sorry, this just wasn't for me. DNF

Review originally posted on My Urban Fantasies

Katy Jessevar no longer fits in her father's new life. Her proof? Katy is being sent to a boarding school, Ainsworth Preparatory School, 1,500 miles away from where her father and his girlfriend live. I don't know about you, but in my opinion that's a major clue. Katy also has trouble fitting into her new life. Finding out she's a witch and living in a town full of witches is the easy part. Katy has always been able to move objects with her mind, now she knows it's because she's a witch and it's one of her powers. Unfortunately dealing with her abandonment issues, having the entire school hate her and most of the town simply because Katy is an Ainsworth, on her mother's side, and facing mysterious dark forces is altogether a different matter.

I really enjoyed reading Legacy. I love YA books that show adults, especially parents, as real people with a multitude of sins. The world that was built feels very real, nothing was sugarcoated. Molly Cochran showed that the world, despite its many wonders, can be a cruel place. Parents are real people and perfection is beyond them just as it's beyond all of us. Perception also plays a very important part in Legacy. Nothing is as it seems especially when looking into Katy's past.

The witch aspect of Legacy is fantastic. It's historical, but with a slight twist and, of course, a splash of magic. The witches powers are not overdone. They do not need a piece of wood with a phoenix feather shoved in the middle to use their powers. While there are wands in Legacy, they can do nothing on their own. The only thing a wand can do is focus a witch's intention, which is what creates magic in the first place. Katy's wand is just a simple piece of rowan wood. It's made of rowan because Katy's birthday occurs in August, the Druidic month represented by the rowan tree.

While I thoroughly enjoyed reading Legacy I do have a couple of complaints. While there are some slow spots, my biggest complaint is that there are these moments in the story when it jumps to the most extreme outcome. There's no build up, it goes from a four to a ten in one sentence and you are left with a WTF moment. If it's later explained why a particular character's reaction was so extreme, it's done in an obtuse way.

All and all Legacy is a great book. Katy is an appealing character with an amazing sense of strength. ( )

Review Courtesy of Dark Faerie Tales

Quick and Dirty: Legacy had surprising depth and character development that kept me interested until the end.

Opening Sentence: I was sixteen years old when I discovered exactly who—and what—I was.

The Review:

The novel starts with Katy arriving at her new boarding school after being uprooted from everything she knew after her dad gets married. If that isn’t troubling enough, she finds out that her mother’s family, who founded her new school, already has a reputation that she knows nothing about. Immediately I was interested in finding out just what happened to make the people of Whitfield so mistrusting of Katy. The reader finds out information about her family and past when Katy does, who grew up knowing almost nothing about her mother and existing family members. By revealing information to both the reader and the protagonist at the same time, the reader can then compare their own reaction with Katy’s, and have a deeper understanding of Katy, and the book itself.

The world of Whitfield is filled with strange rules that everyone except Katy seems to know. She notices a distinct group of students who stand out from the others because of their confidence and connection to each other. This is only the beginning of the secrets that Katy uncovers about the small Massachusetts town where everything is not always as it seems. Katy doesn’t feel any particular connection to anyone until she meets Peter Shaw. For a reason unknown to her, Peter hates her on sight. Katy can’t help but notice how attractive he is, and the author does well to not overdo his looks and creates a believable character. Katy doesn’t understand how he, and all the other students, could seem so likable to each other, but ignore her as if she has done something to deserve how she is treated. We get some foreshadowing that it may have to do with her long dead mother, but do not find out completely until later in the novel.

As the novel advances, Katy learns to accept the odd things that she encounters, and also learns more about herself. I think that is one of the things I really loved about this novel was how real the characters felt. Each one has depth that we may not readily see, and it enriches the story as the characters evolve and form relationships. I don’t want to give away too much because I think readers will benefit from finding out the secrets of Whitfield and the Ainsworth family on their own.

Time progresses, and Katy starts to feel more at home in Whitfield, but as any reader knows, tranquility does not lead to a great story. Dark forces, as ominous as that sounds, are at work, and Katy wants to find the source so she can help eradicate it. She uses her newly honed skills to look to the past to find answers that may help in the present. Katy is still considered an outsider, so she has to work hard to prove to her community that she can, and will, help them.

I have read some other reviews for Legacy, and the results are very mixed. I really did enjoy this novel, and not all of the claims that people are making about Legacy hold true with me. Some complain about the pacing, but I feel that we are living along side Katy. When something important happens, she describes it, but when time just passes in an ordinary fashion, there really is not much to say about it. Yes, Peter does go from hating Katy to liking her fairly quickly, but Katy says herself that Peter was a decent person to begin with, and I think he probably avoided her because he could not both hate her for what her mother did, and accept her for who she was until he realized that she really did not know about her mother’s past. She enters a fairly close knit community with no idea of what her mother has done, so there really is no reason for Peter to hate her unconditionally, especially after he gets to know her. This book does have realistic characters in a paranormal plot, so of course some things will be predictable. Life is fairly predictable, and it is normally the supernatural elements that are unexpected. Katy did not grow up in Whitfield or knowing about her abilities, so she has to come to terms fairly quickly or otherwise be isolated from the one place she might truly belong.

