A review by k_fitzy
Bloodmarked by Tracy Deonn

4.0

Now this was so much fun. I was kicking my feet, screaming, shitting all of the above. A really strong book 2 and solid middle to a trilogy. 

I loved sel’s character development. I loved the expanding of root craft and that community and all it represents. 

We got so many new characters and new situations and new dynamics and it was all very exciting. Also the book didn’t go in the direction I imagined it so I’m so excited to see what happens in book 3. 

It was such an experience to reread book 1 and then go straight into this back to back and I’m genuinely screaming crying throwing up at the thought of book 3. 

ALSO chapter 52?!?! Pls i think my heart stopped. We got so many strong ass moments for them. LIKE THE TREE??? Wow!!  and the ‘you are worth this and more’. Like holy shit i swear i lost brain function. 

HOWEVER, getting into the negatives which really knock the book down from a 5* read to a 4.

WARNING there may be some spoilers knocking about (there’s definitely spoilers) so if you dont wanna read them, negatives round up = 
my three least favourite tropes were present and it literally almost killed me (not in a good way) so minus half a star for tropes: love triangle, cheating, miscommunication 
and further minus half a star for pacing the last 1/5th of the book. 

Now for the real tea…

THIS FUCKING LOVE TRIANGLE. I hated it. HATED it. It felt so stupid and pointless and dragged out. With like a semi cheating trope as well and that just really knocked me funny and I personally like both guys as characters (tho obviously I am partial to bree and sel together romantically) and it was really making me dislike Bree because of the way she was messing them both around. And that’s really fucking disappointing because I loved book 1 bree and I really wanted to keep loving her but the way this was done made it so hard to keep that energy. 

((Also ngl scared the direction this so going is throuple and that is so so so not my vibe. its giving credence, its giving Blood and ash, it’s giving some Eiffel Tower bullshit and it’s giving books i avoid with all my energy. praying we don’t get this. on my knees))

Also WHERE WAS WILL?? He was right there don’t get me wrong but like was he tho? I missed him even tho he was literally with us the whole times I really felt like we lost him as a character and it was so frustrating because he was RIGHT THERE. 

And another point. The ending. I’m sorry but it was so unbelievably rushed. The whole first like 80% had such good pacing, giving you time to exist in each moment and fully understand and enjoy it without it feeling slow. And then the last 20%?!?! Everything went to shit plot wise and we lost that. There were a million things happening at once, nothing got developed or even enough time to sit in shock or sit in any emotion because everything was just HAPPENING. way too fast. there was shit that happened simultaneously and so we lost a whole half of that plot point that was really important and we’re then TOLD IT IN A MONOLOGUE INSTEAD. Really frustrating and such a let down for so much build up