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A review by thebakerbookworm
Legendborn by Tracy Deonn
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? Yes
5.0
Okay, I don't know why I slept on this book for so long, because I loved it! From start to finish, I was captivated by the plot, by the characters, by the magic, by the setting. Easily the best fantasy I've read this year.
I don't always like books set in the South (I think they rely on stereotypes to often), but this was done well and I enjoyed the campus setting. The plot slowly built over the course of the novel, giving us sufficient backstory and world building and investment in these characters before the climax—and man, that ending, I could not put the book down.
History plays an important role in this story, and nothing is glossed over or forgotten—I loved how it showed, through the use of fantastical magic, how history still affects our present, in particular the US's history of slavery. There's a lot of powerful imagery here. The King Arthur aspect to it was also really enjoyable and I thought it was explained well.
The characters, of course, were all wonderful. I loved Bree as the lead—she's dealing with grief for the whole novel and she still manages to find bravery and strength and learn how to trust people. I loved her growth. I loved her relationships with the other characters, particularly her dad.I did think that Nick was interesting at first but became more flat as the story progressed. This could be because I found Sel to be a far more interesting character who only got more interesting as I kept reading and I looked forward to all his scenes. I don't not like Nick, and I do like him and Bree together and their relationship, but I'm just more intrigued by Sel and a potential relationship between him and Bree, and I don't usually root for the "other" person in a love triangle so idk what happened here, but I may be in love with Sel!! *has existential crisis over what this book has done to me*
All that to say, this is going in my favorites and I'm stoked for the sequel!
I don't always like books set in the South (I think they rely on stereotypes to often), but this was done well and I enjoyed the campus setting. The plot slowly built over the course of the novel, giving us sufficient backstory and world building and investment in these characters before the climax—and man, that ending, I could not put the book down.
History plays an important role in this story, and nothing is glossed over or forgotten—I loved how it showed, through the use of fantastical magic, how history still affects our present, in particular the US's history of slavery. There's a lot of powerful imagery here. The King Arthur aspect to it was also really enjoyable and I thought it was explained well.
The characters, of course, were all wonderful. I loved Bree as the lead—she's dealing with grief for the whole novel and she still manages to find bravery and strength and learn how to trust people. I loved her growth. I loved her relationships with the other characters, particularly her dad.
All that to say, this is going in my favorites and I'm stoked for the sequel!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Death, Death of parent, Grief, Racial slurs, Racism, and Violence
Minor: Car accident, Child abuse, Medical content, Rape, Sexism, Slavery, and Torture