Legendborn by Tracy Deonn – Review

Published: September 15, 2020

Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books

Series: Legendborn #1

Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy

Pages: 501 (Hardcover)

My Rating: 4.5/5.0

Synopsis:

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.

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I’ve been so busy reviewing new releases that I almost forgot to write this up! I received this book in one of my OwlCrate boxes last year and it’s been so raved about that I thought I’d check it out. I was pleasantly surprised that the hype was pretty well deserved,  though this wasn’t quite a 5 star read for me.

Legendborn is a vibrant take on the King Arthur legend, where the descendants of Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table may take up their mantle and powers to defend the world against demonic creatures. Bree Matthews, a bright pre-college scholar, is inadvertently pulled into this world of magic and secret societies when she sees a demon (and the disposal of said demon) at a party. After a second encounter and a failed memory spell, Bree begins to recall suspicious details and a similar failed memory wipe after the sudden death of her mother. She then basically forces herself into this society with the goal of discovering who or what killed her mother and why they tried to wipe her memory. 

This ends up being a really exciting combination of the magic school (sort of) and magical competition tropes and yet it retains originality. Bree stands out amongst the secret society because she’s not from a legacy family, not super wealthy, and she’s black amongst a crowd of predominantly white members. The themes of race and heritage are present throughout the book and I think it was well done. It really helps to put readers in Bree’s shoes. Bree’s friendships (both new and old) are wonderful and this book has plenty of action and a delightful touch of romance. More like a budding relationship than actual “romance” but it was nice.

Overall, this was a surprisingly enjoyable book. Arthurian fantasy of any sort is hit and miss for me, but Legendborn had a great modern setting and an interesting twist on the standard tale. I’d love to pick up the sequel when it comes out- hope it will fit in my TBR!!