Book Review: The Legacy (The Legacy Trilogy, Book #1) by Melissa Delport

Title:  The Legacy

Book Series:  The Legacy Trilogy, Book 1

Author:  Melissa Delport

Genre:  Speculative Fiction

Format:  Paperback, 366 pages

One man obsessed with power.

One woman prepared to sacrifice everything to stop him.

One war that changed the world. 

“World War Three lasted twelve days. Twelve days was all it took for mankind to devastate the planet and almost eradicate the human race. No victor emerged from the ashes and billions lost their lives.

We survivors lived through the bleakest of winters. A primal existence became the new order, and the little that remained of our humanity hung in the balance.

Then one man stood up and changed the world. I believed, as did everyone else, that he was the hero of our time, the man who had saved us from our own demise. His name is Eric Dane and he is the President of the New United States of America.

He is also my husband, and my greatest enemy.

I grew up oblivious to the truth, until my father found me when I was nineteen years old. He told me about the many horrifying facts that our new leader kept hidden from us. And he told me that beyond the borders the Resistance grew and fought for freedom from the oppression that Eric Dane had imposed on us.

My name is Rebecca Davis. I am twenty-six years old, and in me the Resistance has found the ultimate weapon.”

A narrative of good and evil, love and passion, right and wrong – and at the centre of the story a strong woman who is prepared to sacrifice everything for the cause she believes in.

The Legacy is an action-packed, adrenalin-inducing thrill ride which will leave you riveted long after you have turned the last page.

My Ranking:

FIRST IMPRESSION:: I've never been a fan of prologues. As a young reader, I would skip them altogether. They just lacked oomph and read too dry. This one, however, was exactly what was wanted in all the encounters before. It provided the background information in a way that pulled me into the story -- it made it interesting. I wanted to know what happens next, which I suppose is the point. Also, I appreciated that this prologue setup the situation of this dystopian world. I’ve encountered far too many books that lack a good explanation of how the dystopian world came to be.

THE STORY:: I love that so much of the history of this dystopian world, The New United States, was shared in this book, the first in the trilogy. Too many other dystopian series allow you to travel blindly through he story only giving you the necessary bits and pieces that are integral to understanding specific plot points and not the world at large. It made me really excited to see what challenges would lay ahead for Rebecca , knowing what she was facing.

I thought Rebecca was a fantastic lead character. I loved how strong she was and her fearlessness. Shortly after learning the truth of her world and how she lived in ignorance, she dedicated her whole life to giving the innocent people a fighting chance whose lives and dreams were being crushed under the thumb of the NUSA and its cruel leader, Eric Dane. But what was even more admirable were the decisions she made to arm herself with the tools to have the highest rate of success... but that's all I'll say to avoid spoiling anything.

Oh, Eric, Eric, Eric ... he was mean, he was cruel, and I gobbled it all up! I don't know what it says about me, but I love books with cold and calculating but also charming and charismatic villains. And Eric was all of that and more. I loved how is brain never seemed to shut down; he was always assessing. I also like how he was always on the edge of sanity. Under his calm demeanor, his anger and rage was bolding like molten lava. I was always thinking, is he going to blow? It made for a more engaging read. All that said, he wasn't a one-dimensional character. It was really interesting to see Rebecca and Eric's interactions. You could tell that there was genuine love on his part, but that his nature didn't allow him to fully trust her. The tension was always there and I loved it!

But these weren't the only characters who played a major role in the plot. All the supporting characters did there parts to move things along, but also added in there personalities, strengths and flaws to make the story all the more interesting. I found myself smiling, laughing and rolling my eyes all the way though.

Overall, I really loved this book. I found the genetic modification aspect really fascinating and loved how it made the action scenes all the more interesting. And, oh my god that ending!!! Cliffhangers usually bug me, but not this one. It... was... awesome. I most definitely will be continuing on to the next book in the series.

FINAL THOUGHTS:: There was only one thing that bugged me about this book. Whenever hair color was mentioned, 95% of the time they were blond. That's really nit-picky comment, I know, because otherwise — total page turner.

RECOMMENDED FOR:: Those who love dystopian novels packed with a lot of action, excellent world-building and sexy, evil villains. 

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