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starccato's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
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
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Medical content, Mental illness, Misogyny, Murder, Racism, Death of parent, Grief, Car accident, Classism, Blood, Body horror, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Panic attacks/disorders, Slavery, Violence, War, and Gore
Moderate: Confinement, Emotional abuse, Sexual violence, Bullying, Sexual assault, Infidelity, Child abuse, Alcohol, Vomit, Rape, Pregnancy, Racial slurs, Gaslighting, Fire/Fire injury, Hate crime, Abandonment, Child death, and Torture
Minor: Religious bigotry and Transphobia
phantasmaboo's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
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? Yes
4.5
Legendborn by Tracy Deonn tells the story of Bree Mathews, who is attending an early admissions program at UNC Chapel-Hill. There, she witnesses a magical attack. She realizes that this attack has many similarities to the death of her mother, which was rule to be accident. Bree then embarks on an adventure to enter a secret, magic-filled society to discover the truth about her mother's death. With the help of her mentor/friend Nick, she finds herself taking on the challenges of the society while trying to find the truth.
My overall impression is simply...wow. This book was amazing. The combination of the Arthurian Legend with the American history of slavery with modern racial and systemic issues was really great.
Among my highlights are:
Solid Young Adult Characters
The characters were overall what I would expect from a Young Adult novel. Bree is witty and Nick is charming. There's the required amount of drama, angst, and romance that is traditional in young adult books combined with a side of mystery and magic. All characters, even minor ones, have at least a semblance of a complex and nuanced personality, even the villains. No one particularly comes off as cliché or trope-like even though they do have the YA characteristics I mentioned before.
Good World Building
Although set in the modern times, there is a profound history at play in this book. The magic system and heritage system is something that Deonn set up very well. My only complaint is that it is so complex that I wish more time had been spent making sure I knew what it was. There is a chart in the back of the book I have that helps a little bit, but I would have liked to see a little bit more "show" rather than "tell" regarding the social structure of this magical society. I did consider this to be fairly minor, as I enjoyed the story and was able to mostly follow.
To add onto this, Deonn does a wonderful job at examining the effects of slavery not only on the modern-day individuals, but also on the Magic system that is in place. I cannot recall another book that I have recently read that does this. Sure, there are books where they have maybe a traditionally Black or African magic system that exists alongside of a traditionally white system, but Deonn takes it a step further. Deonn also does not shy away from addressing the horrors of slavery in America while also presenting them in an appropriate way for a Young Adult audience.
Good Mystery (Mysteries)
One of my pet peeves with books of this type is when the author forgets the original mystery and it is left by the wayside until they feel like picking it up again. Deonn does not do this. Instead, we do get other mysteries introduced to us, but they feel very natural and organic given that Bree has just entered this society. I never felt like Bree had abandoned her original mission either. Instead, her mission and curiosity grows.
There one thing I noticed that somewhat negatively impacted my reading was:
Plot Pacing
The plot to this is fairly medium-paced. There are parts to the story where it does have a bit of a lull, but I think that it's minor enough that I would say that it is paced well for the most part. There are some areas that I think could be improved by either slowing down or speeding up.
Final Review
I give this book a 4.5 / 5 stars. It was a wonderful read and I cannot wait to see what this series brings in the future. I also cannot wait to see how the revelations at the end of this book are handled in the remainder of the series.
My overall impression is simply...wow. This book was amazing. The combination of the Arthurian Legend with the American history of slavery with modern racial and systemic issues was really great.
Among my highlights are:
Solid Young Adult Characters
The characters were overall what I would expect from a Young Adult novel. Bree is witty and Nick is charming. There's the required amount of drama, angst, and romance that is traditional in young adult books combined with a side of mystery and magic. All characters, even minor ones, have at least a semblance of a complex and nuanced personality, even the villains. No one particularly comes off as cliché or trope-like even though they do have the YA characteristics I mentioned before.
