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bookhoe1's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, War, Vomit, Racism, and Violence
Moderate: Rape
mpbookreviews's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
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? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Racism, and Slavery
Moderate: Blood, Forced institutionalization, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, and Death
hann_smc's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Man I was so disappointed in this book after reading Legendborn. I was so excited to see where Bree's story / character arc was going to go.
The plot went nowhere, and any character development that happened was backtracked.
The characters made a decision and started down a path, then they changed there minds, started on a new path, and so on and then the book ends.
The tension between Bree and Sel felt so manufactured and nonsensical, just to keep the "who will she choose" alive.
I loved Legendborn enough that I powered through, and will pick up book 3 when it comes out, but I'm nervous about it.
The plot went nowhere, and any character development that happened was backtracked.
The characters made a decision and started down a path, then they changed there minds, started on a new path, and so on and then the book ends.
The tension between Bree and Sel felt so manufactured and nonsensical, just to keep the "who will she choose" alive.
I loved Legendborn enough that I powered through, and will pick up book 3 when it comes out, but I'm nervous about it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism
Moderate: Rape, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, and Confinement
Minor: Abandonment, Slavery, and Death of parent
theblushbookworm's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
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? It's complicated
4.0
This series is incredible! Legendborn set very high expectations which prevented me from rating Bloodmarked as highly, but it’s still a fantastic book. The storytelling of generational trauma and the experience of many Black women is interwoven beautifully into a well-developed fantasy. These are great books!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Gore, Grief, Confinement, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Racism, and Slavery
Moderate: Toxic friendship
booksthatburn's review against another edition
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
jenny_librarian's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.75
I want to throw this book at the wall so bad! Not because it’s bad, but because of that ending that both seems absolutely hopeless and calls for a third book.
I was rooting for a triad the whole freaking book, and I gotta say this author had me worrying multiple time this would be yet another cliché love “triangle”. I really hope wherever she decides to go next with the characters breaks that boundary and allows us to get the beautiful triad we deserve (all romantic or romance and QPR, I don’t care. As long as we *get* it!)
If you think book one delved into Black trauma, I got some news for you… Tracy Deonn took what she included in Legendborn and dialed it to 11. It is BRUTAL, so make sure to check the triggers.
I’m excited for the next book, but I’m worried about all the feelings she’ll make us go through 😵💫
I was rooting for a triad the whole freaking book, and I gotta say this author had me worrying multiple time this would be yet another cliché love “triangle”. I really hope wherever she decides to go next with the characters breaks that boundary and allows us to get the beautiful triad we deserve (all romantic or romance and QPR, I don’t care. As long as we *get* it!)
If you think book one delved into Black trauma, I got some news for you… Tracy Deonn took what she included in Legendborn and dialed it to 11. It is BRUTAL, so make sure to check the triggers.
I’m excited for the next book, but I’m worried about all the feelings she’ll make us go through 😵💫
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Child abuse, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, and Medical trauma
Moderate: War, Physical abuse, Slavery, Torture, Blood, Classism, Misogyny, Kidnapping, and Racism
Minor: Rape and Grief
kirstenf's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
sad
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
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Fire/Fire injury, Racism, Death, and Grief
Moderate: War, Death of parent, Misogyny, and Slavery
Minor: Rape and Colonisation
seilahuh's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
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? Yes
3.75
i forget you're supposed to tag spoilers. I'M GOING TO SPOIL THINGS
anyways, bree's journey continues to be fascinating. and i enjoyed learning more about the world outside the order and hazel and mariah and volition. i had a crush on unc valec, ngl. i didn't know how bad i needed to see a suave, black demon until now. still hate alice tho, she's left a bad taste in my mouth since legendborn.
bloodmarked is a great continuation of the legendborn cycle which is best defined by a few themes and messages: black girl magic, literally, but in the South (YES); contending with grief; becoming your own person despite lineal predisposition and expectations; and the most important message that white institutions remain hostile and racist to black folks despite whatever progressive image they portray. i love radicalisation in my stories.
tracy is so real 💯
admittedly, the romance is not incredibly enticing to me, mainly because i'm focused on what will happen to bree. (sowwy.)
unpopular opinion perhaps:
i wanna see bree become 'bad'. in fact, i wholly support her being a villain to them whites. for what they did to her and her people, yeahhh tor and everybody who hurt bree and them better watch their backs! i need to see her make real good on her promise to tacitus and them.
an extra thought: i'm probably one of the few who didn't hate arthur, like yeah i like a snake ass character who got a reason. here's to hoping him and vera aren't gone forever, forever. i just feel like they all had a bad argument and they should come back together to destroy the Order ❤
anyways, bree's journey continues to be fascinating. and i enjoyed learning more about the world outside the order and hazel and mariah and volition. i had a crush on unc valec, ngl. i didn't know how bad i needed to see a suave, black demon until now. still hate alice tho, she's left a bad taste in my mouth since legendborn.
bloodmarked is a great continuation of the legendborn cycle which is best defined by a few themes and messages: black girl magic, literally, but in the South (YES); contending with grief; becoming your own person despite lineal predisposition and expectations; and the most important message that white institutions remain hostile and racist to black folks despite whatever progressive image they portray. i love radicalisation in my stories.
tracy is so real 💯
admittedly, the romance is not incredibly enticing to me, mainly because i'm focused on what will happen to bree. (sowwy.)
unpopular opinion perhaps:
i wanna see bree become 'bad'. in fact, i wholly support her being a villain to them whites. for what they did to her and her people, yeahhh tor and everybody who hurt bree and them better watch their backs! i need to see her make real good on her promise to tacitus and them.
an extra thought: i'm probably one of the few who didn't hate arthur, like yeah i like a snake ass character who got a reason. here's to hoping him and vera aren't gone forever, forever. i just feel like they all had a bad argument and they should come back together to destroy the Order ❤
Content Warnings
Moderate: Blood, Racism, Violence, Death, and Injury/Injury detail
reading_mermaid's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racism
Minor: Blood, Confinement, Death of parent, Slavery, Rape, Injury/Injury detail, and Kidnapping
lilifane's review against another edition
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? Yes
5.0
I need the next one?
What I love the most about this series are the characters. Yes, the plot is well done, and it has twists and turns and wild action and magic sequences... but I really, really love the characters and their interactions. For this reason, the first 30% were hard to get through because of the lack of my fav characters and my fav interactions. But once a certain obstacle was overcome... I got all that I wanted and so much of it. I just adore the way Tracy Deonn writes emotional and intimate scenes and dialogues between the characters. They feel so real and believable.
Themes of racism and grief are continued here, but I also liked how intergenerational trauma was interpreted and visualized in this book. And I loved the focus on consent and taking back control over one's body and life. Brilliant.
What I love the most about this series are the characters. Yes, the plot is well done, and it has twists and turns and wild action and magic sequences... but I really, really love the characters and their interactions. For this reason, the first 30% were hard to get through because of the lack of my fav characters and my fav interactions. But once a certain obstacle was overcome... I got all that I wanted and so much of it. I just adore the way Tracy Deonn writes emotional and intimate scenes and dialogues between the characters. They feel so real and believable.
Themes of racism and grief are continued here, but I also liked how intergenerational trauma was interpreted and visualized in this book. And I loved the focus on consent and taking back control over one's body and life. Brilliant.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Grief, Kidnapping, Racism, Injury/Injury detail, and Violence
Minor: Fire/Fire injury and Rape