A review by renettereads
Legendborn by Tracy Deonn

adventurous emotional funny mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

“My agony has a hunger, I’ve discovered. It doesn’t want the truth. Not really. It just wants to feed itself sorrow until there’s no other emotion left.”

Reeling from the grief of her mother’s death, Bree wants to escape and a residential programme seems like the perfect place until she witnesses a magical attack and quickly becomes embroiled in a world of secret societies and Arthurian legend.

Oh my goodness, this was friggin amazing. I’m actually quite annoyed at myself for putting it off for so long, but having read it now, I can’t recommend it enough. Bree is an engaging main character and her grief and anger were so palpable – which is a credit to Tracy Deonn for writing such a complex and wonderful character – that I found myself angry and heartbroken for her. Though the cast is large, and some of them probably could’ve been fleshed out a little more, the main characters (Bree, Selwyn and Nick) were all wonderfully rounded, and I appreciated the chemistry between them – even more so when they loved to hate or hated to love each other. 

There is a lot of world-building here, but I think it’s written in a way that doesn’t feel overwhelming. The magic system is well crafted and the prose shines. Tracy takes on racism and generational trauma in a really impactful way and that alone makes this an important read for everyone, but especially white readers. I enjoyed every single moment of this even when the tiny font was killing my eyes (that alone is saying something) and I can’t wait to pick up where we left off, especially with how unexpectedly things went.
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