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Cover of Legendborn

Legendborn

by Tracy Deonn

🌶️fade to black·spoiler·The Legendborn Cycle #1

Why Read This?

A powerful exploration of ancestral pain and identity wrapped in a page-turning supernatural mystery that makes you feel seen.

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.

At a Glance

4.30 ★ Goodreads
Spice Level🌶️fade to black
Endingspoiler
PairingM/F
Romance Pacingslow burn
Energymedium

Top Tropes

hidden identitybet/wager romanceblood feud romancegames/trials romancecompetition romance

Mood

mysteriousemotionaldarksuspensefuladventurous

Book Details

Goodreads Rating

4.30 ★

Page Count

502 pages

Published

2020

Primary Genre

Young Adult

Pairing

M/F

POV

First Person

Romance Pacing

Slow Burn

Cliffhanger

spoiler

Audiobook

Available

Yes

Format

Standard

Narrator

Joniece Abbott-Pratt

Narrator Count

Single

Tropes

RomanceMagicActionAngstWorld
Theme Constellation

Mood & Vibe

Mood

Writing Style

immersiveatmosphericemotionalpunchy

Story Pacing

fast

Emotional Weight

heavy

Energy Required

medium

Vibes

Grief-stricken teen infiltrates a secret Arthurian society where magic and Southern history collide with intense, dark tension.

Characters

FMC Archetype

reluctant chosen onesurvivoroutcast/loner

MMC Archetype

brooding princedark/tortured soulmorally gray mmc

Relationship Dynamics

tensionmutual piningslow burn

Spice Details 🌶️

🌶️
🌶️
🌶️
🌶️
🌶️
🌶️
Spice Level 1

Spice Style

None

Getting Steamy

None

Bringing the Heat

None
death of loved oneemotional abusekidnappingparental deathtraumaviolencedeathbloodgaslightinggriefstalkingwar

World & Setting

World Type

urban fantasy

Primary Setting

academy / campusforest / wildernessunderground / underworld

Fantasy Creatures

Representation

bipoc mcblack mcgrief representationtrauma representation

Reading Context

Emotional Payoff

character growthexpanded empathycathartic release

Best Time of Year

autumn

When & Where to Read

in natureat nightcamping trip

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