Bloodmarked

I had the pleasure of reading this as part of a read along. Thank you Tandem Collective, the publisher and Tracy Deonn for having this copy available for me.

This book has me reeling…

So, the story continues from the massive bombshell of Legendborn. It’s action from the get go with this book. The Order doesn’t want to reveal that Bree is Arthur’s descendant. She has to tackle prejudice and dismantling a traditional magical order mostly full of white people. On top of this she can’t control her powers and needs to not only learn fast, but still has to come to terms with who she is… or what she is.

There’s a few poor choices on her part. Bree does not seem to understand how her decisions actually impact those around her. She seems to think all they care about is the blood lines but it’s so much more than that. I guess she really shows her age in those moments. With Nick gone, she’s determined more than ever to find him, even if that means placing others at risk.

A lot of the book is her on the run from the Order who had previously locked her up, but she’s in hiding so they can’t suppress her powers. With her loyal friends, Sel, William and Alice, she’s in most part protected, and puts herself in danger a lot.

What I really enjoyed, was her time understanding the root craft at Volition and the sense of community they provided. It was clear throughout the book that Bree had so much support even though the Order was oppressing her. Valec was an fun character and how they linked in the story was interesting.

I am and always will be Team Sel. With his sacrifice, i am intrigued to find out how he comes along in book three. Has he gone past a point of no return?

The last part had me like WTF! What has Bree done? Guess we all have to wait to find out!

Legendborn

I’d seen so many people mentioning on TikTok how awesome this read is and I managed to see spoiler free reviews. Bought it off Amazon and did this as a buddy read, which was awesome because I could chat to someone about this amazing book after we read each part.

I cannot even begin to describe how much I loved this read! To have the author’s notes at the end explaining her own grief and how Bree was created, really gave this story so much of a personal touch. I loved the integration of King Arthur legends with the rootcraft Tracy created for this story. The interwoven history of one of the greatest western legends and black history is nothing I have ever read before. It’s so unique!

The book was well paced to really build the magical system which had a long standing history since King Arthur, Merlin and the knights of the round table. Bree is basically thrust into this world of magic as her mum kept it from her, whilst she battles her own grieving process after losing her mum. I liked that through her lineage, there was various aspects of magic that coursed through her veins - a lot of it having a dark history, though I really feel that she can change it all for the better. Bree just needed to be in the right place at the right time to be awakened. She has the power to really shake things up.

Now, I thought her growing love for Nick was cute, but I was secretly hoping that her and Sel would be together. I’m still hoping for it! Just from that first touch and the moment she can feel his stare on her. It seems more intriguing than her bond with Nick. Unless she ends up loving them both? That scene in Sel’s room was raw and real. When Sel broke down, I really felt his pain in that moment and in turn when Bree finds out the “truth” about her mother and Sel wants to comfort her… That’s got to count for something!

I’m excited for the next book! I can’t wait for it! It’s going to be an awesome read! I just know it!