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kbowles24's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Content Warnings
Minor: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
queer_bookwyrm's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
3.5 ⭐ CW: violence, abuse, child abuse, murder mention
The Last Legacy by Adrienne Young is the third book in The Narrows world, but is separate from Fable and Namesake. Honestly, this one didn't really do it for me. Like Namesake, the romance fell kind of flat. I just didn't buy it. The extra world-building was cool, but it felt kind of unnecessary.
We follow Bryn Roth, the niece of Henrik Roth, the patriarch of the clandestine Roth family. The Roth's kind of gave me Peaky Blinders vibes, with their rough and tumble gangster ways while trying to move up in the world. Bryn wasn't raised among them, but now that she's 18, she's taking her place with them in the family business. She's kind of their diamond in the rough, since she was raised to understand the upper echelons of society. Her task is to whip them into shape to prove she can be trusted as one of them.
I found Bryn to be a strong FMC, but I felt it was undermined by the underdeveloped romance with the steelsmith, Ezra. Ezra isn't a Roth, but works for them. We get a forbidden fruit thing that I just didn't buy, because we don't see them interact enough to justify it. Bryn is fiercely independent, smart, and cunning, and throws it all away for a man. It was frustrating. At first I thought she would get over it and become a successful business person in her own right, but alas, amanormativity strikes again.
I really didn't think this stand alone added anything of value to the world of the Narrows. We get a bit of a better understanding as to how the merchant's guild works, but I don't think we needed a whole book for that. I still appreciate Young's writing, but these rushed and nonsensical romances really need to stop. We don't even get enough face time with any of the other characters to really care about them. I still have the prequel Saint left to read, so here's hoping that one is better than this one.
The Last Legacy by Adrienne Young is the third book in The Narrows world, but is separate from Fable and Namesake. Honestly, this one didn't really do it for me. Like Namesake, the romance fell kind of flat. I just didn't buy it. The extra world-building was cool, but it felt kind of unnecessary.
We follow Bryn Roth, the niece of Henrik Roth, the patriarch of the clandestine Roth family. The Roth's kind of gave me Peaky Blinders vibes, with their rough and tumble gangster ways while trying to move up in the world. Bryn wasn't raised among them, but now that she's 18, she's taking her place with them in the family business. She's kind of their diamond in the rough, since she was raised to understand the upper echelons of society. Her task is to whip them into shape to prove she can be trusted as one of them.
I found Bryn to be a strong FMC, but I felt it was undermined by the underdeveloped romance with the steelsmith, Ezra. Ezra isn't a Roth, but works for them. We get a forbidden fruit thing that I just didn't buy, because we don't see them interact enough to justify it. Bryn is fiercely independent, smart, and cunning, and throws it all away for a man. It was frustrating. At first I thought she would get over it and become a successful business person in her own right, but alas, amanormativity strikes again.
I really didn't think this stand alone added anything of value to the world of the Narrows. We get a bit of a better understanding as to how the merchant's guild works, but I don't think we needed a whole book for that. I still appreciate Young's writing, but these rushed and nonsensical romances really need to stop. We don't even get enough face time with any of the other characters to really care about them. I still have the prequel Saint left to read, so here's hoping that one is better than this one.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Physical abuse, Violence, and Murder
sorayah11's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
3.0
I was weary to read this because of how much I loved Fable. I didn't know how I would feel about following someone else in the same world. The story ended up being fine. I enjoyed it but compared to Fable, not as much. It felt like this was a simpler story with a cast of characters we don't get enough information about. The ending makes me want another book of Bryn and Ezra's adventure they are undoubtedly about to go on! I am definitely excited for this authors next book to come out!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, and Alcohol
sarahamuller1's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I could read five more books about this family.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Physical abuse and Violence
Minor: Child abuse and Death of parent
raemow's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
hopeful
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse and Physical abuse
kassidyreads's review against another edition
adventurous
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse and Physical abuse
Minor: Death of parent
bookforthought's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
I loved Fable and Namesake, so I was really excited to return to this universe and learn more about the Roth family in The Last Legacy. While I didn't love it quite as much as I did the previous two, this was still a very enjoyable read and confirmation that I will read pretty much anything Adrienne Young writes.
The Last Legacy starts shortly after the events in Namesake have taken place. Although it is meant as a standalone and can easily be read as one (some references are made to the previous book's events but they are marginal to the plot), the worldbuilding might prove confusing to readers who are not already familiar with it as a lot of knowledge of how things work in Bastian is taken for granted.
The Roths had definitely intrigued me in the previous book and I looked forward to learning more about this crime family. The characters were definitely the best thing about this, even though the focus was on only a few of them. Bryn was an interesting main character to follow and I loved seeing a lot of Ezra and Murrow, but I wish we could spend more time with the rest of the family as well.
Sadly, I wasn't all that sold on the romance. I love a forbidden romance/enemy-to-lovers as much as the next person, but its development here just didn't convince me as it just felt rushed and lacking in build-up. Bryn's feelings just seemed to change almost overnight and I couldn't feel the chemistry almost at all until towards the very end of the book.
The plot is also quite thin, as nothing much seems to happen for large portions of the book. However, we do get a fair bit of scheming on all sides and I was all there for it! The descriptions are also gorgeous and I ended up not minding too much about the lack of action as I just enjoyed being in Bastian.
The Last Legacy is a cosy, easy read that Fable fans will definitely enjoy. This kind of book was exactly what I needed when I read it, a quick and comfortable book to take me back to a world I had enjoyed, so I still liked it despite all its flaws but I'm not sure it would hold up on a re-read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Physical abuse and Violence
readwithsuzanna's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Physical abuse
Minor: Death of parent and Murder
elevetha's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Physical abuse
Minor: Sexual content and Violence
jmart5816's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
hopeful
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Physical abuse
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