Legacy by Cayla Kluver

Legacy (Legacy, #1)
Author:  Cayla Kluver
ISBN-13: 978-0373210343
Publication Date: June, 2011
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Book Length:  496 pages
Acquired by Me:  NetGalley

 

Description Courtesy of 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.”

 

My Thoughts:

I’m probably going to get beat up for writing this, but I have some very mixed feelings about this book. I loved it and hated it all at the same time. The whimsical side of me liked the fairy tale story; whereas, the practical side of me was screaming inside at the overabundant use of description. Seriously, every page was filled with description, and even more description. The walls, the floors, the outside, the inside, the clothes, the grass, the water, and on…and on…and on. I recognize that this may appeal to a lot of readers, but personally, I would prefer more dialogue to description. The structure of the story was fine and the characters were interesting, but the book could have gone up in my estimation if it had been more refined.

Okay, I got that off my chest….now here is my forgiving part. Cayla Kluver is a young writer…very young. So, I’ll not hang her out to the wind over this. I think she actually did well, considering her age. What the book tells me about her is that there is real promise and talent in her future works. I haven’t given up on the series – she did leave it with a great cliffhanger to keep me interested in seeing what happens next (kudos, great job on that part).

Of course, there is a love triangle and I need to see how that pans out, especially given the ending of Legacy (not going to give the spoiler out here). There are also some minor characters that are begging for further development – can’t wait to see where their stories end either.

I’m going to say that this is a good recommendation for young adult readers. Totally age appropriate at this point in the series and I don’t anticipate any change in that for the next two books:  Allegiance and Sacrifice.

 

 

The thoughts expressed in this post are solely based on my personal opinion and have not been influenced by any other entity or being. Use of my statements may not be reproduced without permission from me, the author of Fall In Love With Books.

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