Last week I did an author spotlight on Allyson Gottlieb and her novella DARKEST LEGACY. There were all kinds of fun things going on: author interview, excerpt from the book, Tamara's playlist, a book trailer and cast pics and bios. If you missed any, check them out in the ARCHIVES.
Today, I'm giving my review and announcing the winner of the giveaway! But, first, lets take a look at the book.
Book Summary:
A fast-paced, high-stakes novella
Everyone has secrets they'd prefer stayed buried. But information wants to be free... and so does Tamara Kingsley's ex-lover, incarcerated on the maximum-security prison planet, Alpha.
Tamara has done things she's not proud of, but that was years ago.
Now the headmistress of the Silvermist School of Magic for Girls, she has an honest life, one that makes her happy. For the last twenty years she's fought like hell to keep it that way, and she thought she'd succeeded.
She's about to find out just how wrong she was to think her past was dead and gone.
Review:
This novella is a quick read and not just because it's only 51 pages. The story draws you in and before you know it, you're right there in Tamara's world. The story begins with Tamara, the protagonist, as the headmistress of the Silvermist School of Magic for Girls. She soon learns some very disturbing news that sends us into a flashback of her as a young girl at Ravenwood Academy for Dark Magic. The book goes between the present and the past as we find out about her relationship with Valentine, the irresistible boy that taught her how to channel her magic, and the decisions she made to bring her to where she is today.
This novella is a quick read and not just because it's only 51 pages. The story draws you in and before you know it, you're right there in Tamara's world. The story begins with Tamara, the protagonist, as the headmistress of the Silvermist School of Magic for Girls. She soon learns some very disturbing news that sends us into a flashback of her as a young girl at Ravenwood Academy for Dark Magic. The book goes between the present and the past as we find out about her relationship with Valentine, the irresistible boy that taught her how to channel her magic, and the decisions she made to bring her to where she is today.
This novella is a cross between a couple of my two favorite series, Harry Potter and The Mortal Instruments. There's some characteristics of both within the story. Of course, there's the magic, schools for magic and the magic prison, like Harry Potter, but there's also where the story leads which is similar to that of Jocelyn and Valentine Morgenstern and The Circle in The Mortal Instruments.
I thoroughly enjoyed this novella. I got into the story right away and was fully engulfed. There were elements that just about anyone can relate to. First loves, friendships lost then rekindled. Making decisions we may or may not regret. Or, going down roads we wished we hadn't. And although coming back from those places can be agonizing, doing the right thing will always pay off in the end. (That's as much as I can give you without spoilers.)
My only complaint is that with the material present I believe the story could have been presented differently to flow a little bit better. Although knowing the outcome of the story before it's fully realized can be painstaking, remember this, it's not the destination, but the journey that makes the story. There are more books to come that will fill in the gaps missing in the first installment of the Darkest Legacy Series. The next one gives us more insight to Valentine. I'm always interested in reading a story from another characters perspective.
Darkest Shadows is estimated to be released sometime in December.
Darkest Shadows is estimated to be released sometime in December.
Winner, Winner, Chicken Dinner...
Well, they didn't win a chicken dinner, but a couple of e-books will do right?
The winner of the DARKEST LEGACY GIVEAWAY is....
TRISH R.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
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