Reviews

Legendborn by Tracy Deonn

kry_yang's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny 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? Yes

4.25

so many thoughts on this book. super creative worldbuilding--i love how the author draws from black and indigenous thought in crafting the magic system, and the premise of "king arthur's knights" as like, the main magical org is pretty cool. i do have to say that this book had major pacing issues--there were a LOT of info dump moments, and then times where the book would just SKIP through a major plot point. 

for example:

bree goes through like 75% of the book hiding her magical life from her best friend alice and then when bree finally explains everything to alice and her friend is just like... ok with it??? just seems super unrealistic IMO. plus this explanation happens "off screen" so uhhhh

so i guess the writing wasn't as tight as i thought it would be. that being said, the premise is wonderful and i did enjoy the integration of critical race/gender convos (albeit a bit heavy-handed at times, but i guess this is YA after all).

the ending had me hooked and i blew through the last 50ish pages of the book and immediately started the next book in the series. so yea, overall, i guess as a pure fantasy book it's not perfect, but overall would recommend for a solid YA fantasy with a diverse cast of characters + experiences! i really hope the second + third books continue to be interestingggg

bbridges1993's review

5.0

This is a phenomenal read that kept me wanting more. This is a African diaspora meets Arthurian legend. This a fantasy that can not be passed up because it takes you on an adventure of wonder, history, mythology, mystery, and much more. This book had me on the edge of my seat and Briana aka Bree was a character that I definitely had a connection with throughout the entire book. I felt there were many things that I could relate to Bree from losing someone you love and finding out more about them from a complete stranger, from feeling out of your element because your the only black person in the group, from realizing that as a black person you don’t know your family history due to slavery and many years of history lost/erased. This book is everything and more and I highly recommend this book. Also I honestly can not wait to read the next book.

elmtreebooks's review

challenging emotional inspiring 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? Yes

5.0

Wow, this deserves the hype. A fresh modern update to a classic fantasy inspiration. The world building was occasionally overwhelming with all the scions and squires and so on, but the character development and roots of the magic system make it all so worthwhile. 

I love that this book exists for teens today to pick up and enjoy. What a gem b

matalinpirtz's review

adventurous emotional mysterious medium-paced

4.25

sarahsopinions's review

adventurous emotional mysterious fast-paced

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

3.75

shnnnfly's review

5.0

4.5 stars - the beginning of this book was more confusing than I would have liked while everything related to the secret society was being explained, but man is the second half a wild ride!! I loved how all of the plot threads and various types of lore were woven together into a cohesive story. There were constantly different parts of the story being revealed, which led to a solid climax + lead into the next book. This book never pulled any punches and it made for an extremely satisfying read.

mvanzant's review

3.0

*3.5 stars
This was okay. Interesting enough but not amazing. The ending did make up for some of it and made me want to continue on. I feel like this first one was just a lot of world building and has the potential to be a great series. Hopefully the rest of the series (when it’s released) will be better.

thatsoneforthebooks's review

5.0

Just as good as the first time! Brilliant representation of the consequences of enslavement, trauma, and weaving these into a magical world with the ultimate badass main character.

kaycarmeezy's review

adventurous dark emotional 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

4.75

keighlylittle's review against another edition

5.0

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