Title: Legacy
Author: Nora Roberts
Series: n/a
Rambling, predictable, and annoying lead
I would like to thank Nora Roberts, St. Martin’s Press, and NetGalley for allowing me to read a free ARC in exchange for an honest review.
This book had three huge marks against it: the narrative rambled, I knew who the culprits would be the moment they were mentioned in the first chapter, and I seriously disliked Adrian, the main character/heroine.
The romance took too long to develop and meant little by the time it did, and the mystery was worse than half-assed, it was downright lazy. One of the laziest mysteries I’ve come across in a very long time, especially from a writer of such repute as Roberts. Little effort was given to a twist. The plot works best if described as women’s fiction, but even at that it was sloppy. Well, more self-indulgent than sloppy; Roberts included details she enjoys writing about but that don’t matter whatsoever to the story. Of most prominent irrelevance was all the talk about home renovation and the like. The character Kayla never needed to exist.
Raylan, the hero—no, honestly he wasn’t more than a love interest, the romance mattered that little—was pretty likeable, and his children were adorable, but I wanted so badly to punch Adrian in her relentlessly happy, arrogant, rich and famous face. She was one of those exercise-obsessed people I despise, always either running, doing yoga, or telling other people they should be running or doing yoga. That’s not health-conscious, that’s endorphin-addicted. The moment she met someone she mentally assessed their physical condition, devised a workout program and meal plan, and proceeded to nag them about it until they gave in to her. She wasn’t also health-obsessed but very nearly. Her Coca Cola habit was what I liked most about her: proof she was bloody human. I would never want to meet her much less have a conversation with her in real life. She would stress me out just by being herself. I almost stopped reading just to get away from her, but managed to finish.
Also, the shifts in POV were sporadic and felt unnecessary. A narrative crutch to try to propel the weak romance and suspense plots.
Overall the novel was a waste of time and it angers me that Roberts has achieved such a cult following that thousands of people consider this well-written.
Does the author have some sort of a product placement deal with Coke? I’ve noticed a ton of references in her new books??
I noticed that when I read Night Work a couple months ago!!!! I figured she just made it a character trait for the hero to LOVE Coke, because some people are like that, with Diet Coke running through their veins. I thought maybe Nora was one of those people and it was just fun for her to add that into her books. It never occurred to me it might be promotional, but a quick google search of “nora roberts coca cola” suggests there might be something like that going on. This is news from 1998, but if they were doing it then, who’s to say they aren’t doing it now? God I hate it when authors sell out. Especially the ones who already make epic bank.
She must, she mentions coke too many times. It gets annoying