rberdan's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Slavery, Gore, Death of parent, Racism, War, and Violence
Moderate: Rape and Sexual violence
saltylane's review against another edition
- 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
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.
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
katvou's review against another edition
- 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
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
naturally's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Spoiler
the cross roads baby from the memory walk in legendbornthe first 20% was very slow and infor-dumpy. plus, a large chunk of the story was spent away from the college setting that i fell in love with in book 1.
bree being disconnected from other black people worked with the themes that deonn wanted to explore in legendborn. however, bloodmarked, mostly exposes how bree's relationships with other black characters are centred around her having something to gain from them (be it therapeutic services, shelter or knowledge etc). the only relationship with a black person that feels non-transactional is the one she has with her father
Spoiler
who wasn't around at all in book 2 :(Spoiler
whilst i understand that it was overwhelming for bree to deal with intergenerational trauma as well as her own...she displayed astoundingly little empathy and consideration for how vera suffered. vera made a deal with the shadow king and the ancestors so that her descendants (including bree) could LIVE. if not for that deal, her child, the true scion of arthur would have died. for a character who lamented about being unable to trace her lineage, it was strange that bree ended up destroying her own ancestral plane and sole method of conversing with the ancestors she only just discovered???furthermore, i can at least appreciate that bree's messiness shines through in this book. her decision making,,,was not the best. as a reader, i was trapped in a weird cycle of witnessing her make the same dumb mistakes over and over and over again. how many times did i watch bree recklessly run into fights, knowing that her friends would put their lives on the line to save her untrained self???
perhaps it's that i read book 1 and 2 back-to-back, but the love triangle has lost it's flair a bit. the toxic side of me enjoyed sel and bree's chemistry - not a delena shipper, but their dynamic mirrors elena and damon in vampire diaries season three. however, it doesn't sit right with me that bree gave significantly more grace to her white love interest than her own ancestor...
nick was kind of a non-factor in this book, despite having a rescue mission triggered by his kidnapping. i'm confusion??? at least two more books are needed to flesh him out as a character and love interest, because bloodmarked exposes how little they know about each other outside of bloodline history and lust.
this review marks me taking a break from the series to get my head together. i'll probably return when the series has concluded.
going forward, i hope to see:
- bree having BLACK friends
Spoiler
the ancestors allowing alice, william and sel into volition...doesn't hold much weight because they aren't black. essentially, these are non-black characters entering black safe spaces and it feels a bit invasive rather than being a bonding experience. alice can do black hair??? SO??? i'm not sure what the reasoning was behind her not being black... - bree apologising to vera
- return of the unc setting
- more valec <3
Graphic: Racism, War, Blood, Violence, and Colonisation
Moderate: Cursing and Sexual violence
Minor: Infidelity and Sexual content
kers_tin's review against another edition
- 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
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
ck11's review against another edition
- 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 Bree, Sel, William, Valec. Everyone but for those three fuckheads + Tor.
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)bootsmom3's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Murder, Gaslighting, War, Racism, Confinement, Medical trauma, Violence, Grief, Kidnapping, Medical content, Misogyny, Injury/Injury detail, and Torture
Moderate: Death, Rape, Cursing, Blood, Death of parent, Slavery, Sexual violence, Alcohol, and Infidelity
citymouse's review against another edition
4.0
Graphic: Slavery
Moderate: Death of parent, Addiction, Racism, and Blood
Minor: Sexual violence and Rape
soniajoy98's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: War, Blood, Racism, Self harm, Slavery, Death, Forced institutionalization, Injury/Injury detail, Confinement, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, and Violence
Moderate: Sexual violence, Stalking, Gore, Colonisation, Medical trauma, Cursing, Rape, Alcohol, Misogyny, Death of parent, Kidnapping, and Medical content
Minor: Gun violence and Abandonment
errie's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Graphic: Confinement, Fire/Fire injury, Racism, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, and Slavery
Moderate: Death of parent, Grief, Torture, Rape, Sexism, and Sexual violence