The Highlights:
—  So. Much. Lore!
—  Fantastic main character, with a diverse supporting cast
—  Twisty twists!
—  Excellent book for aspiring YA writers to study, so well written

Legendborn ended up on my radar a few months ago because 1) it has one of my favorite covers ever, and 2) I'm a sucker for anything Arthurian. So I went into this one with a healthy dose of a 'pretty sure I'm going to love this' attitude. And oh maaan, I was not disappointed.

Just to real quick get it out of the way, the ONLY reason I didn't five star this one was for pacing. The beginning took off so fast that I felt like I was struggling to keep up(this seems like a dig at myself now that I'm really thinking about it...ha). Then the middle slowed down a lot and I did find my mind drifting a few times. It's one of those books where I simultaneously wanted it to be a little more condensed but also 300 pages longer. By the end though, all of the pacing issues I had disappeared. The last third was incredible from that standpoint, the ramp up to the climax was absolute perfection, and the ending was so satisfying.

Anyways! No other complaints from here on out, only good things to be said!

Tracy Deonn not only wrote a sort of Arthurian retelling with Legendborn, she made it feel like wholly her own story. The lore and magic systems she wrote for this book are so in-depth, so smart, they completely blew me away. The complexity, explained for readers in an effortless way, makes the things she added to existing stories and lore seem like it's all been there all along. Like Legendborn is just a part of Arthurian canon, and it always has been, we were just waiting for the right person to come along and tell us the story.

Bree was a phenomenal lead character. I enjoyed reading the story from her point of view so much. Always so heartfelt, every emotion she had came through clearly on the page. Her story was so compelling and authentic. The way she interacted with other characters always rang true (Deonn nailed the dialogue in this book). And the other characters were diverse and complex, not just there as props for Bree and her story. I feel like so many of them could have their own spinoff books, and I can't wait to learn more about every single character in the sequel.

I know I said the ending was good already, but I can't emphasize that enough. It's rare for the actual plot to beat characters as my favorite aspect of a book, but it really happened this time. They are intrinsically tied together in this story though, plot and character, and it worked so well to deliver a phenomenal ending. I... didn't see it all coming. At all. I thought I did, but wow. It hits really hard, and weeks later I just can't stop thinking about it. My husband isn't a reader, and I knew I'd never convince him to read this book, so I made him listen to me go on and on about the story, and even a second-hand account of the ending had him applauding the story. The whole book is good, but the ending packed a punch that is going to sit with me forever.

The last thing I want to touch on is how I just think this book is really well written. Other than my very minor issues with the pacing, this is a book I would study for the writing itself. It's the perfect example of a fantastic YA fantasy, and is a book I'll definitely be steering other aspiring writers to look to. It uses tropes so well. I'm not going to get on my trope soapbox again, but I'll go down fighting when it comes to defending the use of tropes. Legendborn uses a few familiar YA fantasy tropes *chef's kiss* perfectly. And the reason it works is because it's not just a rehashing of the same story and beats we've all read countless times. Deonn takes those tropes, finds the best parts of them, and puts those parts to use in new, dynamic, challenging ways. Seriously, I cannot stress enough how well written this book is.

So, in conclusion, I would like everyone to get this book, that way I'll have plenty of others agonizing with me over the wait for the sequel. Legendborn is one of those books that is going to stick in my mind, one of those books I'll actually remember out of the dozens I'll read this year. And I just know that many, many others are going to feel the same way after reading it.

For More Bookish Content: Blog || Twitter || Facebook || Bloglovin'