree recklessly run into fights, knowing that her friends would put their lives on the line to save her untrained self???
perhaps it's that i read book 1 and 2 back-to-back, but the love triangle has lost it's flair a bit. the toxic side of me enjoyed sel and bree's chemistry - not a delena shipper, but their dynamic mirrors elena and damon in vampire diaries season three. however, it doesn't sit right with me that bree gave significantly more grace to her white love interest than her own ancestor...
nick was kind of a non-factor in this book, despite having a rescue mission triggered by his kidnapping. i'm confusion??? at least two more books are needed to flesh him out as a character and love interest, because bloodmarked exposes how little they know about each other outside of bloodline history and lust.
this review marks me taking a break from the series to get my head together. i'll probably return when the series has concluded.
going forward, i hope to see:
- bree having BLACK friends
the ancestors allowing alice, william and sel into volition...doesn't hold much weight because they aren't black. essentially, these are non-black characters entering black safe spaces and it feels a bit invasive rather than being a bonding experience. alice can do black hair??? SO??? i'm not sure what the reasoning was behind her not being black... - bree apologising to vera
- return of the unc setting
- more valec <3
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, War, Blood, Violence, and Colonisation
Moderate: Cursing and Sexual violence
Minor: Infidelity and Sexual content
yourfavavery's review
adventurous
inspiring
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Read this book. Read it. Seriously.
This is the second book in the Legendborn cycle, which follows Bree Matthews as she learns of the Round Table - a group of descendants of King Arthur and his knights, who fight Shadowborn - demons fighting to subjugate humanity. Bree learns she's a member of the Table as a Black girl and a descendant of a slave. Chaos ensues as the historically white organization grapples (poorly) with having a Black girl join their club.
This is a series about grief, trauma, white supremacy, legacy, and a small love triangle. It's poignant and beautiful and reflective. It's a fun fantasy romp that reads easily but tackles tough issues with finesse, and you should give it a read. Everyone should
This is the second book in the Legendborn cycle, which follows Bree Matthews as she learns of the Round Table - a group of descendants of King Arthur and his knights, who fight Shadowborn - demons fighting to subjugate humanity. Bree learns she's a member of the Table as a Black girl and a descendant of a slave. Chaos ensues as the historically white organization grapples (poorly) with having a Black girl join their club.
This is a series about grief, trauma, white supremacy, legacy, and a small love triangle. It's poignant and beautiful and reflective. It's a fun fantasy romp that reads easily but tackles tough issues with finesse, and you should give it a read. Everyone should
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence and Racism
Minor: Sexual content
spark_879's review
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism and Violence
Moderate: Slavery, Injury/Injury detail, and Murder
Minor: Death of parent, Rape, and Sexual content
ashlikes's review
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gaslighting, Grief, Medical trauma, Alcohol, Confinement, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Child abuse, Gore, Blood, Cursing, Fire/Fire injury, Murder, Torture, Kidnapping, Violence, War, and Racism
Moderate: Self harm, Toxic friendship, Stalking, Rape, Death of parent, Drug use, Infidelity, Sexual content, Slavery, and Child death
Minor: Pregnancy, Vomit, Abandonment, Car accident, Colonisation, and Misogyny
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