Markless

I’d like to thank both NetGalley and Levine Querido, from whom I received an ARC of Markless. These opinions are my own.

I don’t read a lot of young adult books (they can be a little hit or miss for me), but sometimes I read a blurb and I don’t care if I’m the target audience or not – I’m definitely reading that book. I felt that way with Markless and I’m glad I gave it a chance because I enjoyed it quite a bit!

I don’t read a lot of fantasy with major romance plots (Romantasy? Is this romantasy?) but I do love the enemies to lovers trope and when it’s sapphic? Yes please! I also really like what Malburi did with the soulmates trope in Markless. I admit I haven’t read a whole lot of romance with the soulmates trope, so I’m not sure if what was done here is common or not, but I thought it was nice that it explored the idea that choosing your own soulmate is always a possibility.

The main character, Ruti, was so well-written. Not only did I love her, but I could easily feel whatever emotion she was feeling. If she was confused, so was I. Whether she was upbeat or distressed, I was too. The evolution of her relationship with Princess Dekala felt very natural, which I appreciated. Speaking of Dekala, she was… an enigma, but an intriguing one. My favorite thing about her was that she was so hard to pin down. Sometimes it was frustrating, but hey, I was only frustrated when Ruti was frustrated, so it was perfect!

I did feel that the magic system was a little confusing. As soon as I thought I had a decent understanding of it, something new was introduced that threw me for a loop. I don’t think I ever quite understood the limits of the world’s magic.

My only other issue was that towards the end of the book, there was a part that felt to me like the oft frowned upon “and then I woke up” moment used in some media. It wasn’t that, but it gave me a similar feeling, and I was disappointed. But the ending itself was great. It made up for some of that disappointment and left me feeling happy with the book overall.