Legacy drew me in from the beginning and kept my attention focused throughout until the ending. Part of the years and years of reading Nora Roberts’ work (and J.D. Robb) is the knowledge that I will always find a story that strikes a chord with me, something within my own life that I can relate to on some level no matter how big or small. Adrian and Raylan’s story was no different, although I have to admit that I didn’t always love Adrian’s attitude toward others or her friends, there were times when she seemed to push her fitness agenda on others whether they were interested or not so that took my view of her down just a bit. Raylan is a sweetheart who, even though his plate is quite full, doesn’t hesitate too much in rekindling a childhood friendship that will grow into so much more.

I enjoyed the various POVs within Legacy as we watch Adrian and Raylan grow from childhood into adulthood. I definitely felt I knew these two by the time their second chance at romance came along for them. The suspense part of this one was lighter (in my mind), but that didn’t really take away from Adrian’s danger. The secondary characters help bring this story to life and don’t forget the four-legged ones. There is always a place in my reading heart for dogs, big, small, and in between. Although the villain wasn’t a total surprise for me that didn’t change the enjoyment of seeing them be taken down for their actions and crimes.

In all, I had a very good time with Legacy, it ticked off all the boxes for me, and it will definitely go on the reread list.

*I received an e-ARC of this novel from the publisher, St. Martin’s Press via NetGalley. That does not change what I think of this story. It is my choice to leave a review giving my personal opinion about this book.* *I have also purchased my own copy for my Nora Roberts collection*

This was an entertaining, well-written book. It held my interest and I I came to care about the characters, I enjoyed this book and would recommend it to others,

I was drawn into this story from the beginning. In the first few chapters years pass from one page to the next but once I realized that I was curious to see where life was taking Adrian. I loved the lifelong friendships, the circling back to a relationship with Raylan, those finding where they belonged in a small town instead of the big city life, the great characters, the interesting careers and all the love and support between family and friends. A great read.

Legacy is a quintessential Nora Roberts book. It follows the story of Adrian. The daughter of a successful fitness icon, Adrian meets her father for the first time on the night he tries to kill her and her mother. This is a defining event for Adrian and follows her for decades to come. One of the most life changing effects of that night is that she ends up spending the summer with her grandparents in their small town in Maryland. She gets to know and love her grandparents even more, including their work in their Italian restaurant, makes a lifelong friend in Maya, and, for the first time, meets Maya's brother, Raylan, who will become one of the most important people in Adrian's life down the road.

Above all else, Roberts is a storyteller. Legacy is truly a saga that follows Adrian from this fateful event, through the solid friendships she makes in high school, to her eventual own business in the fitness world. From Adrian and her mother, Lina, to her friends and partners, her grandparents, green-eyed Raylan and his friends and co-workers, and even Adrian's dog, Sadie, Roberts writes characters that are interesting, strong, and more than just side notes. She creates a whole world and immerses you in it. I was sucked in from page one and, despite the length of the book, read this one quickly.

Of course, as with many of her books, this one has a mystery-thriller aspect to it. There is a serial killer and long-time stalker of Adrian's that keeps you on your toes and wondering when the suspect will eventually show up. The suspense aspect is subtle and builds throughout the book, keeping you invested until the very end. Roberts really does this well in her books and this was no exception.

I would recommend this to any fan of her books. This really is a classic Roberts suspense novel and will keep you reading well into the night.

CW: abuse, assault, school shooting

Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team

Ruthie – ☆☆☆☆
This is a really engaging read – combining an interesting life with a definite romance coming with a stalker/murder mystery, which keeps slipping in just as life seems to be going well. We follow Adrian's life from when she was seven all the way through to her thirties.

Adrian may not have a conventional mother, but her grandparents have given her the stability and home that ensures she remains grounded, even when her own career takes off. We see that whilst she has some wonderful friends and a loving community, she is really very alone. It is fascinating watching her deal with her priorities and start to see how she can lean on Raylan. It is most definitely the ultimate in slow burn and is very enjoyable.

I did get a strong idea about the mystery element fairly early on, but it is definitely cleverly done, and the tension, the anger, and the insidiousness build and eventually explode.

Excellent read! This book puts family, good food, and love at its heart, and then turns up the heat with its suspense elements, but promises that love will win out.


Mary Jo – ☆☆☆
I anticipate reading Nora Robert's annual standalone release as much as I do Halloween candy: something to be savored, rather than gobbled up all at one time.

