Scan barcode
booksalacarte's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
After her mother dies in an accident, sixteen-year-old Bree Matthews wants nothing to do with her family memories or childhood home. A residential program for bright high schoolers UNC-Chapel Hill scems like the perfect escape until Bree witness a magical attack her very first night on campus.
A flying demon feeding on human energies.
A secret society of so-called "Legendlborn" students who hunt the creatures down.
And a mysterious teenage mage who calls him self a “Merlin” and who attempts -and fails- to wipe Bree's memory of every thing she saw,
The mage's failure reveals Bree's own unique magic and a buried memory with a hidden connection: the night her mother died, another Merlin was at the hospital. Now that Bree knows there's more to her mother's death than what's on the police report, she'll do whatever it takes to find out the truth, even if that means infiltrating the Legendborn as one of their initiates.
She recruits Nick, a self-exiled Legendlborn with his own grudge against the group, and their reluctant partnership pulls them deeper into the society's secrets and closer to each other. But when the Legendborn reveal themselves as the descendants of King Arthur's knights and explain that a magical war is coming, Bree has to decide how or she'll go for the truth and whether she should us her magic to take the society down- or join the fight
✨My Opinion✨
I really loved this book! The depiction of Bree’s grief, the knights of the round table lore, the acknowledgement of southern slave history and how messed up it is. There was so much I loved. It was awesome!
I do wish that Bree had been older than 16. It makes me wonder how many books will be in this series and if it will move from YA into NA territory. There is plenty of sexual tension… I am torn between if I want that to happen or not. With how fast the plot progresses, I think that this series won’t span a very long period of time.
My other mini complaint is that a little more physical descriptions of the characters throughout the book would have done wonders. At one point I couldn’t remember what one of the main characters looked like, and I had to go back to their intro to get the picture of them back in my head. I wasn’t thrilled to have been pulled out of the book for something easy to implicate just a tad more.
Other than that, I loved the exposition and learning about everything involved in the Lore of this magic system along side the MC’s. I can’t wait to get my hands on the second book!
Graphic: Murder, Death of parent, Grief, Vomit, Slavery, Panic attacks/disorders, and Blood
Moderate: Murder, Cursing, Blood, Medical content, and Racism
Minor: Car accident and Racial slurs
a_libra_library's review against another edition
- 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? N/A
5.0
Graphic: Death, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Colonisation, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Rape, Blood, Body horror, Car accident, Child abuse, Child death, Classism, Cursing, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, and War
Minor: Sexual content
flyintothestorm's review against another edition
- 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
4.0
Graphic: Death, Death of parent, and Racism
Moderate: Sexism, Infidelity, Mental illness, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Blood, Car accident, Death, Rape, Slavery, Transphobia, Violence, and War
evieolive's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Racism, Grief, and Death of parent
Moderate: Death, Gore, Physical abuse, Violence, Slavery, Injury/Injury detail, and Panic attacks/disorders
Minor: Racial slurs, Rape, Misogyny, Murder, Infidelity, Infertility, Car accident, Kidnapping, Child abuse, Police brutality, Sexual assault, and Transphobia
agnese93's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Violence, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Car accident and Panic attacks/disorders
brookey8888's review against another edition
- 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
4.5
Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Sexism, Police brutality, Racism, Car accident, Child death, Grief, Misogyny, Murder, Blood, Bullying, Classism, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Panic attacks/disorders, Racial slurs, Rape, Sexual assault, Slavery, and Violence
rebeccajost's review against another edition
- 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
4.25
Graphic: Racism, Misogyny, Death of parent, Medical content, Grief, Violence, Classism, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Murder, Car accident, Panic attacks/disorders, Bullying, Kidnapping, and Slavery
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Sexual content, Forced institutionalization, Alcohol, Rape, and Pregnancy
noellelovesbooks's review against another edition
5.0
I started reading this book last night thinking I’d read a few chapters, perhaps the first part, before going to bed at a decent time since I had to work at 7am this morning…I devoured over half the book and forced myself to put it down around 1am to get some much-needed sleep before my 6am alarm went off. As soon as I got home from work, and got some food in my stomach, I got comfy and dove right back in until I finished.
Deonn crafted this story in a way you’re able to devour 500 pages without feeling like it took any time at all. Not only do we get a fantastic modern-day Authur retelling but we see how trauma affects generations, how sometimes a child doesn’t see or understand the pain their parents have faced, how racism can deeply affect every aspect of your life, and how our pain and loss can affect those around us.
We have a beautifully crafted story that touches on very hard and emotionally heavy topics that are important for everyone to understand and discuss. Loss can profoundly affect us, yet so many people seem to disregard it or expect us to just “get over” a loss or feel awkward acknowledging our pain. We all react to loss in varying ways and it’s crucial we’re able to grieve in our own personal ways without judgment.
So many people, who’ve never faced racism, get nervous about discussing it and try to act like it hasn’t happened in hundreds of years…while the rest of us deal with racism every day. It’s important to understand how deeply racism affects some of our lives and how harmful trying to ignore or bury it can be.
It was so easy to relate and empathize with Bree as she struggles to find answers about her mother’s death and find out who exactly the Legendborn are, and if they have anything to do with her mother’s death.
Because of all the heavy topics discussed [racism, grief, and trauma being the biggest ones] I recommend making sure you’re in the right headspace to dive into this amazing story. The sequel comes out in November and I cannot wait to continue this journey. I was also excited to see that we should be getting a TV show adaptation as well!
Graphic: Bullying, Death of parent, Death, Racial slurs, and Racism
Moderate: Blood, Classism, Panic attacks/disorders, Car accident, Kidnapping, Slavery, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Rape
eldritch_archivist's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Slavery, Animal death, Injury/Injury detail, Panic attacks/disorders, Mental illness, Murder, Xenophobia, Violence, Death, Racism, Gore, Fire/Fire injury, Classism, Blood, Alcohol, Grief, and Death of parent
Moderate: Colonisation, Kidnapping, War, Transphobia, and Medical content
Minor: Alcoholism, Forced institutionalization, Car accident, Sexual violence, Rape, Misogyny, Infidelity, Child abuse, Religious bigotry, Pregnancy, and Police brutality
valeriasshelf's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Blood, Colonisation, Cursing, Death, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Bullying, Death of parent, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Violence, and War
Moderate: Rape and Car accident