A review by ladilira
The Legacy, by Melissa Delport
4.0
I struggled with the star system with this book. I give it four because it has good bones and it kept me reading. But there were some issues that I had.
If you are familiar with the show Revolution, or any other story regarding dystopian society, then this book probably will be up your alley. I felt like it was a cross between Hunger Games and a daytime TV soap opera with the amount of action and drama Delport weaves into her story. Action is constant, danger is within every turn of the page, and it drips with romance. You will never be bored and you may even be moved to tears at moments of the story. Life is fragile and tenuous in this tale of civil rebellion.
Delport does a great job at character creation. I really enjoyed many of the character personalities in the story. Southern boy Reed, who oozes sex appeal, and Sensei Kwan, who is a strong, wise teacher, or feisty Morgan, ever the protective sister, were some of my favorites. I even kind of liked the antagonist and supposed evil president Eric Dane. Many of her characters were complex and had quite a bit of depth to them.
There was also a heavy amount of martial arts style fighting in the story that while not uncommon, was different and fun because of the extensiveness. It is one of those stories you could see going to screen because it could translate well, with the action being hand to hand combat and a deadly car chase that gets the adrenaline running. You will probably have a hard time setting the book down because there is never a good time to pause it.
I have to add that I think the cover of the book is pretty spectacular. It is eye catching and mysterious. Cover design get two thumbs up from me. This was a good interpretation and caught my eye for sure.
While the content of the story was solid and exciting, I do feel there needed to be more work done with the beginning development. I personally needed to see more of the protagonist's evolution from normal every day girl to extreme rebel. The flashbacks that occur throughout the story to showcase the development were not enough for me to feel like I understood where the protagonist was coming from. At times, I felt the protagonist was a selfish character even though her goals were for the betterment of others. I would have personally felt more invested in her quest if the story had included a more in-depth showcasing of the horrors of Dane and the comradery of the Rebeldom and barren lands. You get this more towards the end, and by then it was a little late for me. For me, the second half of the book was much more enjoyable than the first half. There seemed to be an initial lack of personal motive to move her forward. She wasn't born to be a rebel leader, in fact she spent most of her life living a happy, naive life. So when she suddenly changes her tune, it just doesn't sit well with me. Additionally, there were quite a few issues with formatting and lack of transitions. One minute she'd be in a market and then the next sentence she was at home in her bathroom. I think this book would have benefited from being edited more thoroughly. It was distracting overall as a reader and while I am nit picking here, this story is about United States but the author uses British spelling.
However, even with these cons, the story is still worth reading and I feel that the content is compelling enough for readers to look past these issues. I would recommend it to friends and strangers who like this genre. It is at heart a good story and with some refinement, I believe Delport will prove to be a promising new author to pay attention to.
*I was given a free copy for an honest review.
If you are familiar with the show Revolution, or any other story regarding dystopian society, then this book probably will be up your alley. I felt like it was a cross between Hunger Games and a daytime TV soap opera with the amount of action and drama Delport weaves into her story. Action is constant, danger is within every turn of the page, and it drips with romance. You will never be bored and you may even be moved to tears at moments of the story. Life is fragile and tenuous in this tale of civil rebellion.
Delport does a great job at character creation. I really enjoyed many of the character personalities in the story. Southern boy Reed, who oozes sex appeal, and Sensei Kwan, who is a strong, wise teacher, or feisty Morgan, ever the protective sister, were some of my favorites. I even kind of liked the antagonist and supposed evil president Eric Dane. Many of her characters were complex and had quite a bit of depth to them.
There was also a heavy amount of martial arts style fighting in the story that while not uncommon, was different and fun because of the extensiveness. It is one of those stories you could see going to screen because it could translate well, with the action being hand to hand combat and a deadly car chase that gets the adrenaline running. You will probably have a hard time setting the book down because there is never a good time to pause it.
I have to add that I think the cover of the book is pretty spectacular. It is eye catching and mysterious. Cover design get two thumbs up from me. This was a good interpretation and caught my eye for sure.
While the content of the story was solid and exciting, I do feel there needed to be more work done with the beginning development. I personally needed to see more of the protagonist's evolution from normal every day girl to extreme rebel. The flashbacks that occur throughout the story to showcase the development were not enough for me to feel like I understood where the protagonist was coming from. At times, I felt the protagonist was a selfish character even though her goals were for the betterment of others. I would have personally felt more invested in her quest if the story had included a more in-depth showcasing of the horrors of Dane and the comradery of the Rebeldom and barren lands. You get this more towards the end, and by then it was a little late for me. For me, the second half of the book was much more enjoyable than the first half. There seemed to be an initial lack of personal motive to move her forward. She wasn't born to be a rebel leader, in fact she spent most of her life living a happy, naive life. So when she suddenly changes her tune, it just doesn't sit well with me. Additionally, there were quite a few issues with formatting and lack of transitions. One minute she'd be in a market and then the next sentence she was at home in her bathroom. I think this book would have benefited from being edited more thoroughly. It was distracting overall as a reader and while I am nit picking here, this story is about United States but the author uses British spelling.
However, even with these cons, the story is still worth reading and I feel that the content is compelling enough for readers to look past these issues. I would recommend it to friends and strangers who like this genre. It is at heart a good story and with some refinement, I believe Delport will prove to be a promising new author to pay attention to.
*I was given a free copy for an honest review.