Legacy (The Legacy Trilogy Book 1)

Full review (with footnote) on my blog: http://morsiereads.blogspot.com/2011/07/legacy-by-cayla-kluver.html

"I really have no choice," I said, confident he would acknowledge the difficulty of my circumstances.
"You always have a choice." (295)

17-year-old Alera is Crown Princess of Hytanica. Custom dictates that she marry on her eighteenth birthday, after which point her father will retire from his responsibilities as king. Alera will be queen, but her husband will be the true ruler of the kingdom. Alera's father has the perfect candidate lined up--Steldor, the conceited son of the Captain of the Guard--but Alera can't stand him. Alera wants to marry for love, but Steldor's the only person who seems to meet all of her father's show more qualifications.

Alera's biggest concern is avoiding her father's heavy-handed matchmaking, until an intruder is found on the castle grounds. With the unexpected reappearance of a Hytanican boy kidnapped by Cokyri sixteen years ago and presumed dead, Hytanica's unofficial and tentative truce with its mortal enemy is in doubt. No one knows what to make of Narian or where his loyalties lie, but Alera finds him strangely compelling.

Legacy is fantasy romance and first book in a trilogy. It's best that I share that information right off the bat because the novel ends cliffhanger-style.1 Also of interest is the fact that the author is only eighteen (she was fourteen when Legacy was first released as a self-published ebook, which means that she was writing the series as a tween). I suspect that much of the attention the book has gotten so far (and will continue to get) is due to the author's age, but I do like the idea of Harlequin TEEN publishing a book written by a teenager.

Regardless of the author's age, I wasn't expecting high, literary fiction from an imprint focused on romance for the teen audience. I can't say that Legacy gave me exactly what I expect from this type of novel because it exceeded my expectations. There's depth here that I didn't anticipate.

Alera is a sympathetic protagonist. She's a princess, but she's also dealing with normal teenage problems inherent becoming an adult while trying balance her desires against the high expectations of her parents. She makes incredibly stupid decisions because she doesn't always think through the consequences of her actions.

As for the other points of Alera's love triangle - Narian is enigmatic, the mysterious bad boy with a heart of gold, but there are things Alera doesn't know about his past that might their match disastrous. And, there's more to Steldor than meets the eye and his suit has support from unexpected corners.

Philosophical differences between the opposing countries add an interesting dimension to the series. Hytanican society is male-dominated, while Cokyri is matriarchal. By one account, a Hytanican's ambassador's disrespect toward Cokyri's female ruler 100 years ago is the reason that the two countries went to war in the first place.

There's also a strong theme of free will in Legacy. Alera isn't the only character struggling with duty and destiny. The struggles the characters face aren't limited to duty versus desire, but rather doing what is right whether it is expected of you or not.

Harlequin Teen doesn't seem to have set a release date for the second book in the trilogy, Allegiance, Kluver's website indicates that it will be 9-12 months after Legacy's June 28, 2011 release. show less

I have one major issue with this book - and that's that every single review mentions information about the author. I'm not going to mention that information here, because it clouded my initial impression of the story (in not a positive way). If you want to find the information I'm referring to, you can find it quite easily, but I'd encourage you to wait until you've finished reading Legacy.

Because Legacy, this book, was a good, solid fantasy read. While elements were YA (very clean language, good values), others were quite adult (world building, adult decisions). I was blown away by how easily I got into the story and, quite honestly, I read this in two solid sittings because I needed to know what was going to happen. I had no intention show more to read it in a day - but everything else took second place to this story.

Every teenage girl can find something to relate to in Alera. She's headstrong, but still dutiful, she wants to fall in love and get married to that love, but she understands putting herself behind her duty as a Princess and future Queen. She struggles with being "lessor" to the males in her kingdom and longs for something different when told how the other side (Cokyri) live. I loved the ups and downs of her struggles, admired her spine when it was needed, wished I had the presence of mind to make the decisions she had to make and just.. thoroughly enjoyed the character.

