Reviews tagging 'Gore'

Legendborn by Tracy Deonn

138 reviews

ariel_marie's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful reflective 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Racism, Slavery, Grief, Sexism, Gore, Blood, War, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

mjwhitlock18's review against another edition

adventurous emotional

5.0

I loved this! It’s YA urban fantasy inspired by the legend of King Arthur but explores many complex topics including grief and racism, as well as legacy and heritage. I love the main character of Bree, and we see her grow as she discovers her ancestral magic and reckons with generational trauma and complex grief after her mom’s death. It does utilize a few common YA tropes (insta-love, love triangle), but I think they’re handled well and don’t detract from the experience of the story for me.

Tbh I could do without the romance with Nick, he’s just so basic white boy, but the ending explanation helps make it more palatable. I’d like to see how Sel factors into the next book, because I’m a sucker for a brooding bad boy with a heart of gold.

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Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Car accident and Slavery

Minor: Rape

Demons, possession, generational trauma, micro-aggressions

tessarudnick's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful mysterious 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Slavery, Racism, Gore, Body horror, Panic attacks/disorders, Car accident, Death, Grief, Mental illness, and Death of parent

thatenbyisisreads's review against another edition

adventurous challenging hopeful 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? No

5.0

I found myself glued to this book from the very beginning especially more towards the ending. That one scene had me clenching my bootyhole, iykyk. Without mentioning any spoilers, I just want to say that these hating ass racist ass bitches better RESPECT and bow down to their new king. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Vomit, Blood, Death of parent, Racism, and Violence

Minor: Gore

zed_dog's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

Possibly the best YA novel I’ve come across. Represents systemic racism and intergenerational trauma in the magic system and the world-building, both in the literal setting and with ingenious magical symbolism. A masterpiece. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Racism, and Death of parent

Moderate: Gore and Kidnapping

Minor: Alcoholism, Rape, Slavery, Forced institutionalization, Misogyny, and Car accident

cady_sass's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective 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

4.25

Really enjoyed this! Takes a little bit to get going and I was a little bored at first, but once you get into the real meat of the story it moves very fast and keeps you on your toes! It’s refreshing to have author and protagonist of color in the fantasy space and the history is artfully weaved into the story. Coming of age, the stages of grief, exploring family history, and exploring a first love all in the midst of an early college experience and discovering the paranormal. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Sexism, Gore, Medical content, Death of parent, Racial slurs, Slavery, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Blood, Bullying, Death, Kidnapping, Murder, Sexual content, War, Car accident, and Grief

fadz90's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious medium-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Violence, Grief, Racism, and Gore

hiddeninfantasy's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious 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

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Body horror, Car accident, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Murder, Sexism, Slavery, Hate crime, Rape, Death, Death of parent, Alcohol, Cursing, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Gore, Grief, Racism, Violence, and War

lizziaha's review against another edition

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.75

I was so delightfully frustrated with Bree as I read this. She did so many things that I would’ve never done. But that certainly aided the twists and turns of the story—which were plentiful, and often hard to predict. Once I picked this up, it was hard to put down! 

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Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Misogyny, Child abuse, Racial slurs, Sexual violence, Rape, Sexism, and Slavery

Minor: Transphobia

getlitwithamy_'s review against another edition

adventurous challenging funny informative inspiring mysterious reflective tense

• 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

The only downside to this book is... I wish I read this SOONER!!!

Legendborn is an incredible story with a badass protagonist, fantastic world-building, and prose that is so easy to digest because of its beauty. Tracy Deonn really knows how to make readers like myself have very strong feelings about the characters, whether they are positive or negative. It was also a great fantasy story that incorporated the terminology and history of the Order in the Legendborn world without making it confusing. This is extra important because a lot of fantasy books tend to dump a bunch of terms that make it hard to get into the world of the book for a while.

Arthurian retellings are very new to me (besides that one Magic Tree House book). However, Deonn provided part of this history that made me interested in potentially reading other retellings of this legend.

Now that Bloodmarked is out, I plan on reading it soon so I can go back into the world of Bree and the world of the Legendborn Cycle. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Murder, Blood, Racism, Violence, Kidnapping, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, and Death

Moderate: Colonisation and Death of parent

Minor: Rape, Car accident, and Slavery