Good World Building
Although set in the modern times, there is a profound history at play in this book. The magic system and heritage system is something that Deonn set up very well. My only complaint is that it is so complex that I wish more time had been spent making sure I knew what it was. There is a chart in the back of the book I have that helps a little bit, but I would have liked to see a little bit more "show" rather than "tell" regarding the social structure of this magical society. I did consider this to be fairly minor, as I enjoyed the story and was able to mostly follow.
To add onto this, Deonn does a wonderful job at examining the effects of slavery not only on the modern-day individuals, but also on the Magic system that is in place. I cannot recall another book that I have recently read that does this. Sure, there are books where they have maybe a traditionally Black or African magic system that exists alongside of a traditionally white system, but Deonn takes it a step further. Deonn also does not shy away from addressing the horrors of slavery in America while also presenting them in an appropriate way for a Young Adult audience.
Good Mystery (Mysteries)
One of my pet peeves with books of this type is when the author forgets the original mystery and it is left by the wayside until they feel like picking it up again. Deonn does not do this. Instead, we do get other mysteries introduced to us, but they feel very natural and organic given that Bree has just entered this society. I never felt like Bree had abandoned her original mission either. Instead, her mission and curiosity grows.
There one thing I noticed that somewhat negatively impacted my reading was:
Plot Pacing
The plot to this is fairly medium-paced. There are parts to the story where it does have a bit of a lull, but I think that it's minor enough that I would say that it is paced well for the most part. There are some areas that I think could be improved by either slowing down or speeding up.
Final Review
I give this book a 4.5 / 5 stars. It was a wonderful read and I cannot wait to see what this series brings in the future. I also cannot wait to see how the revelations at the end of this book are handled in the remainder of the series.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Slavery and Violence
Moderate: Rape
Minor: Child death
emmasbookshelf27's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
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
5.0
Amazing! Top 5 book of the year. The pacing is quick and the plot is great! If you need out of a reading slump.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment, War, Violence, Torture, Slavery, Vomit, Racism, Racial slurs, Physical abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Murder, Misogyny, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Forced institutionalization, Death of parent, Death, Colonisation, Child death, Cancer, Bullying, and Blood
Minor: Alcohol and Rape
roseamillerg's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-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
4.0
a bit too much (very confusing and complex) lore for me.
almost DNF’d multiple times, but I am happy that I finished the book.
P.s. William is *chef’s kiss* 😌
P.p.s the cover is so pretty 🥺🥵
Also can I just say SEL🦋🦋🦋💀
I didn’t like how the deaths of Evan, Whitty and Russ were written because they happened so fast and so close to each other that I feel like they lost their impact, which is really such a shame (especially bc they were TEENAGERS!! :(
almost DNF’d multiple times, but I am happy that I finished the book.
P.s. William is *chef’s kiss* 😌
P.p.s the cover is so pretty 🥺🥵
Also can I just say SEL🦋🦋🦋💀
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Bullying, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Grief, Racism, Sexism, Slavery, and Violence
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Car accident, Child abuse, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Kidnapping, Panic attacks/disorders, Terminal illness, and Vomit
Minor: Forced institutionalization, Kidnapping, Police brutality, Racial slurs, Rape, and Stalking
annacolb's review
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief
Moderate: Racism, Sexism, and Slavery
Minor: Rape, Death, Child death, Sexual assault, Cancer, Child abuse, and Slavery
nerdybirdy101's review
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I LOVE this book and highly recommend everyone to read this!! If you like the Legend of Arthur and the Round Knights, you are obligated to read this! It mixes the Legend of Arthur with magic and demon hunting, which is absolutely brilliant. The author executed the Legend of Arthur expertly and this is their debut novel!
Additionally, the author showcases racism and sexism as separate discriminations and combined discriminations particularly towards Black girls and women. I admire the fact that the author was able to showcase these discriminations in a ‘fantasy’ book, because it reminds readers of discrimination and that Black girls and women have to deal with these discriminations on a daily basis.
