Bloodmarked is a tour de force. I loved Legendborn, but Bloodmarked is a fantastic sequel that defies all my expectations. If you enjoyed the first, you have to have this one pre-ordered- I know I do! I already may have two different editions coming. Keep reading this book review for my full thoughts.
Summary
The shadows have risen, and the line is law.
All Bree wanted was to uncover the truth behind her mother’s death. So she infiltrated the Legendborn Order, a secret society descended from King Arthur’s knights—only to discover her own ancestral power. Now, Bree has become someone new:
A Medium. A Bloodcrafter. A Scion.
But the ancient war between demons and the Order is rising to a deadly peak. And Nick, the Legendborn boy Bree fell in love with, has been kidnapped.
Bree wants to fight, but the Regents who rule the Order won’t let her. To them, she is an unknown girl with unheard-of power, and as the living anchor for the spell that preserves the Legendborn cycle, she must be protected.
When the Regents reveal they will do whatever it takes to hide the war, Bree and her friends must go on the run to rescue Nick themselves. But enemies are everywhere, Bree’s powers are unpredictable and dangerous, and she can’t escape her growing attraction to Selwyn, the mage sworn to protect Nick until death.
If Bree has any hope of saving herself and the people she loves, she must learn to control her powers from the ancestors who wielded them first—without losing herself in the process.
Review
(Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher. This has not impacted my review which is unbiased and honest.)
I honestly don’t even know how to comprehend Bloodmarked enough to write this rave review. One of the things I loved the most about Legendborn is how Deonn examines this idea of a chosen one. Of who gets to become a legend. And all the ways the playing field isn’t level before the game even begins. But in Blodmarked, Deonn only continues this theme. In this sequel, Bree comes up against the intersection of power and racism. All the ‘excuses’ people have once it turns out their savior is Black or that they are the ones in power. The ugliness that this intersection brings out.
Some of the situations Bree finds herself in because of this – cannot spoil! – feel particularly impactful given the history of racism. The ways in which Black people have been dehumanized, stripped of power, and taught to suppress their selves, to be controlled. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg introduces us to. Throughout Bloodmarked, Deonn examines how we don’t want to attribute faults and blame to those we ‘worship’. How we won’t believe their misdeeds. As someone who grew up in a community of silence and denial, this felt particularly meaningful.
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Violence and power often go hand in hand and someone who won’t acknowledge one without the other is living under an illusion. Within Bloodmarked Deonn explores the nature of power and fate. The different approaches to power and control which end up telling us more about our beliefs and value of ourselves. Bloodmarked is phenomenal on every level. I adored the ways Bree discovers the truth within legends and stories. On a character level, Bree’s journey in this one was emotional and inspiring all at once. To ask us what we will do with our power and our choices. You need this sequel if you liked Legendborn. Find Bloodmarked on Goodreads, Amazon, Indiebound, Bookshop.org & The Book Depository.