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Death Marked
(Death Sworn #2)
by
A young sorceress’s entire life has been shaped to destroy the empire controlling her world. But if everything she knows is a lie, will she even want to fulfill her destiny? The sequel to Death Sworn is just as full of magic and surprising revelations, and will thrill fans of Leigh Bardugo and Robin LaFevers.
At seventeen, Ileni lost her magical power and was exiled to the ...more
At seventeen, Ileni lost her magical power and was exiled to the ...more
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Yes, it is. This is a two-book duology.
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Start your review of Death Marked (Death Sworn, #2)
***Review posted on The Eater of Books! blog***
Death Marked by Leah Cypess
Book Two of the Death Sworn series
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Publication Date: March 3, 2015
Rating: 3 stars
Source: ARC sent by the publisher
Summary (from Goodreads):
A young sorceress’s entire life has been shaped to destroy the empire controlling her world. But if everything she knows is a lie, will she even want to fulfill her destiny? The sequel to Death Sworn is just as full of magic and surprising revelations, and wil ...more
Death Marked by Leah Cypess
Book Two of the Death Sworn series
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Publication Date: March 3, 2015
Rating: 3 stars
Source: ARC sent by the publisher
Summary (from Goodreads):
A young sorceress’s entire life has been shaped to destroy the empire controlling her world. But if everything she knows is a lie, will she even want to fulfill her destiny? The sequel to Death Sworn is just as full of magic and surprising revelations, and wil ...more
4 Stars for when I thought this had a sequel.
2 stars for it being a conclusion.
"She had grown up believing that destroying the Empire was her life's goal, the hope of every Renegai. But too many of her childhood beliefs had been shattered in the Assassin's Caves. She needed to see for herself."
I gave Death Marked four stars (at first) because I thought the struggle within Ileni was real and I admired her for looking for answers for herself instead of inherently trusting the people around her lik ...more
2 stars for it being a conclusion.
"She had grown up believing that destroying the Empire was her life's goal, the hope of every Renegai. But too many of her childhood beliefs had been shattered in the Assassin's Caves. She needed to see for herself."
I gave Death Marked four stars (at first) because I thought the struggle within Ileni was real and I admired her for looking for answers for herself instead of inherently trusting the people around her lik ...more
The ending is definitely a let down.
Morally complex, full of action, and great worldbuilding.
3 1/2 stars and a lot of thoughts on this one. Very surprised that this is the conclusion, as the story definitely doesn't feel finished. But I enjoyed it a lot, loved the darker side of Ileni, and the non-conventional way the story progressed. Still, I can't quite accept an ending as vague as that...
...more
Her life wouldn’t be grand, or dramatic, or momentous. There would be no great choices to make, no moments when everything would change. It would make a dull story if she was ever called upon to tell it.
That quote pretty much sums up my thoughts on this story.
The main protagonist is a foolish girl who has no real values and seems to waffle between hating the empire and not hating the empire based on every single person she meets. In between that she also waffles between liking every boy she meet ...more
That quote pretty much sums up my thoughts on this story.
The main protagonist is a foolish girl who has no real values and seems to waffle between hating the empire and not hating the empire based on every single person she meets. In between that she also waffles between liking every boy she meet ...more
Aug 15, 2014
Susana
rated it
did not like it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
boring,
2015-reads,
edelweiss,
ya,
arc,
not-my-cup-of-tea,
2015-releases,
all-magical-things,
meh,
wtf
1.5 Stars
Arc provided by Harper Collins Children through Edelweiss
Release Date: March 3rd
I am just going to come out and say this, a little like pulling a band aid, fast and clean:
I did not enjoy reading this story, and since I am not a fifteen year old girl, no, that reason doesn't have anything to do with what ends up happening in the end (don't worry, no one dies..at least no one that relevant to the story).
The main reason that made me at numerous times consider to DNF this, has somet ...more
Arc provided by Harper Collins Children through Edelweiss
Release Date: March 3rd
I am just going to come out and say this, a little like pulling a band aid, fast and clean:
I did not enjoy reading this story, and since I am not a fifteen year old girl, no, that reason doesn't have anything to do with what ends up happening in the end (don't worry, no one dies..at least no one that relevant to the story).
The main reason that made me at numerous times consider to DNF this, has somet ...more
I fell in love with this world when I read Death Sworn and this was one of my most highly anticipated books this year. Well I'm glad to say that I loved this one too!!
