Review: The Unmarked Witch (Unmarked #1)

The Unmarked Witch (Unmarked #1)
By Miranda Lyn

Published By: Miranda Lyn / Self-Published
Publication Date: September 20, 2022
Date Read: July 4, 2024
Genre: NA – Fantasy
Source: Spotify Premium
Format: Audiobook
Pages: 421

From Goodreads:
All Raven wants is peace. But in a magical realm plagued by deception, the only thing her world knows is turmoil.

A land where witches wear their spells like tattoos is no place for a woman without a single magical mark—except for Raven, whose unblemished skin contradicts the truth of her power. Surviving under the scowls of her fellow witches has carved indelible scars into her mind over the years—just as the day she watched the Dark King’s men murder her grandmother in cold blood.

But the Dark King’s reign of terror is far-reaching, and Raven’s grandmother won’t be the last witch to die under his rule. After the death of a coven leader heralds the start of the infamous Witch Trials, Raven finds herself dodging death to triumph. The journey quickly descends into perils far greater than she’d ever imagined, including a war on her heart from a man she’d only ever known as a villain.

Still, trust is always fragile in kingdoms ruled by magic, especially when love enters the fold. Yet, something else is awry in the land of spells and shadows and Raven must decide whether she trusts her gut or her heart.

The Unmarked Witch is not a book that I have had on my radar for very long. I came across it after looking for recommendations from RARE authors in preparation of the event this September, and the author pitched this to me so perfectly. For those KU readers, it is available on KU, but as an audiobook obsessive, I decided to listen to the audio which is available through Spotify Premium. This book was so much better than I ever expected and I am super excited to continue the series very soon.

The Unmarked Witch is set in a world where powerful witches have tattoo like images on their skin for all to see, but Raven is a powerful witch whose skin remains untouched. When she is chosen as one of the witches to compete in the Witch Trials, Raven is determined to get to the bottom of the Dark King’s reign and get revenge for her grandmother… however all it not as it seems, and Raven is about to learn things that will make her question everything.

I really enjoyed how unique this take on witches was. I am a huge fan of witch books, so I’ve read a fair amount of them. I really enjoyed this concept of witches powers being shown by the tattoos on their skin. I really liked this concept and I loved that there was our protagonist who was incredibly powerful but had no markings. It really intrigued me right from the very start and made me desperate to keep reading. In addition to this I loved the Witch Trials. I feel like this book was definitely appealing to all the readers of the popular 2010 YA books with competitions on. I am one of those readers and I was absolutely here for the Hunger Games / The Testing kind of vibes. It just made me love this book so much more.

The Unmarked Witch is such a solid first book of a duology. It had everything I could want in a fantasy book. Witches, a deadly competition, a dark antagonist who isn’t all that he seems and romance. This just had everything I love and I can’t wait to dive into the second book. I loved the ending and it’s definitely got me dying to read the second and final book. Can I also just say how happy I am this is a duology? I LOVE duologies and short series so this is again just perfect for me. Was it the best book ever? No. But it was so enjoyable and I definitely recommend this for fans of witchy books.