Reviews with content warning for Murder - Lendários

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Lendários by Tracy Deonn

182 reviews

blakeandbooks's review against another edition

adventurous emotional inspiring 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? It's complicated

5.0

I am absolutely KICKING MYSELF for not reading this sooner!!! This is so much more than a fantasy book—it dives so deep into anti-blackness, colonization, racism, grief, self-discovery, familial history, complex friendships, and so much more. This is everything I want in a YA Fantasy. Bree is an absolute powerhouse, and I LOVED her as a main character. She has such an incredible character arc that I cannot wait to see develop into more of her power and strength in the rest of the series. I love all of the friendships she forms and how hilarious she is 😭 I honestly was expecting something wild to happen at the end, but I was so excited with how Deonn weaves Bree’s story together. I cannot wait to read Bloodmarked!!!

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emilymax21's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional informative mysterious reflective 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? Yes

4.75

I definitely recommend it to all fantasy readers and anyone looking to diversify their reading list

My only real complaint is there were a few moments where modern references make sense but sometimes it felt awkward.
Some of it was a little predictable, but for every one thing I could predict there were two that surprised me.

The emotions that the characters and I go through in this book are such a wide range of complex feelings and I was entranced. This book addresses racism, classism, grief, and anger in ways no nonfiction book ever could, while still creating a compelling and engaging fantasy world.

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chrisb913's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring 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

The story and plot start out slow, we start off meeting the MC Briana a few months after the death of her mother. She has moved to a college campus to take part in an early college program with her best friend Alice. Immediately you are thrown into a plot of magic, demons, and secret societies. I found the initial descriptions of the hierarchy of the Order of the Round Table to be a bit confusing, but as you progress in the story it becomes significantly easier to follow along. One thing I really wish the author had done, was put a pronunciation guide in the back of the book, as there are several names and phrases that are repeated. She initially puts a phonetic description of how to say it in the story, but it would have been nice to have a reference page.

At the end of the day, while the beginning was slightly clunky for me, the ending more than made up for any grievance I had with the book. This story is such an interesting and unique take on the Arthruian lore and the characters are so incredibly realistic. I cannot wait to continue reading in this world and this will be one of my go to recommendations.

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kaylokay_'s review against another edition

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adventurous emotional mysterious 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

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withlivjones's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional tense medium-paced

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

4.25

This book was so good! A well-conceived magic system (bonus points for the Welsh inspiration!!), so many incredible plot twists, and a lot of really thoughtful insights about grief and race (particularly important in a genre - Western fantasy - that is pretty Eurocentric). I thought the romance was a little mid - I’m not one for love triangles or tortured bad boys - but overall the story was fantastic and had me glued to the page.

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some_random_person_hi's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Kinda wattpad-y at some points and some characters & characterisations remind me so much of Heroes of Olympus that I wouldn't be surprised if this was originally riordanverse fanfic/ the author is a fan.
All in all, very gripping once past the first 50 pages -> I binged this. I love the characters so much + the exploration of how historical institutions are hostile to POC (esp in USA) stood out to me.
Had some flaws (

Sel's monologue at Nick's dad's house just felt like infodumping

+ so many characters they're hard to remember + sometimes the writing just felt clunky) but I greatly enjoyed it so 5 stars it is.

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midnightverde's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring 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

Amazing! There is so much happening in the book and there are so many questions you ask yourself as you’re reading. I absolutely loved this and am eager to read the next books in the series.

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litoreads's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring 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? It's complicated

5.0

TL;DR:
Someone let Miss Tracy Deonn cook and she created a masterpiece. Five Stars.

The story starts with the heartbreaking loss of Bree Matthews' mother. A few months later, she heads off to USC, the same university her mother attended. Shortly after arriving at the school, she stumbles upon the exclusive Order of the Round Table, a modern-day rendition of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table.

As mysterious and perilous incidents unfold on campus, Bree seizes the opportunity to join the Order as a Page, facilitated by Nick, the prospective King and heir to King Arthur's throne. Amidst her training to be a Squire, escalating violent events prompt the original Knights to call upon their Scions to Awaken, signaling an impending war. The catch is that if Arthur's Scion (Nick) is Awakened and falls victim to the Shadowborn demons,

15 centuries of Legendborn magic lines will vanish, plunging the world into darkness and chaos

.

Simultaneously, Bree undergoes therapy where her therapist unveils

the magic system, Rootcraft

, and cautions her about

the dangers posed by the Order. After consulting with her ancestors, Bree resolves to infiltrate the Order to uncover the truth behind her mother's fate, as her mom was a Rootcrafter adept at manipulating plant energy

.

I won't spoil the rest for you; PLEASE READ IT. I couldn't contain my excitement and literally yelled and felt chills when the climax was revealed.

On the downside, I found a minor issue with Bree's frequent lack of awareness in certain situations. For instance, moments where she unexpectedly realizes actions she apparently performed without conscious awareness felt a bit inconsistent for a character with such

legendary power

. Unfortunately, this is a typical trope found in YA novels. Beyond this, the rest of the story is exceptional.

Here's what I appreciated:
- The engaging narrative
- Rich lore
- Well-crafted magic system
- Compelling characters, particularly Bree, Sel, Nick, and Alice

Bree's perspective as an intelligent Black woman resonated with me, offering a poignant exploration of how White society incessantly thrusts her race and gender in her face. As a person of color myself, I identified with many parallels, and the portrayal of racist interactions at times moved me to tears.

The inclusion of queer representation in the story is commendable. Same-sex relationships are normalized, and I applaud the matter-of-fact acceptance within the narrative. The diverse sexual orientations of characters, including Sel being bi (we need more bi men in books) and Alice being a lesbian, along with queer figures in high-ranking positions in the Order, is a refreshing and welcomed aspect.

Tracy Deonn's debut novel is a tapestry of adventure, gripping battle scenes, dynamic characters, a captivating magic system, and creative, imaginative lore rooted in Arthurian legend. It lays the foundation for a

potential love triangle

in the sequel as well as a

larger war with incredibly high stakes

. If you're a fan of fantasy, magic, and coming-of-age tales, this book is an absolute must-read.

Five stars.

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