Legendborn (Legendborn #1) by Tracy Deonn
Published by: September 15th 2020 by Margaret K. McElderry Books
Source: Library
Genres: Diversity, Fantasy, Own Voices, Young Adult
After her mother dies in an accident, sixteen-year-old Bree Matthews wants nothing to do with her family memories or childhood home. A residential program for bright high schoolers at UNC–Chapel Hill seems like the perfect escape—until Bree witnesses a magical attack her very first night on campus.
A flying demon feeding on human energies.
A secret society of so called “Legendborn” students that hunt the creatures down.
And a mysterious teenage mage who calls himself a “Merlin” and who attempts—and fails—to wipe Bree’s memory of everything she saw.
The mage’s failure unlocks Bree’s own unique magic and a buried memory with a hidden connection: the night her mother died, another Merlin was at the hospital. Now that Bree knows there’s more to her mother’s death than what’s on the police report, she’ll do whatever it takes to find out the truth, even if that means infiltrating the Legendborn as one of their initiates.
She recruits Nick, a self-exiled Legendborn with his own grudge against the group, and their reluctant partnership pulls them deeper into the society’s secrets—and closer to each other. But when the Legendborn reveal themselves as the descendants of King Arthur’s knights and explain that a magical war is coming, Bree has to decide how far she’ll go for the truth and whether she should use her magic to take the society down—or join the fight.
I didn't know what to expect when I picked up Legendborn. All I knew was that I absolutely adored the cover art and the blurb on the dust jacket. So I started reading and intantly kind of went *internal sigh*, because Bree's mom has passed away and my brain says "Disney"... But I kept reading.
My interest peaked when I realized that this story is a retelling of sorts of the Arthurian Legend. Except we meet the descendants of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table in secret society passing as a collegiate historical organization.
Ok so Bree is a 16yr who has recently lost her mom. Unfortunately, her mother passed right after they had a pretty bad argument and Bree feels really guilty. She leaves home to attend an Early College program at UNC to get away from the grief of her house where the memory of her mother lives.
She and her bestie, Alice, start school and immediately find themselves in a compromising position after making a bad decision to attend a off campus party on their first night on campus. Bree meets a strange kid that makes her feel uneasy. Then, a fight breaks out and Bree notices something weird in the forest with her and the other students, floating above the brawl, a demon. Sel, the strange kid also known as a Merlin or mage, and another girl, Tor, appear and destroy the demon thing.
By this time, I am intrigued and the story only gets wilder from there. Bree meets Nick, the "prodigal son" of the Legendborn. They become fast friends when Nick learns that Bree can also see the demon creatures that he and the Legendborn are sworn to defend against. After another demon shows up on campus, Nick is forced to bring Bree closer to the Legendborn society.
The Legendborn Society operates on the lineages of the round table. The hierarchy and order of the society is heavily based on the bloodlines that trace back centuries. Bree's appearance in this space and subsequent involvement in the society is a curveball that nobody anticipated and that many resent.
Some of the main themes in this story are grief and self-discovery, but it also explores bigotry, generational trauma, and classism.
This story comes with so many twists and revelations, but to keep from saying too much... This review contains very near spoilers, but I've done my best to keep it spoiler free.
Things that I loved:
First and foremost, the romance! Oh my goodness, its so well done and so sweet, passionate. The chemistry is crafted so beautifully, its enough to make you jealously side eye your partner. Even in the budding stages the connection is so solidly formed and believable. One of my favorite romantic scenes, pg 214:
"Yeah, really." His laugh is a soft rumble in the quiet morning air. "Maybe I like watching you move." I open my mouth, but no actual words emerge, so I just shake my head and turn away. He stops in the road, catches my wrist, and tugs until I have to angle toward him. "Don't do that," he chides. "Do what?" Shadows play across his face as he draws me nearer. Like last night in his room, he presses his thumb into my palm, and just that bit of pressure ignites my insides, sets my heart racing. "That thing you just did. That thing you do," he says, his eyes filled with humor---and a shadow of hurt. "Tell yourself I'm just teasing. It's okay to be nervous, but please don't dismiss the idea that I like you, B."
