Reviews tagging 'Sexual assault'

Bloodmarked by Tracy Deonn

26 reviews

saltylane's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious 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

4.25

The two books in this series (so far??) are full of emotions and plenty of drama & action. There are many mysteries intertwined, and by the end, most are buttoned up nicely… Others are left to either set up for an additional book or  to give readers something to think about after. 
It’s rough listening to some scenes, especially because the reader is excellent at inflecting intense emotions in their voice acting. There are heartbreaking moments, as well as moments that will leave you mentally yelling at the very-much-flawed characters when  they make questionable decisions. 
The author has a good method of fleshing out characters in a way that makes them very three-dimensional and making their interconnected relationships really show in the best and worst ways. The twist endings and plot points are also ones that make sense and aren’t there only to mess with the reader expectations. The end of this book especially makes me want to know the answers to the many questions left by the last words. If there’s not an additional book in the series, the ending still works, even with threads hanging in uncertain directions. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Slavery, Murder, Car accident, Grief, Medical content, Racism, Medical trauma, and Violence

Moderate: Animal death, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Kidnapping, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Confinement, Bullying, and Colonisation

Minor: Misogyny, Vomit, Transphobia, Sexism, Racial slurs, Self harm, Mental illness, and Pregnancy

fartbox's review against another edition

adventurous dark fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Violence

Minor: Death of parent and Sexual assault

fullybookedwithdanielle's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad 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? No

5.0

Honestly one of the best books I’ve ever read

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence

Moderate: Slavery and Racism

Minor: Sexual assault

katvou's review against another edition

adventurous 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Death, War, and Murder

Moderate: Gaslighting, Death of parent, Violence, Blood, Child death, Racism, Torture, Grief, Medical content, and Slavery

Minor: Addiction, Alcohol, Drug use, Rape, Pregnancy, Vomit, Classism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Colonisation

rachelfayreads's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Xenophobia, Slavery, Violence, Medical trauma, Grief, and Racism

Moderate: Rape and Sexual assault

kers_tin's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Blood, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Fire/Fire injury, Body horror, Death of parent, Slavery, Racism, Grief, and Colonisation

Moderate: Addiction and Torture

Minor: Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Rape

pins's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful 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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Slavery and Racism

Moderate: Sexual assault and Rape

cayleyreads's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional mysterious tense slow-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

3.5

I love this series and the next book couldn't come sooner. The teenage angst and sass, love triangle and pining, and beautiful friendships make this book. I love Bree and her story of finding herself, even though at times it was very ~chosen one~, William is a cinnamon roll, Sel is the dark haired mysterious guy we all live for in books. Everyone should have a friend like Alice. 

Like in Legendborn, I thought it was really enlightening to learn from Bree’s experiences and there were some great additions to the conversation on the ongoing effects of racism and slavery, namely Valec and Samira. Volition was beautifully though out, and I wish we had spend more time there rather than focusing on less important details in the first half of the book. 

Bloodmarked definitely felt like the 2nd book in a fantasy series. There was training, looking for origins and answers and a lull in the middle. I especially missed the characters from the first book when the gang was on their own. Similar to Legendborn, this story takes a little while to get into and has a really complicated backstory and magic system. Leaning on some graphics from the internet and Facebook groups really helped me keep up. It was also confusing because we moved away from a lot of what we learned in Legendborn and into new storylines. 

The big reveals at the end of the book were incredible, and I'm hoping for more fast-paced battle scenes and answers in the next one. Overall, a good read that I couldn’t put down, but one that left me wanting more. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism

Moderate: Rape and Sexual assault

camryndream's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny inspiring sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent and Grief

Moderate: Racism, Murder, War, Slavery, Blood, Sexual assault, and Rape

ck11's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional medium-paced

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

4.75

I loved this. Tracy Deonn has become one of my favourite authors; the way she writes relationships between characters is phenomenal. Really, she's been gifted with the ability to imbue her writing with so much meaning, it's spectacular. 

I loved Bree, Sel, William, Valec. Everyone but for those three fuckheads + Tor.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism

Moderate: Slavery

Minor: Sexual assault, Violence, and Sexual violence

This book doesn't romanticise or sugar-coat any of the CWs I highlighted, but given the fact that the protagonist is a Black girl with a deep connection to her ancestors, many of the issues Black people have faced --and the issues that they face to this day-- feature in the book in a realistic manner. However, Deonn's portrayal isn't unnecessarily explicit (eg there's talk about slavery but not flashbacks showcasing slurs directed at enslaved people or any corporal punishment)