LEGENDBORN

Author: Tracey Deonn

Genre: Fantasy, Young Adult

Rating: 4.5 Stars

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:

I originally purchased this book to support a local author. As a resident close to the UNC Chapel Hill area, it would be fun to read a book that highlights familiar places. But, the truth is, I was surprised at how much I was captured by Briana "Bree" Mathew's character and the secret society and mysteries that Tracy Deonn had created. If you love Harry Potter and

The Hunger Games, I urge you to read this book.

Transparency, fantasy is a genres that I have had trouble reading. I am more of a romance, psychological thrillers, and mystery novels type of gal. However, Tracy brings realism into her magical world so well that the mythical aspect makes it easy to follow the storyline. Additionally, her ability to incorporate real-life challenges of young black teens in "white spaces" without making it overtly dominant to the plot and intertwining two histories to develop the foundation of Legendborns and Roots was a brilliant risk.

Throughout the story, you're giving more information about Bree's abilities and how they developed. It will make you both furious, shocked, and screaming, "You Go, Girl." Finally, the story comes together nicely in a shocking twist that will make you rush to get the second book in this series, BloodM

arked. I have already picked up my copy and started to dive in.

We are provided such in-depth character development around the main character and supporting characters, but we need more history behind the demon world. In addition, I found keeping up with the demonic entities' hierarchy and powers challenging. I hope the second book explains this in a little more detail. With that said, I give this book 4.5 stars.