★★★ ½ #Legacy
Contemporary romance with a suspenseful twist, Ms. Roberts pens a story of empowerment and controlling one's destiny. Adrian is an unexpected child for a serial cheater who took advantage of a young college student, Adrian's mother - Lina. Lina made the decision to keep her pregnancy and she kept it quiet. Because as far as she is concerned, Adrian is HER daughter and the rat bastard father is merely a sperm donor.
What I liked about this story is how Adrian did not let a traumatic moment in time turn her into a victim. Adrian, following her mother Lina's lead moved on and lives her life at her fullest. This is a heartwarming story of a lackey child who develops strong ties to her grandparents and their community. A young girl who made a stand and followed her dream. A young girl who has a plan and then executes it flawlessly. She finds friends that become life long friends. I wish I had friends like she made. This is truly impressive and I'm not sure if that many people really have friendships like the ones I see in this book. When I read about it, I'm always amazed at how they stick together through good and bad times.
Adrian is an inspiration and role model of what a person can be when they make good choices. From a character development perspective, I loved this book. I enjoy character progression stories. We watch Adrian grow up from a precocious 7 year old into a 30 something year old with a fitness empire. This generous of heart woman seems to have it all: money, fame and amazing family and friends. Of course this is going to cause insanely jealous envy.
The evil perpetrator in this story is not a big surprise when the reveal is made. The hints and glimpses into this troubled person's mind is presented in a similar fashion as Ms. Roberts' alter ego J.D. Robb's writing style. There is a point of view shift that could be disorienting yet it is not. It does give the story a bit of creepy tension caused by a stalker.
Overall, this contemporary romance is a smooth and easy read. I enjoy Ms. Roberts' contemporary romances so much. They may come across formulaic, but it works. She enhances her romances with feelings, family bonds and above all else, hope and new beginnings. Recommended to romance readers who enjoy a solidly written romance that gives warm fuzzy feelings.