This year's release, Legacy, left me a little disappointed. I'm not sure if it was the main character, Adrian, that I didn't like or that so much of her focus was on her career. Adrian doesn't want to think that she's like her mother, but I see hints of that trait in her at times. Her friend circle mainly consists of four people she met in high school and they have remained friends and business partners since.

As Adrian's fame grows, she begins to receive poems, one each year. They are all threatening and yet no one, not even the FBI, can find the person who is behind them. No spoilers here but I will say, think inside the box.

The romance is fun and gave the book the something needed to hold my attention and yet, I kept waiting for something more.

This is a story of Adrian Rizzo who meets her dad for the first time when he shows up drunk and attacks her and her mom when she was 7. Her mom steps in to save her and then she goes to live with her grandparents for the summer to get away. As she gets older, she follows in her mom’s footsteps to become a fitness guru and that’s when the death threats start.

This was a sort of coming of age story marked as a romantic suspense. Unfortunately, this wasn’t a hit for me. It was a long story with lots of dialogue told in third person. I didn’t feel too much of a connection to the characters and the romance was a little lack luster for me 😬. The mystery/suspense of the was not all that exciting either until the last 10% of the book. I actually predicted what was happening early on in the book. This was the second book in a row that mentioned my alma matter, Virginia Tech, so that was cool but it was used to mention the 2007 shooting which left me feeling a little icky she used it as a plot point. I don’t mean to be too negative about this book. I liked it ok. I liked the main character and the overall premise for the book was good. I just think it could have been told in a lot less pages.

*Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced copy. Opinions are my own.

There is something soothing about starting a new Nora Roberts title, Whether straight romance, shift, fantasy, or a thriller like Legacy, there is always the underlying theme of family and friends who are family. Legacy hits all these marks. The thriller portion is so subtle in the first two thirds of the book, it's almost an after thought. Then in the third part, the thriller aspect explodes!
I loved this book! Thanks to net galley for an advance copy.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for an ARC.

This book sadly was just mediocre. I didn't really have too many expectations going in, so I was lucky that I didn't find myself disappointed. I just lost interest partway through. The beginning was quite good, and I became hooked for a while. Until it lost momentum and petered out. The POVs of the villain were extraordinarily weak, and they appeared way too often. Adrian was an intriguing MC when she was in high school, but for the majority of the novel, she didn't really have much going for her. And the entire romance aspect of it was so annoying. Ultimately, this book didn't really give me much. And I'm out.

You know when you take a perfect sip of a drink and you sigh in contentment? That's how I feel after finishing this book. It just took me a while to get there.

This book is broken into 3 parts, and I paced myself through the first part, moseying along and getting to know the characters. I was kind of aware it was a crime fictiony type book (I mean, do you even need to read a Nora Roberts blurb to know you need to read the book? No.) and idly wondered if this was a romance and when the main characters would find each other. Then I really took off and read most of the second part in one sitting. I devoured the book as the crime part became more apparent and the romance was there and it was clicking along and oh my gosh I need more now now NOW. I even read even faster until...I stopped. I didn't want to have a climatic ending. I was (mostly) sure that the main characters would come out ok in the end, but what if someone else I liked got hurt?? I.
Slowed.
Down.
Even.
More.
Procrastination. Texting friends. Checking emails. Hey, I never finished that podcast. You know, it's been a couple of days since I listened to the audiobook I was enjoying. Hey, those dishes need washing...

And the ending was perfect, of course. I was reading it so fast that now I'm sad I didn't savor it just a little. Was it an abrupt ending or was I just reading it so fast? Who knows.

The pacing of this story was masterful. The layers of the background were phenomenal and I really felt like I was growing up with the characters. The amount of background knowledge of the fitness world and the graphic novel business is staggering. I feel smarter after reading this. I appreciated that the characters, all of them, were individuals with their own personality and not just a wife or parent. That added so much to the story. The crime scenes scenarios were eerily plausible and the reasoning was thorough. Such a great read!

What isn’t to like about a Nora Roberts book? There’s always intrigue, suspense, danger and romance and Legacy is no exception. Adriana was almost killed by her father when she was young. She’s moved on from that and is following in her Mom’s footsteps, creating yoga and fitness videos.

This story tells of family, career and what happens when you are in the spotlight. Summer is the perfect time to pick up the book and immerse yourself in the story.

