A review by ms_sarah621
Legendborn by Tracy Deonn

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. 
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