Legendborn (The Legendborn Cycle, #1) in Ranters and Reviewers

Jan 13, 2021 krista ☽✧ rated it really liked it

“Don't make your life about the loss. Make it about the love.”

“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.”

rating - 3.75 stars✨✨

Legend Born is the first book in a fantasy series that has come out last year by author Tracy Deonn. This book is definitely something else. It is a diverse urban fantasy story inspired by something I had 0 clue off Merlin and King Ar ...more

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Sep 10, 2020 Lia Carstairs rated it really liked it

Shelves: fantasy, romance, arc, young-adult, retelling, diverse-fmc

Many thanks to Netgalley and Simon & Schuster Canada for sharing this ARC in exchange for an honest review. All quotes in this review are subject to change upon release date.

Hold up.
Did it seriously just end like that ?!?!?😤

It seems that I'm on a streak of cliffhangers and it's not fun.😢

But wow, Legendborn was an amazing Arthurian retelling. There's no doubt that I absolutely love the tv show, Merlin , and seeing that this book was based off of the legend......well, I just HAD Many thanks to Netgalley and Simon & Schuster Canada for sharing this ARC in exchange for an honest review. All quotes in this review are subject to change upon release date.

Hold up.
Did it seriously just end like that ?!?!?😤

It seems that I'm on a streak of cliffhangers and it's not fun.😢

But wow, Legendborn was an amazing Arthurian retelling. There's no doubt that I absolutely love the tv show, Merlin , and seeing that this book was based off of the legend......well, I just HAD to read it.😏

I loved the Black representation that was shown here and I think this might be my first book with a Black MC. I know, I know, shame on me.🤦‍♀️
But at least I was lucky enough to have Legendborn being my first book with one and it was soooo good😍

We have our MC, 16-year old Bree Matthews, who has just recently dealt with the passing of her mother. To escape her hometown and it's memories of her mother, Bree and her best friend, Alice, go off to an early college program for bright high schoolers at the University of North Carolina located in Chapel Hill.

The plan seems perfect—that is, until Bree discovers something abnormal her first day there. More specifically, she witnesses demons attacking and a boy in her school, Selwyn Kane, use.......

✨Magic✨

From there, she learns that that particular magic is called aether and there's a whole other race of people called Legendborns who protect humanity by eliminating the Shadowborn (basically demons) and are descendants of King Arthur & his knights.

And then of course, there's the Knights of the Round Table⚔️

Bree was a really cool character. I loved how she always stood up to the bullies she had to deal with and the insults that were directed at her. Bree always said whatever came to mind haha something I can't imagine doing xD. She was such a funny character, too and her her friendship was Alice was really too although she didn't appear as much as I thought she would.🤔

Still, their conversations were pretty funny.😂

"Nick says I've got to keep it secret, keep it safe."
"Did you just Lord of the Rings me?"
"Nope." I grin. "I just Fellowship of the Ringed you."

Then there's Nick, the handsome and perfect student, that is lives nearby on campus.
Hmmmm. It's not that there's anything wrong with him, but I just don't really like him.🤷‍♀️

Instead, I have my eyes on a certain dark haired and golden eyed boy.😏 Sel was such an intriguing character and I really want to know more about him in the next book. (Hehe I've always had a thing for those tall, dark, and broody characters xD)

Ooo and another thing I loved was how close to reality this book was. Legendborn have to worry about leading their normal lives all while making sure they do their job and keeping everything in the Order a secret from their loved ones. If they dare reveal any secrets......well, I'll let you find out for yourselves once you read this.😉

Also, Bree had to deal with racist comments and people, but still kept her head held high and in defiance to those who dared trying to insult her. I love that girl ~ such an inspiration to others.💕

Legendborn was so captivating, I didn't even realize I was on the last page until I reached a blank.😢 The only reason it lost a star was because there was the insta-love and it felt pretty slow in the beginning, but eventually I got really into it.

Ahhh I can't wait for the next book! If this isn't on your TBR already, then I must tell you to do it NOW. You won't regret it. (At least, I'm mostly sure you won't xD)

I can't wait too see what Tracy Deonn writes next.
(Although I do feel a love triangle brewing up in the next book, but maybe I'm wrong (view spoiler))

  "Where do we begin?"
"At the beginning."

| Blog | ...more

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Mar 13, 2021 akacya ❦ rated it it was amazing

Shelves: format-ebook, ownvoices, audience-young-adult, favorites, genre-fantasy, black-authors, own, buddy-reads, popsugar-2021, retellings

buddy read with maisha!

this was absolutely perfect. unique magic system, great characters, amazing plot twists…what more could i ask for?

to my 116 goodreads friends who have this on their tbr: READ THIS NOW! you won’t regret it.

completed for 2021 popsugar reading challenge; prompt #9—a book with a family tree

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Mar 06, 2021 Kaya Lynch rated it it was amazing

Shelves: rep, favorites-2021, favorite-authors

I was shocked at how good this book was. I mean, I love Shadowhunters. I also love the legend of King Arthur. So reading a book that combined these two elements??? Absolute perfection. So let’s talk about it! Specifically the characters because haha am I trash for one of them.

