Legendborn (Legendborn #1) by Tracy Deonn -- Restarting November 15th 2024

[Aaron]

Done
(view spoiler)[ I liked the ending and I’m glad Bree told Alice everything. It was interesting finding out about how the bloodlines crossed over. That was an unexpected twist. It looks like the next book is gonna have to delve deeper into the love triangle that’s formed. Overall, I enjoyed this. (hide spoiler)]

[Vippi]

Hannah wrote: "57% done. Sorry, I'm a slow reader.

Please tell me that somehow in the end Bree ends up with Sel.
I'm totally Team Selwyn Kane!
And that scene where [spoilers removed]

Who else thinks Sel is better?"



*sorry for all the gifs*

87%
(view spoiler)[The last few chapters surprised me. I wasn't sure that Bree would have accepted Nick's offer to be his Squire and I didn't suspect Nick's father... after all, he was injured in one of the fist attacks and his son risked his life more than once. How naive I am! (hide spoiler)]

[Vippi]

Aaron wrote: "Done
[spoilers removed]"

Finished.
(view spoiler)[I really liked it and I didn't see the final twists coming (Evan-demon to begin with, and Bree-Arthur to top it off). What puzzled me a bit was Nick's kidnapping. I felt as if it was an easy - yet smart - way to avoid defining Bree/Nick/Sel's relationships with one another, keeping all the options open.
Of course, I will read Bloodmarked as soon as it is released!
All in all, it was a great read and I loved to comment it with you 😄 (hide spoiler)]

[Maddie]

************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★

Date changed. Restarting September 3rd 2022. Happy Reading ☺

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************

[Maddie]

15% (view spoiler)[So far I'm a little confused with how to picture the aether, but it's interesting so far (hide spoiler)]

[Johanna]

I am trying to join 🤔

[Maddie]

Haha damn we're in so many of the same

[Johanna]

Hey great minds think alike ;D

[Maddie]

We definitely have the same taste.

[Johanna]

Maddie true 💜💜

[Maddie]

We also don't get around to half the books we plan haha

[Johanna]

🤫🤭🤣

[Maddie]

Good thing we're used to each other haha I love Goodreads

[Johanna]

I am also happy for finding you 🥰 I love to share about books and it's always nice if you find someone who reads the same books 🙌

[Maddie]

Heck yes! I just imported all of my stuff into Storygraph haha finally

[Hallie]

Thanks Maddie! I’m enjoying this book so far. Just finished chapter 10

[Maddie]

I've decided to dnf this one! I'm just not feeling it right now!

[Jenn]

************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★

Date changed. Restarting January 8th 2023. Happy Reading ☺

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************

[Aeia]

Can I join? :)

[Cinthia]

Aeia_auia_aaia wrote: "Can I join? :)"

of course!!! the more the merrier! :)

[Aeia]

Cinthia wrote: "of course!!! the more the merrier! :)"

Thanks! :)

[Alexandra]

I'll be starting this tonight!

[Ryn]

Just barely started it myself. I've tried to read it before and couldn't really get interested, but I'm hoping buddies will motivate me. The start is good, so I don't really know what the problem was.

[Alexandra]

Up to Chapter 9

(view spoiler)[I thought it's really interesting so far. It kind of reminds me of the start of City of Bones with the MC running into a bunch of people using magic to kill demons, not to mention the connection of them to her mom, but I love the college setting and the King Arthur themes since that's one of my favorite legends. I wonder what makes a person a Legendborn or gets chosen to be one (maybe just legacies? but that would severely limit their numbers) - she already can see the magical stuff so I feel like she would've been a good candidate regardless, if she hadn't snuck her way in. I also really like Nick. (hide spoiler)]

[Ryn]

Part One
Well... it's better than I remember it being. Sort of a cross between Harry Potter and Mortal Instruments. And you're right, I don't know how I missed the Mortal Instruments connection, but there's huge links for sure.

I feel like the whole (view spoiler)[ secret society, Legendborn, South, thing may be supposed to be an allegory for racism, and they probably have families that have produced generations of Legendborn. Nick basically said it was all about who you know and if they like you, so you know they're going to hate her. I do hope there's a better explanation for why she has all these powers out of the blue than just "Bree's special." I'm wondering if the hit-and-run wasn't an accident and her mom was involved in something. She did used to go to that school, didn't she? And I really don't understand the whole Onceborn vs Legendborn. They make it sound like you're born one or the other, but then there's the contest to become Legendborn, so I'm kind of confused about how most people even get their powers. (hide spoiler)] But it's long enough so hopefully we'll get some good answers that are well-developed and make sense.

[Ryn]

Part Two
So I've actually really enjoyed the way the author's tying in the Arthurian legends. I like Nick too and I'm not sure how it will come across to say this but I kind of love (view spoiler)[ that the MC has an interracial romance going on. I don't think we see really enough of them in literature. My guess at this point is that Bree's family is descended from one of the Morgaine lines, so if that is the case, it will be very interesting to see what happens when the Order finds out, especially Sel. Patricia seems to think Bree's mom knew how to use her powers; I was wondering if maybe she didn't know and thought things were just sort of happenstance happening. I also really liked the way the author wrote the trials. In Throne of Glass, I was so annoyed that the book was supposed to be all about these contests the MC was in, but she wrote them in almost as an afterthought and barely even showed most of them. So I really enjoyed reading the contest and I thought the way she handled Bree's performance in them was believable. I mean, she won, but not because she was magically special, she just took this one big risk and it paid off. (hide spoiler)]

I don't know why I didn't enjoy this book before, but I am this time around!