I could not find any information about subsequent novels following Katy’s story, but I believe that the ending leaves it open for the author to return to this world in the future, which I hope she does.

Notable Scene:

As a VP of public relations for Wonderland, Mim represented “the interests of Wonderland” up and down the East Coast. I’ll never know exactly how she met my father, but within days they were shacked up and some weeks later, Dad had I were on our way to New York to start our “new lives.” After years of teaching at a series of small Florida colleges, Dad had gotten an assistant professorship gig at Columbia. Major strings must have been pulled for that. And where there were major strings, there was Mim doing the pulling. It was during the plane ride up that Dad decided to let me in on his plans for my future.

“We . . . that is, I’ve found a school for you, Katherine.” Dad looked serious. Something in his voice made me shiver. He wouldn’t make eye contact. “Where is it?” I asked quietly, carefully.

He cleared his throat. “It’s a … it’s a boarding school, Katherine.”

“A boarding school?” I squeaked. “Where?’

“It’s a fine place, really—”

“But why do I have to live there? How far away is it from you? And her.”

A long moment passed. Too long. “It’s in Whitfield, Massachusetts,” he said finally. He looked out the window.

“I see,” I said.

“Let me explain.” He put his hand over mine. I yanked it away. “There are some things I never told you, Katherine. About your mother. And her family.”

FTC Advisory: Simon & Schuster provided me with a copy of Legacy. No goody bags, sponsorships, “material connections,” or bribes were exchanged for my review. ( )

Full, non-spoiler review courtesy at Book & Movie Dimension a Blog

Legacy takes us into the life of Katy Ainsworth. Katy upon opening to the story mentions through certain key decisions made by her father shipping her off to boarding to school it is there she discovers who she truly is. Along with her heritage. Its a heritage that involves a deep ground battle against the Darkness. A Force that ultimately might have its hand in killing her mother. Katy teams up with Peter a local townie who may or may not be a witch. From first appearances he seems to despise her. Katy's curiosity about Peter an her new home is highly piqued.
In the novel readers are sure to encounter a fascinating story that has this nice tight-knit community of witches. The romance is worthwhile to read into which has such an intricacy to it. Legacy has nice detailed reading passages that can compell any reader to read far into the night. Also expect some mixture of occasional flashbacks and intense magic struggles. Legacy's ending was eerie but allows for hopefully a sequel. So let's hope there's more to come.
Overall: Amazing read!
Genre: Witches, Young Adult, Paranormal, Supernatural ( )

In this book, Serenity Katherine Ainsworth, who goes by “Katy Jessevar,” is sent to Ainsworth Preparatory School in Whitfield, Massachusetts after her father moved to New York when he got a job there. When Katy starts the new school, she meets Peter Shaw at the library. He instantly knows that she is an Ainsworth and dislikes her. Every new student at Ainsworth School gets invited to have lunch at Hattie’s Kitchen, where she finds a book that belongs to Peter. Hattie asks Katy to return it to him, causing them to interact once again.

Katy eventually gets offered an afterschool job at Hattie’s Kitchen. After working there, she understands how Hattie can give people what they need without them even asking. She didn’t expect this job. She certainly didn’t expect Peter to be working there also. Katy meets Peter’s younger brother, Eric, and learns a little more about why Peter and Eric are with Hattie. She also learns of her lineage and that she is a witch. She also makes contact with her maternal grandmother and aunt, whom she has never met.

Not soon after Katy starts at Hattie’s Kitchen, Peter and she learn to work together and tolerate each other. This is essential because the Harbingers start showing up and Peter helps Katy understand them. The Harbingers are bad omens and they foretell the coming of the Darkness. According to the Great Book of Secrets, if the Darkness takes hold of anyone, they must be destroyed by fire. What happens when the Darkness takes over someone you love?

This book was an interesting read. I could never predict what was happening next. With the arrival of the new Wonderland store in Whitfield thrown into the story, I wasn’t sure what was going to take precedence. It was a book that was hard to put down.

I Like:

▪ Katy. Eventually, she understand what it means to be an Ainsworth and why when the Ainsworth women got married, the groom would take their name instead of what’s expected of society. She learns a lot throughout this book and at first is upset by being sent to Whitfield and feels like she was being thrown away.

▪Peter. He is a good person. Everything he does in the story is for the good of someone. As you get further into the book, you understand his motivations better. Even when Katy and Peter were not getting along, she said that he is a “decent person.” He always remembers what it is important.

▪Dingo. I like this dog and his singing. He accompanies Mr. Haversall.

▪Hattie Scott. She is the witch who took care of Eric and Peter after Peter’s mom and dad died. She is full of wisdom and is the High Priestess of Whitfield.

I Did Not Like:

▪Livia Fowler and her daughter Becca. I never have liked people who thought they were better than someone else.

▪The Darkness. Again…expected. ( )