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kemikemi's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
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
4.5
i loved how we got more intimate and in-depth with bree herself and our main relationships (especially between our core four of the book bree/sel/alice/william), we spent a lot of time discovering things with them and i thoroughly enjoyed how things got to take their time; they were struggling hard in this book and seeing them move forwards and backwards in their journey made them all feel more real and their relationships feel natural. bree and sel’s relationship in this i— /passes out/ like GOD there was so much angst and yearning and subtle devotion and fighting and slowburn i ate it all up it was incredible im so AAAAAAAAAA and it was so interesting to see bree’s values and point of view change as she’s pushed to her literal limits trying to keep herself and everyone she loves alive. the ending im so sad about like we are at the “main characters lowest point” part of the hero’s journey and im so broken about sel and alice and about how bree has given in to death via demon when nick and sel JUST brought her back from possible death, this cliffhanger is going to haunt me but i will sit here crying into my hands patiently waiting for the next installment
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Racism, Slavery, Violence, Grief, and Murder
Moderate: Alcohol
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: Death, Racism, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Confinement, Emotional abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Rape, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Medical content, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, and Abandonment
Minor: Self harm, Sexual content, Pregnancy, and Alcohol
serena_hien's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Violence, and Blood
Moderate: Alcohol
Minor: Rape and Slavery
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: Death, Kidnapping, Murder, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Child death, Racism, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, and Gaslighting
Minor: Addiction, Drug use, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Vomit, Pregnancy, Alcohol, Colonisation, and Classism
fremzz's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.5
🤡🤡🤡🤡🤡🤡🤡
I was surviving on CRUMBS of content, like bro made an appearance every 100 pages or so and then went 👋😌🏃🏃
No but fr I really enjoyed the book and the legendborn world is soooo good. I am a little 🤨🤨🤨 about Bree and Sel’s kiss just because I thought it would happen when Nick and her were broken up or something but NOPE. I have a feeling Nick isn’t going to care too much because of course he wouldn’t but man they did him dirtyyyy 😭😭
I liked the first one slightly better but this one kept me hooked most of the time and was just very entertaining.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, and Grief
Minor: Drug use and Alcohol
katherinek's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
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
4.5
So brilliant! The world building of this series is just detailed enough so it’s elaborate but not confusing. I was on the edge of my seat for most of the book after the first 70 pages or so. I kept finding myself covering pages with my hand so I wouldn’t accidentally spoil it for myself! Every now and then things get a tad repetitive or dialogue is a little cringey, but I was still entertained throughout the whole book. I loved the dynamic between Bree and Sel, especially the firefly scene! Along with the diverse cast of characters, Volition was very refreshing to read about. Some of Bree’s choices confused me at the end, but maybe we’ll get answers in the next book!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Racism, Slavery, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Car accident, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Rape and Alcohol
bootsmom3's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
mysterious
sad
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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Misogyny, Racism, Torture, Violence, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Murder, Gaslighting, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Cursing, Death, Infidelity, Rape, Sexual violence, Slavery, Blood, Death of parent, and Alcohol
thewildmageslibrary's review against another edition
4.5
Reread December 2022:
4.5 stars rounded up! This book sure took me on a ride.
==============================
idk how to rate this yet!!
4.5 stars rounded up! This book sure took me on a ride.
==============================
idk how to rate this yet!!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Racism, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Death of parent, and War
Moderate: Drug use, Self harm, Slavery, Medical content, Grief, Car accident, Murder, and Gaslighting
Minor: Rape, Fire/Fire injury, and Alcohol
soniajoy98's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
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? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Racism, Self harm, Slavery, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Grief, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Cursing, Gore, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual violence, Medical content, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Stalking, Death of parent, Alcohol, and Colonisation
Minor: Gun violence and Abandonment
micaelamariem's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
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
4.5
If I hadn't screamed it from the rooftops yet, Legendborn by Tracy Deonn is such an amazing YA fantasy and was one of my favorite reads of 2021. Naturally, I had preordered the sequel and waited (im)patiently for a year and a half to get my hands on it. And it's finally here!
Bloodmarked by Tracy Deonn, published by Simon & Schuster BFYR, is the sequel to Legenborn, following Bree's journey to understanding her ancestral links and inherited powers, while being on the run from those who don't believe she belongs and believes she is a threat.
As expected, this was an amazing read. I loved that we got to see more of my favorite characters and their interactions: Bree, Sel, Alice, and William. And actually, I loved getting more William in this book; I didn't know until now that I actually loved his character. I'm also pleased to see more Alice as we didn't get a lot of view of her character in Legendborn. Sel, of course, has my heart so I can never get enough of him. We are also introduced to a few new characters but it's Lark, particualrly, that I want to see more of in book three and I want to see some type of relationship between him and William.
I did love the developments in this book--the tension between Bree and Sel, the found family kind of feeling, the exploration of identity--especailly when it comes to bloodlines, power, and race. In some way or the other, we did see all characters wrestle with their identity, though Bree was the main focus.
I still think I liked Legendborn better because I liked the fresh feeling of being new to a campus and joining a secret society--it gave a very high school/college vibe, whereas this was more on the road which the plot necessitated but it led us to not see as many character interactions.
I will say this series makes me want to learn Welsh and I'm considering adding that on DuoLingo. And I also feel kind of bad, because it's a YA novel, but I don't want a love triangle, I want a throuple....anyway...
The ending was very intense and I really hope we get to see Sel's interaction with his mom. I want more Lark, more William, more Alice. And I want to figure out if this will truly be a love triangle.
Basically, I need book three ASAP. Bloodmarked gets four stars from me--mostly because some of the on the road bits didn't hold my attention as much.
Still highly reccomend for fantasy and retelling lovers. If you liked the show Merlin, you'll like this.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Cursing, Death, Racism, Sexism, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Abandonment, Alcohol, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail