What is this book about? (So glad you asked, its my favourite thing to talk about)
Legendborn is a contemporary urban fantasy that follows Bree as she wrestles with the death of her mother and the discovery of her own magic.
Here’s what the back of the book says so you can get an idea of what this is about and then I’ll share my thoughts.
Publishers 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.
Simon and Schuster
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.
This book touches on so many important topics but here are the ones that spoke to me most.
First off the way the story blends magic with Bree’s trauma and the discovery of her own inner power is just beautiful, I am really able to connect with her on an emotional level. I love it when a story is able to give me a new perspective on things.
Secondly: (this is something my mom pointed out to me and it is absolutely right) is the way Tracy writes micro aggressions really makes you under stand how it might feel to receive them. It gave me a new insight on what racism must feel like when it’s being used towards you, and as someone who has never experienced that I found that to be a very valuable lesson.
And for my third point (were moving away from the heavy shit now :))
This is such a magical and impressive fantasy book! It had me completely invested from chapter one and it held my attention to the very last sentence and boy way it a wild ride!
All the differing elements of the story were blended so perfectly together!
The magic was well done to the point it felt like this could be real (and I so wish it was!)
The plot keeps developing throughout the book but its so quick, one minute your on chapter 4 and the next thing you know you just finished chapter 40 and things are still coming at you and its like no time has passed at all. But they still manage to keep most of the important stuff hidden till the very last possible moment and then it all just leaves you shocked and completely breathless!
And the characters…the characters!! Not only were they fun to read, with the intricate back story and character arcs that kept you invested in pretty much everyone even the minor characters but they were also funny and they really just felt like full human beings. I specifically love Bree and Alice’s relationship the way they would do anything for each other even when one of them comes home “black out drunk” (and yes, I did just Legendborn you 😉). It is such a well done element of the story, but it doesn’t over shadow the plot, its content just being there. The amount of enjoyment I got out of just the jokes and laughter in this book is a little bit crazy! It keeps bits of it light and balances out the rest of the plot that at times seems that there’s to much going on and a little bit overbearing.
I can’t believe I’ve gotten this far into this thing and I haven’t talked about the romance! yes there is romance 🥰 and its messy (the best kind 😍).
Now this book is the start of a (very well executed) love triangle, and I know the fandom is pretty split on the whole Nick or Sel debacle but am firmly on team Bree and I intend to stay there. This is her story and she gets to choose!
Any way…. Now that that’s out of the way I can geek-out about that dynamic between all of them!
Oh my god! I was equal parts hiding my face and absolutely chomping at the bit for more, the tension between Bree and Nick is just the best and the Bree x Sel banter was just amazing (chefs kiss) I ate up every single second of it (and very happily I might add). Page 487 line 29 ahh!!! I wear that thing around my neck day and night (don’t judge🫣).
Anyway, what I’m trying to say is that this is a story abut a fierce young woman trying to figure out where she fits in the (severely F’d up) world.
It has such strong messages of empowerment and so many thing to say, so many fun places to take you, and over all just one of the best books I think I have ever read!
Please, please give it a chance and I promise it will not disappoint you.
And wile you read I will be counting down the days until book 3 comes out and I can dive back into Bree’s story and all the joy it has brought me.
And also keep a lookout for for my Review of Bloodmarked (book two in the series) 👀👀
Happy reading!
– Sam
The representation
There is so much subtle queer and ethnic diversity represented throughout this story and I love that because it shouldn’t have to be big and in your face, it just needs to be there because we are there wether you see us or not.
Ethnic
- There are at least 7 or 8 African American characters including our protagonist Bree
- Alice is Taiwanese American
- Sarah is Venezuelan American
There are also some conversations that we get to hear throughout the book about, black hair care and what it means to be ‘white passing’. I know it might not seem like thats a lot, but there is not enough mention of these topics in this genre and i love the fact that she just puts it in like it normal, because it is!
Queer
- Sarah and Bree’s bestie Alice (absolutely love her btw) are both lesbians
- Tor is bisexual and in a relationship with Sarah
- William is gay and has a boyfriend (we never get to meet him)
- Sel is pansexual; and
- Greer (love them so much) is non-binary
As queer person, it is amazing to see all that in a book!!
Rating:
if I have not already made it painfully clear that I love this book to death here’s the why!
12/10 (how I rate books)
1.5- Characters
1- Plot
1.5- Enjoyment
1- Writing
1- Romance
1- Emotion
1- Originality
1- Representation
1- Thought Provoking
2- Humor/Laugh Factor
Thanks for the heads up on this book. I love fantasy too. Not a great fan of waiting for next in the series! It’s just toooo hard to wait! I guess we have to give space for the writer to create the magic!