Disclaimer: this review was written in 2020, but was never posted. I found this in my archives so decided to post it. Also, I’m planning to continue the series soon so this is a good way to refresh my memory.

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.

Review:

Legendborn is the debut novel by Tracy Deonn, and what a debut it was. Secret societies, a plot full of twists and turns and relatable characters made for an incredibly mysterious read. 

I have found that I don’t read retellings very often and as this is only a loose retelling, I really enjoyed the plot as I had no idea where it would go next. The twists and turns of this book were pretty much non stop, I’m talking shocking events happening right up until the last page.

Although this is definitely a fantasy novel, it is set in the modern-day and features very modern issues. Racism is a topic that comes up often during Legendborn and is something that is quite timely right now. The societal structure of The Order is very much in favour of white men until Bree comes along and becomes a double anomaly by being both female and black. The fact that these issues were being raised makes this book one that I think people should be reading. It really opens your eyes on how black people were and are treated in the South, which is not raised to educate, but we are told about this as it is real and should not be ignored. 

Bree was an interesting character to follow. Although imperfect, she was a beacon of change for an organisation that really needed it. This is something that is very slow-moving throughout the book, as at a gala in the second half of the book, all of the wait staff hired by The Order are black. However, it is an area that I hope we will see change in the next book. The Order is fighting for an important mission and it hurts to think that they are still upholding out-dated thoughts. 

She found herself thrown into a world where the impossible was very much possible, but instead of running away, she adapted and learnt more about herself. Powers of her own, and an interesting wake-up call, made an already strong-willed girl into an unstoppable woman. I actually kept forgetting that Bree is only 16. 

The balance of fantasy with modern-day was done quite well. There were moments of fights against demons and magic (aether as it is known in Legendborn) being used. These were interesting, however, I do feel like a lot of the action was broken up when characters would say ‘spells’ in Welsh and I had no idea how to pronounce them. I’m a little ashamed at this as I am part Welsh, but maybe it was just me. 

I am hoping in the second book that there will be a lot more action as the background to the characters and their powers have now been solidly set. I definitely want more Selwyn in book two as I found his character intriguing and wasn’t all that bothered by Nick. Sorry. 

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