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I received a copy of this book via NetGalley (thank you Simon & Schuster Canada). All thoughts and opinions are my own.

�� Writing
✅�� Main character
🆗 Plot
🆗�� World-building (complex hierarchy)
�� Info-dump

DNF at 29%

I know that this is a very unpopular opinion as I saw and read so many 4 stars and 5 stars reviews. I wanted to like this book so much, but I just could not get into the story. This book has great potential and I understand why it is so popular, but sadly it was not for me.

The basic storyline of the book is quite easy to follow, but the Legendborn world? Not that easy��
Bree’s mother died three months ago. Now, Bree just left her home to start fresh at the University of North Carolina. There, she sees magic and realizes that it is in fact the second time that someone used magic to erase her memory (but it did not work, and no one can explain why). The first time was the night her mother died. Determined to find out what really happened to her mother, Bree decides to try to join the Legendborns, a secret group dedicated to eliminating the Shadowborns (demons) with their magic (called aether), so she can find out what happened the night her mother died.

Bree got used to the fact that demons can access her world through gates fast and easily. She also learned specific vocabulary quickly. Honestly, I got lost during the explications a few times, there seemed to be so many different factions to the Legendborn (or should I say different Chapters with a very strict hierarchy: Legendborn, Vassals, Page, Scion, chosen squire, Mage, etc.). I could not get a clear picture of this secret organization. The members talk about ‘’The Code of Secrecy’�� or ‘’The Order Law’��, but do not give any more details about it. I do not mind a complex magic system and the one in this book is actually really interesting, but there were whole pages of info-dumping.

It has a Mortal Instrument vibe, but in this book, the Legendborns need to worry about their everyday life. They are not invisible beings that spend their whole days killing demons. They need to go to school and keep up the appearance of normal life at any cost. I liked this part, it made everything much more relatable. What bothered me was how well Bree adapts to her new reality, she even says how she has an advantage over the other Pages because she saw someone use aether before and she saw demons twice before entering the secret society. It feels as if everything falls right into place for her. She is a 16 years old teenager and she managed to infiltrate the Legendborn society even though she knows nothing about them, more than that, people just tell her inside information because she asks them. She manages to fight a demon when almost everyone else gets injured�� I like that she is fierce, but it didn’t feel right how everything was going so well for her after 72 hours of being thrust into this new world.

Bree is a great main character; she has spunk and is not afraid to speak her mind. It is also nice that she is a black character, I have (sadly) not read a lot of books with a black main character and it was nice to discover this story with a slightly different perspective than what I am used to. It was interesting to discover her inner thoughts and to see how she deals with racist comments and assumptions or how her perspective is affected by the history of segregation in the United States. Nick is the golden boy sidekick who lives near the campus and decides to help Bree even though he rejected his Legendborn legacy many years ago. He is a nice character, but nothing special. Then there is Selwyn, he is intriguing, and I think that I would have liked him.

Overall, I know that this is a great book for many people, but it was not one for me. It was hard for me to get into this story because of all the info-dumping. I must mention though that the writing is gorgeous, and I really enjoyed the author's style.


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