Reviews with content warning for Rape - Bloodmarked

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Bloodmarked by Tracy Deonn

200 reviews

andelion's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional tense 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? No

4.75

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bookcheshirecat's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional mysterious slow-paced

3.0

“But grief isn’t a competition. It’s not an identical pain that we all meet one day when death finds us. It’s a monster, personalized by our love and memories to devour us just so. Grief is suffering, tailored.”

➽ Bloodmarked felt like a filler book and didn't live up to Legendborn at all! This was a big case of 'sequel syndrome' wherein Bloodmarked was mostly set up for the next book. I hope Oathbound is actually the finale, as I don't think I'll finish this series if it'll be longer than 3 books. I loved Legendbnorn when I read it and finally got around to checking out the sequel. Let's start with the positives of Bloodmarked first! The story follows Bree, a now awakened Scion of Arthur who is trying to prove herself as a leader in the upcoming war of demons against Legendborn. Her boyfriend Nick has been kidnapped and after the events of the first book, the Order is in disarray.

➽ I liked the themes of the book and the exploration of Bree's powers. Despite being meant a leader to the Legendborn, Bree immediately clashes with the Order. They aren't thrilled that Nick wasn't Arthur's descendant after all and now they're stuck with an unfamiliar face. Bree being a powerful Black girl just further sets them on edge as the society is very white and conservative. Just like in Legendborn, Bree is confronted by how traditional and backwards the Order can be. They're not planning on letting her take power and make decisions that easily, especially as her abilities are extraordinary for a Legendborn. I liked seeing the lengths the Regents went to in order to save face and control the narrative. They care less about stopping the war and more about their own politics and power struggles. I have to admit that I was a bit lost on the order hierarchy though. I still don't quite understand the function and goals of the Regents and thought they all were interchangeable as characters.

➽ Bree is also trying to control her Rootcraft and Legendborn powers. She still can't summon aether like normal Legendborn and is struggling with her new connection to Arthur. Bree definitely feels different from everyone else, as she's also a Medium and Bloodcrafter and deeply connected to her Root. She can't quite summon her Legendborn powers with intention, which is a problem as she's now hunted by the demons who want to kill her and end the Legenborn Cycle. Traitors are everywhere as even the Order wants to subdue her power. Bree feels more like a tool and an experiment than a person under their gaze. She's still dealing with her grief, anger and frustration that she can't do more to help. Her actions often get others in trouble, but I understood her feelings as she's constantly told what to do by everyone around her. I loved that the focus was more on Alice - Bree's best friend - and William - a healer from the lien of Gawain. I liked both characters in the first book and it was interesting to see Alice enter Bree's world as a Onceborn who can't see aether.

➽ The main issue Bloodmarked has is its slow pacing and plot that went all over the place. The first 30% were especially tough, as Bree's struggles with the Order were accompanied by info dumps and political squabbles. Even later, it felt like the search for Nick took a backseat as the characters walked around in circles. Sel, Bree, Alice and William didn't feel like they truly worked towards their goal of rescuing Nick, it felt like the plot happened to them. They were constantly taking steps back and changing their approach, so it felt like nothing happened except for the setup for Bree's powers. There was so much traveling and the focus of the story was everywhere. This didn't feel like Legendborn, because we left the setting and most characters behind. Even worse, it felt like the war took a backseat in the story, despite supposedly being the most important event that has the power to wipe out the entire world. Apart from Bree, Nick and William, the other Legendborn lines were barely mentioned. Most background characters felt interchangeable at this point, I couldn't tell the other Legendborn apart anymore.

➽ In the end, the audiobook for this was 22 hours long and even on 2x speed it felt neverending. Things only heated up in the very end! Even then, I didn't like some of Bree's choices.

Her rejecting Arthur's bloodline needs to be explained in the next book: How could she do that? Doesn't it go against the entire cycle?? Even worse is her rejecting her Root and entire bloodline. After all the sacrifices her ancestors made so she could have a chance, Bree turns their back on them just so she can have a 'girlboss' moment. There would have been a way to reclaim her power and agency without disrespecting her family!

➽ The romance was already my least favorite part of book 1 and this didn't improve here. You're out of luck if you're a Nick fan, as he's absent for most of the book and only occasionally appears via Bree's medium powers. In general, there were too many dream sequences/memory walks! I still like Sel as a character, but NOT as a love interest. His actions in the last book (almost killing Bree because he suspected she was a demon and generally harassing her) were somewhat addressed, but once again Bree is expected to absolve Sel of his guilt. He still acts like a jerk and his overprotectiveness annoyed me. I know he has his reasons, but I don't think he tried to understand Bree's frustration of being shoved to the back constantly. All Bree and him do is fight, so I don't see any positive connection between them. Sel betrayed Bree's trust -

mesmering her when she's had such a bad experience with it & her entire bloodline has been terrified of Merlins

- and is still often more hostile than he has to be. The love triangle is just exhausting, I honestly don't want Bree to end up with any of them.

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modski's review against another edition

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medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated

4.0

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dandan10's review against another edition

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adventurous slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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ashleythebard's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious 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

4.75

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lia_24's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional mysterious sad tense 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

I don't even know what to say. What are words?
This ending... That was uncalled for.

Some thoughts tho (includes spoilers):
1. The whole time I was terrified for my boy, my love, my life William. Perfection in person. The light of my life. And I am beyond relieved that he is alive. He better stay that way or I will lose my mind.

2. I have never wanted three people to all be together so much as I do with Bree, Nick and Sel. I am also very conflicted about this want. Mainly it roots in the fact that I can't decide who I want Bree to end up with, and also the fact that Sel and Nick have a lot of chemistry...

3. Alice??? How dare you, author, for blindsiding me with that. I hate it. She better be okay.

4. Speechless.

5. I really love William a lot.

6. I love the entire concept of root magic etc. I'm glad it has taken such a focal role in this book because everything about it is fascinating (and also very heartbreaking when it comes to the history)

That's it, I loved this hook.

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charliebites's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious sad tense 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? No

5.0

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musicanys's review against another edition

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adventurous dark 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

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busyknitting's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.5

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happilyeveralli's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional tense 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

4.5

BLOODMARKED is a stellar feat of a novel. Never have I been so captured by a book. And, though the writing was stronger than the first novel in the series (which I rated five stars), I shave off half a star for my gripes with the ending of the book. It feels all a bit..sudden. The alliances and choices made. The tone. Though, this is the midpoint of the series, so there is much room for change in OATHBOUND and the final book. I truly cannot wait to see where Bree and her friends go after this. I hope to see, I suppose, Bree processing and growing from her experiences in this book and even in the previous one (so many things have happened, so it’s very possible that Bree hasn’t even had the time to process the events of the original novel).

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