Reviews with content warning for Racism - Legendborn - Der geheime Bund

I let my gaze draw lines here, too, from building to building, from tree to tree, from buried lives to beaten ones, from blood stolen to blood hidden. I map this terrain's sins, the invisible and the many, and hold them close. Because even if the pain of those sins takes my breath away, that pain feels like belonging, and ignoring it after all I've just witnessed would be loss.

I'm almost in disbelief at how phenomenal this book is. I wouldn't say I'm the biggest fantasy lover, but this book goes far beyond the trope-ification of YA fantasy. Tracy Deonn has a real talent for the written word, and you can feel the love she has for this book on every page.

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rainy_day_and_a_book's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny 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? It's complicated

5.0

Favorite book I've ever read. Every other book has been ruined because it will never live up to this. I had to take a while after finishing the two books that are currently available to drag myself back to the real world.

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bubblybuttercup's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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? Yes

5.0

an absolutely beautiful read. legendborn is a well thought out portrayal of what magic could look like if placed in modern day america — so racism, nepotism, and role of american chattle slavery and more are directly addressed. legendborn also speaks on grief and generational curses. the pacing, the action, and the care put into Bree Mathews’ story is astounding. no review can do this book justice.

the one “setback” is that the magic system is quite complicated, so i recommend taking notes to help follow along.

legendborn is a MUST READ, esp if you love fantasy, unique black stories and/or european arthurian legend & african folklore.

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kat42's review against another edition

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adventurous dark 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? No

4.5

Excellent. Fabulous. Would recommend. The ending was great. I'd say the first 80% or so wasn't anything completely original in terms of YA fantasy, but it's done very well. There's also a good discussion around racism and trauma. If you like YA fantasy, this should be a definite read. If that's not typically your thing but Legendborn still sounds interesting, give it a shot.

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chaleyah's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
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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sarahyjackson's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional hopeful 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? It's complicated

5.0

Incredible.

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_kjmac_books_'s review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.5

My friends and I were looking for a book at an independent bookstore for our next bookclub read. The friendly staff member offered this as a recommendation calling it a fun Arthurian YA fantasy that tackles racism in an easy-to-understand-&-learn way. After reading Legendborn, I completely agree.
We really enjoyed this read together. It was an easy story to follow. My personal thoughts was that everything was “good” until the last 50 pages when everything became “utterly engrossing.” So yeah I got really invested farther in the book than I was expecting😅
I think I’ve somewhat grown out of some of the typical YA drama tactics used (*cough cough* love triangles) but nevertheless I thought this was a great read for how it tackled the complexities of being a black woman and racial trauma. I recognize I will never fully understand as I will never be a black woman, but I am grateful for books like this that offer perspectives sharing glimpses into their struggles and lives. Bree is fictional but she shows a version of black experience in a historically white space (the Arthurian court) and all the mess that entails.
I loved how this book discusses grief. Also Bree’s dad was so supportive through everything she was going through and it really hit me in the feels🤍 Another fun feature is that there r 2 different magic systems that r both fascinating in their own way.
I’d recommend this book to anyone looking for YA Arthurian magic, black perspectives, a hint of mystery, and powerful women finding themselves. There’s trials, a college setting🏫, plenty of fight scenes⚔️, and secret societies😊

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morgasm's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional lighthearted 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

4.5

Really loved but unfortunately I guessed a lot of the plot points at the end, making the finale slightly less exciting

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