Reviews tagging 'Pregnancy'

Legendborn by Tracy Deonn

73 reviews

lilifane's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious 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

5.0

Is this the best book ever written? Maybe not. 
Is this the best YA fantasy book ever written? Maybe?
At least, it's one of the best I've read. Truly, the writing is fantastic. I laughed, I cried, I was at the edge of my seat and turned page after page after page. And I just found out this is Tracy Deonn's debut novel?! What?!

Loved the writing. Looooved the characters, the character work, development, their dynamics are so good. There are some tropes I usually don't enjoy that much, but here I didn't mind, I was even invested. I'm here for it. And there is so much LGBTQ+ representation! Gay, Lesbian, Bi Characters, a non-binary one. And the way they are casually part of the story made me SO happy. 
Also, Bree as the protagonist is such a delight to follow. Even when she is grieving and angry. I love her. 

I'm a fan of Arthurian legends. One of my first fantasy books ever was a retelling of the legend. Since then, I've encountered many more and this one is so unique. I have to admit, it is confusing at the beginning. There is a lot of world building (A LOT), a lot of names, and details. The magic system is wild and equally confusing. And then halfway through the book a second magic system comes into play. And I loved this one even more. But it worked for me. In the end everything came together perfectly, the plot, the characters, the mysteries. The ending is so satisfying. 

And all that, the character dynamics, the friendships, the romance, the magic, the (for me perfectly paced) plot is interwoven with themes like grief, racism, colonization, slavery, generational trauma in such a brilliant way. I could say so much more and talk about this book for hours on end, but I don't want to spoil anything. I'm just in love which this story and can't wait to continue with Bloodmarked right away. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Racism, Slavery, Violence, Grief, Death of parent, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Bullying, Gore, Rape, Medical content, Kidnapping, Stalking, Car accident, Pregnancy, and Alcohol

jackiepreston's review against another edition

adventurous 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? No

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Racism, Sexism, Violence, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Misogyny and Car accident

Minor: Sexual assault, Slavery, Car accident, Pregnancy, and Alcohol

iamsammie27's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs and Racism

Moderate: Child death, Rape, Slavery, Torture, and Pregnancy

Minor: Child abuse and Domestic abuse

cinderrunner's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad 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

5.0

This book is INCREDIBLE. The heart, grit, power, world building, humanity, awareness, blending of trauma and our country's god awful history with race is masterful. I cannot wait to read the sequel. I have zero complaints. You can tell how well the author understands what she's writing cause the truth in every aspect of the book (even the fantasy elements) is so stark. The first few pages alone, hearing how Bree talks about loosing her mom, left me speechless. I have not witnessed a fiction author put that sort of pain into words in a long time. And then it just gets better the more you read. A truly wonderful and unflinching fantasy story. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Death, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Slavery, Violence, Grief, Death of parent, Pregnancy, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Misogyny, Car accident, Colonisation, and Classism

fivecatsinacoat's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Bullying, Death, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Slavery, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Rape, Car accident, and Pregnancy

hailslynn's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional inspiring 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

5.0

Definitely one of my top 5 books of the year and possibly ever. Felt the same kind of joy and excitement while reading that I used to get when reading my favorite series from middle school

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Racism, Violence, Grief, and Death of parent

Moderate: Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Slavery, Blood, Police brutality, Medical content, Pregnancy, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

woolgathering_jane's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional informative inspiring mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

“Love is a powerful thing, more powerful than blood, although both run through us like a river.” 

I had no idea how to rate this book because I have very conflicting feelings about it.
The story was trying to do so much. The author was trying to fit so many themes into it. It felt like it had... too much plot? It got to a point when I'd be second-hand stressed for Bree because she had far too much on her plate. The chapters were so long. And still, nobody, including me, could catch a damn break.

except when Bree washed her hair. That was such a lovely moment.

Because the story was constantly jumping between one subplot to another (and, to be honest, the painful chapter length), I never sat down to read for very long because I would always feel a kind of closure when the story moved on. Seriously, this book took me so long.
And still.
Even all these issues couldn't distract me from how important this story is. As a white person living in a predominantly white country, Bree's point of view was such a new way to see the world, not only because of her race but also because of her loss. Not to say she was unrelatable (as many white readers like to talk about POC heroes), but I actually found more of myself in her than I thought I would. If it weren't for all the problems mentioned above, I would be running around recommending this book to everyone. 
But alas, this wasn't a story for me. But please, still give it a chance. I don't regret reading it (at all!), and I even considered buying the second book solely to support the writer haha

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Death, Misogyny, Slavery, Medical content, Car accident, and Colonisation

Minor: Rape, Murder, and Pregnancy

emjen16's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective 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? It's complicated

5.0

This is AMAZING! Such a beautiful and raw take on grief, racism, and slavery. The world building was incredible, the characters are so lovable and real, and so many plot twists to keep you on your toes. In short, just read it :)

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Racism, Blood, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Cursing, Domestic abuse, Infidelity, Kidnapping, Gaslighting, and Classism

Minor: Racial slurs, Rape, Slavery, and Pregnancy

em_of_swags's review against another edition

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

4.0

On the one hand the book was super diverse and I loved how much Black History was woven through it.

On the other hand the plot did feel very generic of all other typical YA fantasy novels.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Violence, Grief, and Death of parent

Moderate: Death, Rape, Sexism, Slavery, Torture, and Murder

Minor: Gore, Blood, Kidnapping, and Pregnancy

sophiafaurs's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Racism, Slavery, Violence, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Misogyny, Sexism, Torture, Death of parent, and Pregnancy

Minor: Transphobia and Death of parent