Enjoyed this one as much as the first. Such an exciting fast paced read. It lulled in some spots but picked back up towards the end. Such a twisty ride. A great end to a fun duology.

I loved Inked, so I was excited to see Caenum's story continued in Branded. Well written, I was instantly hooked!

I really enjoyed Inked and was so excited to learn that it was getting a sequel! Branded continued the story of Caenum and his fight with the Citadel. This was an enjoyable story to read although it felt like it kind of fell a bit flat for me, personally. It didn't really feel like much was happening and I found myself looking for something to happen at any point while reading. There was also a few confusing parts that I just couldn't get past. But overall, this was a good read and I'm glad I had the chance to read it!

I really liked Inked; so, I was super thrilled to read Branded. Fun read!

When I first received this book I was STOKED. Inked (the first novel) was an absolute amazing novel and I was incredibly excited to see what was going to happen next!

Reading this novel however, I found both good and bad surprises. Starting with the bad news, I found that I preferred the first novel to Branded. Inked was full of world building and although Branded introduces some new characters I didn't feel like enough of the world was developed for the reader. This sucked because the settings sounded cool, but there could be so many interesting details. I also found that this novel would fare much better as a movie. Lots of pieces felt awkward and only included one perspective. If Branded became a movie I feel like it would be incredibly interesting for not only the plot, but also by providing those extra details about the landscape. Due to this it took me awhile to get through this novels, and even longer due to finals and other events.

Despite its setbacks, Branded also brought in a lot of aspects that I did really enjoy. For instance, I really enjoyed the twists that this story had. As an avid book predictor, I found this novel to really surprise me along the way! I'm also still in love with the concept of magical tattoos. Overall the concept was still fun and I did like Flycker as a character and those were what was really keeping me reading. However, the romance was also bittersweet. His romance was Dreya was obvious from Inked and was still as sweet as ever, but this novel really took a turn and (no spoilers), but I definitely did not agree with how the romance took a turn in this novel.

Holy holy crayola crayons!!!!!!!! This was a mind-blowing epic sequel filled with magic, danger and holy crap awesomeness. This is a must read series!

DNFing at 40%

I had a difficult time getting through Inked, the first book in the series. However, I was interested by the overall idea and stuck it out. Starting Branded, I just found myself not being interested enough to stick with the story. The first 30% mainly talks about one instance, and I simply lost interest.

I was looking for more general world building, but it simply doesn't happen. I think reading nearly the first half of the book is a generous opportunity to see some progression, but I think that this story plateaued and couldn't move passed what was revealed in Inked.

1.5 stars

Thanks to the publisher for providing me with a copy of this book!

I felt the novel Branded was not as well fleshed out compared to Inked. Although the rebellion is fueled with opinions and also betrayal, the character development was stagnant at parts of the novel. Perhaps more growth will be seen if the novel was longer and the plot didn't feel rushed. At times I put down the novel hoping that I will just need to a break.