Book: Legendborn (Legendborn #1)
Author: Tracy Deonn
Genre: Fantasy
Rating: 8/10
Good morning Bookworms! It’s my last review for June Fantasy Escape. I finished up the month with this one and ended up really loving it. I read the first 100 pages in one sitting and then didn’t touch it for 2 weeks because I was reading my scheduled books and didn’t have time for extras.
Hook: 2/2 – Mainly this gets full points because I read the first 100 pages without stopping. Trigger warning for death of a parent. This book starts immediately with the main characters mother dying in a car crash. Bree is 16 and has just lost her mother. The night of the crash, she’s sitting in the hospital with her father and a police officer is telling her what happened, that’s when she first sees the aether, a magical cloud floating around the room. A few months later she goes toe early college and her first night on campus sees the aether again. She immediately connects this magical cloud to the one the night her mother died and suspects foul play. Now she must infiltrate a secret society of Legendborn and Merlin’s to discover the truth.
Plot: 1/2 – Okay the story was really cool, I liked that everything was based off Arthur and the round table. But I was confused for a lot of the book. When Bree first sees a Merlin doing he magic he wipes her memory and it doesn’t work which activates her own magic. But then everyone in the society has a a fancy title and I got lost. Merlin, scion, vassal, page, knight, onceborn, legendborn, it was too much. There is an index at the back that helped but also gave me a major spoiler when I looked.
Writing: 1/2 – I was intrigued but confused. I am okay with a book when I’m confused at the beginning world building stage but when I spend most of the book being a little lost it’s not as fun.
Characters: 2/2 – Great character development. There were a lot of diverse characters as well which I enjoy. Bree in particular goes through a lot of growth throughout the book including seeing a therapist to handle her grief. The best thing about this book was the anti-racism commentary. Bree is a young black woman trying to infiltrate a very white society that has been around long enough to have used slaves. There is a lot of discussion on how Bree is treated and how her white friends try to handle that. I found it very informative and I appreciated that it was included in this fantasy book.
Magic: 2/2 – I really enjoyed the magic in this one, the Legendborn can pull energy and create a magical substance called aether which they then use to fight, heal, or build. It was cool to slowly learn about the world with Bree.
Overall this was a great fantasy read, the ending has a pretty big cliffhanger forewarning, but there will be a book 2 as far as I know.
Happy reading!
Angie
Read With Angie 
I’m not sure I have the attention span necessary for a book that requires an index at the moment, Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo was similar(a fantastic book) but a lot to remember and keep up with. Definitely a tbr for me.. but not a priority.
Fantastic review!
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