I FINALLY DID IT!

This book was supposed to be finished back in August, I think, for a book club, but we all agreed to just finish it by the end of the year. I’m so happy we chose to finish at our own paces, because now I feel like I was able to enjoy and take it in instead of just rushing to finish it to discuss with others.

here we go again…

To be honest, initially, it was hard for me to push past a certain point in the book — the part where the author makes it very obvious that the main character (named Bree) is one of the ONLY people of color (poc) in the book in contrast to all the white people. There are a couple more parts like this that weren’t as painful, I think, because of that initial moment; maybe it softened the blow. I understand what the author is trying to do, but being a poc myself, sometimes hearing the same narrative in books can be exhausting because we use books to escape these truths momentarily. We already have to live through it, and now you’re saying I have to read it too? I had to take some space away from the book, and then push through that part to continue on. Maybe that means there are things that I as a reader need to delve into about myself.

I can appreciate how Tracy Deonn used black history though as a way to explain Bree’s powers that have been passed down from generation to generation. All of that was really fascinating to read; I’ve never read a fantasy book that involved the hard parts of black history, such as slavery, to be a cornerstone of the plot. I think it was done very well, along with the line and legend of King Arthur.

…wait, how old are you again?!

One of the things that was pointed out in our brief book club discussion about what we’d already read was that we wished the characters in the book were a little older. I truly forget that Bree is sixteen years old because all of this is happening on a college campus. Yes, she’s supposed to be doing Early College, but still; the age lines can feel blurry, even if I know this book is supposed to be YA (young adult) fiction. Maybe it didn’t feel right to have them be in high school with all of this happening; parents looking for their kids in the middle of the night while they’re fighting Hellborns and such.

a YA love triangle to behold!

As for the romance part…

I definitely thought that Bree would end up with Nick, and this book is leaning towards that HEAVILY. I mean, there are multiple times where it says that Nick loves Bree, Bree loves Nick…

But then there’s Sel.

I’m very curious to see how Bree and Sel’s relationship unfolds in the next couple of books, because certain feelings that were described made it sound like Bree is a little conflicted…even if Sel did admit that he was in love with Nick at one point in their lives.

I said there were spoilers at the beginning of this blog post, right? *checks blog post title* Right.

Well, at the end of this book, Nick is GONE. KIDNAPPED. Which means that Bree and Sel are gonna be working together a lot starting in the next book. So they’ll have some time to grow a bond before they eventually rescue Nick.

I guess I’ll have to read the next 2 books to see! Am I rooting for someone in particular? You already know my answer…

don’t PISS ME OFF.

Oh yeah, there were definitely moments in the book I was getting angry about.

Like the fact that this all white Legendborn group wanted to make it known that Bree was the first poc Page they’ve had, and it was something to be proud of (YUCK; y’all coulda been had poc people before her, please do not pat yourselves on the back).

Or the part where one of the other Pages insinuates that Bree is possibly being sexually active with Nick in order to get her spot in the Trials (umm, so a black girl can’t just be THAT GIRL and work hard, huh? We gotta sleep with people to get what we want?! PLEASE).

OR the part when Bree’s at the gala, and she realizes that all the wait staff are brown people (WHY AM I NOT SURPRISED?!)

ORRRR the other part at the gala when Nick claims Bree as his Squire, and all the white families in the room are wanting to verbally and physically rip Bree apart (y’all SO MAD a black girl won! In the voice of Jamie Foxx channeling Denzel Washington: “GET YOUR MF HANDS OFF ME!”)

ORRRRR (I’m almost done, don’t worry) WHEN LORD DAVIS SAYS STRAIGHT UP THAT BREE ISN’T WORTHY OF CAMLANN OR HIS SON (Nick) AFTER TELLING A STORY ABOUT A KNIGHT FROM AFRICA WHO WAS BRAVE BUT DIDN’T JOIN THE TABLE BECAUSE HE WASN’T WORTHY (IF LORD DAVIS DOESN’T GET ON, LIKE, BROTHER, BREE NOT EVEN RELATED TO THAT MAN!)

That last one ^ makes the reveal about Bree’s bloodline so worth it. Because that man probably knew about Bree, and he still wanted to play pretend. TUH!

Anyways…let me calm down…

Overall, I loved this book! It felt questionable at first, but now I really want to read the others in this series. It’s heartwarming to see a poc main character in a fantasy world, even if it is YA. I highly recommend that you read it if you haven’t!

Mishy 🦋☁️✨