If you are a regular reader of my reviews you know I like strong female characters. Add Alera of Legacy to that list and I'm very much looking forward to reading the next book in the series. show less

From the cover, I thought this was going to be historical fiction of some sort, maybe like The Luxe. I was wrong, but this was definitely better. Fantasy is pretty much always acceptable. Legacy reminded me of maybe Tamora Pierce (without the women being epic warriors part) with a little bit of Diana Peterfreund, in the way that Kluver's completely willing to make her characters suffer. Everything that happens is not rosy and sunshiney. Be warned.

My only complaint about the book is that, for much of it, Alera mentions how forthright and outspoken she is, but then, whenever faced with her father or Lord Steldor, she proceeds to say a big nothing. Honey, you're not that outspoken, are you? She got into her stride in the middle of the show more book, a bit, but was still not what I, an outspoken girl, would consider particularly outspoken. To be fair, she does live in a society where women are property.

About that...I hate this country. I don't know that it would be such a bad thing if Cokyri took them over or if they merged. Their country is so patriarchal like whoa. Women have pretty much no rights; their husband can do anything he wants to them. Argh! I imagine this will change in the future books; goodness, I hope so!

Anyway, I just ate this up; it was so good and absorbing. Why do I not have both sequels RIGHT NOW. I want them so much! You cannot just leave me at that ending. Holy cliffhanger, Batman! show less

I really should have seen it coming. After reading for about 150 pages with the nagging thought of "Jeez, it's like a teenager wrote this"... Surprise! A teenager *did* write it!

Cayla Kluver evidently wrote Legacy when she was 14/15... and it shows. Don't get me wrong, she would have been a wildly talented and creative 14-year-old, but that doesn't mean we need to publish it. The world she creates is inconsistent and patchy, but its scale is large and there are certain plotpoints that aren't bad at all, even if the details and the characters fail.

Alera is the eldest princess of Hytanica, a deeply misogynistic land where the King only has two daughters, so obviously whoever marries Alera will be the next king. The time/setting appears show more to be kind of pseudo-Rennaissance era, where Christianity is the only religion and the monarchy presides over a relatively small country. Hytanica's other defining feature (besides the belief that women are weak and useless, I mean) is fear of its mysterious neighbor, Cokyri. Hytanica should have been demolished sixteen years prior in a war with Cokyri, but the enemy mysteriously withdrew from their advantage (after kidnapping and then leaving the corpses of nearly fifty Hytanican male babies at the gates the day they left). Only one child's body was never recovered -- so I think we can all guess what's coming with this little tidbit. Everyone seems to know this much about the war, but that's about the extent of Alera's knowledge (beyond wildly "feminine" things like embroidery, dancing, and household management). But that's all politics that Alera has obviously never been interested in before, or else she might know even a single fact about all that. Instead, Alera's biggest problem is that her eighteenth birthday is, traditionally, when the princess is supposed to marry and her only real option (or the only real option her father is gunning for) is Steldor, who resembles Gaston from Disney's Beauty and the Beast. After Alera blunders along for a while, doing things like turning in her best friend/trusted guard for knowing a wee bit too much about Cokyri than he lets on after a Cokyrian prisoner goes missing, we eventually get to the point where another Cokyrian named Narian is captured -- but no! It's actually the missing Hytanican child, son to nobles, who grew up to be Alera's romantic counterpart, though obviously he cannot be trusted and Dad's still pushing for Steldor and what's what you say? A war might begin unless Narian is returned to them because he's the key to a prophesy for bringing about the downfall of Hytanica? Mm-hmm.

