Reviews tagging 'War'

Legendborn by Tracy Deonn

160 reviews

pagecalico's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous challenging dark hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

If i could rate this book 10 stars i would.

I dont even know what to say but this is genuinely the best book ive ever read in my life.
Everything about this book is beyond perfection. From the writing to the storytelling to the ways it conveys emotion through its characters.  
I absolutely LOVE Briana!! She is genuinely so relatable and loveable to me. I love the way shes isn't afraid to express her anger and how shes proud to honour her ancestors. The way her grief is displayed throughout
the book I don’t even know how to describe is so touching and powerful i nearly cried multiple times every time her mum is brought up. 
Words cant even describe how sorry i feel for her, I mean
imagine that the only reason you are a DESCENDANT OF KING ARTHER is because one of his descendants (who was a slave master) raped his slave who happened to be your ancestor :///

I LOVED the author’s note and seeing her inspiration for Legendborn is so beautiful yet so heartbreaking, you can just tell the love and effort that went into this book, Deonn needs to be given her flowers!!
Overall, this book got be giggling, screaming and cursing out loud like no book has ever before. i cant WAIT to read the squeal!!!

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

asuenram's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous emotional inspiring reflective 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

4.5


Expand filter menu Content Warnings

ellenwm's review

Go to review page

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective 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? Yes

5.0

I am in awe of this book. Absolutely adore it and think it will surely become a contemporary classic in the genre. Tracy Deonn weaves together a masterpiece with a killer plot, wonderfully drawn characters, and beautiful, earnest prose. She’s embellished a real campus and based the story in history, lore and legend from multiple perspectives. The way she writes about slavery, violence, generational trauma and contemporary white supremacy is important. As a fellow member of the motherless daughters club, I found her meditations on grief, PTSD, rage and isolation refreshingly realistic and meaningfully expressed. Her depictions of friendship and found family rock. It is a gift to get to know Bree! Her relationships with Alice and her Dad ring acutely true. The pacing is awesome, too. I was sucked in and racing to the next snort-laugh-worthy line of dialogue or gasp-inducing reveal. I can’t wait to read the next book!!!

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

ms_sarah621's review

Go to review page

dark mysterious 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

3.5

my hopes were so high for this book. People love it so much, and I was super excited for a unique, fun story. However, I struggled with being able to really love this story. The King Arthur and Round Table lore was interesting, and I haven’t read much fiction that used that. I really appreciated the themes and conversations around grief, loss, finding identity, and race. I felt that these are tough topics to flesh out, but the author did a great job really exploring them. Yet, the rest of story felt so YA and underwhelming for me. There’s romance and conflict and twists and dealing with parents and coming of age. Of course, this is YA and those are typical topics for YA but that’s what pushed me away. I don’t read much YA anymore because it’s not written for me, but everyone talked about how different and amazing this book was, so I gave it a shot. Next, the romance got so messy and just uncomfortable for me. At first, I loved it and was very excited to see what would happen and how they would grow. Then, so many factors started being placed on them and their relationship that it threw me off and became less enjoyable. Lastly, I hate the final plot twist. The story behind it was heartbreaking and a great theme when thinking about history and lineage, but it didn’t feel like the book was leading us to that point or that that was even a possibility. It felt forced almost. I’m not sure why it had to happen. Of course, it makes Bree seem even stronger and more powerful, but it felt unnecessary and slightly ridiculous. Yet, that’s just my opinion and others may completely disagree. I just felt like it didn’t add to my experience, the story, and where things were headed. Overall, I did have fun being taken into this complex new world. Experiencing a very strong and talented main character and exploring a difficult new life she has to create for herself. I just feel it doesn’t live up to the massive hype this book has accumulated. 

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

wytherwytch's review

Go to review page

dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-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

This book was brilliant. It was slow to get going for me as the fantasy world was set up and explained but once it was going it was utterly brilliant. I really appreciated reading a book with a main character that was a woman of colour by a woman of colour and the raw perspective this book offered. More of this please.

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

halem13's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful 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? Yes

5.0


Expand filter menu Content Warnings

sar_willow's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous dark emotional tense fast-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


Expand filter menu Content Warnings

knockoffrainbow's review against another edition

Go to review page

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

5.0


Expand filter menu Content Warnings

depmythmoon's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring reflective 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

5.0

“They are past-tensing my heart—my whole beating, bleeding, torn heart—right in front of me.” (pg. 2)

“Death is not a thread. It is the sharp cut that severs us. Death separates us from one another, and yet it holds us close. As deeply as we hate it, it loves us more.” (pg. 305)

I have heard nothing but good things about this book, and I now see why! This has easily become my new favorite book, and I cannot wait to get my grubby little fingers on Bloodmarked and Oathbound when it’s released next year 😭. I don’t know why I put off reading it for as long as I have, but I will not be making the same mistake with the others in this series.

Brianna “Bree” Matthews is an African American teen who recently lost her mother to a car accident and is currently attending an early college program at the University of California, which her mother just so happened to attend 25 years prior. While there, she discovers that the world isn’t exactly as it seems, and there may be someone who knows about the mysteries surrounding her mother’s death. This story focuses heavily on the grieving process and the lasting, current impacts of slavery. As a black woman, I was able to relate to these issues and the anger/injustice that Bree felt throughout the book, which added another layer of enjoyment. However, anyone from any race can enjoy this book and learn from it, and I would highly recommend it to anyone who has even the slightest interest in fantasy.

I’m not one to give out 5 stars so liberally, so believe me when I say that I really tried to wrack my brain for any possibly gripe I could have had with this book. None exist. This is an amazing book, 10/10, no notes. Period. Genuinely, I’ve sat with this book for a couple days, and I still am in love with it and I can’t even think to utter a negative word about it.

The background behind the magic systems was well thought out and helped push the theme even further. Bree was a complex character that helped spread awareness for PCBD, which is something I’d never heard of before reading this book. Alice was a true ride or die best friend that anyone would be lucky to have in their corner, and I loved their banter. There were cute, romantic moments that had me giggling and kicking my feet. And the TWISTS! My God! Towards the end of the book, my jaw gradually dislocated to the point that it hit the floor and beyond. I’m still picking it up to this day.

Ms. Deonn knows exactly what she’s doing!! I cannot wait to see where this story goes. I’m also curious about the end-game love interest. I have very high hopes for the rest of the series; I can hardly wait!

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

ebp's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous emotional inspiring mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0


Expand filter menu Content Warnings