This is much different than book 1. In book 1, Ileni is underground and part of the assassins but now she is at the opposite end of the spectrum and is in the heart of the Empire in a school for sorcerers.
Ileni really struggles in this book. Everything she is thought about the Empire is put to the test and she doesn't know what, o ...more
This is much different than book 1. In book 1, Ileni is underground and part of the assassins but now she is at the opposite end of the spectrum and is in the heart of the Empire in a school for sorcerers.
Ileni really struggles in this book. Everything she is thought about the Empire is put to the test and she doesn't know what, o ...more
2016 Book Awards
(more information about these awards on my blog)
Okay, so remember how much I enjoyed the previous book?
Remember how excited I was to continue with this one?
Well, now I kind of wish I could go back in time and punch past me in the face for wishing that.
Seriously? This is not a satisfying ending by far!
I felt like this was a less intense and less interesting book quite early on - first half of the novel had me zoning out quite a lot and, as I listened to it as an audio book, th ...more
(more information about these awards on my blog)
Okay, so remember how much I enjoyed the previous book?
Remember how excited I was to continue with this one?
Well, now I kind of wish I could go back in time and punch past me in the face for wishing that.
Seriously? This is not a satisfying ending by far!
I felt like this was a less intense and less interesting book quite early on - first half of the novel had me zoning out quite a lot and, as I listened to it as an audio book, th ...more
THOUGHTS:
1
Before Reading:
I actually managed to get my hands on this!
After Reading:
Okay, here's the deal. Let's just say that this book has left me utterly heartbroken, devastated, and ultimately disappointed. It took me three days to finally write out my reaction to this book. I needed time to fully process it. And even now I can't put it into words. The first book held so much hope....and I'm just gonna leave it at that. ...more
1
Before Reading:
I actually managed to get my hands on this!
After Reading:
Okay, here's the deal. Let's just say that this book has left me utterly heartbroken, devastated, and ultimately disappointed. It took me three days to finally write out my reaction to this book. I needed time to fully process it. And even now I can't put it into words. The first book held so much hope....and I'm just gonna leave it at that. ...more
This is the 2nd book in the Death Marked duology. I was pretty disappointed in this book. It was just fairly boring and this book didn’t add a lot of resolution to the story.
Ileni has been kidnapped and finds her herself in the very heart of the Evil Empire with the sorcerers there. There she is forced to train with the Empire’s sorcerers. She hopes to find a way to escape and hopes to find a way to sabotage the Empire from the inside. However as she gets to know the sorcerers of the Empire bett ...more
This and my other reviews can be found at Amethyst Bookwyrm
Thanks to Edelweiss and Greenwillow Books for giving me this book to review.
Ileni discovers that losing her powers and ending up with the assassins is all part of a plan for her to destroy the Empire. The only problem with this plan is that she does not want to be a weapon, all she wants to discover the truth. She is now in the heart of the Empire, at their academy for sorcerers, yet she is more confused than ever. Some of the people are ...more
Thanks to Edelweiss and Greenwillow Books for giving me this book to review.
Ileni discovers that losing her powers and ending up with the assassins is all part of a plan for her to destroy the Empire. The only problem with this plan is that she does not want to be a weapon, all she wants to discover the truth. She is now in the heart of the Empire, at their academy for sorcerers, yet she is more confused than ever. Some of the people are ...more
First off, I liked the first one. The covers for these books are gorgeous. First half 3 and near the end it was a 3.5 and maybe a 4. There's moments in this where I honestly was getting annoyed by Illeni, she just can't decide on something can she? I get she has conflicted thoughts on this side and that side, what she thought she believed of the assassins and the empire and magic, etc. That I didn't mind, one of the better parts in the book.
But at the same time, she came off as a little I don't ...more
But at the same time, she came off as a little I don't ...more
I really never thought I’d enjoy reading books about assassins. Throughout the last 5 years, though, I’ve realized that some of my favorite books have murderers for hire in them. The Death Sworn series is such a good fantasy and while it has assassins in it, I just freaking love it.