[Alexandra]

Ryn wrote: "Part One
Well... it's better than I remember it being. Sort of a cross between Harry Potter and Mortal Instruments. And you're right, I don't know how I missed the Mortal Instruments connection, bu..."

I've only finished Part One so far but (view spoiler)[I had my suspicions that Nick was Arthur's descendant, and I'm glad I was right. The whole lore behind the Order is kinda confusing, and at first like you I thought Onceborn are born outside the Lines, and Legendborn are the actual people descended from the knights, but I guess you can become Legendborn? They mentioned that Vassals can become Squires and when a Scion picks them, they share that Scion's powers when they're awakened, so I guess that's the only way to gain powers if you're outside the Lines?

I'm excited to figure out who Bree really is, and yeah I don't think her mom's death was an accident either! (hide spoiler)]

[Ryn]

Yeah, I've had a lot of questions about that too. There's a section later in Part Two that kind of explains it better. And I'll admit that I read so fast that sometimes I miss things, so that could be part of the problem on my end.

[Aeia]

"Mage. Magic."

(view spoiler)["The first time I saw magic was the night my mother died." (hide spoiler)]

I just started this book and I like it already. I hope it stays interesting until the end. The only goal I have right now is to catch up with you guys haha

[Aeia]

Alexandra wrote: "Up to Chapter 9

[spoilers removed]"

(view spoiler)[I haven't read City of Bones. I guess I should add it to my reading list.

The latter part of chapter 9 gave me an idea of how to become a Legendborn. I think Bree's gonna have a hard time since she knows little about the Order. But since a powerful merlin's mesmer didn't work on her, she's somehow at an advantage.
(hide spoiler)]

[Aeia]

Ryn wrote: (view spoiler)["I do hope there's a better explanation for why she has all these powers out of the blue than just "Bree's special."

Oh man, I couldn't have said it better. I hope that the following chapters will have a good explanation of what makes her special since it won't be satisfying if it was just fate or a coincidence. If it turns out that she's just a "chosen one," It's gonna be a letdown for me.

Also, it's kinda hard for me to keep up with all the terms relating to the secret society, so I'm definitely looking forward to learning more about it. (hide spoiler)]

[Ryn]

Welcome aboard, Aeia.
I liked the Mortal Instruments pretty well. I think the Infernal Devices, which was actually sort of a prequel loosely might have been even better. They're big books but fast reads.

Yeah, I still don't think we have an explanation for why (view spoiler)[ mesmer doesn't seem to work on her. Although she hasn't remembered everything from that guy doing it the night her mother died. And the whole Order/Legendborn thing is MUCH clearer after part two. (hide spoiler)]

[Alexandra]

Ryn wrote: "Part Two
So I've actually really enjoyed the way the author's tying in the Arthurian legends. I like Nick too and I'm not sure how it will come across to say this but I kind of love [spoilers remov..."

I now finished Part Two! (view spoiler)[Yess, as soon as the Line of Morgaine is mentioned, I figured that's what Patricia and her mom are, and maybe what Bree herself is. The contest was definitely fun but I want a longer one next time. I think what happened between the Morgaines and Merlins may not be the whole truth. The Merlins may just paint them as villains because they didn't like the way they were doing things, but it may boil down to another racial thing again? Since so far the people we know of who may be Morgaines are Black. I'm guessing the officer from her mom's death could've been a Morgaine as well, which might explain why his mesmer work and Merlins' don't? I'm not sure. (hide spoiler)]

I hope you also enjoy the rest of it, Aeia!

[Alexandra]

Also the romance... (view spoiler)[They are very cute together and I ship it but I'm also thinking it's only been a few days, I wish they kind of slowed it down a little, lol (hide spoiler)]

[Ryn]

You're not wrong; It's a little (view spoiler)[ instalovey. But it's taken over half the book just to cover a few days, so if she waits too long, the book will be over. And yeah, I noticed the subtexts, but I'm not sure if the root, what... weavers? are Morgaine or if it's still something else. Bree doesn't seem to think they're quite the same thing. (hide spoiler)] A lot cleared up but a lot that I'm still going "huh?" about too.

[Ryn]

Oh, and Aeia, I was just thinking the same thing this afternoon. I'm going to be really disappointed if she's just "special."

[Ryn]

Part Three
Welp... that got intense. I still like that (view spoiler)[when Bree is winning in the trials, it's believable. And to be 100% honest, I kinda shipped her and Sel right at the VERY beginning, but I don't know; it was a really fast turnaround. AND don't think I didn't notice that whole extended weird pseudo-Twilight scene with him. I was disappointed there because it's already been done, yo, but I did like the explanation of the prior Kingsmage, and I'm glad we're getting to find out more about him.