Bree is our main character and she’s brand-new to this strange world of Shadow demons and weird lineage of Arthurian people (AKA the Legendborn). She suspects that they have something to do with her mother’s death, so she t ...more

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May 20, 2021 Jennifer rated it really liked it

Shelves: fantasy, retellings, ya, poc-representation, fast-paced, heartbreaking, plot-driven, character-driven, empowering

An empowering and emotionally touching King Arthur retelling about pain, love, and loss. Legendborn pleasantly surprised me in a lot of aspects. Beneath the thrilling and stimulating plot, this book explores a difficult but also a very important issue about mental wellness: how the oppression in the past had lead to long term impacts of the mental health amongst the marginalised individuals.

I would easily say that the messaging of Legendborn is my favourite & also the most well done part of the An empowering and emotionally touching King Arthur retelling about pain, love, and loss. Legendborn pleasantly surprised me in a lot of aspects. Beneath the thrilling and stimulating plot, this book explores a difficult but also a very important issue about mental wellness: how the oppression in the past had lead to long term impacts of the mental health amongst the marginalised individuals.

I would easily say that the messaging of Legendborn is my favourite & also the most well done part of the novel. I think Deonn did an excellent job fleshing out Bree Matthews' narrative with superb storytelling. Bree's narrative is emotionally engaging in so many ways. While it took me a bit to orient between the events from the past to the present, I felt that the memory lane scenes is poignant and is effective about the potent messaging about mental wellness. I feel like I could firsthand feel the pain and grief that Bree is experiencing in these vivid flashbacks.

I personally believe that having a consistent messaging in a book is crucial. It's like a backbone of how everything else in the story develops. In Legendborn, I have certainly found that Bree's character arc is enhanced by the strong socially conscious messaging. I think the messaging on mental wellness is well integrated with Bree's journey of self-discovery as she learns more about the dark & ugly truth behind the secret magic society that she's in. Through this vantage point, Deonn manages to put a clever and human twist on The Chosen One trope. So while I don't agree with all of Bree's decisions, I nevertheless found her quite a likeable and multifaceted character all the same!

Characters & messagings aside, I highly enjoy the magic system in Legendborn. I thought the fantasy part of the book was creative and well described. While this is another aspect that took me quite a bit to sink in (since not everything's introduced at the same time), I think the fantasy elements definitely made this quite a page-turner! I really want to find out what happens next and I liked getting surprised by the twists & turns that I didn't see coming. So I'll definitely read the upcoming books of the series and find out what else Deonn will dig more deeply in the magic system!

To sum it up, Legendborn is an emotionally engaging read that strikes a good balance between solid character arc and stimulating plots. If you are looking for a fast paced #ownvoices novel with strong socially conscious messaging, I would highly recommend this novel!

N.B. This book contains following content warnings: racism, blood mention, grief / loss of loved ones, violence, vomiting, weapons, and injuries ...more

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Oct 07, 2020 OldBird rated it it was ok · review of another edition

My feelings on starting this book was: The Mortal Instruments 2.0. Just... more outraged (with good reason) and more convoluted (with...reasons?)

We have Bree and her BFF Alice moving into a prestigious college on scholarship not long after Bree's mom was killed in an accident. Bree's still reeling from it, so when she starts seeing strange things at some kind of illegal student welcoming ritual (don't jump of cliffs in quarries, kiddos), she wonders briefly if she's loosing her mind. That is unt My feelings on starting this book was: The Mortal Instruments 2.0. Just... more outraged (with good reason) and more convoluted (with...reasons?)

We have Bree and her BFF Alice moving into a prestigious college on scholarship not long after Bree's mom was killed in an accident. Bree's still reeling from it, so when she starts seeing strange things at some kind of illegal student welcoming ritual (don't jump of cliffs in quarries, kiddos), she wonders briefly if she's loosing her mind. That is until the anger prettyboy Selwyn makes it obvious he can see them too, and tries to make her get out of harm's way. Naturally, he's aided by a pretty but catty girl with badass weapon skills. When Bree wakes the next morning, her memories are fuzzy, just like those from the night she found out her mom died... As the memories start to return, she begins to question everything about her strange encounter and what it might mean about her mom's death.

