Holy wow. This book was incredible! It was such a great mix of the fantasy with King Arthur legend and magic but with an amazing addition of the history of African American slavery and the battle of being different than everyone else at the "party." One of the best parts of this book was Bree's jouney to understand herself and how to cope with the grief of losing her mother. I loved that the romance in the book was necessary to the story, but it wasn't the entire story. Legendborn is more about Bree's life and her growth. The myth of King Arthur was so well done! And the additon of Root magic was amazing. I found myself guessing what would come next and found myself wrong more times than right! It was such a great mix of many things that makes this book great. I would definitely recommend this to anyone interested in a little legend, a little magic, a lot of history about the segregation and racism faced by African Americans, and a lot of love between family and found family.

HOLY TAR HEELS.
So, I normally look up memes and fall deeply into fan art for books I read (and LOVE), but this being an ARC, I got to participate in making a meme. I laughed so hard at a scene I just KNOW the author wanted you to fall out of your chair laughing out so I made the meme and tweeted it at her and y'all???? She loved it right back. If you aren't following Tracy Deonn on Twitter, please do so ASAP.

Anyways, Legendborn contains not only one of the best King Arthur adaptations I've read in a LONG TIME, but it also includes an intricate and well established magic system. Which, let me tell you, a lot of authors have been struggling with in their fantasy books and Tracy just NAILED IT. Not only is there one magic system, but there's three well described and intertwined ones with hints at a possible fourth that has its own quirks and differences. Take all of this and place it at the University of North Carolina (with some minor changes), combine it with Black history and Welsh/Celtic language and lore AND King Arthur and you get 500+ pages of holy shit when's the sequel coming out again?

We get to read and grow alongside Bree just a little while after her mother has died in a car accident. She's buried her grief down as far as it can go, but decides against her mother's wishes to go the UNC for Early College, a program where high school students start at the school early. With her best friend Alice, they start off on a bad step, getting busted at a party where Bree is pretty sure she saw what she thinks is magic. Getting caught means she has to work with a student mentor, which happens to be the dashing and upbeat Nick. As she tries to dodge him and just get on with her life (she really doesn't want her dad to bring her back home or make him concerned), she sees another use of magic and runs towards it. Little does she know Nick knows everything there is about this and so does another boy, the dark and edgy Selwyn she met at the party, who got rid of the magical creature that showed up there. Bree is exposed to an underground world much larger than she knows, but, against her better judgement, she stays involved. There's a part of her who thinks that this secret society might know what happened to her mother and that maybe, just maybe, it wasn't an accident like she was told. As powers she never knew she had are slowly revealed, Bree has to come to terms with her grief and her abilities if she wants to have any hope of succeeding in the Order of the Round Table without getting caught.

I've already described all the ways in which I loved it, but I will admit it was slow readings at first. I think it was because I truly wanted to read every word on the page and understand all the intricacies Tracy included. The book gets extremely tense and anxiety filled the last 30% so it felt like a downward spiral of feelings where, while I felt myself read faster from nerves, I had to pause SO OFTEN just to scream into a pillow at all the ways Tracy messed with my brain and plot twisted the heck out me. Goodness. If I'm sad about anything, it's that now I have to wait for a sequel and will have to spend who knows how long with a small part of my head grumbling that it isn't in my tiny hands yet. Because, I NEED IT.

Hello Gemmies! I have an exciting book review to share with you today. Please note: I received a digital ARC of this book (via NetGalley) from its publisher in exchange for an honest and fair review.

Legendborn by Tracy Deonn is a fantasy YA retelling of the Arthurian legend. This book absolutely blew me away! It is so much more than I hoped for and better than anything I even knew I wanted. Legendborn is an engaging, fast paced, page-turning thrill ride, full of secret societies, magic, historical references, demons, ancestors, and Southern Black Girl Magic. There are themes of sisterhood, dealing with grief and trauma, connecting with your ancestors, self discovery, love, betrayal, greed, racism, strength and perseverance.

There is so much to unpack! Let's start with the world building. Tracy Deonn has created a lush vivid world that has various timelines, rich history, complex magical and belief systems, and super scary monsters! This unique story is not only beautifully written, it is full of diverse, complex, interesting characters. Bree as a main character is relatable and endearing. I found myself fully invested in her and rooting for her every step of the way. The sisterhood between Alice and Bree was amazing, from sharing the pain of hair wash day to having each others backs no matter what. I felt so many emotions reading this novel....happiness, sadness, outrage, fear, and anticipation. Although entertaining, Tracy Deoon also gives us a thought-provoking look at some serious topics including the dark legacy of racism, enslavement, and the exploitation of Blacks in America, specifically the American South. This book is a reminder that we still have a long way to go towards equality and removing the practices and thoughts of systemic racism.

