Tracy Deonn

Legendborn

Filled with mystery and an intriguingly rich magic system, Tracy Deonn’s YA contemporary fantasy Legendborn offers the dark allure of City of Bones with a modern-day twist on a classic legend and a lot of Southern Black Girl Magic. 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.

Jordan

“Don’t make your life about the loss. Make it about the love.”

fc ♡

Sel glances at his watch. “We have time,” he murmurs. “If we hurry.”

 He speeds to his closet, pulling his boots on in a blur. Before I can say anything, he walks over to the window, unlatches it, and pushes it open to the night air. He leans both hands on the windowsill and looks at me over his shoulder. “Come here.”

“Reasons.” He grabs me around the waist in the blink of an eye and tosses me over his shoulder until I’m draped over his back, facing his room. I squirm, but before I can protest further, he wraps an iron forearm around my thighs, pressing them to his chest. Everywhere our skin touches leaves a trail of sparks. 

“Please tell me you’re not jumping out of this window right now!” 

“I’m not jumping out of this window right now,” he says. Then he promptly climbs up—and jumps.

he stands there in his usual black tank and loose pants, rotating his wrists and stretching until corded muscles stand out on his forearms and biceps.

“I’ve decided that watching you fail this spectacularly is too painful to bear. Get over here.” 

He rolls his eyes. “I’m offering to train you, silly thing.” 

“What happened to ‘Briana’? I like that better than ‘silly thing.’ ” 

I jut my chin out. “I don’t believe you.” 

“Obstinate creature,” he huffs under his breath. “Come here. I am serious. I swear it.”

His tattoos are on full display below sleeves rolled at the elbow. They wind down his forearms and wrists, and I can’t help but study them. I wonder how far up they go and how many he has before I remember that I detest him and shouldn’t care about his tattoos at all.

A low growl close by my ear. I jump when I realize the sound is coming from the demanding boy whose fingers are still locked around my wrist. As he stares into the trees, his mouth curves into a satisfied smile, exposing two canines that nearly touch his bottom lip. “Got you.” 

Selwyn startles, as if he’d completely forgotten I was there, then releases me with a frustrated grunt. He takes off, speeding into the woods, a silent shadow between the trees. He’s out of sight before I can form a response

I step to his right. Quick as a cat, he reaches for me, but I twist away before he gets a grip. His eyebrows lift, and the corner of his mouth twitches. “I haven’t seen you around before. Are you new?”

 “I’m leaving.” I turn, but the boy is beside me in two steps.

His gaze sends tiny, invisible sparks of electricity dancing across my cheek. I flinch and throw my hand up between us like a shield. 

Fingers, too hot, too strong, instantly close around my wrist. A tingling sensation shoots down to my elbow. “Why did you cover your face?”

 I don’t have an answer for him. Or myself. I try to yank away from him, but his hold is like iron. “Let go!” 

Selwyn’s eyes widen slightly, then narrow; he is not used to being shouted at. “Do you—do you feel something? When I look at you?” 

“What?” I pull, but he holds me tightly without effort. “No.”

“Quiet!” he orders. Bright indignation flares in my chest, but his unusual eyes rake across my face. Snuff it right out. “Strange. I thought—”

(Bre)anne✨

But how can I be at peace when I look down and see that they're still working?

And when your people die, you have to listen to strangers speak your nightmare into existence.

Izaac Richards

"Of course not. But...This week you're a zombie. You know what vou need?"

I stand up and sigh. "You gonna say Jesus?" 

"No." She points at me."You need homeostasis."

Alexa Jade

Why someone dies is not the same question as why they are gone.

Like many true things, this is awful, and hard. 

sofia

He grabs me around the waist in the blink of an eye and tosses me over his shoulder until I’m draped over his back, facing his room. I squirm, but before I can protest further, he wraps an iron forearm around my thighs, pressing them to his chest. Everywhere our skin touches leaves a  trail of sparks . “Please tell me you’re not jumping out of this window right now!” “I’m not jumping out of this window right now,” he says. Then he promptly climbs up—and jumps.

“First of all, are you saying you’re  not  gunning to be my Squire? Insulted. And second—nope, sorry, this hand is mine now—I hate that other Pages are targeting you because of me. And third, I don’t know what your  feminine wiles  are,  but  I’d be willing to  assess  them. To see if they could, indeed, seduce me enough to make me bond myself to you  forever .”

