Reviews tagging 'Bullying'

Legendborn by Tracy Deonn

112 reviews

some_random_person_hi's review

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence and Grief

Moderate: Abandonment, Blood, Death of parent, Gore, Forced institutionalization, Death, Slavery, Bullying, Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, War, and Racism

Minor: Misogyny, Murder, Kidnapping, Rape, Alcohol, Car accident, Colonisation, Stalking, Transphobia, Self harm, Confinement, and Torture

Self harm is not in the mental health issues way but the for blood way.

midnightverde's review against another edition

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Car accident, Pregnancy, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Blood, Gaslighting, Murder, Racism, Slavery, Colonisation, Emotional abuse, Grief, Classism, Gore, Bullying, Violence, Death, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Mental illness, and Misogyny

Moderate: Infidelity and Rape

litoreads's review

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic friendship, Sexism, Misogyny, Car accident, Cursing, Death of parent, War, Death, Blood, Bullying, Gore, Grief, Mental illness, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Pregnancy, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Slavery, and Violence

talonsontypewriters's review

adventurous emotional medium-paced

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

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Death, Body horror, Violence, Kidnapping, Classism, Grief, Death of parent, Bullying, Injury/Injury detail, and Racism

Moderate: Murder, Confinement, Panic attacks/disorders, Animal death, Torture, Child abuse, Colonisation, Medical content, War, Physical abuse, Misogyny, Fire/Fire injury, Sexism, Slavery, and Alcohol

Minor: Infidelity, Vomit, Car accident, Transphobia, Rape, Sexual content, and Cancer

quel_g's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious sad 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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief

Moderate: Racial slurs, Murder, Death, Slavery, Classism, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Misogyny, Bullying, Car accident, Death of parent, Racism, and Sexual violence

Minor: Child abuse, Rape, Blood, Misogyny, and Police brutality

The sheer joy it brings me knowing that these misogynistic racists most powerful lineage got passed down to only black women because of one dumbass along the way. Love

antijeffbozo_love2read's review against another edition

adventurous emotional 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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Sexism, Cursing, Slavery, Infidelity, Grief, Death, Child abuse, Racism, Bullying, Death of parent, and Violence

Moderate: Car accident and Rape

Minor: Sexual content

julee_melii's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Death of parent, Death, Slavery, and Grief

Moderate: Pregnancy, Car accident, Gore, Rape, Abandonment, Body horror, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, and Racism

Minor: Transphobia, Bullying, and Sexism

sophiesmallhands's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Racism, and Mental illness

Moderate: Pregnancy, Child abuse, Gore, Death of parent, Violence, Abandonment, Misogyny, Injury/Injury detail, Gaslighting, Bullying, Slavery, Sexism, and Classism

Minor: Rape, Police brutality, and Car accident

rberdan's review against another edition

adventurous dark hopeful mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

I will be honest. I read the first half and a predictable thing I expected had already transpired so I wasn’t terribly invested, and then my Libby loan expired. I skipped my loan a few times and then it came back up a few days ago when I was in exactly the mood to read it while recovering from COVID and let me tell you… I did not put it down until I was done and promptly jumped to book two when I finished. 

I know enough about Arthurian legend to understand what’s going on, but I wouldn’t say I’m typically drawn to these stories, which is a testament to the author’s skill at storytelling. Sure, there were some predictable bits… it’s a YA novel and I expect this… but there were also some things I didn’t see coming and some different story elements in terms of both magic and the interweaving of power, elitism, and racism that were deftly woven. By the end of the noon I was already fully invested, and then when I read the author’s notes I retroactively had an even deeper appreciation for the work. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Forced institutionalization, Classism, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Racism, Violence, and War

Moderate: Murder, Bullying, and Slavery

Minor: Sexual violence and Rape

ghostlyprince's review against another edition

emotional reflective tense slow-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Gore, Grief, Hate crime, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Racism, Sexism, Slavery, Violence, Bullying, Child abuse, Colonisation, Death, Death of parent, and War

Moderate: Rape, Vomit, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Car accident, Kidnapping, and Panic attacks/disorders

Minor: Alcohol, Stalking, Body shaming, Classism, and Confinement