I’m going to show you why us. How us. I’m asking for a lot. Your future. Your love. Your loyalty. Your body. Your children. Your life,” he says. “But I’m offering you the same things in return.”
I fell in love with Dylan Allen after reading her book, Envy. It hurt my heart in the most delicious way. The strife between Graham and Apollo left me sick at times. I needed them to be together so much that I found myself taking breaks from it to alleviate my breaking heart. For me, that is the beauty of a well-written romance.
I just finished Dylan Allen’s newest book, The Legacy. I was worried that the main characters, Hayes and Confidence, would follow the same path as Graham and Apollo, and I waited a day or two after its release before reading it, thinking I would need to prepare my heart. Boy was I wrong.
In my foray to reading more romance, I have come to expect a certain level of strife between the main hero and heroine. There is the typical trope wherein they fight against the odds to be together, and it takes most of the book for them to finally inhabit a relationship.
This isn’t really the case with Allen’s story. Hayes and Confidence meet at the beginning of the book, struggle at first out of a misunderstanding, and recognize quickly that they are “meant to be.” There is a time when they break up, but their love is never lost, and they reconcile quickly. As far as their relationship, that is the easy part of the book, especially because these two characters are delicious. Like, I want to gobble them up.
First and foremost, Confidence is the perfect representation of strong womanhood. She is the voice of reason (for the most part) in this book, and her words, her glorious words, save Hayes. She helps transform him into a man of social integrity. He is responsible for the continuation of his legacy, one that could net more monetary worth for his family. However, she shows him that the true power behind money is social obligation, and his legacy is forever changed.
Confidence, however, is not possible without Hayes. As I’ve mentioned in a prior blog post, there is something in the authorial minds of recent romance writers, especially writers that I love. They are writing men, serious alpha males, who have compassion and loyalty to the women they love. They don’t undermine the female characters. Instead, they empower them. This is insightful in our #metoo times. We want men who know their place as providers and the strength of a partnership, but these male characters also recognize their strength comes from their relationship with the heroine. In The Legacy, Hayes is a flawed man. His wealth and past experiences have made him suspicious of people. He doesn’t trust easily, and he struggles with connecting with others. After meeting Confidence, judging her falsely, and finally saving her, he quickly recognizes her value. This is not the norm in most romances. It often takes the male hero most of the book to see this. That isn’t the case with Hayes. Once this happens, even when they break up, the reader understands these two characters will end up together, Hayes will insist upon it. We are able to watch them grow stronger as a couple, falling in love with their coupleship as they fall deeper in love with each other. Dylan Allen writes THE most beautiful relationship between Hayes and Confidence. I spent most of my time highlighting the most heartfelt dialogue between the two.
Now, for me, this book is about so much more. The real message of this book is not the message of love in the traditional romantic sense. Instead, the message of this book is social responsibility. Allen is asking the question: what is one’s duty to one’s community especially if one has money? How does one show a “love” for one’s community? This is the true love affair of this book, and it happens within the community of River’s Wilde, an enclave of Houston. We are treated to a community bent on helping its citizens. Allen spends so much time focusing on this theme, that you know this is the take away from her book. Through the character of Confidence, we see the importance of social responsibility, and Hayes’s transformation to this understanding offers the most profound moments in the book. This is the book’s true beauty.
In all, I LOVED this story. Really, really loved these characters. Like her writer-sister, Kennedy Ryan, we are treated to the way that romance genre can be something more than its characters. We are given a lesson in how to be better citizens.
“I mean that you started like that for me. A pin prick sized drop of water on the very still waters of my life. And the minute you touched me, you caused a ripple that blurred everything I thought I was certain of. The way I saw myself, my obligations, my future. And now, just like that river you love so much does, it winds its way south, you rush through me, and I’m drowning in you.”
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There are 4 books in this series.
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Popular Highlights in this book
“My mother told me that we speak from our brains, but we hear from our hearts,” I say.Highlighted by 89 Kindle readers- “My kind are hunters and trackers. We’re keepers of tradition. We’re salt of the earth. I refused to feel ashamed of that.”Highlighted by 59 Kindle readers
- “I know rivers, but you made me forget the danger. I forgot to cage my love for you. And now, I’m drowning in it,” I whisper.Highlighted by 50 Kindle readers
From the Publisher
The Legacy
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The Legend
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The Jezebel
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The Gathering
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| Price | $5.99 | $5.99 | $5.99 | $2.99 |
| Tropes | Billionaire, Enemies to Lovers, Holiday Fling Turned More, Opposites Attract | Second Chance, First loves reunited, forced proximity, single parent | Second Chance, Forbidden, Starcrosed Lovers, Age Gap, Single Parent, Holiday Fling turned more | Holiday Novella |
| Steamy | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Emotional | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| HEA | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Interconnected Standalone | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Destination Setting | ✓ | no data | ✓ | ✓ |
| Binge Worthy | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
About the author
Dylan Allen does it again! The Legacy is an excellent romance!!!
