Tennessee Russo, the 17-year-old son of a famous archaeologist and TV celebrity, plus former star of his father's show was dumped. His boyfriend cheated on him with a mutual friend and wants to be with that friend. And Tennessee is supposed to be cool about it! So the timing is just right to go away when his father proposes they search for the Rings of the Sacred Band of Thebes. It is a potentially important part of queer history — an enticing offer for an adventure in Greece — but will his father do the right thing this time?

The book starts by jumping right in the middle of the action, giving us a taste of how adventurous this is going to be and the tone of the strenuous father-son relationship. With generous helpings of sass and humor, the 1st person POV brings you lovingly into Tennessee's world, a clearly compassionate, not a pushover, clever individual with a great sense of right from wrong. I like how honest and personal this narrative is, how in tune with the thoughts and emotions it's expressing.

The descriptions are colorful and enthusiastic. I liked the searching of temples and ruins, the solving puzzles and so forth. The narrative is relatively fast-paced and there are a lot of interesting events happening. The unfurling of the plot is adequate, though some parts are half-baked in my opinion, needed some more work. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed the story. Loved the protagonist's 'options' lists and the formatting of the texts.

Being a Greek I was excited to read this but there are more than a few Greek missteps, from small things like tiropitakia are cheese pies so not egg-filled, till Leo not knowing the 300 movie was about Spartan not Thebans! "Greece not a great place to be a Jew" was also a very unfortunate and not accurate comment. Also there was a bit of repetitiveness in the protagonist's thoughts and it sometimes feels like the author wants to sort of pound certain points into our skulls.

The book puts a spotlight on the topic of history and preserving it — all of it. Family dynamics and their frequent difficulties are explored. There is also emphasis on succeeding in being true to yourself. This is the teenage queer Indiana Jones tale you didn't know you needed.

Alas, this is one of the books that I am afraid I won’t be able to finish before it’s archived—which is why I’m giving this half-way review right now.
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One of the reasons I like reading books such as this is because not only does it combine the prowess of queerness, fantasy, and adventure in one book, but it also empowers and inspires the reader to see the current societal issues.
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Through this book, the reader is presented with the erasure of queer people all throughout history—to make us all seem a modern trend that has not been present since the dawn of time. It tells its queer readers to not let their ancestors’s stories be forgotten; to look for them and tell them to other so it will be passed on from this generation to the next.
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Truly a remarkable book.

I got a free e-arc through Netgalley, this in no way affected my review.

QUEER INDIANA JONES INSPIRED YA NOVEL!!!!

Omg, I loved this book so much and absolutely DEVOURED it. The pacing is so well done, you’re immediately thrown into the story and it didn’t let me down for a single moment.

I loved how a big part of this book was about queer history and the importance of it. That doesn’t take away from the fact that this book was filled with so much action. The way it was written really made me feel like I was there with Ten and Leo, solving the riddles together. I could see everything happen in my head so clearly, I enjoyed this so much.

Tennessee Russo isn’t having the best week. His boyfriend has been cheating on him, and all his friends know about it. Worse, they expect him to just be fine and make nice with his ex’s new relationship. So when his father, a famous archaeologist and reality show celebrity who Tennessee hasn’t seen in two years after a major fight, shows up unexpectedly and offers to take him on an adventure, he can’t say no. The quest that will hopefully result in Tennessee uncovering the Rings of the Sacred Band of Thebes and make queer history known might just end up to be much more as old resentment comes up between father and son, a new romance blossoms in the sunlit Greek landscape and ruthless enemies vie for the chance to have the powerful rings for themselves.

Stories like Lion’s Legacy are so, so important. Rosen here highlights queer history and how often it’s been erased or argued to be something entirely different just to fit the heteronormative narrative—for eons!
What’s more, Lion’s Legacy draws you right into the action. There’s danger, betrayal, adversaries, a hint of magic, and tough challenges to make it to the ultimate prize.

