Goodreads Rating: 4.12/5 Stars
My Rating: 4/5 Stars
My Content Rating: PG-13 (Some references to sex, but nothing shown)
Summary from Goodreads: One man obsessed with power.
One woman prepared to sacrifice everything to stop him.One war that changed the world.
“Eric Dane has segregated the wealth and resources that remain, giving a select few the highest chance of survival and leaving the rest to starve!”
World War 3 lasted twelve days and almost eradicated the human species. Growing up in post nuclear America, Rebecca Davis remained blissfully ignorant of the despotic leadership that had seized what was previously the most powerful nation in the world. When the truth is revealed and Rebecca discovers that everything she has been taught is a lie, she is determined to fight for the life that she has not been allowed to live.
In order to do this, Rebecca has to cross the boundary fences and venture out of the safety of the New United States, into the barren wastelands. It is there that she finds allies she never dreamed existed.
In Rebecca, the Resistance has finally found the ultimate weapon.
“You were given this life Rebecca, because you alone are strong enough to live it.”
An action-packed, adrenalin inducing thrill ride that will have you riveted until long after you have turned the last page.
The Legacy is an exciting dystopian that explores how far those in power will go to bring control to a chaotic world.
After WWIII, the US is devastated. Only people in a few midwestern states have survived the nuclear destruction. A man named Eric Dane becomes President, setting up harsh restrictions that limit people's choices - including their ability to have children and the choice to leave.
Rebecca had always assumed that Dane's rules were necessary for survival, but when she discovers his true agenda, she knows she has to help the Resistance stop him. She comes up with a dangerous plan - to marry the enemy.
What I loved:
- Worldbuilding. This book had a good amount of worldbuilding, explaining how World War III came about and how the world got to the state it was currently in. I like that the book actually started out telling us about Rebecca's experience of the war when she was a little girl and gave us a little bit of a background about what it was like to grow up in those conditions rather than just jumping to the time of the Resistance.
- Rebecca. Rebecca was a strong character who wasn't waiting for anyone to come save her - she took matters into her own hands and fought her own battles. While I didn't always agree with all of her decisions, I did think that she had the right intentions behind them - she was a morally upright person in a very corrupt world.
- The action and suspense. This book was full of action and intrigue. There were lots of twists and turns, and the stakes were very high. Rebecca and the others in the Resistance put themselves in some very dangerous situations, and I was never sure if everyone was going to make it through the book alive! Plus, there were some interesting twists at the end of the book that really set us up for book #2. I can't wait to see where Delport has gone with these twists in the next book!
- Shades of gray. I love it when the villains in a book aren't completely villainous, and that was the case here. Eric Dane was a complicated person. Most of his rules even seemed kind of reasonable to me - and then he went overboard. There are times when Rebecca thinks he might be any okay person - and then times when he's definitely not. This is my favorite type of villain!
The negatives:
- Love triangle. I wasn't always a fan of the love triangle in the book, and I got a bit frustrated with Rebecca and how she handled the men in her life sometimes (including Eric Dane - in one scene in particular, she dealt with Eric in a ridiculously frustrating way that was sure to do nothing but cause her trouble). Still, I will say that Delport twisted the love triangle around in interesting ways, so I was more on board by the end.
- Pet peeve. It seemed strange to me that the book was set in the US (in the near future), but the book featured British spellings. (The author is from South Africa, so I guess it makes sense, but it just struck me as odd).
So, overall, I really enjoyed The Legacy and I'm eager to see what Delport has in store for us in books #2 & 3 (book #2 is out now and book #3 is coming out next year). I give this one 4/5 Stars.
***Disclosure: This book was provided to me by the author in exchange for an honest review. No other compensation was given. All opinions are my own***
By Melissa Delport, author of The Legacy
Sadly, authors have very little say in the casting of movie adaptations of their books. In fact, they have very little say over anything to do with the movie version. I think this is a tragedy of epic proportion, given that we created the characters being brought to life on the big screen.
