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As a fan of King Arthur stories, I’ve been fascinated by Tracy Deonn’s updating of the legend, mixing in Black history and Southern folk traditions. I hopped right on Legendborn soon after it came out in 2020, so I had to wait a while (two years) for the second book, Bloodmarked. And then I had to wait even longer for the third, Oathbound.
(I also, wrongly, thought this would be the conclusion to the series. It is a hefty book, at 656 pages, and it took me a solid 6 days to read. It was slow going at the beginning (even taking advantage of Amazon’s “recap” feature, which is useful but not nearly sufficient) because I could barely remember anything from Bloodmarked.
In this installment, Bree Matthews has cut herself off from her ancestral ties and left the Legendborn Order. Her ancestry has gifted her “rootcrafter” magic from one line and the inheritance of being King Arthur’s “Scion” from another.
She has been through quite a lot in just a few months, and Bree is trying to protect those she loves. So that means she has decided to make a bargain with the Shadow King, an ancient demon who can take on the body of humans he’s killed. The powers within her feel overwhelming and unmanageable, so she has submitted herself to the Shadow King for training—and unwittingly bound herself to do his bidding.
Meanwhile, her friends, both other Scions from the Legendborn Order and fellow Rootcrafters, are looking for her and trying to figure out what to do in her absence.
Oathbound goes among a few points of view, following Bree’s training and what’s going on with the Scions and ’Crafters. A lot is happening, indeed. The stakes are high; the odds seem impossible; it’s almost nonstop action (even more than previously!). And I had no idea what would come next at every part of the story.
Tracy Deonn has really crafted a fascinating book and series. If you enjoy Arthurian legend, adventure, and/or fantasy, with plenty of action and peril, you’ll appreciate the Legendborn series.
Rated: High. Profanity includes 10 uses of strong language, 40 instances of moderate profanity, about 55 uses of mild language, and about 15 instances of the name of Deity in vain. Sexual content includes a few scenes of intense kissing and two scenes where characters stop short after kissing and roaming hands, etc. Violence is frequent and sometimes moderately bloody/gory; the book is intense full of danger. It’s young adult, but definitely for older readers.
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