I adored Legendborn and was so excited for this sequel, but sadly it fell a bit flat for me. My main issues were the plot that was kind of all over the place, the weird love triangle with one party completely absent and left in the dark about it, and the way Bree was not the badass heroine from the first book but felt like a completely different character. It was still a unique and intriguing contemporary fantasy with retold King Arthur legends, Southern Black Girl Magic, and LGBTQIA+ representation, just not as amazing as the first book in this series.

For some reason I kept pulling reading this book off (mostly I think because I was afraid to be disappointed after hearing everyone rave about it), which I highly regret now… Legendborn exceeded all my high expectations and deserves all the praise in the world! It’s a contemporary fantasy with retold King Arthur legends, Southern Black Girl Magic, fully fleshed out characters and amazing gender fluid and LGBTQIA+ representation. It was absolutely spectacular, and so much more intense and gripping than I’d ever expected, and with so many layers. If you haven’t read this book yet, do yourself a favor and pick it up asap!

During her very first night on campus, sixteen-year-old Bree Matthews witnesses a magical attack, which unlocks her own magic and hidden memories from the night her mother died. Wanting to learn the secrets of her mother’s dead, she stumbles upon a secret society of Legendborns. Bree 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.

This book had such an amazing world building with the best mix of urban fantasy, old legends and southern mystic. It was also full of amazing and diverse characters, who were all so fleshed out and deeply human, so full of flaws and internal anger, and not clearly good or bad. I absolutely adored the badass, brave and strong-willed Bree, who just couldn’t stay away from danger but had to go look for it. And Nick was such a sweetheart, but I have to admit that the guy that I might be hoping for the romance part to take a somewhat other direction in the sequel… since there was a certain half-demon that might have stolen my heart…

All in all, this was a brilliant, addictive and unique urban YA fantasy that I recommend with all my heart! If you haven’t checked it out yet, please make sure to give it a try (even if fantasy isn’t your go to genre), I promise you won’t regret it!

Rating:
5 stars

Get your own copy:
Bookshop.org
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Author info:
Tracy Deonn