Character- A
Plot- A+
Romance- A-
Plot Twistiness- B+
Compelling-ness (word I just made up)- A+++++++
Action- B

This really is a special book.

Zivah is a healer, and a good one at that. When she is afflicted with the disease know as rose plague, her life as she knows it is over. Determined not to be pitied, Zivah continues to help her village healers from afar. When a neighboring village decides to take on the ruling regime, Zivah offers her expertise with poisons to help a solider, Dineas.
When Zivah and Dineas come together sparks fly, but their mission to the revolution is also a priority. A gripping, new, original voice in YA literature, I can't wait to continue the series!

Rosemarked by Livia Blackburne

BROOKE’S REVIEW

In today’s sea of dystopian YA books, Rosemarked makes its mark. This book has all of the components of a strong YA book: a strong female protagonist in Zivah, a brooding hero in Dineas, a battle of good and evil, moral complexity, and a slow-burning love story.

Zivah is a healer, but she contracts the rose plague. While it doesn’t kill her, it marks her and leaves her with a death sentence. She does not know when, but the disease will come back, and when it does, there is no cure.

Dineas must go undercover to seek revenge against the Amparan Empire. Zivah, who at first he could not stand, becomes his lifeline, but the events of war make him question his feelings.

This book has the feeling of the first volume of a series. I would be happy to see the story continued by Livia Blackburne.

AUTHOR

New York Times best-selling author Livia Blackburne has a PhD in neuroscience from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where she conducted research on the neural correlates of reading. She still blogs on the intersection of writing and brain science (liviablackburne.com), and she now lives in Los Angeles with her family. Livia is also the author of Midnight Thief, an Indies Introduce New Voices selection, and its sequel, Daughter of Dusk.

As a final note, I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an unbiased review.

Truly enjoyed the characters and setting of this story.

I cannot accurately review this book because my copy was missing every other page.
Which was very frustrating, and disappointing.

It looks like every other page is missing from the galley. Please let me know if a new file is available.

"And I can’t help but think how easy it is for a thing of this world to be destroyed, and how quickly something beautiful can disappear."

Rosemarked is told from alternating views and tells the story of a young healer that catches a disease that she cannot cure and a man who has overcome the disease and must go on a mission with the healer to infiltrate the capital city as spies.

The Story-The pacing of this book was slow but steady. There weren’t many climactic points that had me at the edge of my seat, and when there was one, it was somewhat short lived. I had hoped with the espionage and a trained soldier there would have been a little bit more nail-biting time. Regardless, I was still entertained the entire time. The story was not very complicated which gave more time for character development.

The World Building-I liked the idea of a country that has been ravaged by an empire overtaking it. Either lay down and let them control you and occupy your land or rebel and be slaughtered. Our characters were found from both sides-the healer catching the plague from the men that have occupied her country and a soldier that has history from the empire that haunts him. Since the characters do travel throughout the book I was hoping there would be a little more time spent in some sweeping landscape. I also would have liked to read a little bit more on the culture of the people and what life was like in the country before the invasion maybe. I appreciated the inventiveness of the plague and the stages that go with it.

The Characters-Our two main characters were definitely the most complex things about this book. The fact that Zivah is a healer but has an incurable disease is something that she has to grow and accept. I feel like it helps her transform from her naïve self to someone with a little more purpose with her life. There is something about a person’s impeding death that has them questioning how they will spend their remaining time: Sit in a cottage and slowly dieor use my knowledge for something good, something meaningful.

Dineas on the other hand has a second chance at life and somehow finds himself on a mission back to where he managed to escape from. It was really interesting to see his personality bounce back and forth throughout his mission to the point where he finally becomes whole by the end, accepting all parts of himself.


Overall, it seemed like a decent start to a series, and I am curious to see how their mission affects their world and how the characters continue to grow. I really hope to see a little more action or suspense in the next installment. There is a lot at risk, and I really want to feel the anxiety that these characters must be feeling.

