Book Review: Legacy by Robert J Crane {Book 8 in The Girl in the Box series }

Title: Legacy
Series: Girl in the Box
Author: Robert J. Crane
Publisher: Reikonos Press
Date of Publication: 2013
Source: received from author/also bought as well


Goodreads Synopsis:

Time is running out for Sienna Nealon. The mysterious organization Century is only weeks from wiping out the entire metahuman race. But just as Sienna has made the decision to fight them, her past catches up to her and she finds herself in the hands of the U.S. Government. Secrets long buried begin to rise, putting Sienna and everyone she cares about directly in the path of Century...and in a desperate search for the identity of their leader, Sovereign, a man who has plans of his own for Sienna.

My Thoughts:

This is one of those moments when you realize the author has really come into his/her own.  They have created the book that really shows you how much they have worked, how much they have grown, and just how damn good they really are.  
Legacy is that book.   I find myself wanting to blubber on and on about how good this book is.  I loved it that much.  It is powerful and brings together some very interesting characters that I think was genius, and inevitably to make them come together for the showdown that is coming. 
I have always been a huge fan of Crane; he is that undiscovered gem in a sea of self publishing stardom.  If you have not given this author a go I sincerely urge you to.  Mr. Crane can craft a story with so much emotion and creativity that you will find yourself being drawn into the plot experiencing every detail with the characters.  
I honestly feel like Legacy was the "holy grail" for me.  I found nothing, absolutely nothing that I disagreed with, and it just came out perfect.  
One of the reasons was how the chapters were set up.  I loved how he did flashbacks and then present day when it was relevant. And the flashback chapters were executed wonderfully.  The plot lines flowed so well and there was never a dull moment.  The action scenes were even better choreographed and I swear Crane pays so much attention to even the smallest detail, like how the guns are aimed correctly to the type of gas mask Sienna used, that helps us really feel like we are there in the room where the fight is going on.
Sure we could say this is a "guy" book from all the action, fighting, and gore that it pertains but it isn't really even that.  It is everyone's book.  There really is something in Legacy that spans different genres to bring many readers to its pages.  Sienna has really come into her own.  And I loved the remorse she shows, as well as someone else who I was hoping would come to their senses eventually.  There are so many emotions that decorate the pages of this book: guilt, forgiveness, understanding, empathy, and of course fear.  
Then to make a great book even better you add humor to the mix.  Even though Sienna has finally grown into a powerful and deadly young woman, she has kept her comedic relief that has really made this story what it is.  Even in the face of danger, Sienna can still crack a joke?  That is guts right there.  

Last flashback chapter is utter mastery.  I think I read it the whole time with my mouth slightly agape.  Loved it so much!  
We do find out some secrets in this book but Legacy really feels like our climatic book.  I don't know if that makes sense, but it just feels like so many things just came together and fit perfectly with the story.  Now is that to say that the book is loads of happy?  No.  And if you are used to Crane's work, you know he will make us cry with someone that had to kick the bucket.  But I think he puts a lot of thought in the decision and it isn't done easily.  I'm sure he is just as attached to these characters as we are, at least I hope so.  

All in all, I really believe that Legacy brings together many characters that have just added perfection to this book.  This was the most thought provoking book in the series for me and I just felt that Crane has achieved pure writing genius with this one.  
Or simply put ......Mastery.  

I had to give Legacy:

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ARC Review: The Goddess Legacy by Aimee Carter

       Title: The Goddess Legacy

Author: Aimee Carter

                       Publisher: Harlequin Teen, 395 pages

              Publication Date: July 24, 2012

                                             Format: ebook received from publisher on Net Galley

Goodreads Summary:

For millennia we've caught only glimpses of the lives and loves of the gods and goddesses on Olympus. Now Aime e Carter pulls back the curtain on how they became the powerful, petty, loving and dangerous immortals that Kate Winters knows.

Calliope/Hera represented constancy and yet had a husband who never matched her faithfulness....

Ava/Aphrodite was the goddess of love and yet commitment was a totally different deal....

Persephone was urged to marry one man, yet longed for another....

James/Hermes loved to make trouble for others-but never knew true loss before....

Henry/Hades's solitary existence had grown too wearisome to continue. But meeting Kate Winters gave him a new hope....

