I really enjoyed this book! This book is perfect for people that like Gossip Girl and mystery thrillers. It combines those two things perfectly. This was all about an exclusive and elite club in New York and the rich privileged children and an outsider going through the ropes to gain membership, but someone ends up dead. I liked that this book jumped timelines and shifted perspectives. It was well executed and held my attention for the entire book. I had to keep reading and know how it ended! Truly a great and fun read!

I'm going to be completely transparent here. This was not my favorite Jessica Goodman book. It was still extremely well written structurally, but contextually it was just a bit meh for me. I love her writing and I was absolutely ecstatic to be approved for this ARC but it left a bit to be desired. I will say, however, the ending sent me for a loop. It almost redeemed the whole book for me. Still worth the read though as all of her books usually are. 3.5/5 stars.

I'm going to be completely transparent here. This was not my favorite Jessica Goodman book. It was still extremely well written structurally, but contextually it was just a bit meh for me. I love her writing and I was absolutely ecstatic to be approved for this ARC but it left a bit to be desired. I will say, however, the ending sent me for a loop. It almost redeemed the whole book for me. Still worth the read though as all of her books usually are. 3.5/5 stars.

I would like to thank Netgalley, PENGUIN GROUP Penguin Young Readers Group, and Jessica Goodman for granting me a ARC of The Legacies in exchange for my honest review of the book. Ms. Goodman is a talented writer and the reader is left guessing as to who exactly is "killed" at the Legacy Ball until the reveal.. Since the story is not told chronologically it left me constantly wanting to keep reading but I was disappointed with who exactly was killed. I guess I was not that vested in this character. I also wish she would have time jumped to the Legacy week that is pivotal to the plot line instead of hearing about it from those who were present. I was also frustrated with the actual ending with Tori reviving a letter...I kept trying to turn the page of my kindle. So I am not sure if this was on purpose OR possible set up for a second book. BUT it left me feeling like it was unfinished....

Thank you Netgalley and Razorbill for this eARC!

This was my first book by Jessica Goodman, and I definitely enjoyed it. It provided a fun look into the intricacies of the Upper class in NYC and the secrets and lies that inundate even the teenagers. At times some of the plot was confusing and details were hard to understand, but once I hit the 50% mark I couldn't stop reading. Some of the topics were a little more intense than I feel like I've seen in a YA book recently (drug & alcohol addiction), and I'm not sure if there would have been a better way to discuss possible recovery and the reasoning behind the addiction beginning. A content warning is necessary in my opinion. I definitely didn't predict the ending, and for awhile I wasn't even sure who the victim was. I liked the format of going back and forth between the past and present. It provided a good insight and foreshadowing into the main events of the novel.

Basically, this was Gossip Girl meets Big Little Lies - if that description appeals to you, you're going to love this book! This was definitely one of those that read as "entertaining but not good" to me. I didn't really care for any of the characters, and it was all a little too predictable. But I was entertained and I think it's intended audience, teens, might really like it. 3 stars Netgalley, 2 stars Goodreads

I am a sucker for mysteries set at elite boarding schools...it's a unique niche, I know. But this delivers. Its it a masterpiece of intrigue? No, but it's fun and it scratched an itch I've had. Go with the flow on this and you won't regret it!

Thank you to Netgalley and Penguin for the ARC of this book.

I was pulled in by the cover and title and the description solidified that it was a book I needed to read! (please also note that the version I read was an uncorrected text)

This one pulled me in quick. It is a fun setting taking place amongst a high society elite club that members need to be nominated into. They then participate in a week of events prepping them for the final event- The Legacy Ball.

Throughout the legacy week the members and new inductees anticipate luxurious attire, an opulent ballroom and sumptuous food. No one expected a death.... or worse.... possibly a murder?

Everyone is doing their best to appear deserving of their nominated spot. Who will have secrets revealed? Who can each member truly trust? This story was a quick easy read. It kept me wanting to know what would happen next.

Definitely would recommend. =]

This was another juicy tale from Goodman; however, it was missing the heart and spirit of her previous works. If you are willing to overlook this, it is a fast-paced ride of privilege and intrigue. I will still read whatever Goodman gives us!

True to form, this is a wild ride of a mystery that lives up to the promises it makes. With all the politics, drama, and glamor of Gossip Girl and the intrigue of The Counselors. Told in four perspectives-- a detached third of the aftermath of the death and the three girls who are wrapped up in it.

The structure propels the story forward; the release of information is timed perfectly in each of the perspectives to reveal twists and turns right when you think you've figured out what's going on. There are some moments, particularly towards the end, where it feels a little convoluted or hard to follow or unconvincing, but this didn't ruin it for me.

Sometimes the stakes/intensity felt a little off. For instance, there's a lot of tension around something one character, Isobel, said to another, Bernie, at a party. It's supposedly so bad we don't find out what it is for a while-- and when we do, it's the kind of thing said in the heat of the moment that hurts but doesn't necessarily ruin a friendship.

If this sounds like something you'd be into-- read it! It's a great mystery with so so so much drama, really interesting dynamics, and complicated characters.