And there have been a lot of "what the WHAT?" moments in this part? Wait, so Patricia's ditching and we're just not going to learn any more about this? Wait so the car accident was JUST an accident and there's really no explanation for why Bree was mesmered OR why she's some sort of weird aether furnace? Wait, so she's just gonna ditch? So, wait, she's breaking up with Nick, who didn't actually do anything wrong... just because? That's some seriously messed up ACOTAR reversal right there, only ACOTAR at least waited until the second book to change their minds about the main couple. (hide spoiler)]

Okay, lady, you've got a hundred and fifteen pages to get this sorted out so it makes any sense, yo...

[Ryn]

Fin
Okay... wow

I mean, for real, WOW.

I don't know what I was expecting, but I SURE as heck wasn't expecting ANY of that.

I don't even know what to say here. Although the very irreverent part of me is wondering vaguely if (view spoiler)[this counts as cultural appropriation, but I wouldn't even care because that was incredible. I LOVED it. (hide spoiler)]

I'm not even ready to talk about this but I can't wait for you all to get there. In the meantime, this line is everything:

"Don't make your life about the loss. Make it about the love."

[Alexandra]

Ryn wrote: "Part Three
Welp... that got intense. I still like that when Bree is winning in the trials, it's believable. And to be 100% honest, I kinda shipped her and Sel right at the VERY beginning, but I don..."

Okay, I finished.

(view spoiler)[All my speculations are wrong, lmao. The book is definitely unpredictable, but I feel dumb for not realizing that OF COURSE BREE IS THE REAL ARTHUR SCION. I mean, she's the main character. It would make the most sense. It took me until the chapter before it to realize that. I was actually going WHAT when Nick couldn't pull out Excalibur. All the twists are so good. I did not expect that many people to die either, but I'm also not mad about it. It's war, and people die. (ACOWAR, I'm looking at you)

Also lmao they outright joked about it being like Twilight, so I think it was intentional.

The accident being only an accident and not some conspiracy but also not really (because of the bloodline "curse") is so unexpected. I did feel the turnaround from Sel hating/being suspicious of her to suddenly best friends feel way too fast. I'm not sure if he's meant to be a second love interest (also did not see his crush on Nick coming, I was like o.o) because Bree/Nick is definitely still a really strong thing.

The last few chapters were definitely a roller coaster. Overall, I'm impressed! I'm definitely reading the next book, but not this month since my schedule is packed. (hide spoiler)]

[Ryn]

Yeah I'm going to have to put the next book on hold also, probably until at least March, but I want to read it.

I actually was clueless and didn't see (view spoiler)[the twist coming until it actually happened, and even then I was all "Wait, what?" and had to go back and review. I don't think Nick and Bree will stay a thing because they said earlier the lines can't cross. So I think she's been setting up the Sel/Bree thing because that will likely be the way it goes. Plus it's Sel on the cover of Bloodmarked with her, not Nick.

And yeah the turnaround from Sel is a little quick, but I kind of feel that way about everything he does; maybe it's a demon blood kind of thing? Loved the twist on him and his mom, which could actually lead to a VERY interesting conversation down the road about the merlins being enslaved to the Order... (hide spoiler)]

[Alexandra]

Ryn wrote: "Yeah I'm going to have to put the next book on hold also, probably until at least March, but I want to read it.

I actually was clueless and didn't see the twist coming until it actually happened,..."

I didn't notice that about the cover! However, this is meant to be a trilogy so it's possible Nick will be on the third book cover. (I actually thought it was a duology, I would have waited until book 3 came out to start if I knew)

[Ryn]

That is a possibility! I wasn't aware it was going to be a trilogy either, but it was on my "supposed to read this year"

Guess we'll have to wait and see!

[Aeia]

Just finished Part Two

(view spoiler)[I really like Nick more than Sel now. Sel's like a mean old man (though he has his reasons). I finally know why Nick couldn't accept being Arthur's descendant or whatever. So I hope that he's not just being nice and sweet to Bree because of the possibility that she could help him reverse what happened to his mom.

I thought that Part Two would focus on the tournament, but it's actually great that it was held off for a bit to give us more info about the characters. Now it's easier to decide which to hate and which to root for. (hide spoiler)]

Now I'm excited to finish Part Three like you guys

[Ryn]

I never thought that Nick was potentially (view spoiler)[ using Bree the way she's using him. She probably wouldn't care though because it wouldn't be right for her to use him and not be willing for him to get help from her the same way. (hide spoiler)]

[Jenn]

************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★

Date changed. Restarting November 15th 2024. Happy Reading ☺

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
***************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************

[ellen]

Chapter 1-3: Liking that we are starting at a baseline of knowing some of the characters already. I am interested in understanding if the isel creature's exclamation of 'Merlin' was about the actual person or any mage-like being and the name has now become synonymous with anyone with magic. Can't wait to see how this Morgan/Morgana will be. She was always my favorite character.

[Yolbooks]

Chapter 1-2
Started today, I like the idea of a King Arthur and Merlin retelling so will see where we go.