Quick take
Pulling a sword from stone feels like child’s play compared to facing the demon hoards stalking this Legendborn sequel.
Good to know
400+ pages
Magical
Based on a classic
Second in series
Synopsis
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.
Free sample
Get an early look from the first pages of Bloodmarked.
Bloodmarked
PROLOGUE
My veins burn with the spirits of my ancestors.
Twenty-four hours ago, I pulled Excalibur from its stone. Now, I am paying the price.
The ancient blade shattered me. Who I was. Who I could be. Who I’d never be again.
I became shards of myself.
The Briana Matthews who held Excalibur had been broken apart—and forged into something new.
Something new. Something powerful. That’s how William described me.
Last night, as I’d raised Excalibur high, two spirits were pounding inside me like dual drums: Vera, my ancestral foremother, and Arthur Pendragon himself. Even though they’d lived centuries apart, they’d each used magic to lock power to their bloodlines, and to me. Vera, with a plea to her ancestors. Arthur, with a spell for his knights. When the battle was done and I’d finally fallen into bed I thought they’d both faded. Gone wherever spirits go when they are done possessing their Medium descendants.
Arthur fell silent. Vera seemed to say goodbye: ‘There is a cost to being a legend, daughter. But fear not, you will not bear it alone.’
But her words were not a personal farewell; they were an ancestral welcome.
Now, in the wee hours, I lie in bed at the Lodge, the historic home of the Legendborn. But I am not resting. I am painfully awake. Covers shoved off the bed, skin and spirit stretched tight. My curls lay damp against my neck.
I twist to my side, gasping, and squeeze both eyes shut. Crawl to the ground. Feel and hear my nails scrape the floor, a desperate sound in the night.
When my eyes open, the room around me is gone, and I am no longer Bree. Instead . . .
I am Selah: Vera’s daughter, now grown and pregnant with her own child.
It is night. Long ago. I am being ushered into a home by a Black woman with sharp brown eyes that dart over my head the way I have come. Her warm, strong fingers grip my shoulder. “Hurry, girl. Hurry!” she whispers. I do not know this woman, but “girl” is uttered with urgency and sisterhood both.
She leads me to a door set into the floor at the back of the house. Lifts it to reveal a hidden cubby of earth and rotting wood.
I will pause here for a moment, but tomorrow I will run again.
Why I love it
Dhonielle Clayton
Author, The Everlasting Rose
Welcome back to the Legendverse! Tracy Deonn’s captivating world grabbed me from page one of Legendborn, a King Arthur reimaging that reinvented the roundtable and braided it with southern folklore and a dash of Black Girl Magic. Returning to this incredible world with its sequel, Bloodmarked, is the highlight of my reading year.
Once again at the center of our story is Bree. Clever. Brilliant. Powerful. She’s now a medium, a bloodcrafter, and Arthur’s scion. All she wanted was to figure out the truth behind her mother’s death but now she’s the head of the Legendborn Order and some people really don’t want to follow her orders.
This gripping fantasy novel has all the ingredients of transportive fantasy—an ancient war rising to a deadly peak, a tense love triangle, enemies lurking everywhere, dangerous politics, and a new destiny for our heroine. I couldn’t put Bloodmarked down because I had to know how Bree would push through all the obstacles put in her path while not losing herself in the process.
An action-packed page-turner that’ll make you question how one comes to terms with destiny when chosen. Is there space to choose yourself? Prepare to feel all the feelings and want to start a reread as soon as you finish the last page!
Member ratings (2,604)
Mary D.
Hamburg, NY
Love the twists and turns, and the astute social themes of this read. It’s a modern take on traditional Arthurian literature that’s engrossing, brutally honest, and riveting. Can’t wait for book #3!!!
Angee G.
Wilsonville, OR
I loved Legendborn and was so excited to read this, the second book in the series. It did not disappoint! I love having the two different magics & the way Tracy Deonn describes loss is heartbreaking
Melissa S.
Chicago, IL
This is a wonderful follow up to Legendborn that continues to tackle the difficult themes without forgetting to give us action, fantasy, and romance. I did not expect many of the twists nor a 3rd book
Erin M.
Sykesville, MD
Loved coming back into the Legendborn world to see how Bree and Sel would handle Nick’s abduction. Deonn does an amazing job of continuing to drive an amazing story. Cannot wait until book 3 comes!
Rachel D.
Yakima, WA
The book has satisfying depth to the ideas that are the conflicts of the story. The romantic tensions felt YA to me, which is what the book is, but the overarching themes = more than the romance bits