Thank you to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster UK Children’s for providing me with a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.
Goodreads Synopsis
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.
Review
This book was everything I wanted and more. Legendborn is now one of my favourites of 2020 and such an amazing spin on the classic tale of legend of King Arthur. Full of magic, mystery and demons, this story will have you on the edge of your seat and needing more.
I loved Bree so much as a main character. She was strong, fierce and most of all realistic and relatable. Bree closes herself off after the death of her mother and I loved watching as her character developed and opened up more. Her friendship with Alice, whilst rocky at points, was so fun to read and I loved the banter between the two.
I also loved the diversity in this book with Bree being black and Alice being Taiwanese-American and Lesbian. This book tackles racism and inequality, showing us how much discrimination Bree faces just because of the colour of her skin and also touches on the history of slavery which you don’t tend to see in YA fantasy.
My only issue with this book was the insta-love that is featured in this book. I’m not a big fan of this trope and sometimes find it incredibly annoying. However, Tracy Deonn wrote this trope in such a way that it didn’t frustrate me and in the end actually somewhat explained why the two felt so connected in the first place. However, not even this trope could stop me from loving this story and the world that has been created.
Compared to the likes of The Mortal Instruments, this is brilliant modern day fantasy full of intrigue and mystery. I thoroughly recommend this book if you love YA Fantasy!
Rating: 5/5 stars