Reviews with content warning for Violence - Legendborn

I waited years to read this so I wouldn't have to wait for the sequel to release only to find out that it's actually a series (not a duology?!) and I'm still going to have to wait for more books 🤡

Anyway, I was an Avalon High girlie growing up so I had high expectations for Legendborn. I love all of the historical and fantastical aspects Deonn is weaving into the story but take some issue with execution. While I think that the showing not telling was successful in conveying that Bree is a quick thinker, I feel like I, as the reader, was left behind in the dust. It took so long for me to grasp this world, it's hierarchies, and magic system, and I don't feel like I usually struggle with this in fantasy novels? There was a lot of information in the first half of the book and not enough time to process it. I would really love a chart to get a visual of all of these key pieces.

The big twist wasn't entirely surprising to me, but it was just mysterious enough that I needed the book to fill in the gaps of what I hadn't already figured out. Despite the convolution, I do think that important information was delved out reasonably.

As for the love triangle...
I'm not opposed to love triangles but the issue I usually have with them is that one party is far more appealing or interesting than the other contender vying for our protagonist's affections. This issue is present in Legendborn. The Nick x Bree thing felt instalovey and Nick didn't have must personality outside of the lineage that makes up his whole identity. I get that he's supposed to be a charismatic golden boy but he's boring. Based on the ending of book 1, I'm excited to get into book 2 simply because of the dynamic shift in the love triangle.

I'm definitely intrigued and hope that Bloodmarked will be easier to grasp now that I have some understanding of the world.

Content Warnings

hayreading's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous emotional mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

It's great, for what it is. An easy read and cleanser. A bit too young for me, but it has important messaging. Minus points for the sort of love triangle.

Content Warnings

roonaye's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Content Warnings

piprigsby's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous emotional inspiring 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

Content Warnings

alexiconic's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous emotional 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? It's complicated

5.0

legendborn manages to be a great action-filled book that made me turn the pages as fast as i could and have a main character that struggles, has feelings she is processing, and side characters that were fun and (mostly) different. it has a serious message and bree is struggling with the real questions of coming of age, but she is also in love, and she does badass magical things. it was great fun all the way through.

i don’t know if this is a perfect book.

i am on the fence about the sel/nick/bree relationships, for example, and was afraid for a long portion that it would be a typical “she falls for the blond good guy but now here is a dark mysterious hottie and she will go for him” situation. buuuut it feels like that is a misread of the situation - the three have complicated relationships with each other (and really each other person). sel is bound to nick, has loved nick, nick and bree are in love, but bree is also in a unique relationship with sel because of their ancestors.

Content Warnings

mae_dexter_author's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous challenging emotional informative inspiring mysterious sad tense slow-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 audiobook was absolutely amazing! I was never a huge fan of the legend of King Arthur. But WOW this audiobook changed that for sure. There is so much going on in this story it’s hard to talk about without spoiling.

Content Warnings

celeste329's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

3.75

A very interesting book that felt both too short and too long. Lots of interesting magic around, and I appreciated how the author offered effectively two schools of magic, each with their own teachings.

The whole plot of the book was fairly interesting as well. I could see the chosen one archetype being used, but with different nuances than one would usually expect.

Characters wise, there is a range of them. Bree is obviously the most fleshed out character and I absolutely loved seeing the book-world through her eyes. I really appreciated her journey of self-discovery, and elements of identity explored in the book. Nick is also a personal favourite of mine (what can I say, I love me a sweet and attentive boyfriend, and I think Nick was rather good in that aspect, with the slight question at the end

of whether his affection is truly love or a blood bond

).

Sel was also a complex character - but as complex as his background can be, I didn't really vibe with him. Old man Davis is also a compelling character, I could really see and understand his motivations (though not necessarily the root cause). I thought Alice was rather under-utilised in this book.

I also liked Patricia and how she acted like a bridge for Bree and the heritage she was seeking. William was another absolutely fun character, but I was rather confused about his age/wisdom, as some of his personality traits seemed to vary throughout the book. The rest of the cast was fine, I think it was perhaps a tad too large to do specific things with each individual, but it would be interesting to see how/if they change for the remainder of the series.

I didn't quite understand/vibe with the setting. Part of me understood why it was used, given some of the themes explored (privilege, inherited wealth & power, etc), but it felt like the whole College aspect became a bit of a background decoration, with it there to justify some of Bree's interactions with specific characters. The school aspect took a backseat to the bigger setting of the

magical war

.

I would have LOVED to see the

root magic

explored in more detail. I think it was a very interesting take on magic, and would have loved seeing Bree tap into that side of her power more actively. Perhaps one for future books? Also, whilst I like the idea of using the Legend of Arthur as another magical idea, I wasn't entirely sold on it. As in, I didn't quite see why it had to be this legend that had to be used and nothing else.

The other thing I wasn't quite sure on was towards the end, where

Davis just spills all his plans to both Bree and Alice and lets them both walk away? If he had such a powerful Merlin on his side, why didn't he just block/mess with Bree's memories on the spot - especially given Sel's reaction to Isaac and how the latter is seen as such a dangerous Merlin master.

Too many things came crashing down towards the end, making the book have this feeling of being too long and too short at the same time.

Overall, it was a solid book nonetheless.

Content Warnings

74laura74's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous 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

4.0

Content Warnings

More...