Seriously, guys, I think the publishing world has only done Kluver a disservice by publishing this work. Legacy could have been something excellent had she spent a few more years living/revising. As I understand it, Legacy was originally self-published and now Harlequin Teen is picking it up, but apparently, they didn't want to waste money on an editor (or Kluver had enough pull to be able to reject every rational change). It feels like no work was done on this manuscript to help Kluver patch up the inconsistencies or guide her to add some depth to her characters -- even if she couldn't create characters that you don't want to punch in the face. Repeatedly. Alera is boring and rather slow on the uptake -- a painful example of a heroine that we're supposed to like just because we're told to, without any reasons. She's not very smart and she has no hobbies, wit, sparkle, or emotional depth. She makes poor decisions, going along with whatever others propose, and seems to have lived her entire life without an ounce of curiosity -- prior to now (else how can we explain her total lack of knowledge of her own country's history or its conflict with Cokyri?). Steldor comes off as self-absorbed and cruel, but Kluver wants you to think he's more than that, and so she tosses in enough contradictory behavior (which only succeeds in making him look bi-polar). Though I will say that while the ending of the novel moved in obvious directions, for Steldor and Alera, I didn't expect Kluver to let things go so far. Narian's appeal rests in his mystery, which is relatively maintained by his mostly mute state. The only semi-likeable character in the entire book is London, Alera's bodyguard who was once a prisoner of the Cokyrians -- and I think I only liked him because he seemed like a bit of an ass, but a slightly likable ass with honor and a brain (aka the only character in the book that seemed to possess an ounce of intelligence). At first, one wonders if Alera is supposed to fall for him, as he's not *so* very much older and Kluver has difficulty in differentiating the affection one feels for a romantic interest versus a father-figure, but no, we're just supposed to question his motives and then all-too-conveniently bring him back when his expertise is needed. The most annoying figure of all, however, is a young bodyguard whose behavior would easily have earned him a beheading after one or two scenes, and yet he was peristently judged a decent figure to protect the princess. Personally, I would have been delighted if London killed them all in a post-traumatic-stress fit.

I know this might seem harsh, but I'm really disappointed in the general group of adults who didn't do enough to help Kluver develop this manuscript more and instead pushed it out in this state, as there's the potential for semi-decent fantasy/romance YA in all this mess, but it's just not ready. There's a lot of description of clothing that's supposed to pass as interesting detail, so it's not like Kluver didn't try where she could, but this is a highly disappointing novel and I can't even hope that Kluver will get better, as attention like this to work at such a young age could only stunt her growth by suggesting she doesn't need to work harder at her craft. Readers, if all you're looking for is to be impressed by a 14-year-old's writing, then go ahead and check out Legacy (or get a job as a high school English teacher and hunt down the nerds who scribble in their notebooks all day), but if you're looking for good historical YA, treat Legacy like the scene of a terrible accident. Keep moving along, folks, there's nothing to see here.

Please note that I received an advanced egalley of this novel courtesy of NetGalley for the purpose of review. show less

Cayla Kluver has crafted a wonderful story with “Legacy”.

“Legacy” tells the story of Princess Alera of Hytanica. Upon her seventeenth birthday, Alera is to find a suitable husband (as she is expected to marry by her eighteenth birthday), one that her father will approve of as King. The problem is that her father insists upon Steldor, Alera does not share her fathers opinion of Steldor. But she isn’t to marry based on affection, she is to marry a suitable King.

When a Cokyrian arrives at the palace, brought as a prisoner by London, Alera finds herself drawn to the boy. He’s only a child, sixteen years old, but he doesn’t seem it. When Alera and her sister, Miranna, decided to sneak off with their friend to get a better look show more at the boy, they are shocked to learn his true identity.

While her father gives Steldor permission to court her, Alera finds herself wanting to know more about the mysterious boy. But his arrival back into Hytanica brings more than questions, it could bring the fall of Hytanica.

While I’m not a huge fan of the ending (although I understand why the author ended it the way she did), I’m eager to read the next book.

“Legacy” is a book that would transition well to film. The descriptions, the characters, the author has done a terrific job of bringing everything to life for readers. show less

Legacy è uno di quei fantasy cosiddetti “classici”. Senza draghi, vampiri e lupi mannari ci affascina e ci narra la “vita” di principesse e principi in un epoca diversa e un regno “lontano”.

Innegabilmente diretto a un pubblico piuttosto giovane (diciamo fino ai 15 anni), Legacy è, però, un fantasy piuttosto piacevole anche per un pubblico più adulto. Purché consapevole di “cosa” intenda leggere e soprattutto che non si avvicini alla lettura con grandi pretese. Data la grande pubblicità, soprattutto per il web, verrebbe da pensare di aver di fronte un nuovo caso letterario, invece no. E’ un libro carino, tiepido e dall’atmosfera “favoleggiante”. Abbiamo una principessa, un matrimonio combinato, un show more “prescelto” spocchioso e insopportabile e “l’altro” . Sì, perché Alera dovrebbe proprio sposare Steldor; suo pradre sembra aver deciso pur lasciandole l’illusione di una scelta. Lei non l’ama, non lo ritiene un buon erede al trono e prende tempo fra un un pasticcio e l’altro che, assieme alla sorella, la porteranno ad imbattersi nel misterioso e sicuro Narian, tornato in patria dopo essere stato rapito in fasce dal popolo dei Cokyri.