My favorite part about Death Sworn was far and away the romance. I love the world building and I adore Ileni, the main character, but there was always something about Ileni and Sorin together that just made me so happ ...more
My favorite part about Death Sworn was far and away the romance. I love the world building and I adore Ileni, the main character, but there was always something about Ileni and Sorin together that just made me so happ ...more
**I received this book for free from (Greenwillow Books) via (Edelweiss) in exchange for an honest review. Thank you!! This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.**
*Genre* Young Adult, Fantasy
*Rating* 3.5
*My Thoughts*
Death Marked is the sequel & conclusion to the Death Sworn duology. A journey that has seen 17-year old Ileni exiled from her Renegai home, to landing among assassins who desire to take down the Empire, to entering the hive of the Empire itself searching ...more
*Genre* Young Adult, Fantasy
*Rating* 3.5
*My Thoughts*
Death Marked is the sequel & conclusion to the Death Sworn duology. A journey that has seen 17-year old Ileni exiled from her Renegai home, to landing among assassins who desire to take down the Empire, to entering the hive of the Empire itself searching ...more
This wasn't really what I had been expecting, but I still really enjoyed it. This is a really unique series and it always surprised me. As long as you are ok with the fact that it is more of a slow paced intrigue.
As much as I enjoyed the new direction in this book, I am left a little confused about why the first book spent so much time getting to know Sorin, when he ended up playing such a small part in this book. It seemed like his character was just flung aside and forgotten in this one. But ...more
As much as I enjoyed the new direction in this book, I am left a little confused about why the first book spent so much time getting to know Sorin, when he ended up playing such a small part in this book. It seemed like his character was just flung aside and forgotten in this one. But ...more
I really want to give Death Marked a higher review but I am so confused. IS that the end of the story? Surely it isn't! We just got to the CLIMAX! NOTHING feels FINISHED about that. I am actually stumped.
...more
naaahh ... I'm quite disappointed. I was hoping for so much more action, for a clear decision. Maybe for a Black and white perspective ... I don't know. but I feel quite unsatisfied with the ending. also, there weren't as many emotions as I expected. I missed Sorin a lot. this sequel feels more like a draft of a book than the actual finished script.
...more
Nothing happened in this book. NOTHING. Everything that did happen turned out to be utterly useless. The ending was frustrating because there was basically no closure. But the narrator was fantastic though and she made listening to this book a pleasant experience. I would have DNFed pretty early on if I had been reading this one.
To sum up : a disappointing conclusion to a series that had the potential to be mind-blowing.
Dec 11, 2014
☣Lynn☣
marked it as to-read
I might just to buy these for the covers alone. So fucking beautiful. :D
Wtf did I just read???
Seriously, what book ends like that??
All that character development, romance development, world building...to back track and say fuck it, absolutely NOTHING in those 3 categories will have any sort of coherence at the end.
Seriously, what book ends like that??
All that character development, romance development, world building...to back track and say fuck it, absolutely NOTHING in those 3 categories will have any sort of coherence at the end.
Find more reviews at
I'm starting the review off with this: I started Death Sworn on Oct 5. I finished it the same day. I then immediately started Death Marked and finished it the same day. And now I'm writing the review and I'm an absolute mess.
I shed a few tears for Sorin and Ilena when I realized this was a duology. Not exactly my proudest moment, but I'm absolutely stunned and heartbroken by the intricate weaving of Cypress's storytelling ab ...more
Hmm what to say about this book.
Ileni was a lot more annoying in this novel, I found. She was very self righteous and preachy, and just down right hypocritical. There were a lot of times I just wanted to walk into the book and say, "Honey, are you really one to talk?" and then slap her. Many of the characters even point this out to her, and she still does it anyways. She also suffers a bit from Special Snowflake Syndrome this time around, which feels like a step backwards from her character in D ...more
Ileni was a lot more annoying in this novel, I found. She was very self righteous and preachy, and just down right hypocritical. There were a lot of times I just wanted to walk into the book and say, "Honey, are you really one to talk?" and then slap her. Many of the characters even point this out to her, and she still does it anyways. She also suffers a bit from Special Snowflake Syndrome this time around, which feels like a step backwards from her character in D ...more
The first thing I really got from starting Death Marked was dang, I have a terrible memory. Unfortunately, having found Death Sworn an average sort of read, I could hardly remember anything from that book. Which made it very difficult to empathise with any of the characters in Death Marked since I couldn't remember who any of them were. And I was confused about one thing or another for maybe the first third of the book because I wasn't sure why any of the characters were in the situations they w
...more
I'm going by what I remember after finishing this book. And to be totally honest, that was already months ago (Two months ago? Three? More?). And even to present I still don't really have anything to say about this book and so what everyone gets are a few unhelpful sentences.