I am struggling to come to terms with this fact, because there are a few cast members in my Dream Movie cast that I really wouldn’t mind meeting. (Are you paying attention, Mr Spielberg?)
When I started writing The Legacy, I had images in my mind that I used to describe my characters. I actually find this the easiest way to remember all the details about them (hair colour, eye colour, etc) because otherwise halfway though I have forgotten.
So, without any further ado, here is my DREAM MOVIE CAST (drum roll, please!):
Rebecca Davis – played by Ashley Greene
Rebecca is the feisty heroine of The Legacy Trilogy. I love writing this character - I love that she's strong yet vulnerable... and she collects soldiers like other women collect shoes! She is the ultimate weapon, and prepared to sacrifice everything for the cause she believes in.
Aidan Moore – played by Justin Hartley
This fine specimen has long been a firm favourite of mine - ever since he first wore those "toit" green tights as the Green Arrow on the CW series, Smallville. I even sat through the entire first (and thankfully last) season of Emily Owens MD, just to witness this eye candy every Wednesday night. The CW axed the show and my withdrawals began...so imagine my delight when he showed up in the third season of Revenge!!! And he is just SO Aidan.... handsome, clean-cut, wholesome. Yum!
Reed McCoy – played by Chris Hemsworth
Aidan's nemesis comes in the form of our Sexy Southern Bad Boy, Reed, and who better than Chris Hemsworth to play the role of Rebecca’s equal? He is rugged, handsome, tough, and can pull off Reed’s longer hair. Purists would argue that there are a few tiny points of contention in this casting, but I have addressed each and come up with a solution:
1. Reed has green eyes: Nothing some contacts couldn’t fix (and besides, LOOK at that face!)
2. Reed has a southern accent, whereas Chris is an Aussie native: Who cares... LOOK at that face!
Eric Dane – played by Ian Somerhalder
In my opinion, every single movie ever made should feature Ian “Smoulder”-halder, or, as I like to call him: “sex on legs”. Eric Dane is a narcissistic, cruel megalomaniac. Ian Somerhalder is a compassionate philanthropist...but I hardly see the problem. Ian is an actor – ie: he can play any role. And I would so love for him to play the part of Eric.
Kwan Lee – played by an attractive 40-year-old Korean actor
Try as I might, I could not think of a single Korean actor off the top of my head. Coming up short, I took to Google with the single-minded determination of a Hollywood casting agent. Sadly, I couldn’t pronounce any of the Korean names, and I still didn’t find my “Kwan”. So I will let you use your imaginations, and picture him as you will.
Morgan Kelly - played by Teresa Palmer
Morgan is the girl we love to hate. She is reckless, stubborn and sassy, and the mother in all of us would like nothing better than to throw her over our lap and give her the hiding of her life for behaving like a petulant child. In casting Teresa Palmer, I’m certain male viewers will want to spank her for a whole other reason!
Michael Kelly – played by Alex Pettyfer
Michael Kelly is Morgan’s cute younger brother. With his boy-next-door looks and mischievous smile, Alex Pettyfer’s got my vote to play the quirky lovable character of Michael.
Now that our cast is all taken care of, there really are only three words left to say:
About the Author
She graduated from the University of South Africa with a Bachelor’s Degree in English in 2000
At the age of twenty-four Melissa started a logistics company (Transmax) from the spare room of her flat and built it up to two fully operational depots in Durban and Johannesburg. Now, 10 years later, she has sold her business in order to write full time.
Melissa lives with her husband and three children in Hillcrest, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.
The Legacy (book 1 of The Legacy Trilogy) and The Legion (book 2) are available now and the final book, The Legend, will be released early 2015.
An avid reader herself, Melissa finally decided to stop ‘watching from the sidelines’ and to do what is her passion.
“I was driving home from work when inspiration struck, and a storyline started unravelling in my head. For a few days it was all I could think about and eventually I realised that the only way to get it out of my head, was to put it all down on paper. I started writing, and that was that.”
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