Also worth nothing is that the pacing is incredible. There’s no dull moment and the inner conflicts mesh really well with what’s happening on Tennessee’s adventure. I kind of really want this to be a movie because it feels like it could be Indiana Jones (but make it queer) for young adults.

We also have unforgettable characters. Tennessee is such a fun protagonist to follow, not just because of his thoughts and sassy commentary but also because you genuinely can tell how much it means to him to be able to show the world more of the queer history that is so often erased or destroyed. A thing that I always appreciate about L.C. Rosen’s books is the casual sex positivity. Tennessee meets quite the special guy on his journey and I love how there’s just this casual “I like you, you like me” dynamic there without having to question these impulses.

I also loved the major conflict between Tennessee and his father. While I won’t take too much away, I do love stories that show you at odds with your parents and traverse fragile relationships in an approachable manner. Of course we all want our parents to be picture perfect but I live for these stories where they make mistakes and their kids call them out on it.

There are also discussions surrounding making yourself palatable for straight people which I thought was done so well—Tennessee struggles with different friend groups at the beginning of the novel (and it influences his choices throughout the book) and it was so interesting to see the different dynamics between him and these two groups. I loved how we got to see that being yourself is never the wrong choice, no matter what others say. All in all, this was a homerun for me.

An incredibly fun adventure filled with a dangerous quest, riveting characters and the strong premise to make queer history known, Lion’s Legacy is sure to make you want to chase all the queer history!

Thank you NetGalley and Union Square & Co. for providing me an eARC of the hilarious and moving novel Lion’s Legacy by L. C. Rosen. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Do you like queer history? Do you like ethical conversations about what we should do with treasures and relics when they are uncovered by archaeologists? Then check out Lion’s Legacy by L. C. Rosen!

Seventeen year-old Tennessee Russo is the son of a famous archeologist with a popular reality tv show where he uncovers ancient artifacts. Ten joined his father on these explorations until they got into a fight about how ethical it is to find an artifact only to turn around and sell it to the highest bidder rather than find someone connected to the artifact and return it to them. Now, Tennessee’s dad has re-entered his life, asking him to come search for the magical Rings of the Sacred Band of Thebes–ancient queer warriors who fought through the power of their love for one another.

This is an excellent book. I like the way that Rosen asks important questions like how ethical it is to profit off someone else’s family history when it comes to things like archeology explorations and what gets put into museums. There’s a lot of exploration of where things should go to so the world can learn about history while also honoring the ancestors of the people the artifacts belonged to. Tennessee’s father tries to put things where the world will be able to appreciate them, but Tennessee believes they should go back to the families of the ancestors who wielded them. In the case of the Rings, if Tennessee and co. finds them, there isn’t a specific family they should go to, so how do they decide who gets this piece of queer history?

I also liked the way that Rosen writes about the queer community and the struggle to be accepted by the world and how some people try so hard to be “good” ones and lose sight of the fact that there is no good or bad, there’s just people. And people are messy and that’s not the worst thing in the world.

5 out of 5 stars

The expected publication date for Lion’s Legacy by L. C. Rosen is May 2, 2023!

Lev A.C. Rosen delivers another unapologetically queer book in which he entertains stereotypes, roasts ignorant and malicious people and poses all the difficult questions!

Lion's Legacy follows Tennessee Russo, reuniting with his father, a famous TV archaeologist/adventurer with whom he used to spend his holidays until they had a fallout over his methods. The prize dangled over his head is too lucrative to say no: the Rings of the Sacred Band of Thebes, an Ancient Greek military unit composed exclusively by gay lovers.

In an Indiana Jones-esque journey, Ten will find a cute boy, deal with his real feelings for his father, understand that for some questions there isn't a clear "good" and "bad" answer, fight to protect the often distorted and forgotten queer history from erasure, and embark us in an adventurous reminder of gay presence all the way back to the antiquity.

An enjoyable and important book for all queer readers, the start of Ten's adventures will leave you eager for the next book of the series!

Thank you NetGalley and Union Square Co.for the ARC!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for this ARC in exchange for my honest review!