Five original novellas of love, loss and longing and the will to survive throughout the ages

My Feelings:

This collection of short stories offer us insight into the why the gods and goddesses act the way they do now.  For some, I still kept my opinion of them but for others this little bit of background information pushed me toward more understanding of them.

I love how Carter included other lesser gods/goddesses in some of the stories so we realize it isn't just about the big ones.  I would really like to see another book about some of the interactions of the other gods/goddesses, especially Iris.  I really like Iris.  

The first short story is about Hera.  Carter takes the original mythology of the gods and she twists it and spins it to create a something very new.  Everyone knows Zeus became the "king of the gods" but in this story we learn Hera truly wanted to be the queen of the gods, mainly without Zeus.  

I wanted to like Hera because of what she has to go through; but in the end I just couldn't.  She came off as a proud snotty goddess who believed she was better than all of them.  

I didn't agree with the way she handled  things, especially blaming the children for Zeus' ways.  

The second story is about Aphrodite.  From all the ancient mythologies we assume that she is conceited, petty, and vain.  And for the most part...she is.  But we also see what a great mother Aphrodite became and how she discovered the love she has inside of herself.  She, of course, is the Goddess of Love.   Through this short story I got to see the other side of Aphrodite; a caring person who risked her privacy to save someone.    

The next story is about Persephone and the misery she and Hades has to go through.  This short story was probably the most important of them all so we can finally see what Hades went through to become the lost and empty husk of a man Kate falls in love with.  

I tried to like Persephone, I really did!  I promise!  And there was parts where I finally understood why she thought the way she did.  But in the end, I still found Persephone to be spoiled and plain bratty.  

I thought Kate felt sorry for herself a lot in the first book, but Kate has nothing on Persephone at all!  Which makes no sense because Persephone had it all... except what she believed was true love.  

But I don't look at Persephone as the "whore" that everyone else seemed to think she was.  She was feeling trapped and just didn't understand her part to play.  I think if her mother and father would have given her the chance to actually have a say so in her life then she very well might have chose Hades... but I doubt it.  

She was too into what Persephone wanted to care about Hades.  Though she does to seem genuinely upset that she is hurting him it is almost like she doesn't care enough.  

I did enjoy the fact that she was willing to give up everything, including her immortality, for a human.  I think that showed us that she could redeem herself.  

Then we have a story about Hermes.  By far this is my most favorite of all the short stories which pretty much shocked me!  I think this story shows us what he loses and gains to become who he is today.  

I enjoyed reading from his perspective  and it gave me more respect of him.  He realizes the mistake he made with Persephone but he doesn't want the coldness that he gets from his family.  

We also get introduced to another goddess, Iris, in this story and I have to say I LOVE Iris.  I would be very happy to see more of her in upcoming releases of Aimee Carter.  In fact I think we might see more of her and maybe something will creep up between her and Hermes???  I am keeping my fingers crossed...

Hermes takes it upon himself to go and find out why the older god and goddess, Helios and Selene, can't be found anywhere.  This adventure takes him onto the surface and he meets a few mortals that make him realize what love and family really is.  

From the sacrifices that Hermes makes, he inadvertently saves them all.   

And the last story is ...can you guess?  It is about Hades.  

Growing up reading about the Greek myths, I always liked Hades.  I know that was weird, huh?  But it was just cool to think he ruled over the dead, in another world almost.  

I actually like that these stories show us Hades as a gentler softer person and much less petty than the other gods and goddesses.  

I mean think about it: he doesn't have to live with the others vying for power and affection because he has all the power in the Underworld.   Why wouldn't he be more mature and more serious, as well as more faithful?

Hades' story is the only one that isn't written in first person point of view but it still feels like it.  I guess in this way, Carter allows us to see Hades and the others' emotions objectively.  

I did, however, feel like Hades seemed to be a little naive when it came to Hera's feelings for him.  And for some reason, I just cannot look at Hades as naive.  So that didn't go for me there.  

Again, I think Hermes is so much more than what he seems and he deserves much more respect than the other gods give him.  He plays a special part in Hades story as well as Kate's story too.  

I find it very romantic that his favorite memory of Kate is also her favorite memory with her mother.  That definitely makes things much more interesting!  

All in all, I really enjoyed these collection of stories about the gods and goddesses and the background information we get on them.  I cannot wait for the third book in the series, but I think this novella was a perfect companion to the Goddess Test books.  

I had to give it four hearts!