Title: Legendborn
Author: Tracy Deonn
Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books
Publish Date: February 1, 2022
Genre: Young Adult, Urban Fantasy, Retelling (Arthurian)
Pages: 501
Format: Paperback

Filled with mystery and an intriguingly rich magic system, Tracy Deonn’s YA contemporary fantasy reinvents the King Arthur legend and “braids together Southern folk traditions and Black Girl Magic into a searing modern tale of grief, power, and self-discovery” (Dhonielle Clayton, New York Times bestselling author of The Belles ).

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 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 never read an Arthurian retelling before, but Legendborn did a phenomenal job of implementing what Arthur and the Knights of the Roundtable was in a modern twist and feat of storytelling. I read this book back in February of this year (2024), and my only regret is I didn’t read it sooner. This story really captivated me and captured my heart in a way I wasn’t expecting.

This story follows a teenager named Bree who just went through one of the worst things to happen to someone so young (or anyone, depending on your relationship): losing her mother. Though the circumstances around her mother’s death doesn’t sit right with her, and so once she is able to enroll in a college program that allows high schoolers to take college level classes alongside her best friend, she begins her search for answers into her mother’s death. All the while, she’s put aside her grief, which is sad in the way that she’s not feeling what she needs to feel about it. She doesn’t allow herself that because she hates the way it makes her feel (understandably – I’ve been there with my own mom, though a very different situation).

In this story we see Bree begin to see and experience things she doesn’t have an answer for. Creatures that shouldn’t exist; people using magic or fighting skills that are beyond what a “normal” teenager should be able to do. And so she is thrust into a secret society on campus that revolves around the myth of King Arthur and his Knights of the Roundtable. Bree infiltrates the society because she believes they hold clues to her mother’s death, though she’s in for a lot more than she bargained for. She trains and joins the society, getting closer to those involved while also dealing with school, racism, and pushing her grief to the side.

Alongside this, Bree learns more about her mother and her maternal lineage. This part of the story really grabbed me because she learned so much about what it is to be a young black woman in the world, as well as what her ancestors had to go through – as well as their ties to this Arthurian society. In this, she also learned what her grief was, and though grief is a never ending thing and comes and goes in ways that you might not even imagine, it was something that she needed to feel in those moments to be able to process that her mother is gone, and that she is strong enough to get through it.

There’s also a bit of a side plot following a romance with Bree and one of the boys in this society – the one believed to be Arthur’s descendant – and I found their romance to be very cute and sweet. The two were often very kind to each other, and very drawn to each other in a way that couldn’t be explained.

And then, of course, there’s another character who is the descendent of Merlin who I’m honestly rooting for lol The two are sassy with each other, honestly kind of hate each other at the beginning, but warm up (mostly) over time.

The plot was layered, fast-paced, and each chapter had me wanting to know what was going to happen next. There were twists I wasn’t expecting, moments that made me cry actual tears, made me cheer or laugh out loud, and more. It’s been one of my top reads of the year, if not THE top. I can’t wait to dive into book two. I highly recommend this book if you’re looking for a fast-paced read filled with action, inner turmoil, magic, and learning to accept things that otherwise can’t be changed.

★★★★★