I am a fan of Lev A.C. Rosen now. I’ve read two of his books and I am hooked! I was a fan of The Lavender House so I knew I had to pick this one up. The premise of a queer Indiana Jones television show sounded so interesting.

Tennessee (Ten) Russo is a teenager whose father is a famous treasure hunter on tv. Ten goes on these adventures with him to find lost artifacts and bring them back into the light of the world. When the morality of their finds becomes an argument, Ten doesn’t see his father for two years. After he’s dumped by his cheating boyfriend and realizes that all his friends knew and weren’t really on his side, he’s shocked to find out his dad has come back for him with a hunt he can’t turn down. They both travel to Greece where Ten meets a cute boy and another crazy adventure begins.

I loved how fast paced this was. Literally no fluff. Just BOOM something happens and then BOOM another important plot point. I like it when the plot is moved along. I also liked how sex positive this was. It wasn’t really looked at as shameful or weird it just happened when it happened. There were also talks about different types of relationships besides monogamy which are important as well. I liked Leo & Gabe and I hope they are in the next book more. I’m glad this is going to be a series! Ten is a really interesting main character and the relationship he had with his dad had such tension to it I was hoping and praying nothing sinister was going on in the background. Some good action in there as well. I’m glad that the main focus was on queer history and respecting queer artifacts and how real the history is. I’d be interested to see Ten & the gang go on more gay adventures together.

I absolutely loved this. It was basically a gay Indiana Jones. I’ve never actually seen Indiana Jones, but this is what I imagine it would be like. I was worried it would be a little dull, especially during the action and adventure parts, but it was done wonderfully. I was engaged and entertained throughout, although I did feel like it got a little slower in the middle but it picked up speed again after that. It was a delightful look into queer history and the ways the world will try to hide it from us, while also looking at son/father relationships and discovering who you are.

I really recommend this one! I’ve never read anything by this author before but I will for sure be checking out his other books.

I love the positivity that this author puts into his books. He’s tackled themes such as queer community, image, sexual expression, and with Lion’s Legacy he aims to reclaim queer history.

Tennessee is a great protagonist, I loved his inner conflicts regarding his father’s real motives, his insecurity about his future and how all this made him a very realistic person.

I enjoyed the whole archeological adventure parts, even if all the traps and puzzles where somewhat uninspired.

Queer erasure is such common place in history that trying to reclaim any bit of queer representation is an act of defiance, and this book does that with a lot of positivity and love.

What an adventure! This is the second book I have read by this author and they just seem to get stronger with each new book. I loved seeing a sex-positive teenager represented in fiction, especially an unabashedly queer one! Overall, the plot was tight and the relationship between Tennessee and his dad gave this adventure story an unexpected heart. Any qualms I had with it (such as certain things from gay history being spelled out explicitly) were squared away when I considered that it is suppose to be a YA book. This is a tremendous debut of a series and I can't wait for more Tennessee Russo adventures.

This review is going to get a little personal.

So, I guess because it's going to get personal I should talk about myself for just a second before getting to The Lion's Legacy. I am an archaeologist as my day job. I am also a queer man, and so this book jumped out at me as an intersection of everything I am and like - a fantasy book about the archaeology of queer history? Sign me up! Even though I usually don't read YA books, I knew I had to jump on and get a copy of this.

And while this book was not perfect by any means, it was the perfect encapsulation of so many things that I had felt growing up. I became an archaeologist because I was always fascinated by history and the past, but I was particularly interested in those pasts that get erased. I was interested in those pasts that we don't get to read about in school; the marginalized people who don't get to have their names recorded for posterity. I wanted to be an archaeologists because archaeology can be a tool of the voiceless - while not everyone gets to have their lives, actions, and accomplishments preserved, everyone leaves stuff behind. And that is what archaeology is all about. It is the study of the human past - it is telling the human story - through the things people left behind.

I don't believe that L.C. Rosen is an archaeologist or has any archaeological background, but I can tell you that he gets it. Rosen understands the power of the past, and what it feels like to be a part of a community that seems like it has no past.

