Lion’s Legacy

• Author: L.C. Rosen
• Genre: YA Fantasy
• Publication Date: May 2, 2023
• Publisher: Union Square & Co.
• Series: Tennessee Russo #1

Thank you to Union Square & Co. and Jenny Lu for sending me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

CONTENT WARNING: mention of underage drinking, parental abandonment, mention of homophobia, homophobic slur mentioned, violence, blood, death

Seventeen-year-old Tennessee Russo’s life is imploding. His boyfriend has been cheating on him, and all his friends know about it. Worse, they expect him to just accept his ex’s new relationship and make nice. So when his father, a famous archaeologist and reality show celebrity whom he hasn’t seen in two years, shows up unexpectedly and offers to take him on an adventure, Tennessee only has a few choices:

1. Stay, mope, regret it forever.
2. Go, try to reconcile with Dad, become his sidekick again.
3. Go, but make it his adventure, and Dad will be the sidekick.

The object of his father’s latest quest, the Rings of the Sacred Band of Thebes, is too enticing to say no to. Finding artifacts related to the troop of ancient Greek soldiers, composed of one-hundred-and-fifty gay couples, means navigating ruins, deciphering ancient mysteries, and maybe meeting a cute boy.

But will his dad let Tennessee do the right thing with the rings if they find them? And what is the right thing? Who does queer history belong to?

Against the backdrop of a sunlit Greek landscape, author L.C. Rosen masterfully weaves together adventure, romance, and magic in a celebration of the power of claiming your queer legacy.

How could I possibly turn down a book that’s basically a young, gay Indiana Jones? Obviously, I could not, and I was thrilled to get a copy of this one. Actually, I hadn’t even heard anything about it before it was offered to me, so it was especially fortuitous.

The book starts out with an action scene, which got me hooked right away. I loved the way Rosen gives little bits and pieces of information naturally as they come up, not just in the world-building, but also regarding Tennessee and his situation. It gave me time to adjust to the world and bond with Tennessee before being thrown a bunch of issues to empathize with. Tennessee is one of those characters who is really easy to like, throughout the book. He’s struggling with some things, and he’s emotional, but he is also rational and level-headed for the majority of the time.

Naturally, since this is a book about finding queer artifacts, there’s plenty of queer representation throughout the story. Tennessee is gay and the book talks about his coming out experience, feeling connected to other queer people, feedback that he gets from others as a semi-celebrity who is openly gay, and his dating troubles. Basically all of his friends are gay, and someone on the dig is bisexual. There’s also wonderful Jewish representation throughout the story.

There’s a bigger theme throughout the book, and that’s erasure of queer people throughout history. I loved how involved Tennessee was with learning about the history of the queer community, and sharing it with others on a wide scale. He’s got a strong moral compass, and it was so intriguing watching him face challenges but still finding ways to work around them because it was important to him. 

This is a fantastic book, full of fun adventures and action, but it also talks about important issues, such as queer erasure throughout history and into the present, homophobia and how queer people are accepted in different places, and resolving family issues. There were some surprising plot twists, and I really enjoyed it. 

People who have sat around with me while I’m reading, especially when there’s a surprising reveal, a shocking plot twist, or an unexpected event often look up in alarm when I gasp audibly. The gasp factor is directly related to the number of times I audibly gasp during a reading, and there isn’t an upper limit.

Gasp Factor: 7