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martin27's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
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? It's complicated
5.0
I had a lot of high expectations set by the first book, and this sequel goes above and beyond. The characters from the first book are just as enjoyable and easily remind me why I love them, and the new characters fit in seamlessly. I especially love that Alice got to be a main member of the cast for this one, since she spent the first book mostly as a background player.
The world building is incredible and the different real world inspirations are balanced so well. And Deonn is especially good at writing hooks that keep you reading just one more page, just one more chapter… until you’re halfway through the book in one sitting. The twists are wonderful.
Most of all, Bree is just such a wonderful protagonist. It’s impossible not to root for her (pun not intended). She’s a complex character with a lot of hopes, dreams, and fears, and she’s… well, as Valec likes to call her, a powerhouse. It’s so satisfying to see Bree call out hypocrisy and to push back when others want to make her choices for her. She’s a joy to read about, and I’m very patiently awaiting the next book in the series (well, sort of patiently).
The world building is incredible and the different real world inspirations are balanced so well. And Deonn is especially good at writing hooks that keep you reading just one more page, just one more chapter… until you’re halfway through the book in one sitting. The twists are wonderful.
Most of all, Bree is just such a wonderful protagonist. It’s impossible not to root for her (pun not intended). She’s a complex character with a lot of hopes, dreams, and fears, and she’s… well, as Valec likes to call her, a powerhouse. It’s so satisfying to see Bree call out hypocrisy and to push back when others want to make her choices for her. She’s a joy to read about, and I’m very patiently awaiting the next book in the series (well, sort of patiently).
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Gaslighting, Murder, Racism, and Blood
Moderate: Rape, Torture, War, and Medical content
Minor: Vomit
Tagged “torture” because that is specifically what it’s called in the book, but it’s more similar to magical gaslighting, I guess. Tagged “medical content” because while most of the healing in the book is magical, the guy doing the healing is also a med student and usually describes what’s going onbookhoe1'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
hey_al's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
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
4.5
Just as good as the first. I cannot WAIT for the next one!!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Grief, Racism, Blood, and Vomit
Moderate: War and Slavery
leahlovesloslibros's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
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
This book absolutely wrecked me in the best way. After the perfection that is book one in this series, I didn't know if this book would live up to my expectations. I am very glad that I worried for no reason.
Bloodmarked gives us a further look into Bree's exploration of her powers. Being a medium, a Rootcrafter, and the Crown Scion for the line of Arthur, Bree is being pulled in several directions at once. She must make difficult choices in attempt to save herself and the ones she loves, all while deciding who she can trust, which is proving to be much more challenging than she thought it would be. Of course as Bree struggles with this, I do, too. Deonn did a great job of planting little distrustful thoughts in our minds as the twists and turns of characters continued. The constant toying with my emotions made it stressful in the best way; I couldn't stop turning pages.
In addition to the new characters introduced in this book, we continue to see character development of Bree and several of the other characters from Legendborn. I love seeing the way their stories unfold. There is a lot of depth to Deonn's characters and she is masterful at tying up any loose ends that she may construct. Speaking of loose ends, the way she leaves us on a cliffhanger at the end of this book....so cruel, but so good.
As in Legendborn, the themes of feminism, racism/racial discrimination, and death and grief were all very prevalent. The way Deonn writes these, it is clear that these themes are deeply personal to her, which makes the depth of the story so much stronger. There is no doubt in my mind that book 3 will be anything short of brilliant, just as these first two have been. I don't know how I am going to contain myself in the meantime, but I will continue to recommend this series to anyone and everyone.
Bloodmarked gives us a further look into Bree's exploration of her powers. Being a medium, a Rootcrafter, and the Crown Scion for the line of Arthur, Bree is being pulled in several directions at once. She must make difficult choices in attempt to save herself and the ones she loves, all while deciding who she can trust, which is proving to be much more challenging than she thought it would be. Of course as Bree struggles with this, I do, too. Deonn did a great job of planting little distrustful thoughts in our minds as the twists and turns of characters continued. The constant toying with my emotions made it stressful in the best way; I couldn't stop turning pages.
In addition to the new characters introduced in this book, we continue to see character development of Bree and several of the other characters from Legendborn. I love seeing the way their stories unfold. There is a lot of depth to Deonn's characters and she is masterful at tying up any loose ends that she may construct. Speaking of loose ends, the way she leaves us on a cliffhanger at the end of this book....so cruel, but so good.
As in Legendborn, the themes of feminism, racism/racial discrimination, and death and grief were all very prevalent. The way Deonn writes these, it is clear that these themes are deeply personal to her, which makes the depth of the story so much stronger. There is no doubt in my mind that book 3 will be anything short of brilliant, just as these first two have been. I don't know how I am going to contain myself in the meantime, but I will continue to recommend this series to anyone and everyone.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Death, and Racism
Moderate: Cursing and Torture
Minor: Vomit and Rape
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
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
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
dewugging's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
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
I need a while to recover from the experience that was the sequel to Legendborn. A plot that doesn't quit, a deeper exploration of the secret magical world, and too many emotions. That was a ride, and I cannot wait for the next one.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Kidnapping, Grief, Confinement, Death, Racism, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Gore, and Blood
Moderate: Slavery and Death of parent
Minor: Vomit, Misogyny, and Rape
anastasia_raf's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
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
5.0
Sorry, I cannot form words right now...let alone a whole review. I'll write one soon. Right now I just want to curl up with the book in my chest and never let it go.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Racism, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Death of parent, Classism, Death, Medical content, Rape, Blood, Gaslighting, Murder, Violence, Kidnapping, and Slavery
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, War, Blood, Misogyny, Colonisation, Physical abuse, and Sexism
Minor: Vomit, War, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, and Torture
anniereads221's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Vomit, Grief, Gore, Death of parent, Colonisation, Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Kidnapping, Death, Blood, Sexism, Rape, Racism, Murder, Violence, Slavery, and Sexual violence
penofpossibilities's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
fast-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.5
Crying screaming throwing up
Content Warnings
Graphic: Colonisation, Confinement, Blood, Forced institutionalization, Fire/Fire injury, Racism, Gore, Grief, Kidnapping, Murder, Physical abuse, Slavery, Stalking, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, and Violence
Moderate: Rape, Car accident, Abandonment, Panic attacks/disorders, Pregnancy, Vomit, and War
Minor: Gun violence