This is my year to return to my Arthurian legend phase, apparently. (And we’re two for two on imaginative, feminist retellings so far.)

I could not put this book down!!!

I loved the exploration of magic, identity, heritage, culture, and grief in Legendborn. Bree is a character with grit and passion and a whole lot of unexplored grief and trauma that she has to learn how to unpack…while simultaneously making sense of what’s happening on campus, and how it connects to her mom’s death.

The book tackles A LOT of themes, and I think they’re handled incredibly well. As someone who has lost people close to me, the way Bree processes her grief is all too familiar and real.

Then of course, there’s the BRILLIANT way in which Deonn deftly weaves Arthurian legend into the modern day. I can’t get over how interesting the whole premise is, and it even manages to tie in my favorite trope of secret societies