If you are a fan of Black Girl Magic, love, sisterhood, sacrifice, communing with the ancestors, overcoming grief, secret societies, and diverse King Arthur retellings, then go read this book! This gem published by Margaret K. McElderry Books is available for pre-order from all major booksellers. I give Legendborn 5 out of 5 gems. I cannot wait for this book to be out in the world for everyone to enjoy! Happy Reading!

I Loved Legendborn by Tracy Deonn. I loved her take on the King Arthur Legend. I thought it was a new creative twist. I loved that the main character was African American. She allows the reader to learn through the main character's views. It made me think about things that I don't normally think about. I wanted to keep reading this book. I really felt like I knew the characters. The story was fast paced and action packed. I highly recommend this book.

Okay, where to start? Oh! My! Gosh! Amazing! Okay, so this starts with Bree. She's an average 16 year old. Her mother recently died and she got into a program at a college for smart high schoolers. It also happened to be her mom's alma mater. Little did she know that she was about to find out secrets her mother kept from her for her entire life. Magic, demon creatures, Arthurian legends... awesome!

Think Shadow Hunters meet Arthurian legends with a little Black history thrown in there.

The magic is passed down through the Knights of the Round Table. Each line is ranked - Kaye, Gawain, Lancelot, Arthur, they're all there. Even Merlin's line is there. I cannot express how awesome this book was. I cannot wait for the rest of this series. The characters are incredible! The writing is great! The plot is AWESOME! So, confession - I'm a King Arthur geek, so as soon as I realized this pulled in those legends, I knew I was going to love this book and it didn't disappoint.

Yes, you know where this is going... Five Stars!!

The melding of Arthurian legend and African American heritage is fascinating in this story. The manner in which the author pulls from the history and culture of the American South to blend two completely different worlds in the contemporary is artful, imaginative, and overall, very well done. Legendborn is written in the first-person narrative, a perspective of which I am not a fan because the introspection of the protagonist always gets in the way of the action and storyline, especially in a YA novel such as this. The protagonist, Bree, is a very emotional and angsty teenager who just lost her mother and has discovered a whole new world that was hidden from her. Despite my annoyance and frustration with the narration, the build of suspense and tension in the story combined with the different action sequences makes up for it. I look forward to seeing how the series grows.

This is a Dnf for me. I kept coming back and trying to get into it but I felt that it was just not for me.

I had no idea how high the stakes were going to get for this one. This quickly became a new favourite. I haven’t seen such mastery in speculative fiction since reading Kindred by Octavia Butler. At first, this book seemed like it was going to be just another young adult urban fantasy novel. But I soon realised that this was like no other book I had read. Part fantastical re-telling, part historical fiction, part romance. Deonn manages to address many things from generational trauma to institutional and systemic racism. All the while making room for black joy and self-love. Bree was a fantastic protagonist: smart, brave and flawed. She endures so much in the story, but is still compassionate and caring for the struggles of others. I binged the last half of this tome in half-an-hour and rocked back and forth almost the whole time. I loved the hoodoo inspired magical system and really appreciated what Deonn had to say in the afterword. I wish a supernatural being could come along and Mesmer me so that I could forget having read the book for the first time and experience the magic all over again.

5/5 stars

Truly I don't think I have the words to describe just how good this book is. It's a contemporary fantasy, a genre I'm beginning to realize I absolutely adore, and the world Tracy Deonn weaves is absolutely stunning in how immersive and breath-taking it is. Everything from glimpses at Southern life like Bojangle's and cliff-jumping to the more invented details about this mysterious world that Bree Matthews stumbled upon was well-thought out and detailed.

It took a while for me to get my "sea legs" under me, so to speak, with the world, because it's a complicated system and, just like our main character, we don't have much time to get to know it before we're thrust into it, but once that does happen, it was all smooth sailing.

Characters: Bree is a great main character. She sparkles with life, everything from her anger to her frustration to her arc as she comes into herself. My favorite other character were Nick and Sel; Whitty and Greer were close seconds.

While it is a fantasy and the adventure/fantasy/legend elements of the story were the main fare, it's a story written by a Black woman about a Black girl in 2020 Southern America interacting with an ancient historical society that's full of white, privileged (and often racist) people, and the book touches on those topics in a way that is true to the story while also making the reader (at least this reader) rethink a lot about Arthurian legends. I don't know how to say what I'm thinking without spoilers.

