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puttingwingsonwords's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Racism, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, and Murder
Moderate: Cursing, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Slavery, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, and Car accident
Minor: Infidelity
blakethebookeater's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
“Death is not a thread. It is the sharp cut that severs us. Death separates us from one another, and yet it holds us close. As deeply as we hate it, it loves us more.”
Legendborn is a revelation of a novel. I’ve just been coming back to reading YA and this is the kind of story I want to read more of in YA.
Bree Matthews is a 16 year old black girl who is attending the Early College program at UNC Chapel Hill after her mother dies in a car accident. During her first night, she witnesses something magical and slightly terrifying...and come to realize there may be more to her mother’s death then she thought. Her only way forward? Infiltrating a secret organization with ties to the legend of King Arthur in order to find out the truth about et mother and who she really is.
While this journey includes magic and monsters, this is a book deeply about grief. This is not a typical YA novel where the main character has offscreen dead parents and they’re barely affected. Everything Bree does is colored by her loss. We feel the immense love she had for her mother and how much it hurts that she’s no longer in her life. While reading this novel, I lost my dog (the first real loss in my life) and while also throwing me into a hell of a reading slump, it also made me deeply connect to Bree and those emotions of wanting everything to be different.
Moving to college (even though it’s not *technically* college) also puts a strain on her longtime friendship with her bestie Alice. And much like their strained relationship, I had a similar experience when I moved to college. Tracy Deonn I think has perfectly captured some of the feelings and emotion that goes with these big life changes and distilled it in a way that young reader will really be able to connect to them. This series will be important a lot of readers in a huge way, I believe.
All of the intrigue about the Order was just awesome and I LOVED that the protagonist in a YA novel was skeptical of the magical society instead of just automatically over the moon. And that I think is intrinsically tied to Bree’s identity as a black girl on a mostly white campus. The entire Order is white (or white passing) and it places her as even more of an outsider as she tries to infiltrate the organization to discover the truth. Bree was such a brave (and vulnerable) lead and it was so empowering to see her push through every single obstacle thrown at her in order to pursue her goal.
There is SO much more I could get into, but then this would turn into an essay, but I’ll say this. Legendborn by Tracy Deonn is a MUST read and I can easily see this becoming The Next Big Thing™️ because it truly truly deserves it!
Legendborn is a revelation of a novel. I’ve just been coming back to reading YA and this is the kind of story I want to read more of in YA.
Bree Matthews is a 16 year old black girl who is attending the Early College program at UNC Chapel Hill after her mother dies in a car accident. During her first night, she witnesses something magical and slightly terrifying...and come to realize there may be more to her mother’s death then she thought. Her only way forward? Infiltrating a secret organization with ties to the legend of King Arthur in order to find out the truth about et mother and who she really is.
While this journey includes magic and monsters, this is a book deeply about grief. This is not a typical YA novel where the main character has offscreen dead parents and they’re barely affected. Everything Bree does is colored by her loss. We feel the immense love she had for her mother and how much it hurts that she’s no longer in her life. While reading this novel, I lost my dog (the first real loss in my life) and while also throwing me into a hell of a reading slump, it also made me deeply connect to Bree and those emotions of wanting everything to be different.
Moving to college (even though it’s not *technically* college) also puts a strain on her longtime friendship with her bestie Alice. And much like their strained relationship, I had a similar experience when I moved to college. Tracy Deonn I think has perfectly captured some of the feelings and emotion that goes with these big life changes and distilled it in a way that young reader will really be able to connect to them. This series will be important a lot of readers in a huge way, I believe.
All of the intrigue about the Order was just awesome and I LOVED that the protagonist in a YA novel was skeptical of the magical society instead of just automatically over the moon. And that I think is intrinsically tied to Bree’s identity as a black girl on a mostly white campus. The entire Order is white (or white passing) and it places her as even more of an outsider as she tries to infiltrate the organization to discover the truth. Bree was such a brave (and vulnerable) lead and it was so empowering to see her push through every single obstacle thrown at her in order to pursue her goal.
There is SO much more I could get into, but then this would turn into an essay, but I’ll say this. Legendborn by Tracy Deonn is a MUST read and I can easily see this becoming The Next Big Thing™️ because it truly truly deserves it!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Violence, Grief, and Death of parent
Moderate: Cursing, Misogyny, Slavery, Blood, and Car accident
daydreamermoonwalker's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Soooo good!! I loved the characters and thought they were so interesting. Bree is a great mc, she's complex and loveable and her character development is beautiful. The plot is gripping and the magic system is really well thought out. If you're a fan of ya fantasy this is a must read!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Racism, Slavery, Grief, and Death of parent
Moderate: Car accident
Minor: Cancer, Cursing, and Drug use
yodareads12's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
I wasn't completely sure what to expect with this book! But I really enjoyed it so much!
The very beginning started to feel almost like a Shadowhunters retelling, but as the story progressed, my opinion on that changed. I'm only even sharing this fact so nobody gives up too early in the book!
The story is a modern day retelling about descendants from the Legend of King Arthur. This was so interesting to me! Also, the main character, Bree, is a brilliant high schooler who gets involved in a program called EC (Early College). Through this she meets the group on campus that is made up of these descendants.
We get to follow her as she tries to find out more about her mother's death and what exactly this secret society is all about. We also see her have to overcome many rude comments made about her race.
A very powerful story that definitely had some twists I didn't expect! Also, a major cliffhanger ending!!! (Where is the next book?!?!?))