Our main character, Tennessee "Tenny" Russo, is a queer teenage boy. His inherent queerness is not the driver of the novel, which was really refreshing as a reader. Instead, it's Tenny's desire for family and community. Tenny doesn't have the healthiest home life. His mother is loving and caring, but his father - an archaeologist who has an Indiana Jones-esque documentary adventure show - abandoned him on a journey to Japan because Tenny accused him of stealing artifacts (more on that in a bit). And so Tenny quickly discovers that for many queer people it is the family you choose rather than your genes that are important (and this is true even if you have a loving mother like Tenny does, but she doesn't understand what it is like to occupy a queer body).

One way that Tenny attempts to find this community is by using his upbringing, as the son of two archaeologists, to find that past. To call out homophobes who want to erase queer communities for their own conservative agendas. Tenny knows that archaeology can be this engine for promoting social good and for the project of building a queer community. This propels most of the plot, as Tenny reconnects with his father to find the Rings of the Sacred Band of Thebes, the rings that Ancient Greeks soldiers gave to each as an expression of love and bonding.

Rosen does a really nice job of getting at the nuances of what finding that queer community as a teenager is really like. Tenny has an archaeological mentor who is queer, and who is curating her own exhibit on queer history. Tenny also tries to explore what being a "good" queer person actually looks like. One of my favorite little jokes is that Tenny's friend group call themselves the Good Upstanding Queers because they don't create drama like those "other" queer kids. However, Tenny quickly discovers that by putting himself on a pedestal, but denying himself so many wonders of the queer community in order to fit into a "straight-dominated" society, that he cannot fully explore who he is as a person. The book does a nice job of showing him explore casual dating, hooking up with someone you just met, and so much more.

In addition to all of the queer stuff, I have to champion Rosen's exploration of ethics in archaeology. As much as an American archaeologist will tell you that they were inspired by Indiana Jones, the ethics in that franchise are not....great. Rosen deftly navigates the thorny situation of what we do with artifacts when we find them, and I love how he has Tenny consider all of the different groups of people who have an interest in the past. The Rings that Tenny and his father go after have special importance to the queer community, as an example of queerness in the past. But it also has great importance to Greece, and its history and heritage. And sometimes these two desires conflict. Rosen did a fantastic job of showing this.

Now, I could also talk about everything I didn't like about the book, and I'll quickly mention them here just because this is a review and this is what its here for. Most of my quibbles with the book probably come from the fact that I don't read a lot of YA, and so I'm not used to the style and rhythm. I'll just say that at times the teen angst and themes were pretty heavy-handed and repetitive. Ok, Tenny, we get it, you're mad at your dad. Queer history is important. Your ex-boyfriend is bad. So, if these kinds of things really grate on you, this may not be the book for you.

I should also mention that while there are fantasy elements, these are mainly restricted to the beginning and end of the book. Magic is real in this universe, but it plays a relatively small role in the story.

But otherwise this is a propulsive and action heavy read that I flew through in a couple of hours.

This wasn't the book that I would normally gravitate towards, but it was a book I never knew that I needed. This is a book I wish were on bookstores when I was fifteen, and I'm glad that books like this are becoming more common.

Concluding Thoughts: If you like things like Indiana Jones or Tomb Raider and want the queer version of that, this is the book for you. Rosen does a great job of crafting a fun and compelling read, while also injecting the book with nuanced conversations around the importance and ethics of the past. At times it becomes a bit ham-fisted, but the fast pace of the novel means that you fly by it all pretty quickly. The fantasy elements are light, but the adrenaline stays high.

Thank you L. C. Rosen, NetGalley and Union Square & Co. for providing me with an eARC for review.

I enjoyed this book but I think that a general reader needs to be prepared that this is a very very queer book. The whole thing is queer and it isn't ashamed of that. This is a love letter to queer history and our long long existence in society despite the best efforts to straightwash everything.

If you are one of those readers that says 'I loved how the character was queer but it wasn't there whole personality' then this is NOT for you and please consider yourself warned so I don't really want to see 'too queer' bashings in the reviews.

It was a fun adventure, that opened my eyes to queer history and was a nice play off of reality TV. Did I love the entire thing? No. Though likeable and understandable Tenny was a classic YA character making some bad decisions. I also think that having Tenny with three love interests across the book was a bit too unrealistic, no matter how gorgeous of a 17 year he might be - maybe I am just jealous though haha.

I will post to socials closer to the read date

Gosh, gosh, gosh! This book, LC’s writing reminds me how reading a queer book by a queer author really does hit differently, in the best ways.

Tennessee Russo is a teen who’s been going on adventures with his dad to find ancient artifacts for his dad’s tv show since his bar mitzvah, but at fifteen he starts to see the way his dad sells the artifacts as unethical, which results in a fight where his dad abandons him in Japan. Two years later, Ten has just learned his boyfriend had been cheating on him and their whole friend group knew, but because they’re Good Upstanding Queers David doesn’t want Ten to cause any drama and everything to continue like it had. Ten’s response is to make out with one of the guys at the “bad” queer table and blocking David’s number. This also causes him to think more about how Good Upstanding Queers are just adhering to respectability politics and trying to be like “everyone else” maybe shouldn’t be the goal, but instead the goal should be celebrating how our queerness makes us unique and special.

When Ten gets home, he finds his dad who he hasn’t seen or heard from since Japan, and he wants to take Ten on a new adventure - to find the Sacred Band of Thebes, the (maybe magical) rings worn by the army of Thebes comprised of 150 queer couples. Tennessee is hesitant because this is a quest he’s wanted for so long, to show queer history and significance and power, especially as so much of queer history is in a constant state of being erased or straight-washed. But he’s got a lot of complicated feelings around his dad, and he’s not sure how to navigate those feelings and go on this new adventure with the hurt he still holds after being abandoned. But the allure of finding these rings, this history that is partially his own, is too great an opportunity, and he is quickly off the Greece. What follows is adventure and puzzles, but also emotional development and the ways community strengthens us.

This is truly a spectacular story and I cannot wait to read more of Tennessee Russo’s adventures. The Band of Thebes was a real army of men romantically bonded, and I love that this book helps bring that part of history more mainstream in that it is made accessible via fiction. I especially loved the discussions around queer history and how multifaceted it is, while also discussing the ways that history is often hidden or erased or ignored because to so many queerness is a new idea, so there’s no way it existed millennia ago. And yes, queerness today looks different than it would have thousands of years ago, but it looks different than it did even just five years ago because queerness is an experience, a community influenced by so many things, which is also why the language is constantly changing and shifting to be more inclusive and welcoming.

The other element of Lion’s Legacy I really enjoyed is challenging the ideas of what being a good gay person looks like. Tennessee from early on talks about feeling connected to all the queer people in The Village, from the grumpy drag queen to the butches in like for movies. But at school he’s become part of the Good Upstanding Queers by way of dating David, who always took him in nice dates and they did nice things together, but it was still assimilatory and heteronormative because the goal was to fit in, which was not was Ten was necessarily seeing from the queer people he passed on the street. Breaking up gives Ten an opportunity to explore his own queerness and what he wants that to look like for himself - including having sex with someone he’s just met and making connections and exploring his identity outside monogamy. This, I believe, is so important to see for teens because of the ways queerness is inherently vilified and sexualized without the nuance of how refusing to try fitting into heteronormative ideals is a resistance. We survive by showing queer people can be and are happy after 30, that our relationships don’t have to model husband-wife-two-point-five-kids ideal that is so often shown as the only acceptable way to be happy. And this book challenges that narrative and shows a queer teen having adventure, finding love, building community, and most importantly showing queer people have a history prior to Stonewall. I am so glad this book exists, and it gives me a lot of feelings, and I cannot wait to see what will be next for Tennessee (and what Lev AC Rosen will write next!)

