The whole concept of this novel is so brilliant as well as unique. It had ideas that i haven’t seen in many other novels and if the idea was written out well this novel had the potential to be really good. I loved her other novel “They wish they were us” and unfortunately was really dissatisfied with this book. It was incredibly slow and honestly felt like it was going nowhere. The constant POV switching is supposed to be interesting and give more depth into the characters but it just felt frustrating and superficial. I was waiting for the climax and something interesting to happen but it felt like i was just waiting forever. i disliked all the characters and thought they were incredibly shallow, and honestly kind of boring. i wish i enjoyed this novel but unfortunately i did not, although the plot is very interesting i feel as though it could have been carried out in a much better way.

🫧Thank you to Penguin Random House for providing me a review copy of this novel through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

📖 ARC REVIEW 📖

Thank you @penguinteen for an early copy of The Legacies by @jessicagoodman. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. 🤍

The Legacies centers on three girls, Bernie, Isobel, and Tori, Excelsior Prep seniors who are nominated as Legacies to the most exclusive club in New York City, the Legacy Club. The club gives a lifetime of access to power and wealth beyond any prep school doors and guarantees safety and security as members look out for their own, that is after making it through a rigorous week of events and extravagant gala, the Legacy Ball. Bernie and Isobel are not surprisingly nominated as they came from prestigious and well-known families, but Tori is a surprise nominee who never fit into their world.

The Legacy Ball is supposed to be the best night of the seniors’ lives, but no one expected their secrets to come out, or for someone to die trying to keep the, hidden.

🛑Read on with caution; review may contain spoilers🛑

This is my first Jessica Goodman novel, and I am just blown away by this novel. It’s intriguing right from the very first chapter. The story just weaves through the entire week leading up to the ball, with snippets of what happened during and after the said ball, leaving mystery after mystery, and clues that seem to make you think you’ve figured out who did what, only to be proven wrong later on into the story. It’s just not what you think it is. I think around 5% in this story is predictable and I love my mind being blown away! 🤯

This is definitely one of my best reads so far this year. Rating The Legacies ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/5. Releases July 25th, 2023.

If you are looking for a Gossip Girl-Pretty Liars-esque YA thriller, this is the one for you!

I have really enjoyed all of Goodman’s books, and this one didn’t disappoint. There were constant twists and turns, and I loved the upscale NYC backdrop.

Thanks to Netgalley, the publisher, and Jessica Goodman for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

what an absolute delight of a novel. as a millennial who grew up in the Gossip Girl/Pretty Little Liars era of TV, this exactly spoke to the type of story I love. while I was able to see where the story was going, I still found it satisfying. the rich kids behaving badly/outsider makes it in story isn't new, but it was done in a way that was refreshing.I think what kept it from being a five star read were just little things that could've made it a more layered story. the timeline felt off, the way the dual times were done felt uneven, and I think it could've benefited from more perspectives/a different timeline (the perspectives of the adults, flashbacks or flash forwards with the parents). I think the storyline with the parents and what was going on was honestly more interesting but felt underdone. Ultimately, this is definitely a YA mystery I'll be recommending.

⭐️: 3.5/5

Membership in the Legacy Club is more than an honor, it opens all the doors to a lifetime of power, access, and wealth in New York. The nomination of rising high school seniors Bernie, Skylar, and Isobel comes as no surprise, but scholarship kid from Queens Tori Tasso? Nobody saw her nomination coming. As the night of the Legacy Ball approaches and secrets begin to be revealed, not all of the nominees will make it out alive.

I was really excited to get a chance to read The Legacies, since They Wish They Were Us was such a fun read that I really enjoyed, and I was hoping for something with just as much intrigue and twisty plot lines. I wouldn’t go so far as to say that The Legacies didn’t deliver that, but it definitely didn’t do it as well. The whole idea of high school kids being picked for membership in an exclusive club felt so similar to that of They Wish They Were Us that it was kind of hard not to see this as a bit of a spinoff idea, one that makes it clear Goodman wrote the better idea first. I did enjoy the multiple POV narrative, as well as the quick jumps forward into the present interspersed throughout, and it was definitely a gossipy read, in the vein of Gossip Girl. I also thought it was really clever how we don’t know who died until the very end of the book, which definitely helped keep my interest in the plot line. If you love books about the lifestyles of Upper East Side one-percenters, then this will definitely be up your alley.

Thank you to @netgalley and @penguinteen for this eARC in exchange for my honest review!

This stunning book by @jessicagoodman beautifully navigates the multi-pov stories of these three girls, and their haunting pasts overshadowing their supposedly promising futures. I can promise you won't see this ending!! I definitely give this book 5 stars! A HUGE thank you to @netgalley @razorbillbooks and @penguinteen for hooking me up with an ARC of this wonderful book!

