A review by anniehayez
Legendborn by Tracy Deonn

adventurous emotional mysterious 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? Yes

4.5

This book sucked me into the world so fast. I love the characters and the magic and everything about it. I quite literally couldn’t put it down. The way this book highlights the everyday burden or micro and macro aggressions that black people face in America everyday was eye opening and infuriating. The book was able to tackle so many tough topics like racism, grief, and painful legacies without getting weighed down. The ending was epic and painful all at the same time. The only reason it’s not 5 stars for me was that I felt Alice’s character felt significantly underdeveloped and her relationship with Bree is told to us rather than shown many times. I also felt that some of the plot points were too similar to other YA fantasy and leaned a little too much on some recognizable tropes but I loved it so much I can get past all that. 1000% would recommend this to people and would absolutely read it again. I’m ordering the second book in the series immediately. 

Update after reading Bloodmarked: 

I stand by my criticism that some aspects of the first book lean a bit on classic YA tropes (games/trials, love triangle, nobody with powers). I also stand by the fact that Alice and Bree’s relationship is not explained enough in this book but now I completely love the two of them. I wouldn’t change a thing about the first book after reading the second book. Everything in this book is a fun way to enter this amazing world. Bloodmarked is so closer to a 5 star book and this is just a hair behind. Definitely one of my top 4.5s of the year. 
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