Reviews tagging 'Sexual violence'

Legendborn, by Tracy Deonn

61 reviews

campisforever's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful informative inspiring 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? It's complicated

5.0

If I could give Legendborn all the stars in the sky, I would. I cannot express, without spoiling the entire novel, how culturally significant this book is. Gorgeously written, complex, and heart wrenching, Legendborn handles several connected and messy questions about legacy and heroism in a way that is accessible to those who may never thought about them before.

Taking on Arthruiana (stories of King Arthur and the Round Table) is no small feat in itself. Doing so in a mode that centers a Black girl's existence is monumental and so, so, so important. Tracy Deonn has made a place for Black women among the heroes of Arthurian legend without bowing to its inherent assumptions about who can and should be considered "legendary." At the same time that it reanimates the legend of King Arthur, Legendborn resonates with ideas and approaches visible in other Black Feminist work (e.g., N. K. Jemisin, Octavia Butler, M. NourbeSe Philip, Alexis Pauline Gumbs, Katherine McKittrick, Dionne Brand, Saidiya Hartman, etc.).

If you were a fan of Dark Horse's Once and Future Queen (which didn't get the run it deserved), Legendborn is for you. If you are looking for a fantasy novel that actively challenges and resists the inherent whiteness and racialism of "Tolkienist" fantasy and Western fantasy stories in general, I encourage you to read this book. If you're looking for something like T. H. White or Mists of Avalon, this book is not what you're looking for, but you should read it anyway.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Racism, Death of parent, and Classism

Minor: Forced institutionalization, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Rape, Slavery, and Child abuse

All content warnings are given in degrees: "Graphic" means that they're prominent elements of the story and are the most detailed. "Moderate" means that they're world building elements--specifically, "racism" refers to depictions of the kinds of casual racism (e.g., hair touching, comments about affirmative action/diversity, one use of a phrase used to refer to Black hair types, etc.). "Minor" means that these things are referred to, but not depicted explicitly or in an extended manner. This book deals with the legacies of enslavement in American history and its attendant generational trauma. It does not shy away from these realities, but also does not allow them to take up more space than warranted.

kadriliis's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional sad 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? No

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief and Death of parent

Moderate: Death, Violence, and Slavery

Minor: Sexual violence

gloriousreader's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional tense slow-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

4.0

The last 20% of this book was a rollercoaster and the twist was just *chef's kiss*

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical trauma, Death of parent, Violence, Racism, Slavery, and Grief

Moderate: Car accident

Minor: Physical abuse, Rape, Gore, and Sexual violence

emilymia's review against another edition

adventurous medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism and Violence

Moderate: Sexual violence, Car accident, Death of parent, and Addiction

Minor: Vomit

catreads247's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny 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? It's complicated

5.0

Loved! Absoluetly loved! The characters the storyline, everything worked and was written beautifully. Can’t wait to read book two! 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Gore and Violence

Minor: Sexual violence and Slavery

mitzee's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional inspiring mysterious reflective sad 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? No

5.0

Loved it. Into all of the aspects of secret societies, ancestral history, magic, and bonding/relationships. Some queer characters here and there but not the central characters.

Interesting for me to read this book which follows an Arthurian theme, right after having read Once & Future (also having to do with King Arthur and his knights). 

Spoiler

The stories of enslaved people helped to bring things back to reality. I also thought they were a good way to bring characters into a story that were all about “purity of bloodlines” *insert eyeroll here to people who talk about upholding this in real life* </spoiler)

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Injury/Injury detail, and Violence

Moderate: Slavery and Colonisation

Minor: Sexual violence and Rape

smashley_rr's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious fast-paced

• 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

5.0

100% worth the wait and the hype! I was enthralled from page 1 and absolutely LOVED this book! I laughed, I cried, I gasped, and I wiggled with all the feels! Fantastically done and amazing interweaving of very real world issues of racism, white supremacy, or generational trauma/grief within an alternative world that has an amazing magic system! Cannot wait for book 2!

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexism, Grief, and Racism

Minor: Sexual violence, Rape, and Slavery

sydneyluxford's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful informative mysterious 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? No

4.25

I am definitely sensing a new obsession incoming… I cannot believe I have owned this book for almost two years and I’ve only just read it now, I was truly missing out.

The incorporation of King Arthur and his knights was so cool, albeit a bit confusing at first. I actually cannot wait to read Bloodmarked because WTF WAS THAT ENDING???

Also… I’m 100% team Sel. I have no doubts about it. The moment we were introduced to him I knew I’d love him, IDRK what that says about me.

Also, LOVED Bree. Such an awesome main character! I love her independence. I can’t believe she’s younger than me, because no way would I be doing all this at sixteen.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Car accident, Death of parent, Death, and Grief

Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Slavery, Misogyny, Murder, Violence, Hate crime, and Racism

Minor: Rape and Sexual violence

rayne_1906's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional 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

6 hours - I cannot put into words how I feel about this book. It feels so much larger than just a book. All of the characters were just so so likeable, and their interactions made me physically react several times, which is something that rarely occurs for me. All the characters were so cleverly developed, and the plot was so interesting and engaging, and the ending was just perfect. It discussed so many important issues, and not only discussed them but so expertly wove them into the story itself. I'm going to be thinking about this book for a while.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Death of parent, Racism, Violence, and Slavery

Moderate: Sexual violence, Blood, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Rape, Car accident, Death, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Transphobia and Cursing

isewandireadthings's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional informative inspiring mysterious reflective sad 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief and Racism

Moderate: Sexual violence, Rape, Slavery, Car accident, Death, Sexual assault, and Death of parent

Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Drug abuse, and Violence

Context/clarification for certain content warnings are below:

Spoiler

Most of the moderate warnings are self-explanatory. I chose to make Rape, Sexual Violence, and Sexual Assault moderate because one of the main character's ancestors is a slave who was raped, and the main character does witness this, but there is not explicit detail used to describe it. It is left implied, but is discussed again later in the story. For the Minor warnings: There is a brief scene at the very beginning where college students are jumping off a cliff into a body of water for fun. The main character, as I interpreted the scene, seemed to briefly consider joining them and contemplating dying as a result. Another character is able to use magic, and a side effect of using a large amount of magic is that he appears to get drunk/high, so I included drug abuse. And a general violence content warning for the fights in the book.