Hayli Woodson

Because broken hearts strip vocabularies down to their bones.

hannah :)

"Kidnappers don't tend to let their hostages call home, Victoria!"

A confusing mixture of jealousy and curiosity and want swirls in my stomach.

Fitz lands on this outcome a heartbeat after I do, and his lips pull back in an eager grin. He starts walking toward me when Sel intervenes. 

"I'll take Briana. Fitz, you pair with Sydney. Nicholas, you'll stay in the Lodge behind the wards."

"Because he's our king, or he will be, formally. When he's Awakened."

The air between us starts to cook, forcing a gasp from my lips.

I never thought I'd be happy to hear that voice.

it was somehow hard at first, but when u understand and piece it all together, wow. i agree on the a lot of world building and it does have a LOT of characters. quite astonished with the plot of it, good read !

Penelope Sanchez

This was a fun read, but had quite a bit of world building to get there. The first 3/4 was packed with info, but the last quarter really brought it together. I can see myself continuing the series. I enjoyed the historical fiction elements added to the magical elements. 

I love the magic and world created here, very fun read. I’m a little worried that future books are going to too bombastic and world-ending, and I hate to be sucked into another series that’s not complete yet, but I suspect it’ll be a fun ride. 

Katy Watkins

Joniece Abbott-Pratt

Solid read with a lot of world building. Confusing at times due to the many different roles and names, but it came together for me as I read. I would love to see how Bri develops moving into the next story and what happens to Nick.

Amanda 

I'll be honest. I'm a little older than the target audience and so some moments where just bit too "teenager" for me. HOWEVER, this is an enjoyable read and I'll pick up the next one in a few months once I've made a dent into my TBR. I would recommend this to 15-19 yr olds and if I had a teenager in my life I would definitely gift this to them ☺️

Laoise Giblin

super interesting world building with great characters. sometimes the world building was be confusing and there’s a bit too many characters to memorize but not too bad. the ending i was spoiled but it didn’t take away the experience. the history of Bree was super cool to discover, learning her story through her ancestors was an interesting idea. overall took me a while to finish cuz busy but it was a great read.

was kinda eh abt the love triangle, i thought bree and nick were cute at first but then we warmed up to sel, hope they become a throuple lol

violet nguyen

super interesting world building with great characters. sometimes the world building was be confusing and there’s a bit too many characters to memorize but not too bad. the ending i was spoiled but it didn’t take away the experience. the history of Bree was super cool to discover, learning her story through her ancestors was an interesting idea. overall took me a while to finish cuz busy but it was a great read.

was kinda eh abt the love triangle, i thought bree and nick were cute at first but then we warmed up to sel, hope they become a throuple lol

Lucy Woodman

solid start to this series. i think upon a reread and/or reading bloodmarked i may bump this up to 5 stars.

basically,,, consider this like an unofficial 4.5 since i don't rate on 1/2 stars lol

ash (smokedshelves)

a really really solid start to this series. i think upon a reread and/or reading bloodmarked i may bump this up to 5 stars.

basically,,, consider this like an unofficial 4.5 since i don't rate on 1/2 stars lol

AHHHHHH november 8 cannot come fast enough. i need the next one. 

khush

I enjoyed this a lot. I was planning to read just one or two chapters a day but the storytelling was too captivating and it was so difficult to put the book down. I love everything about it -- a strong (but also vulnerable) black female lead character, an Asian best friend, and All! The! Women! It was a balanced mix of the Legend of King Arthur, magic, fantasy, and action while also tackling slavery, racism, and grief. Those last three topics are heavy and the author was able to weave it in seamlessly in the story without it being too preachy. I'm off to read the second book and I hope the third and fourth books come quicky!

