Bloodmarked Paperback – 1 January 2022

Bloodmarked is as complex and immersive YA fantasy as its predecessor Legendborn.The plot is as complicated and twisty as I expected. I couldn’t guess what would happen next, where this will go. I had a little ideas/theories but they all turned out wrong.While I was happy to get many answers about the magic, past, and complicated relationships between characters, at the same time there are still some questions yet to answer which I wasn’t expecting as somehow I kept thinking this is duology and this is last book but clearly there is third book coming out next year.grief, loss, racism, and intergenerational trauma is the main theme in this book. I liked how realistically author showed how in small or big part the racism continues to be part of the system. While the first book focused on Bree’s loss and grief in this, Bree experiences losing friends and fear of losing them and we also get how grief and loss is different for bonded scions and squires.There is also layers of being the first person to break the barriers of the past, the burden of expectations and responsibilities, and facing judgments along with politics and deception.Friendship is the best part of the book. What I loved most is the world and magic. It has been expanded more in this book. I enjoyed knowing more about Arthur Legend, how Arthur and his table got the power through eternity spell, knowing how magic works for merlins, bloodcrafters, rootcrafters, and legendborn and how they are different from each other. It was sad to read how abatement affects Legendborn.It is heartbreaking to read the history of slavery and about the setting of Volition, a plantation site.There are many twists and turns and action-packed scenes. Most surprising part is climax and the last part.End is not as satisfactory as I was expecting and what happened to my favorite characters is just heartbreaking.Why 4 stars-I didn't like Bree's reckless and not enough development in her character.Love triangle and romance is disappointing.End isn't that strong and satisfying.Overall, Bloodmarked is complicated and immersive with a powerful plot and writing but I was disappointed with the lack of development in Bree’s character and romance.

Legendborn released in 2020 and took the world by storm, packing a punch that nobody foresaw. Everyone who entered the world created by Tracy Deonn for the story, surfaced with an experience. The sequel, Bloodmarked, is everything that Legendborn is, but fifty times over.Bloodmarked picks up just after Legendborn and the book hits the ground running. The pace is absolutely brutal and readers will reach the halfway point before they are aware of it as the speed and nature of the events unfolding magnify the intensity of every single moment. Every word in this book is crafted efficiently; any inconsequential scene or unnecessary occurrence is edited out or was perhaps not written at all. The book is tight and it remains so, despite the length being 576 pages.The plot is intricate and layered with the secrets in this book even having secrets of their own and nothing is as it seems. As a reader we tend to categorise authors and their styles in our mind and create general ideas or predictions about how a story will grow and which direction it might bend. These might not even be conscious conclusions we arrive at, but subconscious calculations. None of this works with anything that Deonn writes. Her writing and the book’s plot are in cahoots and they redirect, allure and intrigue the reader to see exactly what they’re supposed to when they’re supposed to.Deonn does with Bloodmarked what she did with its predecessor with the emotional ingredient in the story. Legendborn was not just about the larger mission that could seem to be the most important aspect of the book. This book, this series, is also about the destiny that Briana Matthews writes for herself. Her journey of understanding her past, the influence it has on her choices in her present and her decisions for the future are all a big part of Bloodmarked. Briana is a young, brave, scared, powerful teenager with a heavy destiny on her shoulders and Deonn does right by her. She upends the narrative to reflect the truth we never thought to exist and those are moments I’ll always remember reading.Legendborn laid a strong foundation for the worldbuilding and Bloodmarked builds on it, further strengthening the story and deepening the connection the readers have to it. Deonn has clearly planned this out to the last word and her imagination to create this world with all its layered complexities is awe inspiring.The friendships in Bloodmarked are some of the most heartwarming parts of the book. Friendships forged over decades and those that are lifetimes old all hold a special and sacred place in this story (the extent to which is astounding and emotional). Sel and Nick too have large presences in both, Briana’s life and the book, and revelations about the relationship between the three of them play out before our eyes. For readers who have never been fond of a love triangle, Deonn somehow manages to skate by the typical pitfalls that come with the category. You see past these tropes, past the words, past everything, to the heart of the story.If as a reader your heart clenched and your tear ducts were jerked at the injustice and racism the protagonist and her friend are subjected to in Legendborn, prepare to be inflamed. This book, just like its predecessor, isn’t here to dull the truth. It’s a knife, sharp to our ribs to truly see the truth of how beautiful differences are perceived in the most abhorrent and unapologetically cruel ways. Deonn reminds you with every word just how deeply racism has sunk into the actions and thoughts of people; so much so that they don’t even perceive it as what it is in themselves and neglect to perceive or recognise it in others as well.Bloodmarked by Tracy Deonn was a five star read for me. Expect betrayal, love, unending adventure, plot twists, sacrifice, magic, chaos, and balance. You should most definitely expect to forget everything you’re expecting because the book is an adventure no one can be ready for.Received an ARC.

