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martin27's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
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
I had a lot of high expectations set by the first book, and this sequel goes above and beyond. The characters from the first book are just as enjoyable and easily remind me why I love them, and the new characters fit in seamlessly. I especially love that Alice got to be a main member of the cast for this one, since she spent the first book mostly as a background player.
The world building is incredible and the different real world inspirations are balanced so well. And Deonn is especially good at writing hooks that keep you reading just one more page, just one more chapter… until you’re halfway through the book in one sitting. The twists are wonderful.
Most of all, Bree is just such a wonderful protagonist. It’s impossible not to root for her (pun not intended). She’s a complex character with a lot of hopes, dreams, and fears, and she’s… well, as Valec likes to call her, a powerhouse. It’s so satisfying to see Bree call out hypocrisy and to push back when others want to make her choices for her. She’s a joy to read about, and I’m very patiently awaiting the next book in the series (well, sort of patiently).
The world building is incredible and the different real world inspirations are balanced so well. And Deonn is especially good at writing hooks that keep you reading just one more page, just one more chapter… until you’re halfway through the book in one sitting. The twists are wonderful.
Most of all, Bree is just such a wonderful protagonist. It’s impossible not to root for her (pun not intended). She’s a complex character with a lot of hopes, dreams, and fears, and she’s… well, as Valec likes to call her, a powerhouse. It’s so satisfying to see Bree call out hypocrisy and to push back when others want to make her choices for her. She’s a joy to read about, and I’m very patiently awaiting the next book in the series (well, sort of patiently).
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Grief, Murder, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Rape, Torture, Medical content, and War
Minor: Vomit
Tagged “torture” because that is specifically what it’s called in the book, but it’s more similar to magical gaslighting, I guess. Tagged “medical content” because while most of the healing in the book is magical, the guy doing the healing is also a med student and usually describes what’s going onbooksthatburn'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
cady_sass's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
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
4.75
This is SO CLOSE to perfect - I love everything about it but the plot gets really muddy and confusing in the last couple of chapters with all the dream sequences and big reveals. I don’t often say this, so you know I’m serious when I do say it, if you need to add another 100 or so pages to make it make more sense then PLEASE do it and don’t rush through crucial plot points! All that said…… team selwyn forever ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️ u can fight me idc
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Bullying, Death, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Slavery, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Abandonment, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
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
kaybob_0708'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? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Um that ending!!!!!!! I was so hoping an happy ending for the trio but damn I just got my heart ripped out of my chest an stomped on. I also just want to throw out a connection that I realized Bree is connected to Nick bc he’s the the descendent of Lancelot but idk how they are gonna do the rest of the story there bc the legend goes that Lancelot betrays Arthur by sleeping with Guinevere so I’m curious to see that play out an also that her an Sel definitely have a lot of chemistry due to the fact that he is a descendent of Merlin so of course he would feel a pull toward Bree even while being Oathed to Nick. I know it’s a stretch but I’m more team Sel than Nick just bc Sel an her have the best relationship an yes it started out being very toxic with him trying to literally unalive her in the first half of the first book but damn this book just solidified team Sel she made a bargain with the shadow king to save Sel so tell me she doesn’t have stronger feelings for Sel then Nick. Anyways aside from that this book is an absolute soild 1000⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ for me I loved that this book was deeply enriched in POC representation an history an that they didn’t stick to stereotypes, I felt rage, an heartache for what the characters went thru an faced an the nod to POC history an slavery at the hands of white Americans as a white women myself it was definitely an eye opening read an I am amazed at the strength an courage POC have to continue to educate an break down centuries worth of racism an inequality. I don’t want to drone on an sound like a broken record so I’m gonna end this review with saying this will probably be my top read of 2023 an I am highly anticipating the third an final book which I hope gives us Team Sel endgame an finally lets our broken love trio have there peace also just a quick throw out FUCK TOR I never liked her in the first book an I sure as hell hate her guts in this for putting Bree in a situation where they were literally torturing an going to experiment on my girl so yeah okay I’m done now
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Racism, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Death and Death of parent
Minor: Rape
scrubsandbooks's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
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
Do I think my powers are worth the cost? The wound of grief from losing my mother sits open in my chest. It feels like it will never truly heal, no matter how much I acknowledge its presence. Then there are wounds my ancestors carried from one generation to the next. All the loss, multiplied and compounded and cumulative. All that running.
Don't be scared. Fight.
This was absolutely phenomenal. There's always this thing with second books in series where things don't live up to the hype of book one and it ends up being a filler between beginning and conclusion. It definitely was not the case here at. All. The stakes were high, much higher than they were at the end of Legendborn and this book surpassed all my expectations. Books where things are happening one right after another tend to be overwhelming for me and leaving me wondering if half of it was necessary and this was an exception. Every event, you learned something new, you met a new person who ended up being pivotal to the main character's story. Tracy Deonn has done an amazing job of bringing the pieces of the puzzle together. There is so much to love about this and nothing to hate (except for the obvious bigots and bad guys, of course). Tracy had even making me feel bad for
The world-building in this book with the Order and the Rootcraft seems to only expand even further, and I absolutely loved that we got to see more characters involved in Rootcraft and learned more about the magic itself. And a former plantation become a safe haven for Rootcrafters called Volition? Chef's kiss, all of it, ESPECIALLY the title. I loved the inclusion of Alice and William in this journey, as well as seeing more of Selwyn outside of the Order, and how his friendship with Bree continued to grow and evolve. And Bree. Bree is the most beloved of all, faced with so much betrayal and pushback, but holds her head up and keeps fighting. I want nothing but the best for her and I cried so much for her in this book because of everything she went through at the hands of the Reagents. Oh, how I wanted to reach into the book so bad to give her a big hug. Or punch some racists. OR BOTH.
"You don't believe history is true. You won't even admit it's possible. That I am Arthur's heir not by choice or honor, but by violence." [...] "You won't say it out loud, but I will," [...] "I am the Scion of Arthur by rape. I am your proof."
This book, this series, is too important to not at least give it a chance. Eagerly awaiting book three!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Racism, Slavery, Violence, Medical content, Grief, Gaslighting, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Bullying, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Self harm, Forced institutionalization, Medical trauma, and War
Minor: Rape
anastasia_raf's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
- 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
5.0
Sorry, I cannot form words right now...let alone a whole review. I'll write one soon. Right now I just want to curl up with the book in my chest and never let it go.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Racism, Rape, Slavery, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Blood, Colonisation, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Torture, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Toxic friendship, and War
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
katsmedialibrary's review against another edition
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence and Medical content
Moderate: Rape
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