This was my first Nora Roberts book and I have to say that I very much enjoyed this stand-alone. Initially, I thought perhaps the book was a bit too long and that parts were dragging, but I realized that by layering so much into the story, I was a lot more invested in the long-running suspense thread. Moving through the story with Adrian in each season of her life, knowing the whole time that someone was after her, gave the entire experience a level of tension that made the book hard to put down. The killer's identity was a bit predictable but that did not take away from my overall enjoyment of the story.

LEGACY by Nora Roberts
Contemporary fiction
435 pages

In Nora Roberts newest book Legacy we have Lina & her daughter Adrian Rizzo. Lina is a successful fitness guy, yoga master, who also has her own fitness line.  All Adrian's life her moms career was all she knew. Her mom was always on tour but Adrian knew her mom loved her. Lina along with her parents raised Adrian to be the kind of strong independent woman she is. When Adrian grows up she follows in her moms career path and makes a success of herself as well. From the first fitness video she produces though she starts getting death poems in the mail. One for every year for over 10 yrs.  Who would want to kill this successful amazing woman??


I am a huge Nora Roberts fan and love this newest one as well!!!!!!!!  Nora's characters Lina, Adrian, and their family charms you so much you might want to move to Travelers Creek.  This is a 5 star from this reviewer!!!!!!!!  The main character Adrian is a truly amazing woman who knows what she wants and goes for it. This is in my opinion one of Nora Roberts best novels. It will definitely stay with me for a long time. I highly recommend this book ya'll!!!!!!!!!!

I wasn't sure where this story was going when I started it but it was intriguing enough to keep me reading. It is long so there were many nights I read until it was very late as the characters are captivating and the storyline compelling. It wasn't much of a mystery to me as I figure it out quickly, but the friendships, the humor and the emotional moments keep you reading. Despite her childhood, Adrian understands the true meaning of what is important in life. She is lucky to find good friends in high school that remain in her life. She has her grandparents and their restaurant which help ground her in turbulent times. Her mother Lina is driven and does not have much of a maternal instinct but loves her daughter in her own way and hires a PI when the anonymous letters become scary. Raylan is trying to find himself after tragedy. Adrian and her friends are the ones to help him heal and ban together to help her with her stalker. The book will have you thinking of friendships and family long after you are done reading.
Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the advanced reader copy. All opinions are my own.

Nora Roberts is always a summer must. A suspense romance, Adrian and her mother Lina have always had a complicated relationship. However, when Adrian follows in her mother’s footsteps with a fitness empire, sinister threats are uncovered and Adrian must confront her past. I don’t want to spoil it but you can never go wrong with Nora with a fast-paced novel and a plot that hooks you in.

An interesting romantic suspense.
*****
Rating: 3 stars
Steam: 1 flame
Genre: Romantic Suspense / Slow burn / Family
*****
Legacy is a slow burn, romantic suspense. The story begins when Adrianne is 7 years old and her biological father is trying to kill her and spans her life through high school, college, and as a career woman.

I enjoyed the suspense portion of this book, though to me it is fairly easy to figure out the whodunit. Even though I figured out the villain, I was still interested in the journey to get there. I do wish there had been more of the suspense and a little less detail on the exercise regimens. This book is filled with details, and I felt that sometimes I was getting buried in the exercise, video, blog regimens when I just wanted to get to the suspense. Part three of Legacy was by far my favorite of the three parts because it was filled with a thrill ride.

The romance is a slow burn and unfortunately had one of my biggest no-no's for romance books. The love interest falls in love with another character and it's not just an off-page love, it's several chapters detailing their love and happy relationship. I want my characters to only love each other or for the outside love to be off page and not a love that I am routing for. I felt that the first love was more heart felt than the MCs love.

The characters are all well written and each character has a purpose and grows throughout the book. I appreciated all the secondary characters and felt that each character added value. The suspense kept me turning the pages. I will say the real love story in Legacy is between Sadie and Jasper...that was a love for the ages :) they stole the show.

Always happy to pick up a Nora Roberts novel for the romance and amazing characters, this book however was a little lacklustre. I just felt like the story dragged on for most of the book, it really caught on towards the end, a little too late in my option. The part the gets me is with all the character building and build up, I just didn’t love the heroine as much as I wanted to. It may be the overall I was reading towards something that took too long to get there. Really loved the dogs though, they were fun.

