Legendborn | Tracy Deonn

This novel caught my eye at Barnes & Noble because the cover reminded me of the FMC of my WIP, Vesta. I wasn’t sure what I was getting into, but it had a great hook and a fast-paced plot, which are kinda my thing when I look for my next read. When I got deeper in, I realized it was a fresh, contemporary spin on Arthur and the round table, and was interesting enough for me to keep going. However, I did end up skipping some parts because I just am not familiar with nor super interested in medieval jargon.

One of the main themes was grief, and, through her character Starr, Tracy Deon explores both what happens when someone does not process it/stuffs it and also when she begins to open up to express her grief. I was impressed that she made a sort of shadow character of Starr’s unresolved grief and also uses her powerful emotions to be a conduit of her magical powers.

While this novel also had a multi-ethnic relationship begin to blossom between Starr and someone she meets on her college campus, it also highlights the friendship between Starr and childhood friend as they share a dorm room and experience college life together. At first, though, Starr doesn’t share any of the magical or demonic encounters she has with her friend. And she gets sucked into the realm of magic and demons and danger almost right away.

Negative elements I was bummed by: 

• There was a bit of language.
• LGBTQ character representation. Because the author used they/them pronouns for who *I believe* was a feminine character, I was mentally looking around for a twin or another person I thought she was writing about. It was the first time I’d encountered a non-he/she pronoun in fiction, and it was weird. The character only mentions being attracted to both genders, but thankfully does nothing to act out her tendencies in the story other than dress uniquely.
• Necromancy also shows up in Tracy Deonn’s novel. Unfortunately, it is a uniqueness that Starr comes to explore as part of her magical history as a young black woman. She and other characters speak to the dead and have mystical encounters with them.

Four stars for plot and excellent, compelling and immersive writing. Oh, and a colorful and diverse, well-defined magic system.

Three stars for content.