Saturday Review: “Between Legacy and Liberation” a review by Abby Trzepacz of Tracy Deonn’s Oathbound (2025) in NCLR Online Spring 2026
Continuing her tradition of finding pleasure in North Carolina’s magical literature, and after reviewing the previous book in this series (in NCLR Online Fall 2025), Abby Trzepacz reviews Tracy Deonn’s latest novel, Oathbound. She calls it “…a masterfully crafted YA contemporary fantasy that pushes its characters, mythology, and emotional stakes to a new level within the series.”
The novel follows the series’ protagonist Bree, as she tackles internal battles about her destiny, heritage, and identity while dealing with external threats like demons and desire, all set in the quiet cold of North Carolina’s Appalachian Mountains. “Deonn,” Trzepacz writes, “uses Bree’s internal and external conflicts to highlight the cost of being chosen, especially for a young woman who never asked to be.”
“The Legendborn Cycle has never been simply a magical adventure; from the very start, Deonn has woven together fantasy, Arthurian legend, Southern history, trauma, memory, and identity into a complex tapestry.” writes Trzepacz, who then ends her review with, “Oathbound stands as a significant achievement in contemporary fantasy. By blending mythology and real-world issues, Deonn crafts a narrative that’s both epic and intimate.”
Read the entire review here and buy a copy of Oathbound from the publisher or from your local independent bookstore.
