Tracy DeonnYoung Adult · Urban Fantasy
Legendborn
Synopsis
Sixteen-year-old Bree Matthews is reeling from the sudden death of her mother when she arrives at a prestigious early-college program at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, hoping for a fresh start and a way to escape her grief. Instead, on her very first night, she witnesses something impossible: a flying demon feeding on human energy, and a group of secretive students who hunt it down and then try to wipe her memory of what she saw.
The failed memory-wipe cracks something open in Bree — a hidden magic of her own, and a searing new vision of the night her mother died that suggests it was no accident. To find the truth, Bree infiltrates the Legendborn: a centuries-old secret society of teens descended from King Arthur's knights, who wield Arthurian magic against demonic forces.
But the Order was built by and for the powerful and the white, and as Bree digs deeper, she uncovers a legacy of magic, blood, and racism that runs straight through her own family.
Tracy Deonn's award-winning debut is a fierce, contemporary reimagining of Arthurian legend — a young-adult fantasy about grief, power, identity, and inheritance that grounds its magic in real history and real reckoning.
How it reads
Prose complexity 4/10
Content warnings (3)
Death Of A ParentRacismViolence
- <div>This is a new look into magic from a leans of culture, race, or mental health. And I loved every bit of it. There is also a love story blossoming that isn't the focus which makes the story even better. As a fan of magic I enjoyed the magical world building that is set between race and culture highlighting how African American focuses on the root of who they are on this borrowed land while people of old white ancestry focuses on inheritance. This approach spins a unique thread that pulls through the story and for me made me fall in love with the characters and also want to fight for them. I look forward to the next book in the series. <br>Also the authors touches of history, mental health, and emotions makes this book real and relatable. </div>
- Absolutely loved this book! Bree is a phenomenal main character determined, complex, and deeply relatable. The way the book explores grief and the loss of a loved one is powerful and beautifully written. The magic system is fresh and layered, and the fight scenes are intense and cinematic. Tracy Deonn blends emotion, action, and mythology so masterfully. Can’t wait to dive into the next book!
- I listened to this as an audiobook as a reread and I loved it. It was just as good as the first time I read this book. I adore Legendborn and I can’t wait for the next book to come out later this year. Highly highly recommend Legendborn for fans of YA fantasy.
- 100 pages into this book, I was preordering the next one. That’s how good this book is. A must read for anyone who likes magic, mystery, and strong female characters.
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