I just — this book is fantastic. I could not recommend it more.

Thank you to Margaret K. McElderry Books and NetGalley for the e-ARC to read and review!

Legendborn was an incredible read! This book quickly became an instant favorite.

Truthfully, Legendborn was a tough read. I was angry and sad and frustrated by the direct and indirect “polite” racism towards Bree - it's an honest reflection of today's world. As a black American, this cut bone-deep. I applaud the way Bree handled herself towards such comments and people.

Bree is a fantastic main character. She’s clearly suffering from PTSD but is extremely adamant about finding the truth about her mother’s accident. Sometimes you rooted for her, sometimes you wish she’d exercised more caution. But I think Bree was meant to end up on that campus at that point in time, adding to the more than meets the eye vibes. Haunting.

The author has recreated a wholly original take on Arthurian legends. It’s complex but so befitting. Although, it was hard for me to remember so much information about the secret society - lots of well-written but huge info-dumps. It can be hard compartmentalizing all the terms, hierarchy, and family ties. My hope for the next book is that we'll have a glossary of terms and family trees. Especially as one’s family - where you come from and where you're going - plays a vital role in the overall story.

I liked Nick’s character a lot but also felt bad or him. He’s a rather tortured soul but does what he can to help Bree. I didn’t like that she took advantage of that and their budding romance at times. I get the why but it doesn’t absolve the wrongness I feel about it.

There is so much action that takes place throughout the story. The final climactic scene at the end was really good, shocking, and sad. An emotional rollercoaster.

Legendborn is an astounding book and relevant to the troubling times we currently find (or maybe never left?) ourselves in. There is much to love about this book and the direction it could go in the next book. Legendborn had wondrous contemporary world-building, bold tackling of important societal/cultural issues, beautiful writing, solid character growth, tension beyond belief, and heroism to admire. This story is a must read!

Briana has been through a lot. After suffering a tragic personal loss she starts early college at her dream school, UNC. She quickly discovers, though, everything is not as it seems. In a true remixing of the King Arthur legend, Briana is thrown into a fascinating world of demons, magic, first romance, and friendship. From Bree’s first encounter with the supernatural, to her discover the true power that lives within her, I was hooked! I literally read the last pages of the book standing up, I was so excited!
This story is truly unique and Tracy Deonn situates it firmly in the contemporary American South. Bree deals with everything from fighting demons to secret societies and systemic racism. I love that Deonn did not shy away from these realities and the book was stronger for it. If you love stories about magic, strong, complex characters, and/or secret societies, you will LOVE this. HIGHLY recommend!

This book was absolutely incredible!! In this modern and 100% original retelling of King Arthur and his court we meet an amazing cast of characters. In a world of demons, oaths, bloodlines, and magic, the author weaves her own personal stories, along with African American history and spiritual traditions into the legendary collections of reimagining of King Arthur and it makes for one of the best books I have read this summer. I can’t wait for this book to hit the shelves in September so I can add it to my collection. Then I can’t wait to find out what happened next with Bree, Nick, and Sel!!

Legendborn has so much going on and it is absolutely wonderful. It successfully pulls together a rich fantasy by combining Arthurian legend and issues faced in the southern states, both past and present. This is truly a unique book that is full of action, twists and turns, and keeps you on the edge of your seat. Legendborn is easily one of the best YA fantasy books I have read this year!

Finally some YA fantasy that doesn't put me straight to sleep! Action packed, filled with mystery, and a really well written story, this is a book to get excited about!

You want to read this book. You especially want to read this book if you are interested in the power of matriarchal lines, an honest reckoning with the trauma of enslavement and the generational impact it has, all placed in a magic infused fantasy that is realistic enough to include a student actually going to classes(!). I got to walk with Bree on her journey with grief, learning to tap into her power (both magical and interpersonal). It was an honor to get to witness Bree's story, which I know is fictional but she was so realistic and human I doubted the fiction at times. Read this book.

Without giving away too much of the story, this novel is wonderfully developed and the characters are beautifully created. The main character struggles with her family, the sudden death of her mother, and because of this she struggles in these new, older, social situations she's put herself in by attending college earlier than most. However, she grows into a strong young woman filled with power and the world in which she finds herself is fascinating.