Favorite quotes:
"Where do we begin? At the beginning."
"Your expectations belong to you!"
The black girl magic. I love that Tracy Deonn made Bree magical in her own right. Being in this foreign space with people from these long lines of mystical history and abilities, the fact that Bree is her own kind of special is perfect, empowering. Bree's root magic differs greatly from that of the Order, but serves well in connected her to this group that she didn't even know existed. With that being said, the magic leads me to:
You don't have to know Arthurian Lore
The transition into addressing bigotry and generational trauma. Deonn dives into these topics so gracefully, not harping too much or pulling back too far. I normally do not enjoy the interjection of racism into my fantasy novels because I read fantasy to escape real world issues. However, the topics add to the fullness of the story and to the power within Bree's own mysterious background and abilities.
THE PLOT TWISTS!!! Oh my goodness, this woman knows how to throw a curveball.
The easy manner in which Deonn writes every side of a character. We get to see more than the good guy and the bad guy. There are parts where you really love Nick, and then there are parts when you want to call him an entitled ass... And Deonn allows us these moments with many of the characters in this book. She has created whole and complex characters, that I am here for.
The cast of characters! This cast is HUGE and very few of the characters is completely static. Its not a terribly diverse cast racially, because this is a PWI (Predominantly white institution) in the south. There are four black characters, an Asian character, and a mixed raced character. However, the cast is diverse in the manner of lgbtqia+ representation, there is a non-binary character, several bi-sexual characters. From what I can tell, there were only three straight males in this cast and I think two straight females out of a cast of over 15. We cannot be completely sure about the CIS gendered characters as we just haven't spoken about their sexuality directly.
What seems to be a blooming love triangle. If you read my last review, you know I LOVE a good love triangle and there seems to be much potential for a complicated one here. Deonn does such a great job writing both the affection and the tension between the characters.
I could make this list go on so I'll stop here.
Things I wasn't a fan of:
The timing... This all feels so fast... Like... She does so much so fast and manages to go to school too? I would have gladly read more pages to see this story fleshed out just a little bit more, especially some of the specific relationships. There are shifts that seem sudden and unwarranted. I would have liked to see the story take time to acknowledge the switches in dynamics. The pacing isn't horrible, it just would have benefitted from a little more time.
The origin of Bree's magic... I get that had to be rooted in history. The entire story is rooted in the history and ancestry of these characters. I just am not a fan of HOW it happened.
Lack of information about Bree. We do learn bits and pieces about Bree as the story goes. She's a super smart, unapologetically black, strong, grieving, lost, brave, stubborn, loyal, curious, fierce, and bold 16 year old. We don't get much insight into her past, her likes and dislikes, her sexuality (though from the story I'm assuming she's CIS Het).
That's really all I have for this portion. To keep from having any spoilers in this review, I'm going to wrap here, but I will be posting a more in depth Youtube video.
The Wrap Up
This novel was my favorite read since Children of Blood and Bone. I finished it in two days and as a grown woman that works a full time job, I feel like that's saying something. It's been a long time since I gave up sleep to read a book. Legendborn had me sitting up straight, back against my headboard, coffee on the nightstand, lamp on high trying to finish this book. To say I enjoyed it would simply be an understatement. This novel tapped on EVERY emotional cord I have. There was a point that I had to sit the book down and walk away from it because my emotions were running way too high. I want to tell you the whole story... Every bit, but you should just read it. The way this book ended was enough for me to give it 3 wands. There is something beautiful to be said about the symbology and irony of how this book ended. Plus the killer romance scenes. This story would have been great even without romance at all, but I do love the addition of it. It's definitely worth the time. I cannot wait for book two... I am already planning when I'll reread book one just to make sure that my memory is refreshed for book two, (I don't usually reread books). Needless to say this novel lands very high on my wands count:
