Genre: Young Adult Fantasy
Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books
Page Length: 512 pages
Format: Book of the Month Hardback
Star Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Mr. Darcy‘s Rating: “You have bewitched me, body and soul.”
A Chasing Mr. Darcy Review
I was so excited to read Legendborn by Tracy Deonn, and it did not disappoint! I completely fell in love with this story and these characters.
Here’s a plot synopsis from Amazon: After her mother dies in an accident, sixteen-year-old Bree Matthews wants nothing to do with her family memories or childhood home. A residential program for bright high schoolers at UNC–Chapel Hill seems like the perfect escape—until Bree witnesses a magical attack her very first night on campus. A flying demon feeding on human energies. A secret society of so called “Legendborn” students that hunt the creatures down. And a mysterious teenage mage who calls himself a “Merlin” and who attempts—and fails—to wipe Bree’s memory of everything she saw. The mage’s failure unlocks Bree’s own unique magic and a buried memory with a hidden connection: the night her mother died, another Merlin was at the hospital. Now that Bree knows there’s more to her mother’s death than what’s on the police report, she’ll do whatever it takes to find out the truth, even if that means infiltrating the Legendborn as one of their initiates. She recruits Nick, a self-exiled Legendborn with his own grudge against the group, and their reluctant partnership pulls them deeper into the society’s secrets—and closer to each other. But when the Legendborn reveal themselves as the descendants of King Arthur’s knights and explain that a magical war is coming, Bree has to decide how far she’ll go for the truth and whether she should use her magic to take the society down—or join the fight.
It’s rare that I read a YA fiction book that feels not only interesting but also important. And, I do feel that Legendborn is an important book to read. This book shows what it’s like for a Black girl in the south to take what is rightfully hers, and it shows the pushback Black girls still face for owning what is rightfully theirs. My heart broke for Bree as she let me walk in her footsteps as she faced racist person after racist person determined to make her feel less than. What I loved about Bree, though, is she never let the haters get her down, and she always triumphs.
Beyond the social importance of the book, the characters pulled me in immediately. I thought Bree was fierce, and quite simply, amazing. Her strength and resilience pulled me in while her ferocity kept me impressed. Beyond Bree, I completely loved the other two main characters, Nick and Sel. I *think* a love triangle is a-brewing between Bree and the two men, and I’m here for it. I’ve never been so torn between two fictional lovers as I am still between Nick and Sel. Nick is the light - he’s bright, he’s engaging, he’s outgoing, he’s fun, and he’s pure dreamy. He’s the thing college girls’ dreams are made of, and I’m not immune to that twinkle in his eye and quick smile. Sel is the dark- he‘s angsty, he’s moody, and he can literally crack lightning between his hands. He’s got a snarky attitude, and he is hot as hell. I don’t know which man I prefer, but I know I would climb them both like a tree if given the chance. And I’m not ashamed.
Bottom line, I loved this book, and I cannot wait for the sequel. I need it now!
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