Legacy by S.L. Buckley

Disclaimer Shmishclaimer: I received a copy of this book for free in exchange for an honest review.  Now we are done with that.

Legacy by S.L. Buckley tells the story of a world where there are more than one kind of people and magic exists.  Loosely based on history and cultural myths, the story goes that dragons exist and can bond with Riders, who have much longer lives and help protect people.  At least until the Romans started conquering everything in sight and killing off the dragons.  Add to that the facts that dragons take a long, long time to reproduce and hatch, and that once Riders mate, they are mated for life, this whole Romans destroying everything makes the situation quite ugly.  Enter the current cast of characters who must solve the issue of Andraste being sworn to marry a human with a normal life span but not in love with him, Fennis who is the crown prince of his people and the Rider of the only black dragon in existence, needing to eventually find a partner, the Romans destroying Andraste’s home causing her to flee, and the two of them falling in love despite Andraste’s betrothal, this book makes for an interesting adventure.

Likes:

I loved the characters.  They had distinct personalities that Buckley drew out well through the course of the story.  Their actions made sense with how I saw the characters being in the story.  Plus, the way they developed throughout the story was handled well.

I also loved the dialogue.  Buckley has obviously payed attention to how people talk to each other and has translated that well into this story.  The tone of voice and the language used lends a realistic feel that helps bring this story to life.

Finally, the storyline itself was engaging.  Buckley introduced life as normal for Fennis and then turned everything upside down for him by throwing Andraste into the picture.  Things get crazier and more hectic from there.  I often felt like I was along for the ride with all the ups and downs Fennis and Andraste went through in the story.

Dislikes:

The biggest dislike for me was that there were some typos that got distracting for me.  Now, please keep in mind this is a personal pet peeve of mine so I may well be making a bigger deal out of this than others may think.  There were several instances of word swaps like “except” instead of “accept” and “if” instead of “of”.  I admit that I get distracted by this kind of thing easily.  So, take this point with a grain of salt, please.

The other dislike I had was the way the ending happened.  The ending itself was done well.  It just felt like most of the story was about one piece, then the ending was about some other things entirely.  I am guessing there is a sequel planned for Legacy and that may be part of why it happened.  It just felt like it jumped around a bit much for me.

Overall, I think this was a fun book to read and would not mind seeing more of Fennis, Andraste, and their dragons.  I give this three stars.