Potrebbe sembrare la classica favola sull’amore “plebeo” della principessa che, sdegnando il principe di turno, finisce per unirsi in matrimonio con il plebeo. Quasi, ma non del tutto. A metà libro avevo dato già per scontato il finale, demoralizzandomi un po’. Invece l’autrice mi ha sorpresa! Non c’è un finale “positivo” per Alera, non c’è “fuga” dalle responsabilità, né una scappatoia facile.

C’è una principessa che, nonostante i picchi di ingenuità (reduci soprattutto dalla giovane età dell’autrice, presumo), alla fine si sobbrarca i propri oneri e non lio scarica sulle spalle del primo venuto pur di “coronare il suo sogno” . Questo mi piace, è un tocco di amara realtà, di maturità. Molto probabilmente con i prossimi libri, il risultato, sarà comunque un amore fra Alera e Narian, non lo escludo ma credo che sarà piacevole leggere come si evolverà questa trilogia.

L’autrice scrivere bene ed ha un bello stile tranquillo e un po’ ingenuo. Francamente mi aspettavo di peggio, visto altri “colleghi”. Probabilmente la trama pecca, in alcuni punti, di ingenuità però si regge in piedi e non crolla sullo scetticismo assoluto del lettore che, nonostante in più punti si ritrova a sorridere indulgente, è comunque persuaso a continuare la lettura.

La parte grafica è assolutamente curata! Una delle cose che, l’ammetto, mi ha colpita enormemente è stata proprio la parte “fisica” del libro. La casa editrice ha curato l’editing (anche se in alcuni punti, ammettiamolo, avrebbe potuto fare di meglio! Ci sono alcune frasi che proprio non tornano in italiano) e ha creato un effetto “libro antico” frastagliando leggermente le pagine del romanzo e pubblicando un prodotto finito davvero convincente. Complimenti alla Sperling & Kupfer.

Riassumendo un bel libro, una lettura tranquilla e senza troppe pretese che, però, ci accompagna alla fine riuscendo comunque a mantenere viva la curiosità. show less

The book starts with Alera’s seventeenth birthday, at which time she has only one year in which to choose a suitor to wed. Her father’s choice is Steldor, an arrogant young man with an outstanding military background, one that Alera finds hard to match in another suitor. The pressure of choosing a suitor increases when a Cockyrian is caught infiltrating the palace and an impending war looms before the Hytanicans.

Reading Legacy, I appreciate my life. I don’t have to worry about offending the wrong people, my dad can’t threaten to use the law against me (because he isn’t the law), and I don’t have to marry for the good of the people. That would be a big burden, and it’s understandable why Alera becomes rebellious.

Alera is a show more wonderful character. She’s stubborn and independent, but she knows when to back off. I really hated to see her give in to her father’s demands, to see her allow Steldor to court her. At the same time, I have to appreciate her respect for social conventions even if she pushes it at other times because I can see how hard it is for her to do so. Because she realizes that as crown princess, her decisions affect other lives.

Not to say that she isn’t the perfect princess. She meets Narian even when her most trusted bodyguard London warns her that he can’t be trusted. That she can’t grow attached to him when she must marry another. Alera also makes questionable decisions at times, such as risking her image and honor when sneaking out of the palace with Narian.

At first, I really did hate Steldor. He appears cocky and indifferent to everyone but for himself, and he is cocky. But his lack of indifference soon becomes apparent. There’s one person he isn’t sure about: Alera. Towards the end of the novel, I grew fond of Steldor and began hoping that Alera would give him a chance.

As for Narian, He’s an enigma. Having been raised by Cockyrians, Narian respects women, and he treats Alera as an equal. It’s only natural for her to be flattered and want to grow closer to Narian. However, it is apparent that Narian has his secrets. I honestly don’t know where the story’s going, making me anticipate Allegiance, the next installment in this series.

I recommend Legacy to those who love medieval legends mixed with some fantasy elements and spiced with forbidden love. show less