I'm a sucker for a multi-POV YA mystery, and The Legacies had me binge reading from the moment I started it. New York socialites, a prestigious club, families that are intertwined more than you could ever imagine - this book has it all. I gave it 4 stars because I was able to predict most of the twists, but it was still a fantastic read nonetheless. Fans of Karen M. McManus, this is perfect for you!

The main characters in this book are Tori, Bernie and Isobel. They are all students of Excelsior Prep who have been tapped to join the prestigious private Legacy Club. Being a member of the legacy club will open up all the doors, and basically set them up for life. Tori is the outsider, as she is a scholarship kid who isn’t a member of the elite. There are alternating timeframes of before and after the Legacy Ball. We know there will be a murder at the ball, but don’t know who will be murdered or why.

This was a decent YA book, kind of like gossip girl with a murder thrown in. I liked some characters more than others. I do think that the pacing was a bit slow, and there wasn’t enough building up of tension. For that reason, this was a 3 star read for me.

Thank you to Netgalley and Penguin Group for providing me with an ARC of this book to read and review.

Jessica Goodman is one of the only young adult thriller writer that I will read from. This one was set in a school setting with rich people in a secret society which is a ton of my buzz words. The secrets? Crazy. The drama? Out of this world. The characters? Awful human beings. BUT the spice, the drama, the secrets, the money. FANTASTIC. I would recommend this book if you like the same buzz words that I do.

** Thank you to NetGalley for an advanced reader copy. All opinions are my own. **

Firstly I’d like to thank netgalley for this amazing eARC

So basically the legacies is a thriller about this elite club ‘legacies’ which is almost impossible to get in if you dont have filthy rich parents. When during the ball there’s a dead body and police all around, the connections and the politics all are revealed.
All the main characters are snobby nepotism kids except one, Tori, who is a scholarship kid who just lost her mom, and apparently has no connection to anyone in the club.

This book, which is told with shifting timelines (before and after the ball), was thrilling and gripping from the start, no awkward moments where you have no idea what you’re reading. I started this off thinking it would be more of a murder mystery but it lies more on the drama thriller kind and not much about the murder itself.

I rate this book 5 stars and its one of the best books ive read this year

Thank you to NetGalley for early access to this story.

At first I was intrigued- with the opening sentence. Though this slowly changed, as I found myself a little bored of the teen drama vibe
Though this is a personal preference as a mature age reader. I did not love the multiple perspectives. I did enjoy the chapters being sequenced in a timeline of a very specific event and the chapter titles were a nice touch too.

The Legacies is compulsively readable and twistier than a roller coaster. Goodman delivers the suspense again, this time within New York City's elite social scene. Readers are given the perfect amount of information throughout to build suspense and keep them hooked. The reveals and twists literally had my jaw on the floor.

Another Jessica Goodman book that I absolutely couldn't put down. This one centers on a secretive, invite-only society for high schoolers from elite backgrounds, and the mystery that takes place during initiation.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Group/Razorbill for providing me with an ARC of The Legacies by Jessica Goodman in exchange for an honest review.

I really struggled with the first half of this book. I honestly can't remember most of it because it didn't hold my interest--I kept putting the book down and having to reorient myself to the characters and plot over and over. However, at the 50% mark the mystery came alive and I plowed through to the end very quickly!

I didn't like not knowing who had been murdered--it made it hard for me to care about the story. However, by the time I finished, I realized that this was necessary to the overall plot because of the way the story unfolded. I also had a few issues with the switching of POVs and time periods, mostly because I was constantly stopping and restarting the novel and couldn't keep up with the characters and setting; this style just didn't work for my short attention span. In the second half of the book, I got a deeper feel for the characters and their entanglements. I really liked Isobel, but wish she had been more directly involved in what was going on with Tori and Bernie rather than mostly being an onlooker. I did like that this novel didn't turn out the way I thought it would!

I don't think I will purchase this for my classroom. If I struggled with it, I know my students will give up too soon to get to the good part. This book was not for me, but I think many YA mystery readers will enjoy it!

I’m going to be perfect honest here, the first three books that Goodman released, really weren’t that great. I actually kept reading her books as a joke because I didn’t like any of them at all.

BUT, this one was so much better!! Her writing and storytelling really grew and shined through on her fourth book release!

If you loved Gossip Girl and easy binge worthy books, The Legacies is it! There are twists and turns, betrayals, rich teens that are entering a exclusive money hungry club only one of the main characters is from the lower class side of town and mysteriously gets chosen to join this club. It was pretty entertaining the whole story and definitely will still be picking up Goodman’s books!

