Reviews tagging 'War'

Legendborn by Tracy Deonn

167 reviews

richy_qu33r_readzz's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious 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

4.5

“Don’t make your life about the loss. Make it about the love” -Bree’s Dad pg. 386

Ties fantasy to reality with parallel magic systems that show the difference of colonizers & colonized people who borrow, not take and hold the earth, magic. Who celebrate ancestors in reverence not greed. Beautifully told, doesn’t shy away from the hard histories. Shows & explains Persistent Complex Bereavement Disorder. As well as the intricacies of shared grief, moving with and through grief, and losing & finding self while grieving. Not too predictable. Could be gayer.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Slavery, Grief, Racial slurs, War, Colonisation, and Death of parent

Moderate: Car accident

Minor: Rape

kassidyscatalogue's review against another edition

adventurous emotional 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

5.0

Wow.  I think this has to be my favorite book of the year.  

I've always loved the story of King Arthur, Merlin, and the round table, but this is such a fun and creative take on the legend.  Deonn modernized Arthur in such a unique way and really made me care about the characters and what was going to happen to them.

I was really impressed with Bree's story of grief and ancestral trauma that she fights through to become such a strong main character.  The way Deonn sprinkles in the history of the slaves and the treatment of black people in today's society was really eye opening to me and even added to what Bree has to go through while also just trying to survive classes and her own family issues.

I also appreciated how casual Deonn integrated lgbtq+ individuals.  Greer was definitely one of my favorite characters with how supportive they were of Bree and defiant of anyone who tried to slander them for being different.

I can't wait to read the next book and find out how the story continues with Sel, Nick, and Bree.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent and Violence

Moderate: War and Gore

Minor: Rape

streebela's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Racism, Rape, Death of parent, Violence, Grief, Slavery, and War

maladaptivebookdreaming'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? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I would love to write an in-depth review about this book but truly? Ms. Tracy has me SPEECHLESS. For this to be a mother frickin DEBUT? Consider me guffawed. There are no words to describe my feelings on this book other than after three years of hearing about Legendborn and NOT reading it?? I feel like I’ve missed out for no good reason. The grief, anger, laughter, and absolute joy I got from this book is without words. As someone who doesn’t relate to YA as much anymore and HATES love triangles? I was hooked! I was enraptured! As a fellow black girl from NC the relatability of what Bree goes through hits even deeper because I get it. I get it, I get IT. 

A fantastic debut and man what a damn writer. I am so excited to get my hands on the second book! 

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Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Slavery and Misogyny

Minor: Sexual assault

kystarbucks's review against another edition

adventurous emotional 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Sexism, Death of parent, War, Misogyny, Blood, Racism, and Classism

Moderate: Rape and Slavery

paigereitz's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative mysterious reflective 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism, Death, Grief, Colonisation, and Death of parent

Moderate: Racism, Xenophobia, War, and Violence

taylorthewitch's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious reflective fast-paced

4.75

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Content Warnings

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

maggies's review against another edition

adventurous dark 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? No

3.0

An enjoyable listen, the narrator was fantastic, but I'm not sure if I'll continue the series. I wish it had been more new adult than young adult—I couldn't really get over the fact that Bree's only 16, and I think it would have been better if she was slightly older, especially because the world-building was pretty complicated for a YA book.

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Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Slavery, Confinement, and Abandonment

Minor: Police brutality, Sexual violence, and Rape

emkplatts's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious reflective sad 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? No

4.5

I liked this book way more than I expected!!! It was so good! I love King Arthur retellings/adaptations, so I was pleasantly surprised when I started this book. My only critique is that I wanted more exploration of her powers and identity, but I'm hopeful that will come in the rest of the series. I also found the magic system a bit confusing with all of the medieval terms and rules etc. I thought the book discussed race and gender really thoughtfully. It integrated those real life elements into the fantastical world beautifully. It had a lot of important discourse woven into the fabric of the story, making it was easy to process. Which I felt was especially important for younger readers. I'm super excited to read the sequel and anxiously awaiting the third book to be released!

also my merthur heart is singing

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Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Classism, Sexual violence, War, Violence, Slavery, Kidnapping, Death, and Car accident

Minor: Rape, Transphobia, Pregnancy, Murder, Kidnapping, and Colonisation

decembermagpie's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional inspiring mysterious reflective sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• 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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Car accident, Classism, Gore, Medical content, Panic attacks/disorders, Grief, Racism, Sexism, War, Colonisation, Death, Death of parent, and Violence

Moderate: Confinement and Vomit

Minor: Pregnancy, Sexual assault, Slavery, Child death, Rape, and Vomit