Book Review: Legendborn by Tracy Deonn

Legendborn by Tracy Deonn

Book Title: Legendborn
Author: Tracy Deonn
Genre: YA urban fantasy
Published: September 15, 2020
502 pages
My rating: 4/5

“I imagine myself running like the moon is my finish line. Running like I can leave the anger and the shame and gossip behind. I can almost feel the delicious burn in my muscles, the rush sweet and strong in my veins, as I sail over the cliff and into emptiness. Without warning, the roiling spark of After-Bree stretches up from my gut like a vine on fire, but this time I don’t shove her away. She unfurls behind my ribs, and the hot pressure of her is so powerful it feels like I could explode.”

Sixteen-year-old Bree Matthews is grieving the sudden death of her mother. Being accepted to the prestigious UNC Chapel Hill’s Early College Program seems like the perfect get-away from her father’s grief and the constant reminders of her mother. Everything changes when she witnesses bad-boy-esque Selwyn Kane kill a demon before he unsuccessfully tries to erase the event from her memory. Her ability to resist the memory-erasing spell reminds her of something that happened the night her mother died. She gets sucked into the dangerous world of Legendborn, the descendants of King Arthur and his twelve knights of the Round Table. With the help of golden boy Nick Davis, she joins their ranks to uncover the secrets of her mother’s death.

Legendborn is the first book in a young adult urban fantasy series. The book has a creative magic system, and its take on the Arthurian legends is unique and fascinating. Worldbuilding is detailed to the point of being a little info-dumpy, but I personally didn’t find that too distracting.

I loved reading a YA book with a Black main character, and I especially loved how the fantasy world of the book is connected with real-life issues of racism, racial violence, and the history of colonialism in the USA. The way this book dealt with grief and trauma was moving and poignant.

The reason I’m not giving this book full five stars is the overuse of YA clichés. I do wish Bree hadn’t fallen so heavily under the stereotype of a clumsy girl who needs to be carried around by men, but I suppose it’s part of her journey of becoming stronger and learning about her powers. Speaking of her powers, I’m not completely on board with her being such a special snowflake with unique and unheard-of powers.

Another cliché was instalove. Nick’s and Bree’s relationship escalated quickly. They met and two days later they’re already in a sort-of-serious relationship? The whole book takes place in just two or three weeks and by the end of it they’re already in love? And not just in love, but ready to die for each other. Also, Nick is obsessively jealous over Bree and no one in the book comments it in a negative way, or at all, really.

And to top it all, Bree obviously cannot help being interested in two boys at once. The love triangle was unnecessary, and I literally groaned out loud when I realized that was where the book was heading. I don’t even care enough to ship Bree with either of the boys. Selwyn is your stereotypical brooding guy, while Nick is a cardboard cutout good boy with little personality. She’d do better to ditch them both.

The rest of the cast, however, was diverse and well-done. There was both racial and LGBT+ representation, but unfortunately the cast was so large that no single character got substantial page-time. I would have loved to see more of Bree’s life outside of the Order. She barely goes to lessons and her friendship with Alice is discarded for the majority of the book.

In conclusion, this was a good YA urban fantasy with some interesting worldbuilding but overuse of YA clichés. I’ll probably continue with the series at some point, but I’m not in a rush to get to the second book. But if you love YA urban fantasy and aren’t too bothered by instalove and love triangles, check this book out!