Legendborn
#544.28 of 664 ranked universes · full ranking
Books 3 books Status Complete 2020–2025 Reading commitment Medium Tracy Deonn Last reviewed 2026-08-13
Overview
A contemporary young-adult fantasy reimagining Arthurian legend: sixteen-year-old Bree Matthews, grieving her mother's death, uncovers a secret society at UNC Chapel Hill descended from King Arthur's knights, who use old-world magic to fight off resurgent demons called Shadowborn. Bree's investigation into her mother's death entangles her with the order's Merlins, Legendborn scions, and her own hidden Rootcraft magic, drawn from her family's African American ancestry rather than the order's Arthurian one.
Urban fantasy, Mythic fantasy · For YA
Core Canon: Reading Order (3 works) counts toward ranking
The Legendborn Cycle Tracy Deonn
| Work | Year | Internal chron. | Canon | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Legendborn | 2020 | 1 | core | 4.29 (202,183 ratings) |
 | Bloodmarked | 2022 | 2 | core | 4.28 (93,307 ratings) |
 | Oathbound | 2025 | 3 | core | 4.22 (33,526 ratings) |
A contemporary Arthurian-legend reimagining following a Black teenager who discovers a secret society of modern-day 'Legendborn' descended from King Arthur's knights. A speculative untitled 4th-book placeholder appears on the book's rating-platform series page (no real title or date, 'TBA') -- per Article 2, not registered; this trilogy is treated as complete per its own publisher's 3-book boxed-set marketing.
Quick answers
- How many books are in Legendborn? Legendborn's Core Canon is 3 books.
- What is the reading order for Legendborn? Publication order, starting with Legendborn. Full list and years in the Core Canon table above.
- Is Legendborn finished? Complete (2020–2025).
- How much reading does Legendborn take? Medium reading commitment (estimated from 3 Core Canon books).
- How is Legendborn ranked? #54 of 664 ranked universes on this site, based on 329,016 reader ratings across 3 Core Canon books. See the full ranking for how this is calculated.
Why is it ranked #54?
Ranked #54 of 664 ranked universes.
- Average reader rating of 4.28 across 3 core books.
- Backed by 329k reader ratings.
- Remarkably consistent across the whole series: all 3 rated core books rate within 0.07 of each other.
- Less than 0.01 behind #53, The Master and Margarita (a finer tie-break level decides the order).
- Below the top-10 average of 4.45.
Why explore this universe?
Top-tier rated · 3 books · Complete · 329k ratings · Ranks #54 overall
Good choice if you want a moderate-length urban fantasy universe that's already finished, so there's no wait for the next book.
Reading order
Publication order (3 Core Canon books)
- Legendborn (2020)
- Bloodmarked (2022)
- Oathbound (2025)
Documented internal/story chronology is recorded for every Core Canon book here, and matches publication order exactly, with no divergence to show separately.
Awards (verified)
- Coretta Scott King - John Steptoe Award for New Talent (New Talent), 2021: won: Legendborn; Confirmed directly via ALA's own 2021 press release: "Tracy Deonn, author of 'Legendborn' is the Coretta Scott King/John Steptoe Award for New Talent winner."
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Official resources
Research details
Ranking metrics: weighted average 4.28 across 329,016 ratings on 3 Core Canon books. See Why is it ranked here? above for the full breakdown, or the full ranking.
How do we know this?
Admission: Legendborn admitted; Core Canon = the completed 3-book trilogy accepted 2026-08-13
Sources: (see source tier definitions)
- Wikipedia: Legendborn Tier 2
Last reviewed: 2026-08-13
Rule: Core Canon = all 3 novels of the completed trilogy: Legendborn (2020), Bloodmarked (2022), Oathbound (2025). A speculative untitled 4th-book placeholder appears on the series' rating-platform page with no real title or date (“TBA”); per Article 2, this is not registered as a Core or Expanded work.