Reviews with content warning for Rape - Legendborn

Reviews tagging 'Rape'

Legendborn by Tracy Deonn

533 reviews

maximind's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional hopeful mysterious tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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pho_ar's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional hopeful inspiring 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? It's complicated

5.0

Honestly, may be the best book I read this year so far, but I don't know if any will top it.

This is an incredible retelling, recontexualizing of King Arthur legends that made my younger self smile with glee. Combining the legend with the tradegey with resilience and love that in so many ways mirrors the nobility of those legends.

I am not going to tell you anymore because you should simply read it. You won't regret it. 11/10 stars!

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sarahbearas's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.75

Legendborn is YA fantasy at its best and I mean that so sincerely. This is one of my favorite YA fantasies I’ve read in a while and I can't believe it took me this long to pick it up. I’ve been missing out!!!! For so long!!!!

I came into this book without a lot of prior knowledge, which I've been doing nowadays since that seems to bring out a different, more enjoyable reading experience for me. All I knew was that 1) this was highly loved and 2) it's a fantasy. That's about it. Read no blurbs or plot summary because apparently, that's how I operate now. So, as a kid who really enjoyed Arthurian legends growing up, I just about nearly screeched when I realized that this was a twist on that.

It's rare that a first page really gets me hooked on a story; I’ve become accustomed to the idea that a book takes a chapter or two to really get going and pull the reader in. When I tell you that this story drops you in immediately, I do; I’ve never started caring for a main character as fast as I have for Bree. At the core of this story, it's really about her grief and she learns to cope and live with it. And kudos to Tracy Deonn for handling such topics with the care and grace that should be used when talking about grief.

With regards to the fantasy aspect, I felt as though I understood everything in the moment but the further we got along the more I was like “do I actually understand this magic system?????”. Alas, I think it's just the nature of a dense magic system to lose some details on the first read. I never felt like anything was too info-dumpy, I personally would have to go back and re-read a lot to really understand the concept of the Order and Root as well. It’s really excellent, once you start to grasp the ideas presented.

My only true gripes are 1) there's so many side characters that they kinda got lost in a sea of names, for me personally 2) I’m not a huge fan of love triangles 3) Sel gets on my nerves. Me and Sel have beef. Truly. But am I going to go ahead and devour Bloodmarked after finishing this review? Why yes. Yes, I am.

I highly, highly recommend this book, especially if you're itching for a well-written YA fantasy right now. Or if you want to try someone new outside of the genres you typically enjoy, I feel like this is a great pick. I’m so deeply excited to see where this series goes, and whatever future works Tracy Deonn puts out, I will definitely pick it up.

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pagecalico's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark hopeful mysterious reflective 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

5.0

If i could rate this book 10 stars i would.

I dont even know what to say but this is genuinely the best book ive ever read in my life.
Everything about this book is beyond perfection. From the writing to the storytelling to the ways it conveys emotion through its characters.
I absolutely LOVE Briana!! She is genuinely so relatable and loveable to me. I love the way shes isn't afraid to express her anger and how shes proud to honour her ancestors. The way her grief is displayed throughout
the book I don’t even know how to describe is so touching and powerful i nearly cried multiple times every time her mum is brought up.
Words cant even describe how sorry i feel for her, I mean

imagine that the only reason you are a DESCENDANT OF KING ARTHER is because one of his descendants (who was a slave master) raped his slave who happened to be your ancestor :///

I LOVED the author’s note and seeing her inspiration for Legendborn is so beautiful yet so heartbreaking, you can just tell the love and effort that went into this book, Deonn needs to be given her flowers!!
Overall, this book got be giggling, screaming and cursing out loud like no book has ever before. i cant WAIT to read the squeal!!!

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scifiandgaultier's review

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adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

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

3.5

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asuenram's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional inspiring 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

4.5

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alysonmorales's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional inspiring mysterious 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

4.5

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peppermint_pink's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.5

Wow first let me just say that the plot is so engaging - it got me reading 60-90 pages a day. Just be aware that this book is LONG. The magic system was also so interesting and I can't wait to learn more about it.
I was just a little disappointed mostly because the hype around the book elevated my expectations too much and it didn't meet my initial expectations. Some things that bothered me:

The timeline. Like 60% of the book happened within the first week of school? It gave me whiplash. The whole thing happens in two weeks. What. I also kind of wish the author just made Bree 18 instead of 16
because the age and early college thing mixed with how fast everything went is throwing me off a little.
The love triangle. This is more of a personal preference. I don't like love triangles at all, especially not when it felt like Bree didn't have much chemistry with one of the dudes in the love triangle.
Also two white boys?!
But that's what you get when you read YA - you've got to accept that teenage melodrama will be part of the story.
Her relationships. I really needed her to have more Black friends or at least TRY to look for more POC friends.
Her one friend kinda got pushed to the wayside and it was lowkey disappointing and felt underdeveloped.
I know that the story represents the reality for a lot of Black people who are in PWIs but it really felt like there were TOO many White people. Maybe that's just me. I just thought there would be more Black people but I can count on one hand the number of (named) Black characters she interacts with
not counting the ancestors.

Still, I loved seeing the growth and discovery in Bree in the last third of the book. Tracy Deonn really showed the impulsivity and anger that comes with being a teenager, not to mention a grieving one. Overall, it wasn't bad at all. I just didn't love it the way I expected to.

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ellenwm's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad 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

I am in awe of this book. Absolutely adore it and think it will surely become a contemporary classic in the genre. Tracy Deonn weaves together a masterpiece with a killer plot, wonderfully drawn characters, and beautiful, earnest prose. She’s embellished a real campus and based the story in history, lore and legend from multiple perspectives. The way she writes about slavery, violence, generational trauma and contemporary white supremacy is important. As a fellow member of the motherless daughters club, I found her meditations on grief, PTSD, rage and isolation refreshingly realistic and meaningfully expressed. Her depictions of friendship and found family rock. It is a gift to get to know Bree! Her relationships with Alice and her Dad ring acutely true. The pacing is awesome, too. I was sucked in and racing to the next snort-laugh-worthy line of dialogue or gasp-inducing reveal. I can’t wait to read the next book!!!

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nikki_flowers's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional hopeful medium-paced

Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

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