Thursday, January 19, 2012

Book Review: Legacy



Legacy

by Cayla Kluver
Series: Legacy #1
Release date: 28th June, 2011
Publisher: HarlequinTeen
Pages: 488 (Paperback copy bought by me and ARC thanks to NetGalley in exchange of an honest review)
Next Book: Allegiance (Legacy #2)

Summary from Goodreads:

I noticed his eyes. They were blue, sharp and intense. Despite the youthful glows of his suntanned face, his eyes were cold and unfriendly, suggesting he had great experience in the world and was now expecting the worst.
In her seventeenth year, Princess Alera of Hytanica faces one duty: to marry the man who will be king. But her father's choice of suitor fills her with despair.

When the palace guard captures and intruder—a boy her age with steel-blue eyes, hailing from her kingdom's greatest enemy—Alera is alarmed…and intrigued. But she could not have guessed that their clandestine meetings would unveil the dark legacy shadowing both their lands.

In this mystical world of court conspiracies and blood magic, loyalties will be tested. Courage won't be enough. And as the battle begins for everything Alera holds dear, love may be the downfall of a kingdom.

Review By Alaiel Kreuz:

Princess Alera of Hytanica and her younger sister, Miranna, had a rather peaceful and easy life. Their parents had to endure the cruelty of a war against the Cokyrians and suffered the lost of the rightful heir to the throne which caused Alera's father to become King.
The Cokyrians never won but they stole the smiles of 49 Hytanican houses for they took with them one newborn from each. After a while the corpses of the infants were found at the city gates... Except that there was a boy who was never found and, after the days continue to pass, it became obvious that the child could only be dead.

Time passed and peaceful times fell upon Hytanica. But there was a new matter at hand: Alera, soon to be Queen, had to marry a young man to be her King. Why was this so important? Hytanica was a patriarchal place and no woman could rule for it was the job of a man.
And the suitor her Father had chose was not the one she thought would make her happy...

Steldor, for that was his name, was the son of Cannan, the man who ruled the soldiers. And Steldor was nothing bur pompous and arrogant. Always flirting, always mocking, he knew he was good looking and took advantage of it. The only prey that never fell for his looks was Alera and that only made Steldor more eager to get her.

But the peaceful times were shaken when a Cokyrian woman was arrested inside the Palace by Alera's bodyguard, London (who was also some sort of father for her and best friend). And after the Cokyrian woman escaped a boy, one year younger than Alera, was also arrested.

And this boy was the one who charmed Alera, the one who made her heart beat faster... But he was Cokyrian. Somehow, she was trapped between her desires and her loyalty.

Personal opinion:
I fear my review is going to be full of contradictions for I liked and disliked the book equally. But I'll explain why and what.

I liked the world Cayla created for this book for it was very described and built. But at the same time I found myself skipping paragraphes and maybe a few pages full of details about the festivities, rooms or moods. And I usually read every description but I fear that I was to eager to know what was going to happen next, what was a character going to say or do to bother with so much detail about decorations.
Saying that I know a lot of people who enjoy this fully and well developed descriptions and it would help them to picture Hytanica in its full glory.

The fact that the story is telled by Alera is at the same time good and not so good. I enjoyed being inside her head, the questions she always had, her desire to understand and to participate made me like her a lot. But at the same time, since she is a girl in a world ruled by men she is almost always, left aside and oblivious of plots and dangers. I felt so frustrated when she was only pacing back and forth in her room!
So, as you can see, this can be good and bad at the same time: you will like her but you will feel as trapped as she does.

The patriarchal society of Hytanica is a thing that I can say I hate but understand so no problems with that. This is one of the things that Alera struggles too and it helped me to create a bond with her.

As for the love triangle all I can say is that I didn't like Steldor too much but I don't hate him either... it's difficult to have an opinion about him since sometimes he can be nice but most of the time he is so... so... well, so Steldor which means arrogant and petulant.
And Narian, who is the one I'm rooting for, is the only character I never fully met. I mean, yes, he is in the book but her appears a few times (it's a good thing almost all of them are worthy) and never really develops a relationship per se with Alera.

So, will I continue with the series and read Allegiance? Yes, I'm going to. Why? Because this story has a lot of potential and I want to see it blossom.

Alaiel's Rating:


If you really like it, you can find it here:

3 comments:

  1. Great review. I absolutely LOVED this book which came as a big surprise to me. I really hated Steldor. Really hated him. But Narian was awesome - wanted more of him!

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  2. I know what you mean about having a female POV in a world of men. It means the reader has to wait for the heroine to find things out. And that can be so incredibly frustrating. Great review!

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  3. I loved your review! I think this is a book that I will eventually get round to because it does make me curious.

    It's always good to read such a well thought out review.

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