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localogophile'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
4.75
Graphic: Violence
Moderate: Racism
Minor: Sexual assault and Slavery
booked4adventure's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Moderate: Sexual assault, Slavery, Racism, and Sexual violence
kaybee23'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
4.0
Moderate: Slavery, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Racism, Rape, and Grief
pgmoon'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
WOW. This book really upped the ante from the first. I feel every aspect was done with care: the story, the worldbuilding, and the characters.
By far my favorite part of the book was Bree's growth with her magic and her character. The magic system in this is really inventive and interesting. As the main character is a WOC, the struggles she goes through specifically are so impactful and emotional.
Additionally, the small complaint I had in this book about some characters not getting development got remedied; by focusing on fewer characters, we got to know the select few much more.
If I had any complaints, I will say it was sometimes hard to follow the world building with
Graphic: Racism, Racial slurs, Slavery, and Death
Moderate: War
Minor: Sexual assault
molliford'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
4.5
Graphic: Torture, Death, and Racism
Moderate: Slavery
Minor: Sexual assault
tourmaline1703'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? Yes
4.5
The worldbuilding is beautiful and it's such an interesting concept. As it had been a while since I read the first book, it took me a while to remember everything but I got there eventually. We got to really dive deeper into the magic system, especially Bree's powers, of course, and got to understand how long rivalries and tensions had been around for. What of course makes me happiest, as a Welsh person, is the accuracy of the Welsh mythology, it is so pleasing to read.
The writing is wonderful, and the use of Old and Modern Welsh made me very happy. It felt like I was in on the characters' secrets because I could also understand what they were saying and the Welsh is written in beautifully. The start of the novel is written very cleverly as well with Bree's situation and I think the writing style reflected what she was going through very well.
The plot was well paced and I liked how that reflected the various obstacles characters were having to overcome. This novel isn't just characters on one mission and that's the sole plot, there are twists and obstacles in their way that keep the plot moving and changing. Despite this being a fantasy novel, the plot also deals with important modern issues such as racism and it discusses slavery a lot, which is incredibly important to discuss in the real world as well as its significance to the story.
I love the characters in this story and their dynamics with each other. It helped having a slightly smaller main cast of characters because we got to properly delve into their personalities and motives. It felt like there were actual risks as well, this isn't something where everyone constantly comes out unscathed, there are genuine risks. It is just fab.
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail and Racism
Moderate: Death, Death of parent, Drug use, Infidelity, Slavery, and Sexual assault
Minor: Abandonment
savvyrosereads'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? No
4.0
This is the sequel to Legendborn and the second book in the series of the same name.
Selwyn Kane is EVERYTHING and honestly the primary reason I enjoyed this book as much as I did. Overall, I’d say this one suffered from a bit of a sophomore slump—I wasn’t as connected to or engaged with the plot, and I was a bit frustrated with some of the characters’ decisions and with the ending overall.
But SEL. When I latch on to a fictional character I never let them go, and Sel is absolutely mine now. I urgently need more books in this series specifically because I urgently need more of him.
Overall, even with some mild criticisms, I do enjoy this series and think the world and magic system here is so interesting! I highly recommend these books for anyone who enjoys older-YA fantasy, and particularly fantasy with diverse rep and Arthurian inspiration!
Recommended to anyone, but especially if you like: Arthurian legend; Welsh terms of endearment (IYKYK); Black Girl Magic (literally)
CW: Blood/injury/violence; grief; racism and sexism; discussions of slavery
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Confinement, Death, Racism, Sexism, Kidnapping, Misogyny, and Violence
Moderate: Grief and Slavery
Minor: Rape and Sexual assault
viktoriya_sk's review against another edition
3.75
Graphic: Racism, Death of parent, Death, and Colonisation
Moderate: Rape, Sexual assault, Slavery, Genocide, and Pregnancy
Minor: War, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Toxic friendship, and Vomit
hailstorm3812'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: Violence
Moderate: Hate crime, Death of parent, War, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Colonisation, Grief, Blood, Murder, and Genocide
Minor: Rape, Sexual assault, Sexism, Religious bigotry, Car accident, and Torture
chloewilson_13'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: Rape, Sexual assault, Slavery, Racism, Death of parent, Death, Violence, and War