Probably had very high expectations after first book. Definitely not met expectations.It was heartbreaking to read the history of slavery and about the setting of Volition, a plantation site.But, Personally think it focuses too much on racial discrimination part rather than the main story. Even though racial discrimination is a very important part it doesn't make the whole story.Gets very boring in some places. But at the end it was all compensated.The characters feel like They don't connect with me like they did in the first part. Not able to feel the story. Which I think is very important for a book to make it's stand in someone's mind.Didn't like how Bree reacted to things and absolutely hated the character development.Feels like Bree's character has somehow become worse than in first part. Especially when we read it from her perspective some things just don't make any sense the decisions she takes and the way she reacts gets very annoying at times. It was a very big set back for me.And also didn't enjoy how my fav characters ended up becoming.Would have liked a better sequel. It felt like the whole book was rather a drag except the last 100 something pages everything was dragging for a very looong time.

I remember reading Legendborn back in 2021 and thinking “wow this is going to be a wild ride” oh boy how right I was. The first book felt like a nice introduction to the story and characters but this book really took me on a journey. Bree is such a great character, her development through out the story is so realistic. She’s been put through so much. Every twist and turn of this story had me on the edge of my seat. Now let’s talk about my best boys! Selwyn, Nick and William. Omg I fell in love with them all over again. Honourable mention would be Valec. He really grew on me. Lark is a cutie too.Spoilers and my best girl ALICE! 🥹 I hope to see more of her in the next book! That ending was something else but I can’t help but agree with Bree’s decision. I just hope it pays off in the end.I dare say, I loved this more then book 1. 10/10 ⭐️Looking forward to book 3!!!

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How do I even begin to tell you how much I love this series and Author Tracy Deonn? I love the concept, the writing and the mood of this series and this book two: Bloodmarked is the next chapter of Bree's story.Bree has power now. At least she should have. Bree had thought the war she was fighting was between the demons and the Order that protected human life but she quickly discovers that is not the only war she has to fight. The Regents have their own plans. As does Arthur. Bree has only her friends to rely on and while her own power is growing it's uncontrolled and this lack of control is putting her in danger. She must find a way to control her power to keep everyone she loves safe. The cost is high but the cost of doing nothing is higher. She has to rescue Nick and herself, risking Sel's life in the process and it puts all of her friends in danger.The writing of Tracy Deonn draws you quickly into the story. Her writing style allows for a pacey, enjoyable read that I had to force myself to slow down and savour. And I did savour this book. Every page was a joy. Descriptions of locations and settings do not slow the pace of the tale in the slightest, neither do explanations of history, myth and legend. Even the incredibly painful reminders of American Black history do not slow or choke the story in its tracks. Tough topics of violent death, physical and emotional racial abuse, emotional generational trauma and degradation are handled delicately and deftly but with strength and pride. The juxtaposition of the legendborn arthurian patriarchal power and the matriarchal rootcraft that war within Bree's body is a brilliant storytelling tool used beautifully by Tracy Deonn to tell this tale.Magic and demons, merlins and rootcraft and aether - all the fantastical elements are cleverly woven throughout the story and do not take the reader out of the flow at all. And I love me some Arthur mythology and sword fighting! The mutable and inconsistent quality of myths and legends cause Bree all sorts of strife. Everyone has secrets and the telling of history (depending on who is doing the telling) has a way of hiding the truth behind shadows, half-truths and straight up lies and add all sorts of twists to Bree's tale of power and empowerment.There are also so many fabulous characters in this series to love. Bree, Selwyn, William, Nick, Alice and more, and plenty of new faces and personalities are introduced to enjoy. The ghostly presences are also numerous, entertaining and grippingly powerful in the stories they have to tell.An altogether enjoyable book two and a terrific series. I totally recommend Bloodmarked. A perfect book two.

I'm absolutely in love with this book, I had a day off and read it with in hours !! Reading the first book was difficult to start with, but because of it, I was able to fully understand this !!!!! It's an amazing book, and I love sel & bree they're just meant to be ! Definitely recommend, gutted about what happened to Alice, but can't wait for the next book !! 100% recommend !

An incredible follow-up to the first book, this one excels by deepening our knowledge of the world that the author established here. And while the twist at the end wasn't as mind-blowing as the original (could've seen it coming), it left the narrative in a very intriguing moment as to where to move forward to.Can't wait for the follow-up!