Because I honestly had no idea what was going on in this book at all. I had thought that Ileni had already made a decision about her actions, but I guess she really hasn't. So instead of the competent, kickass, yet pow ...more
Because I honestly had no idea what was going on in this book at all. I had thought that Ileni had already made a decision about her actions, but I guess she really hasn't. So instead of the competent, kickass, yet pow ...more
It's partly because the setting - an academy for sorcerers-in-training - isn't unique, certainly not as unique as a cave of assassins; it's partly the way Ileni is forced to react based on other people's choices, because she'd vacillated for months without making a decision; it's partly the way her conflict is, essentially, created by boys falling for her wherever she goes - and all that combines to make Death Marked noticeably weaker than the first novel in the series.
It's not completely borin ...more
It's not completely borin ...more
So I love Leah Cypess' writing. I have raved about all of her previous books almost to the point of embarrassment. For some reason, this one just wasn't as good as her other ones. It is better than a lot of stuff that is currently being published though. She has a way of building tension that makes you want to scream out loud just to break it. The characters were amazing as always. The plot fell a little short. I enjoyed delving further into the world that she has created, and I will definitely
...more
3.5 almost a 4! I loved the first book in this series and was excited for Death Marked. The story took a different direction than I expected and while I wish it ended differently it was still a good ending. There's enough left untold that a 3rd book would be possible and I'm hoping there will be because I don't want to let go of this world or the characters quite yet.
...more
Feb 22, 2014
Teresa Mary Rose
marked it as did-not-finish
DNF
I've been trying to get through this one for a few weeks and it's not working. I found that I no longer care where it's going and I'm getting tired of Ileni's back and forth. Because of that I'll be putting this one aside. ...more
I've been trying to get through this one for a few weeks and it's not working. I found that I no longer care where it's going and I'm getting tired of Ileni's back and forth. Because of that I'll be putting this one aside. ...more
Mar 01, 2015
Liza Wiemer
added it
Read this is one sitting!!! Magic, murder, and blurry lines between right and wrong, good and evil. Leah created a story masterfully written that will make you think, keep you turning pages, and leave you surprised by twists and turns you didn't see coming. Full review to come!
...more
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I wrote my first story in first grade. The narrator was an ice-cream cone in the process of being eaten. In fourth grade, I wrote my first book, about a girl who gets shipwrecked on a desert island with her faithful and heroic dog (a rip-off of both The Black Stallion and all the Lassie movies, very impressive).
However, I took a few detours along the way to becoming a full-time writer. After selli ...more
However, I took a few detours along the way to becoming a full-time writer. After selli ...more
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“Because this, as it turned out, was her destiny. Not to be the powerful sorceress her people had been waiting for, not to be the ruthless killer the assassins needed. Her destiny was to save one person at a time, change things one tiny step after another.
It still hurt, a tinge of loss. Her life wouldn't be grand, or dramatic, or momentous. There would be no great choices to make, no moments when everything would change. It would make a dull story if she was ever called upon to tell it.
It hurt, yes. But it was also something of a relief.”
—
1 likes
It still hurt, a tinge of loss. Her life wouldn't be grand, or dramatic, or momentous. There would be no great choices to make, no moments when everything would change. It would make a dull story if she was ever called upon to tell it.
It hurt, yes. But it was also something of a relief.”
“Ileni swallowed hard.
"Yes," she said. "I am. But it's all going to be the same, for a very long time. The sorcerers will have all the power, and the assassins will eventually regather and start attacking again... and I haven't made any difference at all."
"Well," Evin said, "I think you've made quite a bit of difference to the people whose lives you saved. Speaking as one of them."
She stepped away from the edge, closer to him.
"Do you regret it?" he asked evenly.
His face was half-shadowed, but his eyes were bright and piercing. Not wide with pain and devoid of hope. She felt again his hand, limp and helpless in hers. Felt it tighten as Sorin plummeted past the gray rock.
"No," she said. And for at least that moment, it was entirely true.”
—
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More quotes…
"Yes," she said. "I am. But it's all going to be the same, for a very long time. The sorcerers will have all the power, and the assassins will eventually regather and start attacking again... and I haven't made any difference at all."
"Well," Evin said, "I think you've made quite a bit of difference to the people whose lives you saved. Speaking as one of them."
She stepped away from the edge, closer to him.
"Do you regret it?" he asked evenly.
His face was half-shadowed, but his eyes were bright and piercing. Not wide with pain and devoid of hope. She felt again his hand, limp and helpless in hers. Felt it tighten as Sorin plummeted past the gray rock.
"No," she said. And for at least that moment, it was entirely true.”
