Legendborn Book Review
““The most important thing you can do in this world, the most necessary thing, is to survive it. You can’t do anything for anyone else if you don’t take care of yourself first.” ”
I added this book to my TBR after seeing the author, Tracy Deonn, speak on a panel at this year’s Yallfest, a festival usually held in downtown Charleston where all sorts of author’s come to speak on panels, do book signings, hold conferences and more. Just like with everything else, Yallfest this year went virtual and focused more on author’s craft and writing. As an aspiring writer myself, I quickly signed up for as many panels as possible, desiring to learn from the best. Tracy Deonn spoke on a panel about the hero’s quest and as she talked about her novel, Legendborn, I immediately added it to my TBR. YA fantasy is not my usual genre, but I’ve dabbled in it before (think Sarah J. Maas’ A Court of Thorns and Roses series) and every time I read a book of this genre, I always have the same reoccurring thought, “Why don’t I read more of this?”
Legendborn left me asking myself this exact same question.
Bree Matthews, a sixteen year old, attempting to grapple with the sudden loss of her mother, gets accepted into the Early College at UNC Chapel Hill and quickly jumps on the opportunity to get away from it all. She believes that this new experience will help her move forward from her mother’s death but when she witnesses a strange, magical event, her world is quickly upended. Bree finds herself sucked into the secret society of Legendborns, somehow connected to the stories of King Arthur and swirling with magic and supernatural abilities. Bree soon realizes that her connection to the Legendborn society is stronger than she would have ever thought.
This book is a delicious, easily devourable whirlwind that I could not stop reading. I love when an author uses their work to explore humanity and its emotions and Deonn does this beautifully in Legendborn. It is apparent right from the start that Bree is going through it, she’s struggling and dealing with her mother’s sudden death is all consuming. She is most definitely not handling it well. She has constructed an “After-Bree,” walls up, not letting anyone in, and not allowing herself to think about what happened that night. How Bree deals with her grief is a theme that Deonn weaves through the entire story and it’s fascinating to read about how someone so young moves forward, or doesn’t, from something so devastating. Watching Bree work through her grief was gut wrenching.
I don’t want to spoil anything for you, but one thing I will say, I loved the magic system in this novel and how Deonn wove two storylines that didn’t seem to fit and made them feel like they always belonged together, you’ll just have to read the book to find out what those two storylines are.
Overall, I really enjoyed this book. I loved the main character Bree, I loved the minor characters Sel and Alice and the other friends Bree makes along her journey in this story. I also loved how immersive this book felt. Every time I opened it, I felt myself sucked right back into the world of UNC, Legendborns, Merlins, and mage flame. I would recommend this book to anyone who loves a beautiful story of loss, love, and rebirth.
This book was a 5 star for me and I am anxiously awaiting the second installment in this series.
