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Release: July 18th 2014
Genre: Fiction
Publisher: Self-published
Back of the Book: Nineteen-year-old Raevyn Jones has never worn a designer gown. She's never had access to unlimited champagne or chauffeured limo rides. But when she is dropped in the midst of the Black Ivy League—against her will—she has to pretend that everything is normal, as if she belongs.
When her new friends start to question her sketchy past and her shaky legacy at Benjamin Wallace Fitzgerald University, Raevyn realizes she will have to rely on her street smarts more than ever before. Raevyn starts to receive cryptic text messages and emails from an anonymous sender and she soon discovers that not only does someone want her to leave B.W.Fitz-someone also wants to end her life.
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But that’s enough about me. It’s reviewing time!
I bought The Legacy a couple of months ago after I came across it during my quest to find more books written by black authors. It’s been sitting on my shelf for a while because I’m the worst when it comes to getting through my TBR pile. I know they say don’t judge a book by its cover but it’s one of the main reasons why I gave The Legacy a second glace. The cover is simply stunning.
I love a good mystery and although this is one of those books where I don't really want to talk about the plot too much because I don't want to spoil the book for anyone, I will say, I thought Necole Ryse did a great job of evening everything out instead of piling it on all at once. The way situations unfolded and were revealed was very natural and entertaining to read. I didn’t, however, like how Raevyn jumped to conclusions about Regina, Andrea, and Corrine so fast. It seemed really random to me. One minute they seemed like they were working towards a genuine friendship and the next she’s like, “are they talking about me?”
Other than that, I loved Raevyn from the start. I loved her no nonsense attitude and how even though she was surrounded by people who could be considered “better” than her she didn’t let that stop her from standing up for herself. There was also times when she was extremely vulnerable and scared. There’s a common theme in YA books that I’ve read, and it usually involves a black character with a one track emotion—it's usually sass—and reading something different is like a breath of fresh air.
In fact, I loved all of the characters, which is rare for me because there’s usually at least one that grates my nerves but not this time. Jeffery was the cutest of cutes! I am big on shipping, like making Tumblr gifsets for hours big, and the moment Jeffery and Raevyn met, I let my shipper flag fly and was not disappointed with the outcome! My only “negatives” are despite it being set on fictional college campus, B.W. Fitzgerald; it felt more like Raevyn and Co. were in high school.
Overall, I absolutely loved The Legacy and I can't wait to read the second book in the trilogy.
This books sounds really good and I love this review. I struggle to find books with black characters who aren't portrayed as more than a plot device for white characters. It's nice to know there are black authors and black characters out there who I can relate to.
ReplyDeleteI love this book. It was recommended to me by a friends when it first came out. This was a good review.
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