There was a moderate amount of cursing which I don't like in young adult books. Also, there was a thing commonly known as insta-love which gets on my nerves, but many people like. Also, the activities in the book seemed to happen WAY too fast then they would in the real world. But the storyline and characters definitely made up for it!
I'd recommend for anyone who loves fantasy and YA books. Or if you like reading anything that hits on the Legend of King Arthur!
The very beginning started to feel almost like a Shadowhunters retelling, but as the story progressed, my opinion on that changed. I'm only even sharing this fact so nobody gives up too early in the book!
The story is a modern day retelling about descendants from the Legend of King Arthur. This was so interesting to me! Also, the main character, Bree, is a brilliant high schooler who gets involved in a program called EC (Early College). Through this she meets the group on campus that is made up of these descendants.
We get to follow her as she tries to find out more about her mother's death and what exactly this secret society is all about. We also see her have to overcome many rude comments made about her race.
A very powerful story that definitely had some twists I didn't expect! Also, a major cliffhanger ending!!! (Where is the next book?!?!?))
There was a moderate amount of cursing which I don't like in young adult books. Also, there was a thing commonly known as insta-love which gets on my nerves, but many people like. Also, the activities in the book seemed to happen WAY too fast then they would in the real world. But the storyline and characters definitely made up for it!
I'd recommend for anyone who loves fantasy and YA books. Or if you like reading anything that hits on the Legend of King Arthur!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Cursing
iviarelle's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I was absolutely enthralled and fell for every misdirect the whole way through. What an incredible Arthur twist. I'm so dang excited to read more of this story and more from this author, I can't even express it right now. Just mind the content notes.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Death, Gore, Mental illness, Racism, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Car accident, and Death of parent
Moderate: Animal death, Cursing, Slavery, and Kidnapping
Minor: Rape
The book also has a thread of intergenerational trauma as well as PTSD and PCBD.bookishnatalia's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
What a wonderful modern twist on the Arthurian legend! Throughout the writing you could feel the emotion that went into creating this story. Highly recommend!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Racism, Violence, Blood, Grief, and Death of parent
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Slavery, and Car accident
Minor: Cursing, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, and Forced institutionalization
thebooksanctum's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
A fantastic read - I adored it!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Gore, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, and Murder
vicki's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
It's been a while since a book grabbed me like this one did. It's modern without losing the root of the legends being told and certainly a take on the legacy of Arthur I've never seen before. Magic, mystery and romance, an emotional rollercoaster.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief
Moderate: Racism, Slavery, and Violence
Minor: Ableism, Bullying, Cursing, Racial slurs, Rape, Sexual violence, Torture, and Medical content
lauraeerika's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
informative
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Death, Racial slurs, Racism, Slavery, and Grief
Moderate: Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Torture, Xenophobia, Medical content, and Medical trauma
Minor: Alcoholism, Sexism, and Sexual content
Best mother daughter relationships I’ve read in a bookforeverinastory's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Bree Matthews is running away from her grief. In order to distant herself from it, Bree goes to a residential program for bright high schoolers at UNC–Chapel Hill. But her first night there she witnesses a magical attack. Even though a "Merlin" erases her memory, Bree ends up remembering the events the next day. Along with this comes a memory from the night her mother died, and another Merlin was at the hospital.
Bree is determined to find out what happened to her mom and she enlists the help of Nick, a self-exiled Legendborn. Becoming part of the secret society of knights will be like nothing Bree has ever known, add a magical war coming on top of that, and everyone is perched on the edge of disaster.
I don't have the proper words to describe how amazing this book was. Definitely tied with Once & Future for my fave King Arthur retelling. The emotions of this book were so well done. I had all the freaking feelings.
I loved Bree for her determination and her loyalty to her friends. Also her and Selwyn bonding/learning to understand each other gave me life. I can't decide if I should ship her with Sel or Nick?? The way the magic in this world worked was magnificently done. The difference between blood bound and root magic was so cool. I hope we get to learn more about these two types of magic in the sequel.
Also the ending? Absolutely wild, I did not see that coming. But I am so here for it!! While this book does have it moments of joy for Bree, the depictions of grief are raw. Bree also deals with overt racism and microaggressions while being inducted into the society. What I am trying to say, is that there still is a lot of trauma and pain in this book. Nevertheless, it is truly amazing, I cannot wait to see what Deonn does next.
Bree is determined to find out what happened to her mom and she enlists the help of Nick, a self-exiled Legendborn. Becoming part of the secret society of knights will be like nothing Bree has ever known, add a magical war coming on top of that, and everyone is perched on the edge of disaster.
I don't have the proper words to describe how amazing this book was. Definitely tied with Once & Future for my fave King Arthur retelling. The emotions of this book were so well done. I had all the freaking feelings.
I loved Bree for her determination and her loyalty to her friends. Also her and Selwyn bonding/learning to understand each other gave me life. I can't decide if I should ship her with Sel or Nick?? The way the magic in this world worked was magnificently done. The difference between blood bound and root magic was so cool. I hope we get to learn more about these two types of magic in the sequel.
Also the ending? Absolutely wild, I did not see that coming. But I am so here for it!! While this book does have it moments of joy for Bree, the depictions of grief are raw. Bree also deals with overt racism and microaggressions while being inducted into the society. What I am trying to say, is that there still is a lot of trauma and pain in this book. Nevertheless, it is truly amazing, I cannot wait to see what Deonn does next.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Death, Racial slurs, Racism, Slavery, Violence, Grief, and Death of parent
PTSD, Interaction with a police officer, racial microaggressions
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