Reviews tagging 'Child death'

Legendborn by Tracy Deonn

29 reviews

gabriella_'s review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful mysterious sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

Read this entire book on a flight to England and holy shit. The way this book captures grief, trauma, and how it can intersect with misogynoir was gripping.

Tracy Deonn is excellent at character writing and establishing interpersonal dynamics (and conflicts). She also creates a unique atmosphere with obvious (and not so obvious) foes. She empowers her protagonist and makes her multifaceted. She breathes life into Bree and, as a reader, makes her feel so real. And this doesn’t get into how she writes an ensemble cast either - good GOD I would be remiss if I didn’t get into that. 

Every character contributes something to the plot and it’s amazing that this author finds a way to do that without rendering them to be one-note or just a plot device. She has a plan for every character - and pieces of dialogue have a way of retaining relevance chapters later in a refreshing way.

I wish I had a book like this when I was a kid. 2,000/10 recommend reading this book if you are interested in fantasy and coming of age books. It’s the gift that keeps on giving! Tracy Deonn, thank you for writing this.

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vaguely_pink's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional 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? Yes

3.75

I think this would've been a 4 star read for me if I had read with my eyes instead of my ears. I started listening to the audiobook in early summer and got about half way through before my Libby loan returned. I enjoyed it, but wasn't totally convinced on the hype this book often gets. Once I was finally able to borrow it again in Libby, I finished the second half in like 2 days and really loved how it wrapped up. These are wonderfully written characters and I'm excited to see how their story continues. Deonn has created an extremely poignant story of southern dark academia that has a lot of important things to say about race and gender in a way that's palatable without doing hard topics any disservice. 

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whewtaewoon's review against another edition

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5.0


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aformeracceleratedreader's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated

3.25

I have a lot of mixed feelings on this. I don't like that the mc is 16 while the love interests are 19. Wish our mc was aged up for it to be more appropriate. I feel the love interests are a little generic too.
I did like the incorporation of King Arthur and the magical aspects of it. I also enjoyed Bree finding out more about her own magic. 
I of course love the narrator of the audiobook, and I've listened to her read quite a few now. 
I'm iffy if I want to continue with the second book or not. Like I like the concept enough to want to continue it, but I don't know if I like it enough to check out the second one from my library right away.

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bookthief's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional 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

5.0

A couple of years i ago I watched the BBC series Merlin and I loved it and when I heard about this book, which has a modern day retelling of a modern day Arthurian Legend, I knew I would love this book!

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.

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jennywren60's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced
  • 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


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iamsammie27's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective 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


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sammymilfort's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional reflective 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? It's complicated

4.25


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a_libra_library's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny inspiring mysterious reflective tense 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? N/A

5.0


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brookey8888's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny 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? Yes

4.5

The main reason that this isn’t a 5 star is because when thy would explain the lore and history and magic It just went over my head for some reason. As for what I liked which was everything else btw. I really loved Bree and just her whole grieving process and her family and friendships. I also enjoyed learning more about her history. I enjoyed the discussions of race and all of that that includes. I also really enjoyed the budding relationship between Bree and someone. The ending action packed and I kind of didn’t see it coming. 

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