[Cannonball Read will post May 1, 2023]

When the prologue immediately draws you in, and you suddenly end up in an Indiana Jones scene (I’d like to think the River Phoenix version), and you hardly are able to breathe because the pacing is almost killing you.
 
Tennessee (Tenny, Ten) hasn’t seen his dad for over two years, but when Ten’s boyfriend cheats on him and his dad, a famous archeologist, suddenly shows up and offers to take Ten on an adventure like they used to do in the past, Ten decides to join his dad to Greece.
 
Lion’s Legacy reads like a Formula One car thundering over an ancient circuit with secret turns and bumps that make you screech out loud and wonder why you’re in that freaking car. But then you start to relax and suddenly grin like a maniac and enjoy yourself immensely.
 
You could read this book because of its fast pacing. Because of its action. Because of its wit. But don’t forget to peel off the layers. Because there’s also so much depth in this story. There are topics like family relationships, queer history, following your dreams, friendship. I loved Ten’s story and can’t wait for the sequel!

I haven't heard many people talk about this book (yet), and that needs to change, because I can promise a lot of you are going to LOVE this!

The prologue does an amazing job at setting the scene. We're immediately drawn into a wild adventure, filled with danger and magic, followed by Tennessee finding out his dad is not the good guy he thought he was. Aside from being really fun to read, this raises some moral questions right away, so that the book is off to a strong start.

And often, I feel like the prologue will be amazing and then the book itself will just collapse like a pudding right after. (That might be a Dutch saying, I don't know, but you get the gist.) In this case, the story is just as strong all the way through to the end, and I absolutely loved this adventurous novel.

It's just SUCH a fun read! I never watched Indiana Jones or anything like that, but this did give me Warehouse 13 vibes, which is one of my favourite shows ever. Honestly, I don't get why this genre isn't more popular in YA, since it's a perfect mix of contemporary, adventure, and magic.

Not only is this book an incredibly fun read, I also loved the conversation around queerness, like I've pretty much gotten used to from this author. We delve into conversations surrounding whether queer people should make ourselves palatable for straight people, the importance of making queer history known, and the necessity of queer community. So aside from having a great adventure, this book also has a lot of depth.

Thank you to @netgalley and @unionsqandco for providing this e-ARC of “Lion’s Legacy” by @levacrosen. This Queer India Jones-esque adventure YA was such a fun read! Queer history is often forgot or purposefully erased. The main character Ten takes us on an adventure to help us rediscover what as been lost and he’s finds out some things about himself and family along the way. The book comes out May 2023 and I cannot for the world to on this adventure!

This is queer representation where romance doesn’t drive the story!

I am searching and yearning for more queer representation where romance is involved but isn’t the main plot of the story. L. C. Rosen has done it again! This book showcases queer people in past and present and does it in a way that normalizes it. This felt so good to read. I laughed at moments and felt moved by other moments.

Also, I must point out that L. C. Rosen is always changing up what they’re doing. All of their books are drastically different while being quintessentially queer. Keep on keeping on!!!

Thank you Union Square & Co and Netgalley for this eARC, these opinions are my own. I loved this queer adventure! Tennessee and is dad look for lost artifacts but when Ten realizes his dad is selling those artifacts they have a fight and his dad walks out of his life. Two years later and Ten is doing ok, he’s got a boyfriend and a group of friends, until that falls apart as well. Now his dad’s back offering him a chance to go after an ancient queer artifact that many deny is queer. Sick of having queer history erased Ten has no choice but to go on this adventure. But can he trust his dad? Will it be dangerous? Will he meet someone along the way? This book is full of intrigue, complicated family dynamics, and queer history! It’s exciting and kept my on the edge of my seat! I love how L.C. Rosen writes the queer history and the connectedness of queer people! There is so much about queer history that a lot of us never know and I love that this series is helping to explore that! Plus the family, friend, relationship, dynamics also added to the excitement! There’s a part towards the end that reminds us just how bada** queer people are! I couldn’t put it down and highly recommend reading this! Can’t wait to read it again!