Dylan Allen writes outstanding romances, this is nothing new. If you’ve yet to read her words, then you’re totally missing out. Her latest work, The Legacy, is the start of a new series, The Rivers Wilde series, which will follow two wealthy Texas families, The Rivers and The Wildes. As the first book in this new series, I think Dylan has set herself up for success and I am dying to see a certain secondary character get his own HEA so I hope that the words come to her fast and we see that book in the very near future—like next month if I had my say! 😉 “…The Rivers are old, Texas money. Sugar, oil, and natural gas are how they made their fortune. And with that bounty, they helped found the city of Houston. The Wildes are the new money. The bourgeoisie. They built their wealth in restaurants, grocery stores and real estate. And they have made a fortune that casts the old money into the shade...” Dylan Allen romances are unputdownable. The plots are fresh and angsty. The characters memorable. And I always love them. The subject matter of The Legacy wasn’t as heavy as Envy—its plotline largely related to the drama associated with coming from a wealthy family. Upon reading the introductions to Hayes as a child, I was sure we were bound to get a dark story but Dylan Allen focused more on the twists, turns, and drama of a wealthy family, finding balance in life and added a LOT of sexy chemistry to temper the plot. It made The Legacy refreshing because I was coming off of several darker reads. Also, the pace of the book is faster than Envy—which I desperately needed at the time I picked up The Legacy. As far as the characters are concerned, I had mixed feelings for both Hayes and Confidence. I didn’t dislike either of them, that’s important. I just didn’t love Confidence the way I have floved a few of Dylan’s other female protagonists. She was spunky one minute, and then a push over the next and that was hard for me because I do like really strong heroines. I know that not everyone will agree with me on that, and for that reason, I still urge you to read the book and decide for yourself whether Confidence is your kinda heroine. Equally important to this was my first impression of Hayes. And I will be the first to tell you that I was completely off base about him! My first impression was that he was an a$$hole, and while I love an a$$hole alpha, Hayes was not the good kind. This flawed perception formed by his treatment of Confidence at the wedding they both attended. Yet, almost immediately, he grew on me. Then I had to wonder what I didn’t like about him to begin with because the more we delved into his history as the story progressed, the more I liked him. He’s learned from early on not to trust people because “By virtue of being a Rivers, you’ll have people who try to get close to you just to use you for money or access something they perceive as a gatekeeper of.” So, I guess what I am getting at is it's important for readers to decide for themselves whether this pair is your ideal hero and heroine. Also, I can’t deny that a huge part of me loved Hayes because he’s dirt and delicious… he’s completely my kinda hero and I was sooo wrong about him after that first impression. Dylan Allen wrote a book that is sure to leave you needing access to BOB, a S.O. and a change of panties—then again, I have never read a book that Dylan’s written that wasn’t SUPER HAWT! "There's a hurricane swirling inside of me," she whispers. "That's me,"I tell her between small nips at her throat. "I'm coming apart..." If you’ve read Dylan’s work in the past, you don’t bother with reviews because you know what you’re getting when you pick up one of her books. So, this review is largely for new readers—you shouldn’t wait any longer to read a book Dylan Allen’s written. You’re missing out if you do. Grabbing The Legacy will just give to a taste of her considerable talents and I am sure you’ll be thanking those of us who reviewed her books for introducing you to your next five-star read. "If people look at me and think I'm a king, it's because I'm standing next to a queen." 4.5 Stars Read on behalf of Spellbound Stories
Top reviews from the United States
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- Reviewed in the United States on November 1, 2018
- Reviewed in the United States on November 1, 2018
- Reviewed in the United States on December 15, 2020
Top reviews from other countries
- Natalie The BiblioholicReviewed in Canada on June 14, 2021
He's my river. I am drowning in him. And I don't want to be rescued.
- Rainz ❤️rainnbooks❤️Reviewed in India on July 29, 2020
Hot and steamy with good story