Add in cute boy Nick (blond flavoured, nice compared to Mr Treat-'Em-Mean Selwyn), a lot of mythology, a secret training academy, LGBT rep, swords, sorcery, conspiracy and big bad monsters, it is pretty much The Mortal Instruments/Infernal Devices, only with fewer ridiculously raging hormones. Bree's internal voice and experiences of attraction and romance are grounded and realistic. It also adds in another timely layer: her experience of racism. Bree's Black, and can't get away from the lingering undercurrents of colonialism and slavery that still colour attitudes in Rich-White-Kid-Land. I did find it could be a little heavy handed at times; being a YA book I guess I expected the unsubtlety though I still cringed a little when it felt like we readers weren't trusted enough to feel angry on Bree's behalf without her telling us how we should feel. As I read all the events it was like a checklist of unthinking insults: the comments on her hair, hair touching (do people actually do this? For real, outside of fiction? I can't even), calling her inclusion "diverse". Add in the heartbreaking reality check when her dad asks her about finding her community - meaning other Black kids to be her safe space... Unsubtle it may be, but it raises some depressing points about where we're still at in 2020.

I found the whole Legendborn/Rootcraft magic idea fascinating, but also more convoluted than I could really enjoy. Well, the Arthurian Legendborn part of it anyway. Scions, Squires, Page, Vassals, Lines, Merlins; there were just so many parts of it to take in, coupled with an excess of characters who I couldn't keep tabs on (who was a Squire of what, which Line specialised in what thing). Too many moving parts, and I didn't really understand the explanation-dump until much later on. All those characters running around with only one trait to define them (the mean guy, the mean girl, the nice healer, the gender-fluid one) didn't help matters, and trying to explain it bogged the plot down. There were also parts where the story just seemed to drag, then suddenly a revelation was made and things picked up. I did find some of the plot points a tad obvious, though again, it's YA so it's to be expected (view spoiler)

While I loved Bree's voice, the fact that teenagers actually acted like teenagers, and the inventiveness of the world, it was the confusion of side characters and awkward explanations that made it a difficult read for me. I just didn't care about anyone except Bree.

It was both really cool and really a struggle to get through. I'm interested in the story, but I'm not 100% certain I could plough through the slower sections or the sudden rush of action in the last 10% of the book again. The HFN open ending does allow for a lot more exploration of the world (view spoiler), so for me personally it's a maybe, but I can see this series being a Big Thing in YA contemporary fantasy and one to keep an eye on now the world's established. ...more

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Nov 12, 2020 Fal rated it really liked it

I relate to Bree so much. Her struggle with grief is one I know very well. I found myself tearing up at times because it felt like I was reading through the eyes of younger-me. Also, the authors exploration of generational trauma was brilliant.

Bree is resilient, a very strong heroine. I rooted for her from the beginning. Her relationship with Nick was also very cute. I have to say, the one character (besides Bree, of course) I am curious to know more about is actually Sel. I kinda hated him in t ...more

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Mar 03, 2021 Amenze ♥ rated it it was amazing

Shelves: books-i-will-definitely-read-again

Where do I even begin with this book? Took me a little longer to finish it due to not having any time to sit and read it straight but wow, this story was so enthralling. I think it’s probably the first time I’ve read a novel that I’ve actually felt connected to the main protagonist so well. Not that I’ve ever dealt with a loss so great as losing a parent, but the whole concept of living in a world where people see your race, first, gender second and your character last, made me notice how much I Where do I even begin with this book? Took me a little longer to finish it due to not having any time to sit and read it straight but wow, this story was so enthralling. I think it’s probably the first time I’ve read a novel that I’ve actually felt connected to the main protagonist so well. Not that I’ve ever dealt with a loss so great as losing a parent, but the whole concept of living in a world where people see your race, first, gender second and your character last, made me notice how much I see myself in Bree. Not gonna lie, Bree was a difficult character in the beginning! It was so hard to really see her personality b/c of that huge wall she built around herself, blocking any and all type of emotion towards anyone and sulking in her grief. But once the story moves along, man, she becomes her best self. I truly enjoyed every history lesson that was given in this book. I even shed a tear a few times because although this is a fiction novel, slavery is a real injustice that happened to my ancestors. The fact that Tracy Deonn was able to incorporate that in to a book but focus on the strength & power they inherited rather than fixating on the suffering, shows how much we are capable of turning a negative situation into our resilience.
This story took me on an adventure! (there’s post-it flags and little sticky notes on many many pages lol). Even the little things, like making notice of Bree’s wash days, something that us black girls with natural hair deal with on a daily basis, omg it made me feel secure. It’s so beautiful how a young girl like her took her grief and loss and was able to construct it into something better by the end of it and move forward. And don’t get me started on the love story omg, I will FOREVER ship Nick and Bree. Anytime I read an intimate scene between the two of them, my heart legit dropped, it felt so real lol. Honestly every relationship or connection Bree had w/ all the other characters were so well developed. You can actually see the difference in personality change depending on who she was with at that moment, whether it was Selyn, William, Alice etc. The plot of this story was just so enjoyable and it had me hooked from start to finish. Now i’m REALLY ready to see more of Bree as King in Book Two. Tracy Deonn did it with this book, I give her so much props! It was amazing, and definitely will be reread again. ...more

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