Markless is a story about healing from past traumas and learning to find what is most important in the most unexpected of places. Overall, Markless was a quick read that will appeal to younger readers looking for a sense of adventure while embarking on a journey to find unexpected love. Although the novel was a sweet story, I had an issue with coming to terms with tools that were used to further the plot. Many of the decisions the characters made felt forced. The author did an amazing job at convincing me that certain characters should fall in love for the sake of the story, but the characters themselves seemed to lack chemistry on the page to make their decision believable. It felt like the author was dragging the characters along and forcing them into situations instead of letting them happen organically. I do believe the writing has potential, and look forward to what Malburi has for us in the future.

Im rounding my rating up from 3.5. There are a lot of things to love about this book. The magic is really interesting. People have marks on their hands, a half circle representing an element; then they find their soul bound to complete their circle and give them control over their magic. Some people in this world are born Markless and cast out of society. Our main character Ruti is Markless so she was sent to live in the slums. This is all fantastic.

I feel like the interactions, the romance, the attitude in this book is very young; Teen/YA. I think this book is intended for younger readers and I didn't realize that when I picked it.

I do think this book will be a hit among YA readers though. It was well paced, with plenty of action and despicable villains, and the ending was perfect!

My review as written on Goodreads:

Ruti is Markless. In a society where worth is determined by the pattern on your palm and the magic it grants you, this also deems her worthless. But she's also a hardened survivor, a protector of the lowest class .. and the most powerful witch in Somanchi.
With a single song, she can ask the many gods to grant her unimaginable powers.
Dekala's Mark is strong, a Mark fit for the future queen of Somanchi, but it's also unstable. She knows the only solution is to be bonded with another, but she also knows that this would mean relinquishing control over her throne and kingdom. So when she is witness to Ruti's power, Dekala offers the witch a deal: She can be prosecuted for her crimes... or she can help Dekala ascend to the throne, unbonded.
Dekala is calculating and brutal, focused purely on getting her way. She is also determined, intelligent, and compassionate.
Ruti is torn between the grudging bloom of attraction and admiration, and the desire to see Dekala fail. But as gods are defied, new alliances are forged, and the fullness of Ruti's feelings emerge. The fate of the kingdom—and the survival of the downtrodden—lies in her unmarked hands.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
ARC | release 06/04/2024

-found family
-slow burn romance
-third person pov
-elemental magic

🚫the following review contains small spoilers but does not give away the ending or any major details🚫

This book consumed me, I could hardly put it down until I finished reading it, and the ending?! It left me teary eyed and in awe. This was a fast paced and brilliantly written fantasy about love, friendship, power, and overcoming all odds.

Markless follows Ruti, a markless witch, through her life in the slums of Somanchi. The slums are harsh, pitting markless against each other, and not many making it to adulthood. Ruti gets by with her unique abilities - being able to sing to the gods to ask for their favor. Ruti has a weak spot though - the little ones. She does what she can to protect them, whether using her gifts to ward off other cruel markless or the ones she has sheltered over the years. This brings us to Kimya. Kimya does not speak. Well not with words at least, she speaks with her hands. Ruti protects Kimya in a time of trouble, and gives her shelter for the night. What Ruti does not expect, is that this little girl would become attached and never want to leave.

“And so Ruti gives her a name. Khumeía, she calls her, after the ancient word for mixing offerings, but it becomes Kimya soon enough.”

The characters in this book were complex and interesting. I absolutely loved Ruti, she is brave, resilient, and caring. Kimya is sweet, brave, loving, and becomes the family Ruti has never known. Dekala fierce, calculating, and brutal. She is also the powerful unbonded queen-to-be of Somanchi. The growth of her character and seeing the growth of her’s and Ruti’s friendship grow was so beautiful to watch. Orrin, although a minor character, still made a lasting impression. Orrin is Dekala’s personal body guard, and husband to be, although that is kept in the dark since they are not each other’s soulbonds. Orrin proves to be faithful to his queen throughout the story and gets the ending that we all could hope for.

“There are some who claim that each mark is a sign of how the one who bears it is deep down. Ashto is fire, for people who are passionate and temperamental. Majimm, water, for the calm and introspective. Endhi is earth, for those who are grounded and compassionate. And then there is sewa, the rarest of the four signs. Sewa is air and wind and sky, distant and untamed and free, and the Heir can never be ruled by any man.”

The world building in this novel was fantastic. I could almost see myself standing in the slums next to Ruti, or on the Merchant’s Market running with Kimya. I could almost smell the fruits on the hut in the wasteland, and could definitely feel the crew’s joy when finding it.

“Ahead of them is the lake. Ruti can see it now, and she thinks at first that she’s seeing the reflection of the sun distorted in the water. But no, the Lake of the Carved Thousand is an unnatural red so dark it’s nearly purple, glistening in the sunlight like a pool of blood.”

I can’t say enough good things about this novel, and should definitely be added to your future tbr!

Markless is one of the best fantasy books I've read in a while and a beautiful take on a soulmates trope.

The story is set in a world where most people are born with half a mark on their hand that gives them powers connected to earth, fire, water or air. But those powers are impossible to control until the person finds their soulmate and their marks complete. Ruti was born without such a mark and through her character we get to see how this world treats people who are seen as less than the ones with marks. It's especially fascinating as Ruti has powers of her own, ones that don't require finding a soulmate to have control over. And yet that doesn't change how she's perceived just because she's markless. The other main character is Dekala, the future queen of the kingdom Ruti lives in. She considers love a weakness and wants nothing more than to ensure she won't be tied to a soulmate. She wants to rule her kingdom freely and without anyone dictating her what to do.

The world-building aspect of the book could benefit from expansion and development, but the romance holds strong and I have no complaints about it. The chemistry between the characters is amazing and it's really easy to get swept by their transition from enemies to lovers and how it affects their development as characters. How much it changes both of them. I loved especially how, even though the story is told only from Ruti's perspective, it's so easy to see how Ruti changes Dekala even if Ruti cannot see that. Multiple moments of this story brought me to tears and broke my heart in the best way possible.

This might be a debut book for C.G. Malburi but she's well known as a beloved fandom author. And while I think some authors struggle with the transition from writing fics to original stories, to me, C.G. manages to avoid the biggest issue and wrote main characters who feel well settled into this world and not like they are ripped out from another story.

I hope this is the start of a great writing career because I look forward to reading many more books by this author. And I cannot wait to have a physical version of this book on my shelf.