Naomi P

mar 

Everything about this book is so magnetic. I love this book and I’m ready to dive into the second book

Venus ☆

millena

hello wtf just happened? the ending???? if you told my past self that I’d end up loving this book so much I’d never believe it, I literally soft dnfed this for four months the first time I tried to read it 🤡

the beginning did not work for me bc I was hating Bree and Alice so much it hurts (now I love both just so you know) but at some point things start to happen and out of nowhere *poof* you can't put the book down

the first love interest we met is Nick and their romance was SO insta-love (I hated it) within a week they were already in the “I need to protect you at all costs because you’re my whole life 😭🫂💔😔” vibe and I was like ugh you guys just met calm down please

the second one, Selwyn (aka my favorite), wasn’t exactly a love interest in this book but it’s obvious that he’s going to be, at first I swear all I wanted was to throw him off a cliff bc this boy was insufferable with that story of thinking she was a demon, if that continued for another chapter I’d probably throw my kindle at the wall BUT now I'm president of their ship till the day I die bc hello??? the chemistry? the banter? 
  THE BALL DANCE SCENE?????
 just stop ✋🏻 i need them rn

I felt that the book developed themes like racism and misogyny very well, unfortunately the world is not even close to being the same as most books and this one brought a necessary reality check, I also liked how well it showed Bree's grieving process

the plot in the ending left me with my jaw on the floor for at least 10 minutes, at some point I imagined Sel as king but I SWEAR I never imagined who really is, I'm SO excited to see how this will develop in the next books but maybe I need a quick break before continue the next one

(honorable mention to Sel calling her cariad 🫦)

big ab

this book is willlld. an romantasy based on king arthur tale and set in modern day chapel hill north carolina??? also themes of grief, self discovery, institutional racism??? hell yeah!

Kirsten Kim

all the characters have the exact same mannerisms and vernacular. this reads like trina vegas one woman play.

Mira <3

ya is not for me anymore and that's fine i'm old (twenty one 😐) but i think making bree be between someone who has dated a racist (sel) and someone like nick is a little crazy idk, world building could've been better but the concept was ... interesting and dialogue was some rlly good writing

Rebecca Hurd

ABSOLUTELY FANTASTIC!!!! I need book 2 NOW!!!! Such a great fantasy novel, I’m deeply invested in this story in Bree’s life and what will happen between her, Nick, and Sel!! LOVED!!

Filled with mystery and an intriguingly rich magic system, Tracy Deonn's YA contemporary fantasy Legendborn offers the dark allure of City of Bones with a modern-day twist on a classic legend and a lot of Southern Black Girl Magic. 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 programme 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. An explosive fantasy debut that's perfect for fans of Cassandra Clare, Leigh Bardugo and Sarah J. Maas!

Anna 

Mýtonoši mou pozornost upoutali hned jak vyšli v originále, hlavně tedy kvůli té krásné obálce. Když mi Valča řekla, že se stanou jejím prvním HumbookTipem, moc jsem se na ně těšila. A že jsem taky měla proč.
Mýtonoši jsou jaksi netradiční urban fantasy, která je ale do hloubky propracovaná mnohem víc, než se na první pohled zdá. Naše hlavní hrdinka v knize řeší nejen smrt svojí maminky, ale třeba i trauma, které ze smrti vychází a nebo rasovou diskriminaci a historii svých předků, kteří to na jihu Ameriky neměli vůbec jednoduché. V mýtonoších se setkáváme s tajnými spolky, které se na první pohled zdají jako sešlosti boháčů, ovšem Bree zjišťuje, že se dostala k dědicům rytířů Kulatého stolu.
Kniha sice má typické young adult rysy, jako například náznaky milostného trojúhelníku, autorka ho však napsala tak dobře a rozebírá zde tolik důležitých témat, že jí to ráda odpustím. 
Mýtonoši jsou sice - podle mého názoru - složitější urban fantasy (musela jsem si značit vše k magickému systému a dělat si poznámky, myšlenkové mapy a seznamy postav stranou) ale já vám říkám, že to za to vážně stojí. To propojení středověkých legend a historie černošských otroků mi prostě.. vyrazilo dech. Sice se vám to takhle zdá jako příliš a přijde vám, že to snad ani nemůže fungovat, ale autorka to vymyslela vážně parádně. A pozor - nebojí se zabíjet své postavy! 
Nakonec bych ráda vyzdvihla i to, že knížka má bohatou reprezentaci LGBT+ lidí, a navíc je do děje vsazena úplně nenucě, až přirozeně. 
Poslední, co chci pochválit, je překlad. Moc se mi líbilo zachování anglických frází a slov, které se už běžně nepřekládají. V knihách totiž často narážím na nějakou do očí bijící frázi, kterou všichni známe anglicky, ovšem překladatelé jí i tak přeloží do češtiny. Překlad mýtonošů tedy považuji za jednu z nejlépe přeložených knih, které jsem četla, co se neologismů a anglicismů týče.
.
5*/5*, Mýtonoši si to bez debat zaslouží, stejně jako si zaslouží i to, že si je musíte co nejdřív přečíst i vy!

ploral

This book blew my mind off

I'm quite speechless. To call this book amazing would be an understatement.