All HAIL NORA THE QUEEN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

She is the literally the best! I have been a fan of her work since I was a teen, and she never disappoints. Her character building, and everything around was perfect. The one thing is that its a pretty long book, with so many characters, I wish it was split into a trilogy or something, this book was packed with so much of everything, you cant expect to stop reading, and then pick the book back up in a few days, you can get lost. But I have such a soft spot for her books.

One thing is for sure Adrian is GOALS!!!!! I can picture how she looks perfectly, amazing body, great eating habits, everything!!!!! There was not a lot of romance or the mystery, its more about family, traditions, community, friends, finding your new purpose in life. It was inspirational, there was romance towards the late middle of the book, and the mystery aspect of it came full force at the end, and with that I felt like JD Robb came out FULL FORCE!

Thanks Netgalley and the Publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this book.

Author Nora Roberts sticks to what she does best—delivering romance and thrills aplenty in her latest, LEGACY.

7-year-old Adrian Rizzo met her father on the night he stormed into the house she shared with her mom, Lina, and nanny, Mimi—and nearly killed her. But it’s her father that falls to his death on the day that would forever change everything. Reeling from what happened and fearing negative publicity, her famous fitness expert mother drops her off in small-town Maryland to live with her grandparents while she traveled the country building her billion-dollar brand.

Years later, Adrian musters the courage to start a fitness business of her own. Together with some high-school misfits, she creates a series of instructional yoga and workout videos. Life takes her back to Traveler’s Creek, Maryland, and what follows is a secret she’s kept for years—threatening notes that arrive year after year. And when she finally does tell, the threats are dismissed as a natural part of her growing celebrity.

Meanwhile, a killer looms, ticking murders off a list that ends with Adrian Rizzo.

Long-time fans of Roberts will find the structure and pace familiar, although parts in the first half of the novel sometimes felt slow. As always, characters are well drawn, relationships are slow burn, and it’s easy to feel immersed in the world Roberts has crafted. The last quarter of the novel was the best, with tension ratcheting in a way that had me turning the pages a little faster.

Overall, it’s a story about mothers and daughters, of friends and families, of paving your own path in the world. And while it was a solid Nora Robert’s romantic suspense (and I did enjoy it), it didn’t feel as remarkable or strong as some of her others.

Let me start by saying I have read Nora's books for years. I haven't for the last few years as her style changed. I was so excited to be able to read and ARC of her new book. Unfortunately, I was very disappointed. This is not a mystery, romance or a suspense. It the life history of Adrian Rizzo. She is almost killed by her father at age seven, a man she never saw or knew about to that one day. At seventeen she starts her own yoga business with her friends. Then the poems start coming, threatening to kill her. They come for years, with the police, her manager and friends knowing.
The best part of the whole book is the characters, her grandparents, the friends she meets and their kids. The guy from her past that becomes something more. This book is way too long for the story it tells. First 100 pages are pretty good then it gets slower and slower.
There is a lot of sadness in this book. For her, her friends and family. I really disliked her mother, she is a powerhouse business woman who know nothing of being a mother. She makes sure Adrian has everything she needs that money can buy. Food, shelter, clothes the best schools and only the best of course. Her mother's assistant Mimi is left to do the mothering or she leaves her with the grandparents. Don and Sophia own the pizza shop in town and is loved by the whole town. They are great always there to help everyone. They are Adrian's favorite people on earth. Sadie and Jasper are wonderful dogs who help with so much. The dogs have a great romance.
I did something with this book I never do, I read a 2/3 of it and them skipped to the last chapter to see if it ended the way I thought it was going to. I was right on.
I was gifted and ARC from the author and would like to thank her, I just couldn't read it nothing to hold my interest. If you like family history stories you would like this book.
This is my honest opinion and am voluntarily giving it.

Thank you to the author and NetGalley for an e-ARC copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I have not read a Nora Roberts novel in awhile and this one did not disappoint.

At the young age of 7, Adrian meets her father for the first time....and he tries to kill her before her mom Lina steps in.

From there, she is dropped off at her grandparents while her mother goes off to promote her fitness brand business.

Years later, Adrian is trying to create a career and brand for herself. Each year, she receives a letter/poem that is a death threat. These are postmarked from all over the US, and she is unsure who would be sending them.

When she returns to her hometown, she starts to re-kindle with her childhood crush, who recently lost his wife.

The letters continue and murders begin and seem to be getting closer and closer to Adrian.

Will she figure out who is behind the letters before it's too late?