Sadly I finish this book with a big "meh", as it was very average: there were things really interesting and others really boring that I can only give a 2.5 stars.

I really liked the Legacy Club idea, the way everything was around that club, high society and what everything did or knew to get there easily. The Legacy week was interesting as itself. The whole story surrounding the death and the revelations was still really great.

But it was extremely slow and predictable. Only the last 40% were really holding me on my seat, even tho I wasn't surprised by any reveals made (again, it was too predictable). The first 60% were just blah blah to me and way too many useless description. It felt like the book could have been perfect with less than 200 pages but somehow a novella was turned into a full novel.

I really liked the "Elite" vibe (from Netflix, without the adult/sexual side), with flashbacks from the moment of the death and up to the discovering of the body, police questionning, as well as current timeline with the whole socialite thing and all the drama. But I was also very frustrated because, unless the tv show, we get to learn who's dead only at the very end of the book. I would have prefered to know who were dead and get into investigation mode through my reading to know why would they be dead and who could have done it. But it's a personal liking, hence why it's upped to a 3 stars here!

This was a quick easy page turner. A guilty pleasure suitable for beach reading. The characters are awful people and pretty whiny. They all have pretty idyllic lives. Even the "outsider" has a pretty sweet existence.
The ending I found to be a bit unsatisfying. I think it would have been okay, But the build up, and intertwining of the "after the party" incidents throughout the book, made it feel like some big horrible reveal was coming at the end.

Pretty little liars meets gossip girl. Point blank period. Loved the thriller aspects but do wish it seemed higher stakes.


Content Warnings:

infidelity, grief, loss of a parent, medical malpractice, substance abuse, death

I tried,but unfortunately
,I couldn't make it past 18% on this book. None of the characters or plot development stick with me,so...anyways,I would highly encourage and recommend other people to try this one,since ever reader has a experience with a book. Thank you net galley and penguin group for having my opinion on this one.

This book is a thriller and mystery staged against the elite of New York society, and it delivers on the mystery but not so much anything else. I didn't particularly engage with any of the characters and I think maybe this just wasn't the book for me. Twists were fairly good though!

Thank you to the publisher for providing a review copy.

There is nothing I enjoy more than a “Gossip Girl” type book mixed with murder. This author captures perfectly the illustrious lives of Manhattan’s elite but tainting their shinty world with lies and deceit. I loved the juxtaposition of characters and how the author played with the theme of wealthy versus not.

The different POV kept the story fast past and the Interesting and past and present dual storyline kept the mystery alive throughout the book. Though some of the twists are a little predictable, it didn’t ruin the overall vibe of the book because it is very well written. This author is good at building tension within a scene and keeping the reader hooked until the very last page.

Thank you to Penguin Teen and NetGalley for this ARC

Thank you to Penguin Teen and NetGalley for an ARC of this book.

I like YA thrillers, they can be so well written, but this book just wasn’t it for me. The idea seemed awesome, and something that I would enjoy, but honestly, I struggled to get into this book.

First, I wasn’t enjoying the writing style that much. I struggled with it, because the inner thoughts, narration, and dialogue all felt stilted/didn’t work for me.

I wasn’t invested in most of the plot of the characters, the only plot I was somewhat invested in was Bernie’s. And even then I was just so-so on it.

It did come together in the end, but not enough for me to have really enjoyed it. The last 15% was the most enjoyable of the whole book.

This was a case of "it's me not the book". I've grown tired of YA mysteries in the style of "Gossip girl" or "Pretty little liars" but I'm sure this book will work for the target readers.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
Trigger Warning: Murder, Drugs/Alcohol

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

If you love Gossip Girl and Bretty Little Liars this book is definitely for you. I could not put this book down.
The Legacy Club is an elite club in none other than New York City. The first thing the reader learns is that it is the night of the Legacy Ball and someone is murdered. Throughout the book we get multiple POV’s and flashbacks leading up to that fateful night. It was fast-paced with plenty twists and turns.

I was so excited to review an ARC of The Legacies! Coincidentally, Jessica Goodman was a year ahead of me at Penn, and it's been awesome to see her become one of the queens of the YA murder-mystery thriller genre. Unlike her past novels, The Legacies is not a murder mystery but rather a slow-burn thriller. At the beginning of the novel, we learn that one of the high school students at Excelsior is dead, but not which one. Thus, it's more about who's been killed than who did the killing. The title refers to the Legacy Club, an elitist club to which some of NYC's most privileged young people gain entry to each year. The novel alternates between three POVs: Golden child Bernie Kaplan, her artistic (and benzo-addicted) best friend Isobel, and Tori Tasso, the proverbial fish-out-of-water scholarship student. I think Bernie and Tori's POVs would have been sufficient to carry the novel; I found myself skimming some of Isobel's passages. Goodman has written an entertaining book, for sure, but it's a bit too long and then wraps up neatly. I also thought the characters were really archetypes rather than fully-fledged; the book tells a really classic morality tale of the have's and the have-not's that's not really nuanced. Overall, this is still a fun YA thriller read for summer. I think some of Goodman's past books were more original, and I look forward to seeing what she writes next!