This is a very famous book and everyone loves it and it's for a good reason. It deserves every bit of praise it gets and more. GO PICK IT UP NOW. 

This series is gonna be one of my favourites series of all time and I can't wait. I don't remember the last time I'd read something like this. I'd recommend this book to every freaking one.

No words for how phenomenal this book is. NOOOO words other than purely phenomenal.

Bria

there was no reason for me to put this book off for so long. it was so good and i need that fairy loot release right now!!!

nov 2023 read
this was still a 5 star! i didn’t get the fairy loot release btw. it was sold out immediately!

I want to start off by saying that the concept of this was enticing, and I really do like Bree Matthews as a character. However, I disliked almost everything else about this story and will outline why:

Firstly, this love triangle thing didn’t need to happen. I’m very disinterested in “Black girl from a white area goes to white school and becomes involved with two white boys in a racist organization”. I’m well aware that the org is integral to the plot, but I feel like there’s were ways to work other racial minorities into the mix and shouldn’t have to wait two or three books to get more of their involvement. Bree being a token character in her own book feels egregious to me. I’m tired of seeing Black main characters navigate racism as a part of their arcs. Also, if she’s going to have these two white counterparts … they should be interesting — which they’re not. It’s very insta-love at some parts to me, and that’s just not an interest of mine.

Moving onto plot: it was very clunky. The pacing was off and the “exposition” was just lines and lines of info dumping throughout the entirety of the book. And even after all of that, I was still confused about the world and magic system. It just wasn’t engaging to me and took forever to read because I had to keep stopping to remind myself of the rules. The characters were not well fleshed out, and I found the B tier characters to be interchangeable. I wish I gave a damn about any of them, but I don’t.

Finally, the therapist. I’m not sure I’ve seen anyone else comment on this, but as someone in a similar role, I found this representation of counseling abhorrent and borderline dangerous. The therapist isn’t helpful in the slightest and crosses so many boundaries. I am actually disappointed that the other main Black character we get in this is such a bad depiction of mental health services. Like I said, I don’t think most people would point this out or notice, but it truly rubbed me the wrong way.

I can see why people, especially younger readers, would enjoy this but the mixture of all of these things made this a very overhyped book in my opinion.

Nik ✨

I want to start off by saying that the concept of this was enticing, and I really do like Bree Matthews as a character. However, I disliked almost everything else about this story and will outline why:

Firstly, this love triangle thing didn’t need to happen. I’m very disinterested in “Black girl from a white area goes to white school and becomes involved with two white boys in a racist organization”. I’m well aware that the org is integral to the plot, but I feel like there’s were ways to work other racial minorities into the mix and shouldn’t have to wait two or three books to get more of their involvement. Bree being a token character in her own book feels egregious to me. I’m tired of seeing Black main characters navigate racism as a part of their arcs. Also, if she’s going to have these two white counterparts … they should be interesting — which they’re not. It’s very insta-love at some parts to me, and that’s just not an interest of mine.

Moving onto plot: it was very clunky. The pacing was off and the “exposition” was just lines and lines of info dumping throughout the entirety of the book. And even after all of that, I was still confused about the world and magic system. It just wasn’t engaging to me and took forever to read because I had to keep stopping to remind myself of the rules. The characters were not well fleshed out, and I found the B tier characters to be interchangeable. I wish I gave a damn about any of them, but I don’t.

Finally, the therapist. I’m not sure I’ve seen anyone else comment on this, but as someone in a similar role, I found this representation of counseling abhorrent and borderline dangerous. The therapist isn’t helpful in the slightest and crosses so many boundaries. I am actually disappointed that the other main Black character we get in this is such a bad depiction of mental health services. Like I said, I don’t think most people would point this out or notice, but it truly rubbed me the wrong way.

I can see why people, especially younger readers, would enjoy this but the mixture of all of these things made this a very overhyped book in my opinion.

Lauren R

[4.25]
im so excited to continue this series. Super easy to understand world and chefs kiss romance. what else could i ask for. misunderstood bad boy like erm yes please. and black fmc yesss gimme more!!

Legendborn

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