The fact this is Tracy Deonn’s first novel blows my mind because this was one of the best books I read in 2020 and I am so glad I was able to end my year with it! I borrowed it from the library and desperately need a physical copy!
I HIGHLY RECOMMEND this book because it is perfection and the sequel cannot come soon enough.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Racism, and Sexism
Minor: Child death
booksthatburn's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
fast-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Legendborn reckons with deep grief, processing personal and generational trauma. It's also an adventure, a discovery, with exhilarating battles and heart-pounding danger. A dizzying blend between long-needed closure and still-bleeding edges; soothing and deeply satisfying.
As a retelling, I love it. It takes the Arthurian mythos and brings it into the modern era in a way that pulls it through the intervening years, the generations. It contextualizes the history that must have happened in order to arrive at the present moment with an incredibly white and monied secret magical legacy intact. As a new novel that builds a fantastic world on the bones of our own, stirring legends and history together and fixing them into a new form, I love it even more.
The characters are great. There are some world-building sections that tend a bit towards info-dumps early on because there's a lot to explain, but the way they're conveyed builds a sense of just how much information the MC is trying to learn and act on in a very short amount of time for her own survival. I love long nerdy explanations of minutiae, especially of magic systems in fantasy, and this has just enough of that to make me happy without it ever feeling too dense. They don't slow the story down and they helped with immersion in the world. The later parts of the book feel lighter and move faster once those explanations are out of the way, but I definitely want to re-read to catch even more now that I know the ending.
Partway through reading this I said that in order for something to be my perfect book it would need to be a retelling with a heist, or a heist that added space or magic. Dear audience, fellow lovers of heists and heist-adjacent tropes. This book has a heisty scene. If you don't care about heists, that scene does a bunch of great character-work and is fantastic on other merits. But I have found my retelling with a heist, and so I have an extra thing to be happy about in this book.
I've barely finished reading and I already need more. The narrative is layered, with things I can tell will be fascinating in a re-read whenever I get the chance. The only thing I want that I didn't get is more book, I didn't want this to end, but a sequel has been planned and so I'll just have to wait.
As a retelling, I love it. It takes the Arthurian mythos and brings it into the modern era in a way that pulls it through the intervening years, the generations. It contextualizes the history that must have happened in order to arrive at the present moment with an incredibly white and monied secret magical legacy intact. As a new novel that builds a fantastic world on the bones of our own, stirring legends and history together and fixing them into a new form, I love it even more.
The characters are great. There are some world-building sections that tend a bit towards info-dumps early on because there's a lot to explain, but the way they're conveyed builds a sense of just how much information the MC is trying to learn and act on in a very short amount of time for her own survival. I love long nerdy explanations of minutiae, especially of magic systems in fantasy, and this has just enough of that to make me happy without it ever feeling too dense. They don't slow the story down and they helped with immersion in the world. The later parts of the book feel lighter and move faster once those explanations are out of the way, but I definitely want to re-read to catch even more now that I know the ending.
Partway through reading this I said that in order for something to be my perfect book it would need to be a retelling with a heist, or a heist that added space or magic. Dear audience, fellow lovers of heists and heist-adjacent tropes. This book has a heisty scene. If you don't care about heists, that scene does a bunch of great character-work and is fantastic on other merits. But I have found my retelling with a heist, and so I have an extra thing to be happy about in this book.
I've barely finished reading and I already need more. The narrative is layered, with things I can tell will be fascinating in a re-read whenever I get the chance. The only thing I want that I didn't get is more book, I didn't want this to end, but a sequel has been planned and so I'll just have to wait.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death and Death
Moderate: Gore and Racism
Minor: Slavery and Sexual assault
CW for discussion of slavery, discussion of sexual assault, racism, gore, car accident, parental death, major character death.
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