I couldn’t put the book down, it’s perfect for a summer day where you just want to binge the heck out of a book, which is what I did lol.

Read if you like:
- Gossip Girl
- Private clubs
- Betrayal
- Twists & turns
- Secrets
- Multiple POVs
- Messy characters
- Binge worthy
- Dual timeline

Rich privileged kids. An invitation you don’t want to miss. A party to die for.

The Legacy Club is a club you must have an invitation and nomination to be a part of. If you’re in, it opens up endless lifelong possibilities. THE college shoe in. THE career path of a lifetime. AND favors from friends in high places. Who wouldn’t want to be a part of this? Most of the kids nominated are a given. They have family members that are already a part of the group or are well off living the life of luxury. There is one scholarship that sticks out however, Tori Tasso. She isn’t wealthy and doesn’t live that high life normally. So what is she doing there? The week leading up to the Legacy Ball there is a lot of pressure but soon everyone will find out how Tori was nominated and why? She doesn’t fit in, but desperately needs the winning prize. One dead body at the party and a lot of gossipy privileged kids is the perfect mix for a drama filled book!

This book was a fast paced young adult thriller that I flew through in one day! I thought the book was entertaining because it was full of backstabbing, lying, betraying characters. The mystery behind the missing mother I had a hard time piecing together and kept me interested until the end. At times, I did have a hard time connecting with the characters because I didn’t really like any of them, except maybe Tori. The kids were all self absorbed entitled people. I absolutely enjoyed the setting of exclusive club invite only setting. it’s intriguing to me because this power driven, “who you know” type of relationship happens in real life and I always enjoy seeing how it plays out! Thank you Jessica for inviting me into this world!

This format was done so perfectly. I definitely got some gossip Girl vibes which I loved. The back and for POV kept me wanting to read "just one more chapter". I loved the suspense of not knowing who the victim was and trying to figure out who it could be. The competitiveness really just moved this story forward and kept me very intrigued. This is what a YA thriller should be!

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Group for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

The Legacies is a thriller that has secrets hidden inside other secrets. The pacing was really fast jumping between the night After The Party and the week leading up to it. The characters were interesting and I liked that everyone were flawed.

A perfect read for fans of intrigue, betrayals and secrets!

Thank you to Razorbill and NetGalley for an ARC of this book, in exchange for my honest opinion.

Everyone seems to enjoy this book, so I went in with high expectations. But for me it just did not deliver. I found most of the characters very unlikeable, their experiences too unrealistic, and just too many drawn out pages with unnecessary information. Even the ending was a let down, by not letting you learn the entire truth to one of the stories many mysteries. There was just too much going on throughout this story.

I was initially drawn in by the glitz and glam of the rich and elite of NYC. We meet and follow a group of seniors, Bernie, Isobel, Skylar, Tori, and Lee. They all attend the ultra elite school, Excelsior, and have all been nominated to be inducted into the prestigious Legacy club. We follow their adventures, and mishaps the week leading up to the Legacy Ball, which ends in tragedy.

Again this book wasn’t a great read for me, but I do think if you’re into YA and a mystery with lots of moving parts, it could be enjoyable for you!

This is a YA thriller about NYC's elite teenagers and the "Legacy" society they are nominated to join. I thought this book started out great. The plot was driven and enthralling. The reader isn't even sure of who died until later in the book. It moves from the past to present with each chapter and told in multiple viewpoints of each female main character, so you know their internal thoughts and struggles. Then you get to the end. That was the real "what the hell?" moment. How do you even end a book that way? I actually tried to keep scrolling thinking it was a kindle problem, but no, that was the unsatisfying ending.

The last fourth of the book got choppy and I struggled to find out the WHY for everything. Why did Bernie's mom have to disappear? Yes, there was a divorce and legal matters but she couldn't make herself available to her own daughter or even give her a heads up as she's about to embark on a week she's been waiting for her whole life BECAUSE OF HER MOTHER. Then all of a sudden, lawsuit be dammed, mom shows up for the ball.

The death. I am still unsure about this one. The fight scene was so jumbled I was left wondering if it was an accident or was murder the end goal. For a thriller you kind of want that to be loud and clear.

They could have edited so many things to make room for a more substantial ending. It feels like time and maybe page count got in the way and this great story (reminiscent of the gossip girl days) was left with a mess of an ending. It left me having to make too many assumptions about motive and what actually happened instead of leaving me satisfied with the story. So, I thought maybe its left open because its meant to be a series. Nope, no signs of that, and even if it were it was left open like a gaping wound. The rest of the book was great, so I have no doubt the author had a better ending rolling around in their head. I felt sloppy and rushed.