This historical fantasy fiction filled with romance and political intrigue sounded like something that would be right up my alley. My overall thoughts were that this was a worthwhile read but it definitely could use a little polishing. The Kingdom of Hytanica has been at peace for many years. The King is preparing to step down--just as soon as his oldest daughter finds a suitable husband to take his place. This 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.
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.
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