Legacy by Cayla KluverGoodreads description:
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.
My Thoughts...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.
When I received this eARC, I was VERY excited to read the book. It sounds like such a captivating read--historical fantasy fiction filled with romance and political intrigue. Sign me up! My overall thoughts were that this was a worthwhile read but it definitely could use a little polishing.
Cayla presents us with a heroine, Alera, who know her duties as the Crowned Princess of Hytanica--attend parties, learn good manners, and find a suitable husband to become the King. This last one is proving a bit of a struggle for Alera, for her father has basically chosen the next King despite Alera's disappointment with the match. Then Narian comes into the story. An intriguing captive from Hytanica's bitter enemy...who turns out to be so much more.
The character development in Legacy was the best part for me. Alera really struggles with the decisions that she makes and she develops throughout the story from someone who blindly accepts her destiny to someone who questions authority and, in the end, makes difficult decisions. Narian was a very intriguing character and I thought that Cayla did a fabulous job slowing uncovering bits and pieces of him to the reader while still leaving you guessing about the "real" Narian. My favorite character really throughout, however, was London, Alera's bodyguard (at the beginning) and friend. London strikes me as a very complex character that we still have so much more to learn about. That boy definitely has secrets!
The only complaint that I really had about this book was that the pacing was a tad slow for me. I felt like occasionally the story got bogged down in excessive details regarding the setting of each scene and the sharing of background information that didn't seem to have a purpose in the story. I felt that the story could have moved along a bit quicker without getting bogged down in such details as each thing that they ate and what they wore and the items in each room.
Overall, I did enjoy the story that Cayla Kluver has started here and I won't hesitate to pick up the second book when it comes out. I must commend her on writing such an imaginative story at such a young age (as this story was first penned when the author was, I believe, 14/15). There is a lot of promise in the story and I can only hope that books two and three move along a bit more quickly than this one.
**Disclaimer: Book recieved from Harlequin Teen/NetGalley for my honest review.**
4 comments:
Oooh such a pretty cover!
I loved London. And I really think that now that she has an editor and is older the second book is going to be leagues better. I'm so curious to see what happens.
Oooh such a pretty cover!
I just picked this book up from the library and I am excited to read it. I love a story with good character development so that is good. I hope that I get through it though since you said it moves a little slow sometimes I have a hard time finishing books like that. Thanks for the great review.
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