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bookthief'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
5.0
Bree was a fantastic character. She was strong, brave and resilient. I loved how throughout the book she accepted her grief for her mother and used it to discover the story of her origin through her ancestors. I was so surprised at the end that Bree was actually the Scion of Arthur. But I’m so glad that she is because she would be a great leader and king. Her powers are incredible and awesome and super strong. I can’t wait to see what type of king she will become in the next book!
Nick was an incredibly kind and determined person. The way he helped Bree when they had only known each other for less than a day was very sweet, and putting his life on the line several times for her. I would love it if Nick and Bree got together and stayed together as they work so well together. However a small part of me wants Sel to swoop in and be with Bree:)
The writing of the book was brilliant. The organisation was done perfectly as everything flowed smoothly and leaving mysteries at the perfect time.
I would definitely recommend this book to those of you who like fantasy and retelling of Arthurian Legend.
Graphic: Cursing, Grief, Kidnapping, Medical content, Murder, Sexism, War, Car accident, Child death, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Blood, Death of parent, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Slavery, and Violence
rosenau'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
5.0
Graphic: Death, Violence, Blood, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Body horror, Death of parent, and Grief
Moderate: Car accident, Kidnapping, Slavery, Classism, Medical content, Misogyny, Murder, Rape, Cursing, and Sexism
Minor: Alcohol, Transphobia, War, Bullying, Rape, Slavery, and Sexual assault
karly_ackley'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
5.0
Graphic: Slavery, Classism, War, Racism, Blood, Grief, Medical content, and Colonisation
Moderate: Transphobia, Fire/Fire injury, Forced institutionalization, and Death of parent
Minor: Rape
caleb_makes's review against another edition
- 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
4.0
Graphic: Grief, Racism, Death of parent, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, and Death
Moderate: Medical content, Mental illness, Misogyny, Sexism, War, Slavery, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Blood, and Violence
Minor: Torture, Transphobia, Sexual harassment, Homophobia, Forced institutionalization, Pregnancy, Police brutality, Domestic abuse, Sexual assault, Car accident, and Animal death
spooderman's review against another edition
- 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? It's complicated
3.75
Graphic: Gaslighting, Toxic relationship, Physical abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Murder, Medical trauma, Injury/Injury detail, Forced institutionalization, Colonisation, Bullying, Grief, Police brutality, Kidnapping, Classism, Gore, Adult/minor relationship, Racism, Slavery, Death, Car accident, Confinement, Body horror, Violence, Sexism, Misogyny, Torture, Hate crime, Death of parent, Abandonment, War, Mental illness, Medical content, Emotional abuse, Deportation, Cursing, Cultural appropriation, Blood, Ableism, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Pregnancy, Addiction, Alcohol, Rape, Animal death, Religious bigotry, Animal cruelty, Infidelity, Fire/Fire injury, and Xenophobia
Minor: Sexual assault, Vomit, and Suicidal thoughts
vivavia's review
- 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
4.25
Graphic: Death of parent, Grief, Death, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Slavery, Violence, Kidnapping, Medical content, Racism, Torture, Alcohol, Blood, Bullying, Classism, Murder, Body horror, and Car accident
raneyak'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
Graphic: Grief, Racism, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Death of parent, Body horror, and Death
Moderate: Alcohol, Slavery, Sexism, Misogyny, Medical content, and Car accident
lilifane'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
Is this the best YA fantasy book ever written? Maybe?
At least, it's one of the best I've read. Truly, the writing is fantastic. I laughed, I cried, I was at the edge of my seat and turned page after page after page. And I just found out this is Tracy Deonn's debut novel?! What?!
Loved the writing. Looooved the characters, the character work, development, their dynamics are so good. There are some tropes I usually don't enjoy that much, but here I didn't mind, I was even invested. I'm here for it. And there is so much LGBTQ+ representation! Gay, Lesbian, Bi Characters, a non-binary one. And the way they are casually part of the story made me SO happy.
Also, Bree as the protagonist is such a delight to follow. Even when she is grieving and angry. I love her.
I'm a fan of Arthurian legends. One of my first fantasy books ever was a retelling of the legend. Since then, I've encountered many more and this one is so unique. I have to admit, it is confusing at the beginning. There is a lot of world building (A LOT), a lot of names, and details. The magic system is wild and equally confusing. And then halfway through the book a second magic system comes into play. And I loved this one even more. But it worked for me. In the end everything came together perfectly, the plot, the characters, the mysteries. The ending is so satisfying.
And all that, the character dynamics, the friendships, the romance, the magic, the (for me perfectly paced) plot is interwoven with themes like grief, racism, colonization, slavery, generational trauma in such a brilliant way. I could say so much more and talk about this book for hours on end, but I don't want to spoil anything. I'm just in love which this story and can't wait to continue with Bloodmarked right away.
Graphic: Slavery, Violence, Grief, Death of parent, Colonisation, Death, Injury/Injury detail, and Racism
Minor: Bullying, Kidnapping, Alcohol, Stalking, Car accident, Medical content, Pregnancy, Gore, and Rape
cady_sass'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
4.25
Graphic: Racism, Sexism, Gore, Medical content, Death of parent, Racial slurs, Slavery, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Blood, Bullying, Death, Kidnapping, Murder, Sexual content, War, Car accident, and Grief
m4rtt4's review against another edition
- 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? It's complicated
2.5
The world-building was quite poorly done, it took me ages to understand how the magical system works. There were so many words in Welsh that weren't translated, even Welsh creatures whose appearances still remain a mystery to me. There were too many fighting scenes for my taste, and I'm not sensitive to violence or injuries — I just don't give a fuck about who hit whom and when and how. Neither did I like the romantic aspects of the story; why must every female YA protagonist always have a love interest? Also I was promised a (boarding) school setting, but everything academic was slowly disposed of as the plot thickened :(
Positive aspects of the book would be its natural diversity in characters, the existence of Selwyn (my favourite character <3) and the subplot about Rootcraft and Bree's family history. I really wish the book had focused more on that, based on the short scenes I am already way more interested in Rootcraft than I ever could be in King Arthur and his knights' descendants. Applause to Deonn for creating such an original fantasy experience, I find it so unfortunate I wasn't able to enjoy it. I really wanted to :(
(tbh I have no idea why I listened through the whole 18 hours despite thinking about DNFing literally every half an hour. guess I really had my hopes up for nothing..)
Graphic: Death of parent, Panic attacks/disorders, Injury/Injury detail, Racism, Violence, Death, Grief, and Medical content
Moderate: Blood, Police brutality, Kidnapping, Car accident, Rape, Mental illness, and Slavery