Reviews tagging 'Racism'

Legendborn by Tracy Deonn

1039 reviews

shaynicole's review against another edition

adventurous emotional 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? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Violence, Grief, Death of parent, Sexism, and Murder

Moderate: Sexual violence, Rape, Forced institutionalization, and Slavery

adalinemccormick's review

adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective 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: Blood, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Violence, Car accident, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Gore, Gaslighting, Grief, Mental illness, and Racism

Moderate: Slavery, Rape, Sexual violence, Misogyny, Forced institutionalization, Police brutality, and Physical abuse

heggoandhoggo's review

adventurous challenging mysterious tense medium-paced

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

2.75

I enjoyed some of this book. However I found the main character to be arrogant and selfish. She was hypocritical and thought she knew best in situations she really didn’t. She forced the love interest into uncomfortable situations and was downright rude. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism and Grief

Minor: Homophobia

This book does depict grief. And I believe it does this well. It also portrays racism in moderate and explicit circumstances.

one of the side characters calls the main character a nappy-headed bitch.

there are situations that the characters seems racist. I would personally disagree but that is my own opinion.

at the end Tor says she does not wish to follow Bree as Arthur. I believe this is a fair reaction as she has just been told everything she believed in life is a lie. I personally would be a bit miffed if this happened to me. I do not believe this has much to do with Bree’s race but others may disagree.

Also there is mild homophobia.

the reaction they have to Greer being made squire

this is very mild and most LGBTQ+ scenarios are handled well.

bzliz's review against another edition

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? Yes

5.0

I waited a long time to read this because people spoke so highly of it and I was worried it couldn’t possibly live up to the hype. I’m so delighted to say I had nothing to worry about because it exceeded my expectations in every way. 

I immediately fell in love with Bree and I wanted nothing but good things for her. I’ve never been hugely into Arthurian legend but I enjoyed the dip into that world in a modern context and I was completely engrossed in every twist she encountered. The beautiful balance between aether and root was so cool and Bree’s journey to learn both paths was so fun. 

The biggest compliment I can give is that I want to immediately dive into Bloodmarked but I need to give it a few days so I don’t get them confused with each other. 

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Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Kidnapping and Slavery

Minor: Car accident, Child abuse, Physical abuse, and Rape

Child abuse (off page):

mentions of the way Nick and Sel were raised involving physical abuse under the guise of being part of training for their duty.

Rape (off page): Mention toward the end of the book of one of Bree’s enslaved ancestors being raped by the master of the house, then threatened after she became pregnant. It’s not explicitly called by that name but it’s definitely what happened. Racism (on page):

Bree faces multiple instances of micro aggressions and overt racism. Nobody outright calls her any slurs but it’s pretty unrelenting because just like in real life even people who don’t mean harm can still cause harm.

bgoodbookclub's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes

4.5

These books have been on my shelf for a long time and I've always heard great things and wanted to read them so I finally did! 2024 is turning out to be my fantasy year so it felt like the right time.

These books are pretty in depth with a lot of details but I didn't feel lost at any point. Deonn does a great job of weaving everything together so that any questions you had were intentionally left unanswered and then resolved later.

The racial aspect of this book is woven in so well and is unlike what I've seen in other books which really stood out to me. I loved the way the author intentionally used the terminology of root (as explained in the author's note).

I am very excited to read the next book in this series!

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Racism, Grief, and Slavery

Minor: Death of parent

emilymuir's review

adventurous emotional inspiring mysterious 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

SO GOOD. Favourite ya fantasy I’ve read in a long time

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Grief, Racism, and Slavery

klsreads's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring 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

5.0

God-tier. An absolutely perfect debut. This book made me cry so hard, and I loved every minute of it. I loved the characters and their relationships (don't talk to me about Bree and her mom). There are non-tokenized queer and nonbinary characters and a bisexual male love interest (!!!!!!!). It reckons with grief, racial trauma, colonization, and the premature deaths of Black folks in America. It meditates on history, who is remembered, and what it means to be cut off from ancestral knowledge and power (literally and figuratively). It mythologizes and reckons with real racial struggles and white supremacy.The magic system is so unique and fun. Sprint to get this book. Tracy Deonn is unbelievably talented, and I will read whatever she writes.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Racism, Slavery, Grief, Kidnapping, Violence, Bullying, Colonisation, Death of parent, Mental illness, Murder, War, and Blood

Moderate: Medical content, Car accident, Rape, Alcohol, Torture, Classism, Confinement, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Panic attacks/disorders, Pregnancy, Racial slurs, Hate crime, Infidelity, Religious bigotry, Sexual harassment, and Body horror

Minor: Police brutality, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Stalking, and Vomit

mamatrauma's review

adventurous dark emotional mysterious 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Cursing, Violence, Racism, Medical content, Death, Murder, Gore, Death of parent, Blood, Grief, Kidnapping, Car accident, and Injury/Injury detail

laurenbeetea's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious 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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Violence, War, and Xenophobia

booked4adventure's review

dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexual assault, Slavery, and Racism