Wow! This book is so good! I have always been a lover of Arthurian legends. Demon does a great job of mixing those legends with modern day realities. The diversity is really great to see. This is the first fantasy YA book I've read that includes non-binary genders. Brew is a strong Black woman and I love how she fights back against the racism she faces from outside forces and from inside the Order. I can't wait to see how she struggles with her new situation in the next book. I highly recommend this first book in the Legendborn series.

There isn’t anything I could say that would describe how magical this book is. It has everything one Wendy’s in a story. Dynamic characters. Magic. Arthurian legend. Amazing plot. Twists and turns. I read this book 4 times, and it keeps getting better!

**Review will be posted to my blog closer to pub. date, on 9/1/20**
Thank you to Margaret K. McElderry Books and NetGalley for giving me a chance to read this eARC.

I was nervous to read this book because I wanted it to be amazing! Look at that blurb, look at that cover! I could hold off no longer and I read all 500+ pages in one night. I was up until 5am in the morning and then was up at 8am to take care of two rowdy kids…I have NO regrets. 😬

My Reactions:

My Attention: totally captured and even though I needed my sleep, I just could not put the book down!

World Building: luscious, layered, epic world building – set in North Carolina, we get this secret society hiding at the University of North Carolina. This story combines the legend of King Arthur, Southern Black history, racism, and intricate magic systems.

Writing Style: the beginning is slower than the second half of the book but it’s because we are meeting Bree and she is dealing with major grief, but I was immersed in every aspect of this book and there are so many quotes I highlighted.

Bringing the Heat: 🔥 – some kisses and flirtation but mostly pretty mild

Crazy in Love: ohhhhhh boy…the love drama between Arthur, Guinevere and Lancelot is VERY well known…so…I’ll leave it at that! Haha

Creativity: absolutely amazing, I love how everything blended together

Mood: excited, ecstatic, obsessed

Triggers: grief, racism, prejudice, violence, death

My Takeaway: you think you know and then you don’t

What I Liked:
*World building – I am in love with this world. King Arthur legend, secret society, mixed in with southern black history and magic? It made me feel warm all over, like it was ticking off all the boxes I love in a contemporary fantasy story. It was refreshing to see the King Arthur’s legend brought into our modern day world with a girl dealing with today’s societal issues plus the past and present of racism in America, especially in the South. The story has so many layers.

*The magic systems combined in this book is so good. We have Merlins (mages) who protect our “knights of the round table” heirs (Legendborns), and the enemy are the Shadowborn or various demons that come through gates. Then we have the Southern black magic or rootcraft magic that I loved SO much. It’s organic, it’s powerful, it’s the magic I would choose to practice because it involves ancestors helping to guide you. It’s beautiful. You borrow magic from your ancestors as opposed to Legendborns who have taken magic at a cost(colonizer magic!).

*Bree – I love that she’s not perfect and all her pain, all her journey through grief is relatable to me. I recognized all her stages of grief. She makes so many mistakes, but she also tries to do the right thing. And when she comes into her power…it is glorious! I was rooting for her all of the way!

*Nick and Selwyn…okay – yes, there is a love triangle brewing but according to legend, it’s expected. I love Nick, he is such an Arthur…but Selwyn and the enemies-to-whatever he and Bree are? I can’t help myself with enemies-to-lovers tropes and they aren’t even lovers…YET and I don’t know if they ever will be. 😭 And around them is a diverse bunch of couples – love is love is LOVE.

*There is action with so many demons to fight and a Page trial as well. There is a mystery about Bree’s mother, there is so much danger, there is friendship and love. There is truth, there is forgiveness, and there is a twist.

Things That Made Me Go Hmm:
*As I mentioned, if love triangles turn you off – then this book will not be for you.

*For any new fantasy book with a lot of details and characters, it’s easy to get bogged down with info dumps but personally, I did not feel that way with this story. I was so engrossed in learning about Merlins, rootcraft and everything else in this world.

Final Thoughts:
Some books give you that feeling: heart pumping, adrenaline in your veins, wanting to relive the world again and even wishing you could see the story come to life on screen. That was how I felt after I read this book. I was on this wild, emotional ride with Bree. I want more of the characters, more rootcraft, more of Bree and Selwyn, okay I don’t mind Nick too. I want book two in my hands right now. I think I’ve found a new book to obsess over.❤️

3.5 stars

I enjoy YA fantasy books, and this is a great example of that genre. There's a nice blend of mystery and romance, as well. It took me a bit to get into it, but once the pace picked up, it was easy to stay engaged. I liked the inclusion of Arthurian legends. At times, it felt like a bit too much was included, leading to a bit of confusion, but it sorted itself out in the end.