When I joined NetGalley about a month ago, this was one of the first books that I requested and I was so excited to see that I'd received an ARC for review.  I thought the cover was gorgeous, the synopsis was enticing, and the reviews were stellar.  I have to give an unpaid, unwarranted thank you to Disney Book Group for letting me get a sneak peek at this fabulous read!

Rosemarked by Livia Blackburne is a story told by two narrators: Zivah, a healer who's contracted the lethal rose plague, and Dineas, a rebel fighter looking to take down the empire that threatens to overtake his homeland.  Zivah and Dineas are tasked by their respective leaders to work together in gathering intel about the Amparan Empire.

What stood out to me first was Blackburne's method of world-building.  Throughout the book in its entirety, our two narrators developed the world in a way that was seamless and natural.  Based on Blackburne's word choices and use of dialogue, I felt like I was seeing this fantasy(ish) world through its inhabitant's eyes and I enjoyed it.  There was not a data dump in sight: I as a reader was given pieces of the world as Zivah and Dineas observed it in a way that was normal to them.

When I looked up this book on Goodreads, every review I read raved about the slow-burning romance between Zivah and Dineas.  I have to jump on the bandwagon here because I think the romance was done right in the context of the book.  I'd hate to spoil it for you, so I'll just leave it at this: Blackburne did well in my humble opinion.

While there were a few clichés sprinkled throughout, I didn't think that they were prominent enough to detract from the book's summative originality.  The atypical romance subplot, stellar world-building, unique plot, and dynamic character relationships made up for the fact that Zivah was a little one-sided.  Dineas showed a clear character progression, but Zivah was somewhere in between static and dynamic.

My only other criticism is the naming.  Personally, I prefer to know how to pronounce my character's names, but I understand the need for originality.  Other than that, I was pretty pleased with the book as a whole and consider it a worthwhile read.

I was hooked from start to finish! Full review to come.

I really enjoyed this! It's been a couple years since I read a Livia Blackburne book, but her writing just has this nice, familiar style that I really enjoy. I love how complicated everything about this book is, from the characters to their many different relationships and how those complications are addressed throughout the book. Much of the book left me making pained noises, as things just kept getting more and more complicated and difficult for the two main characters. I really appreciated the way Blackburne handled Dineas' PTSD, although I wish he had talked about it with someone (that's more because I want him to heal in some way than a fault of the book - it's entirely in character for him to not speak about it). I also greatly enjoyed the way Zivah deals with the realities of being rosemarked and what that means for her and her place in her society.

My one small complaint is there are some abrupt time shifts throughout the book. While I appreciate moving the plot along, the time shifts kinda happened out of nowhere. It would just be "three weeks later..." in the next paragraph. This might be due to the formatting of the arc and there might be some kind of marker in the finalized copy, so it wasn't a huge issue and I could still follow along. Really, I just wanted to read more about these characters and all their interactions, so even though it might've slowed the plot I still personally would've appreciated more.

Fans of An Ember in the Ashes and The Winner's Curse should give this a try! I highly recommend it for its complicated look at relationships, war, and healing.

Rosemarked is a the first in a promising new YA fantasy series! The book was very well-written, and the plot was unique, interesting and fast-paced. It kept my attention the entire time and I didn't want to stop reading. Dineas and Zivah made wonderful characters and I was invested in both of their stories. The synopsis is absolutely correct about a slow-burning romance: the relationship between those two is complicated and I can't wait for more! I had so much fun following the adventure of Dineas and Zivah and I'm really looking forward to the rest of the series!

Excellent YA fantasy/adventure with a dash of hidden romance. Zivah & Dineas live under the oppressive rule of the Empire, although from differing factions. His tribe chooses to actively fight back, while her village chooses to accommodate their overlords. Until circumstances find them allied together in enemy territory. An added twist has Dineas literally playing two roles, one in which he is much more open to romance with Zivah, and the other, not so much.
Lots to admire & appreciate in this unexpected tale - highly recommended!