Reviews tagging 'Stalking'

Bloodmarked by Tracy Deonn

9 reviews

gabriella_'s review

dark emotional funny 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? It's complicated

5.0

This book has almost everything. Structures of oppression, intergenerational trauma, grief, romance, war, friendship conflicts, learned bigotry & privilege, and governmental conspiracy. It scratches any itch you have from Harry Potter, Maximum Ride, and The Hunger Games all rolled into one. Shit, it even satisfies the Warriors cat series fans too. It does all this will surpassing all of these series. Wish I had this when I was a younger, more voracious reader.

Tracy Deonn one-ups herself in this sequel book. This book further expands on characterizing her central cast while also giving other (more background) characters a chance in the limelight. She developed a core ensemble cast that feels compelling and stand-alone. This book made me cry, especially when

Spoiler

Bree talks with her mother

- Bloodmarked is raw and real. Bree is one of my favorite series protagonists I’ve ever read. She feels so real. I love reading about a protagonist who is strong, really strong, and in more than just a physical (or even girlboss) way. She has grit and emotional stamina and she’s navigating through systems rigged against her. 

More random things I love about this book that didn’t seem to have a place for me to write them in this review: 

• The rest of the cast - especially Selwyn - tugs at my heartstrings. 
• Tracy Deonn’s dream sequences are an amazing exploration of themes that are relevant later in the book and offer a refreshing way to engage with old magic.
• The descriptive settings!! 
• The use of LANGUAGE. Ugh. CARIAD!
• The men in this book have a “written by a woman” charm. Well, the men that matter do, at least.

I love the way this author lays the groundwork for future plot twists - she has a gift for finding a way to keep the reader on their toes without insulting their intelligence AND while still making the twists believable. Some you can see coming - but that’s a credit to her foreshadowing. 

I just want to keep gushing about this book because honestly it left me soooo hungry for the next book in this series!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Toxic relationship, Violence, Death of parent, Genocide, Injury/Injury detail, Gaslighting, Gore, Medical content, Misogyny, Murder, Slavery, Blood, Body horror, Death, Abandonment, Fire/Fire injury, Forced institutionalization, Medical trauma, Grief, Physical abuse, Stalking, War, Panic attacks/disorders, Mental illness, Racism, Sexism, Toxic friendship, Child death, Classism, Cultural appropriation, and Torture

midnacine's review

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? Yes

5.0

 "Not here, not today. But somewhere, someday."

I started my book club in February this year, and Legendborn had been the first book we read together. It feels poetic that I'm closing out the year with its sequel.

I'd been waiting with baited breath for this book to be published, and lemme tell you: it did not disappoint. It was everything I wanted it to be, and then some more. I loved seeing Bree fight for who she is and who she wants to be, loved seeing the true colors of some characters because of it. I especially loved the hardcore flirting - absolutely no smut in this book whatsoever, but I was still blushing.

Overall, I am incredibly in love with this story and these characters. I can already tell this will be a series passed on for generations. And though I know masterpieces need time, I really need Tracy Deonn to come out with the third book like... now. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, War, Confinement, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Kidnapping, and Racism

Moderate: Medical content, Stalking, Slavery, Murder, Death, Car accident, Blood, and Infidelity

Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Death of parent, Toxic relationship, Terminal illness, and Child death

ladygetslit's review

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? Yes

5.0

What can I say about this series that hasn't already been said?

What I loved:

• the complexity of the relationships between Bree, Sel, and Nick that are continually developed in this second book
• Alice is the most epic best friend ever
• a challenging conversation about politics, power, racism, & what it's actually like to try to break down barriers
• an identity crisis that isn't so much a crisis as it is an exploration
• have I mentioned that Sel is my entire heart?

Literally the only complaint I have is that I have no idea when I will get another installment in this series, and I didn't want it to end. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Racism, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, and Confinement

Moderate: Stalking, Rape, Slavery, Death, Sexual assault, and Gore

Minor: Colonisation

soniajoy98's review

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

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Content Warnings

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

kianareads's review

adventurous emotional 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? It's complicated

5.0

y’all.

This. Freaking. Book.

It took off RUNNING and dragged me right along with it 😭 Everything we loved about Legendborn is back in BLOODMARKED but amplified by 1000:

• The literal Black girl magic
• THE TWISTS
• The romance (pls don’t talk to me about the “cariad” moment I’m still recovering 🥺)
• Nuanced exploration of grief, generational trauma, racism, tradition, and resilience
• Artful world building

All of it. x1000.

BLOODMARKED is a love letter to being your ancestors’ wildest dreams, and also just being yourself. It’s a reminder to choose yourself. It’s a breath held for generations, released with understanding and with fire. It’s gratitude for unconditional friendships. It is a truly gorgeous fantasy that so (seemingly) effortlessly weaves all of this and more into its pages.

I started and finished (all 551 pages of it) within one day.

I laughed, I cried (often), I screamed (out loud), I jabbed my book with my finger (so often my finger was red), I gasped (way too many times).

Tracy Deonn is a master of her craft and I’m just so damn grateful to be able to experience Bree’s story. ❤️‍🔥

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Murder, Racism, Sexism, Stalking, Death, Rape, Fire/Fire injury, Kidnapping, Racial slurs, Slavery, Torture, Grief, Sexual assault, and Violence

penofpossibilities's review

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

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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

bedtimesandbooks's review

adventurous emotional 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Slavery, Rape, Racism, Kidnapping, Violence, Stalking, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Death of parent, and Blood

Minor: Pregnancy

ashlikes's review

adventurous 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? No

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gaslighting, Grief, Medical trauma, Alcohol, Confinement, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Child abuse, Gore, Blood, Cursing, Fire/Fire injury, Murder, Torture, Kidnapping, Violence, War, and Racism

Moderate: Self harm, Toxic friendship, Stalking, Rape, Death of parent, Drug use, Infidelity, Sexual content, Slavery, and Child death

Minor: Pregnancy, Vomit, Abandonment, Car accident, Colonisation, and Misogyny

abarnakwn_ourcolourfulpages's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful 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? Yes

5.0

ALSKRNFKSKWBEJKDS I CAN'T HANDLE IT. THIS BOOK WAS SO GOOD. SOOOOO GOOD. SO SO GOOD. (Will give a better review when I can put coherent thoughts together)

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Gore, War, Cursing, Grief, Kidnapping, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Physical abuse, Self harm, Slavery, Terminal illness, Classism, Confinement, Death of parent, Racism, Violence, Body horror, Death, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, and Stalking

Moderate: Alcohol, Sexism, and Abandonment

Minor: Animal cruelty