Summary:
Bloodmarked by Tracy Deon is the second installment in the Legendborn cycle. It picks up right where Legendborn, the first book, ends, with Bree realizing the truth about her family’s history and connection to King Arthur.
Bree teams up with Merlin and Kingsmage Sewin Kane, to rescue her boyfriend Nick, who Sel is oathed to protect. Meanwhile, Camlann is imminent and Bree searches for anyone who can teach her how to use her new-found powers.
What I Loved:
I approached this book expecting not to enjoy the love triangle trope which I knew would be present. However, the author surprised me.
The love triangle was executed better than others I’ve read, in that it didn’t overtake the main plot or become too cheesy or dramatic. Most importantly, the chemistry between characters made me care about who Bree chose.
(Personally, I prefer Bree and Sel because they have the most chemistry and had more time to get to know each other before getting into a relationship than did Bree and Nick.)
Besides the love triangle, the other relationship arcs were very enjoyable to read about. William and Alice’s relationships with Bree are my favorite parts of the book.
Every scene with Alice and Bree together added humor to an otherwise serious situation. While Bree is away from her father saving the world, William fills in as a sort of father figure.
In many YA fantasy novels, the romantic relationships get all of the attention. Deonn set herself apart as a YA fantasy author by giving the same, if not more, attention to the details in the platonic ships as to the romances.
The author has developed the main characters so thoroughly that the reader feels strongly about all of them. Bree is a strong, dynamic hero who readers can emphathize with. Nick is a kind, selfless prince.
I went back and forth between hating and loving Selwyn, because one minute he’s a psycho manipulative liar, and the next minute he’s every YA fangirl’s book-crush. I actually liked that my feelings towards the characters weren’t constant. No one feels the same way about their friends or family 24/7 right? It made them feel all the more real.
The worldbuilding in this book is complex and intricate, which made it feel as vibrant as the real world. Even more sects of the magical world were revealed in this book than in the first book. It was so exciting, as a reader, to discover these worlds for the first time. I could tell that the author had fun creating them too.
What I Didn’t Love:
The author never seemed to be satisfied with letting the characters (or readers) rest. She even seemed to acknowledge this when William said, “We need actual vacations.”
The pacing was the same fast speed for a large portion of the book, which left me feeling bored at parts. It was frustrating, because I wanted to read it but the plot tired my brain.
This problem could have been solved by easing off on the amount of fight scenes and using the page space taken up by them to develop side plots such as Bree’s relationship with her father or her best friend, Alice.
In addition to the poor pacing, the book was also confusing. There seemed to be a plot twist every other chapter. It was a lot for the reader to keep track of. I had to reread some chapters a few extra times to understand what was going on.
Nearing the end of the book, the characters had strayed so far off the path they began on that I doubted whether the author even remembered they were supposed to be rescuing Nick at all. The ending felt half-baked and there were a few parts of the story I still didn’t understand. Perhaps it will all be cleared up in the third book the author has promised us?
Overall, Bloodmarked wasn’t quite as well-written as Legendborn, but what it lacked in plot it made up for in character growth and worldbuilding. It also shared themes with Legendborn, such as grief, trauma, and diversity. I look forward to rereading this and picking up the third book when it comes out.
Quotes:
“…grief isn’t a competition. It’s not an identical pain that we all meet one day when death finds us. It’s a monster, personalized by our love and memories to devour us just so. Grief is suffering, tailored.”
“What truly ties us together is not blood but pain. When we love someone and lose them, that loss imprints itself on everyone else we love too.”
“The unsaid thing about funerals is that directly after the communal mourning for someone you love, after everyone is gone and the connected grief dispersed, comes a solitude beyond imagining. A great, gaping nothing where a whole person and life and future used to be. The other side of a funeral is abyss.”
“Half a heart is not enough to live a whole life, is it?”
Have you read Bloodmarked? Do you ship SelBree or NickBree? I would love to discuss the book with you in the comments!