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4.42 AVERAGE
4.42 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
sad
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:
Complicated
adventurous
emotional
reflective
tense
medium-paced
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
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:
Complicated
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
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
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
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:
Yes
4.75 ⭐️ This book is the perfect example of YA done right - in that whether you’re a young person or an adult, there is value in everyone reading this book, not just in the fact that it’s an epic fantastical adventure but the themes in the book are vital for everyone to read.
Tracy Deonn does not shy away from important and heavy topics. We explore extreme grief after losing a loved one, what’s its like to be young and black in the South of America, the weighty and heavy toll of the history in the South, in terms of systemic racism but also the power of black heritage, ancestry and the erasure of it from history. Trauma and inter generational trauma - and Tracy Deonn explores these with such skill and artistry.
The magic system is so expertly crafted around the lore and legacy of King Arthur but also inspiration is taken from African-American folklore. This book is often described as an Arthurian retelling, which it is, but it’s so much more than that.
The plot is pacey and fast, like Bree is not fucking around here, if you’re looking to get out of a slow slump then reading this book will certaintly get you out of it! We are going a thousand miles an hour - the entire plot of the book takes place in 3 weeks!
I actually read this pretty slowly over two weeks and then I read the last 200 pages on one fever dream afternoon and I haven’t been so hooked and in a hyperfocus state of reading for a very long time. The last 50 pages especially were just mind blowing and some of the most hype shit I’ve ever read. I was so caught up and in the story and the ending broke me, I cried for a good 30 minutes after.
And also because this hit on a deeply personal level, as one of the themes that is discussed a lot is lineage and legacy, but specifically the power of maternal lineage and roles of motherhood and daughterhood in shaping our lives - this was really powerful for me personally, and I want to recognise my own emotional tie to that and how its made me feel about the book as a whole.
This was 4.75 starts - rounded to a 5. The book isn’t perfect. Because the story is so fast paced I did find it difficult sometimes to follow the lore of the world and how the magic works. Especially the structure of the secret society is quite vast and is info dumped on you very quickly. There’s also a lot of side characters introduced, which at times I forgot about, then I was having to remind myself constantly of who they were. But honestly those are really very minor things and in the grand scheme of things did not take away from my overall reading experience.
Please go read this book, it deserves all the attention and hype that it gets - now I get to read Bloodmarked but I need time before I start it I can’t do this to myself so soon!
Tracy Deonn does not shy away from important and heavy topics. We explore extreme grief after losing a loved one, what’s its like to be young and black in the South of America, the weighty and heavy toll of the history in the South, in terms of systemic racism but also the power of black heritage, ancestry and the erasure of it from history. Trauma and inter generational trauma - and Tracy Deonn explores these with such skill and artistry.
The magic system is so expertly crafted around the lore and legacy of King Arthur but also inspiration is taken from African-American folklore. This book is often described as an Arthurian retelling, which it is, but it’s so much more than that.
The plot is pacey and fast, like Bree is not fucking around here, if you’re looking to get out of a slow slump then reading this book will certaintly get you out of it! We are going a thousand miles an hour - the entire plot of the book takes place in 3 weeks!
I actually read this pretty slowly over two weeks and then I read the last 200 pages on one fever dream afternoon and I haven’t been so hooked and in a hyperfocus state of reading for a very long time. The last 50 pages especially were just mind blowing and some of the most hype shit I’ve ever read. I was so caught up and in the story and the ending broke me, I cried for a good 30 minutes after.
And also because this hit on a deeply personal level, as one of the themes that is discussed a lot is lineage and legacy, but specifically the power of maternal lineage and roles of motherhood and daughterhood in shaping our lives - this was really powerful for me personally, and I want to recognise my own emotional tie to that and how its made me feel about the book as a whole.
This was 4.75 starts - rounded to a 5. The book isn’t perfect. Because the story is so fast paced I did find it difficult sometimes to follow the lore of the world and how the magic works. Especially the structure of the secret society is quite vast and is info dumped on you very quickly. There’s also a lot of side characters introduced, which at times I forgot about, then I was having to remind myself constantly of who they were. But honestly those are really very minor things and in the grand scheme of things did not take away from my overall reading experience.
Please go read this book, it deserves all the attention and hype that it gets - now I get to read Bloodmarked but I need time before I start it I can’t do this to myself so soon!
The book had a good start but then quickly deteriorated:
*A lot was happening so fast and there was not enough time to make sense of it all.
*There was A LOT of info-dumping.
* Bree also had a weird way of coming up with seemingly logical conclusion with not enough proof or evidence (and that made every reasoning she thought of illogical), eg: when she first unlocks her "red flame", she immediately thinks that the Order will hunt her down and do experiments on her, even though she had NO proof of what the Order was capable of or their thought process.
Perhaps she had been right, but she caught on to things so quickly and without enough clues that I felt lost at times.
* Another problem I found was the love-triangle (if it can be called that) and the romance in general. I think the book could've gone on without any romance-- or, at least, one side-plot romance and not a full on love-triangle. The addition of a love-triangle made the plot a mess:
1/ Bree didn't spend enough time with Nick to fall in love with him and develop a relationship. Every scene they shared, the chemistry felt forced.
2/ While Bree had good chemistry with Sel: they both lost their mothers and handle grief through rage, Bree spent a long ping-ponging between liking and hating him that it made no sense they fell in love by the end. (or at least, he did. It was one-sided)
____________
I appreciated the way Tracy handled grief and trauma. It was realistic and true. I liked how she wove slavery and history through the plot without it seeming like "just-for-representation".
And finally, I would like to add that this book has A LOT of potential, it just needs some editting and perhaps a few scenes adjusted and/or cut out. I would love to read what Tracy publishes next!
*A lot was happening so fast and there was not enough time to make sense of it all.
*There was A LOT of info-dumping.
* Bree also had a weird way of coming up with seemingly logical conclusion with not enough proof or evidence (and that made every reasoning she thought of illogical), eg: when she first unlocks her "red flame", she immediately thinks that the Order will hunt her down and do experiments on her, even though she had NO proof of what the Order was capable of or their thought process.
Perhaps she had been right, but she caught on to things so quickly and without enough clues that I felt lost at times.
* Another problem I found was the love-triangle (if it can be called that) and the romance in general. I think the book could've gone on without any romance-- or, at least, one side-plot romance and not a full on love-triangle. The addition of a love-triangle made the plot a mess:
1/ Bree didn't spend enough time with Nick to fall in love with him and develop a relationship. Every scene they shared, the chemistry felt forced.
2/ While Bree had good chemistry with Sel: they both lost their mothers and handle grief through rage, Bree spent a long ping-ponging between liking and hating him that it made no sense they fell in love by the end. (or at least, he did. It was one-sided)
____________
I appreciated the way Tracy handled grief and trauma. It was realistic and true. I liked how she wove slavery and history through the plot without it seeming like "just-for-representation".
And finally, I would like to add that this book has A LOT of potential, it just needs some editting and perhaps a few scenes adjusted and/or cut out. I would love to read what Tracy publishes next!
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
adventurous
emotional
tense
medium-paced