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A Dangerous Legacy
(Empire State #1)
by
Telegraph operator Lucy Drake is a master of Morse code and has made herself a valuable asset to the Associated Press news agency. But the sudden arrival of Sir Colin Beckwith at rival British news agency Reuters puts her hard-earned livelihood at risk. Colin is talented, handsome, insufferably charming—and keeping a secret that jeopardizes his reputation.
Despite their riv ...more
Despite their riv ...more
Paperback, 334 pages
Published
October 3rd 2017
by Bethany House Publishers
(first published October 2017)
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Start your review of A Dangerous Legacy (Empire State, #1)

I definitely enjoyed this tale of New York, reporters, Morse Code, and danger. It came in the mail today, and I was glad to dive right in. I intended to read a single chapter and get back to the other book I'm reading, but the story grabbed me from the beginning.
Lucy is likable from the start, and it's easy to identify with her longing to find justice and to shake off her uncle's stalkers, who are content to spy on her life and keep her and her brother from realizing their full potential in lif ...more
Lucy is likable from the start, and it's easy to identify with her longing to find justice and to shake off her uncle's stalkers, who are content to spy on her life and keep her and her brother from realizing their full potential in lif ...more

I was not expecting the character of Lucy to be what she was in this book- I think the pearls on the cover threw me off. (While there are pearls in the story, I don't believe she ever wears them). Lucy is one determined woman, holding tightly to her values but willing to get a little down and dirty when battling unscrupulous people. Her strength is admirable, and I loved how the author also portrayed her flaws, exhaustion, and yearnings for a different life. She is complex in that way since she
...more

Honestly, Elizabeth Camden's books are just all the ingredients I love. I truly think she is writing for me! She has a masters in history, so her research is unparalleled, she has an easy, accessible writing style, characters and dialogue that leap off the page and a keen sense of time and verisimilitude. But, I think what I find most impressive, is the ease in which she excavates snippets of history not usually explored onto which she shines the spotlight of her inimitable narrative style.
I als ...more
I als ...more

Feb 27, 2017
Grace Mullins
marked it as to-read
Elizabeth Camden has a second book releasing in 2017? Um, YES! YES, YES, YES! *wants book now* *right now*

Another book by Elizabeth Camden means another excellent read! What makes her such a strong writer, is her ability to remain fitting and true to the time period she chooses, but also makes the plot intriguing and gives you a heroine you can root for.
I enjoyed the relationship between Colin and Lucy. There were some frustrations (which again, were very fitting for the time period), but I thought Camden did an excellent job with that part of the story.
I really liked Lucy (and Colin too!). But Lucy ...more
I enjoyed the relationship between Colin and Lucy. There were some frustrations (which again, were very fitting for the time period), but I thought Camden did an excellent job with that part of the story.
I really liked Lucy (and Colin too!). But Lucy ...more

I would give this book 10 stars if I could. Equal parts fascinating, intruiging, and entertaining. Plenty of rich history for my taste. There were so many twists and turns, I was kept guessing until the last chapter, which resolved everything perfectly. The characters were fully-developed and completely loveable (except the ones you love to hate). I will read everything Camden writes forever.

About this book:
“Lucy Drake's mastery of Morse code has made her a valuable asset to the American news agencies as a telegrapher. But the sudden arrival of Sir Colin Beckwith at rival British news agency Reuters puts her hard-earned livelihood at risk. Newly arrived from London, Colin is talented, handsome, and insufferably charming.
Despite their rivalry, Lucy realizes Colin's connections could be just what her family needs to turn the tide of their long legal battle over the fortune they wer ...more
“Lucy Drake's mastery of Morse code has made her a valuable asset to the American news agencies as a telegrapher. But the sudden arrival of Sir Colin Beckwith at rival British news agency Reuters puts her hard-earned livelihood at risk. Newly arrived from London, Colin is talented, handsome, and insufferably charming.
Despite their rivalry, Lucy realizes Colin's connections could be just what her family needs to turn the tide of their long legal battle over the fortune they wer ...more

What an adventure this was! From apartments to mansions, from the sewers to an asylum, and more! There were, secrets, intrigue, suspicions, spying, encrypted messages, a psycho doctor..... *deep breath* ...and of course, there was romance too. ;)
This isn't a very fast-paced book at first. I kinda wish it was, but it's not. While I was very much enjoying the story, it was still pretty easy to put down and set aside for a while... which is exactly what I ended up doing for a couple of weeks abo ...more
This isn't a very fast-paced book at first. I kinda wish it was, but it's not. While I was very much enjoying the story, it was still pretty easy to put down and set aside for a while... which is exactly what I ended up doing for a couple of weeks abo ...more

Enjoyable!
I loved the history woven into this novel...AP and Reuters, transpacific transmissions and water valves. So interesting!
While I didn't love main characters Colin and Lucy, they definitely had admirable traits and I especially liked the names they had for each other: "London" and "Yankee". The inclusion of carrier pigeons was a nice touch.
I look forward to Nick's story in book two. ...more
I loved the history woven into this novel...AP and Reuters, transpacific transmissions and water valves. So interesting!
While I didn't love main characters Colin and Lucy, they definitely had admirable traits and I especially liked the names they had for each other: "London" and "Yankee". The inclusion of carrier pigeons was a nice touch.
I look forward to Nick's story in book two. ...more

Wow! This book took me totally by surprise the whole time!
I usually get a little bored with mysteries because I have them totally figured out about halfway through. Not with this one! I thought I had at least figured out how one of the issues would resolve itself, but even that was wrong!
Besides the great mystery, I thoroughly enjoyed both of the main characters, Lucy and Colin. Lucy is strong and valiant, but still feminine. She is not so independent that she doesn't dream of falling in love an ...more
I usually get a little bored with mysteries because I have them totally figured out about halfway through. Not with this one! I thought I had at least figured out how one of the issues would resolve itself, but even that was wrong!
Besides the great mystery, I thoroughly enjoyed both of the main characters, Lucy and Colin. Lucy is strong and valiant, but still feminine. She is not so independent that she doesn't dream of falling in love an ...more

So much happened in this book and I loved reading it all! The story opens up the world of telegraphy at the beginning of the 20th century and follows Lucy and Colin, two people passionate about their work and with troubles of their own. A heartless uncle, a crumbling English manor, homing pigeons and a trek in the sewers of New York are just a few of the things that make their way into this book.
The banter between Colin and Lucy was fun to read and the sparks between them shot through the pages ...more
The banter between Colin and Lucy was fun to read and the sparks between them shot through the pages ...more

Truth: the last few books I've read of Elizabeth Camden's have been slightly disappointing. Nothing has lived up to Against the Tide, which I adore.
I am so happy to say this is my second favorite Camden book, coming second only to Against the Tide.
I loved it. It was exciting and there was danger involved, but not too much. And the characters were delightful.
So glad I read this one! ...more
I am so happy to say this is my second favorite Camden book, coming second only to Against the Tide.
I loved it. It was exciting and there was danger involved, but not too much. And the characters were delightful.
So glad I read this one! ...more

Lucy Drake works for Associated Press in New York, helping to distribute updates to newspapers all over America by Morse code.
Her brother Nick is a plumber working to supply tenants of New York's multi storey apartment buildings with running water. He does this in secret as Lucy and Nick have a longstanding lawsuit against their uncle concerning the plumbing invention their father did right before he went off to war. Their father’s invention makes Nick’s work in the apartment buildings technica ...more
Her brother Nick is a plumber working to supply tenants of New York's multi storey apartment buildings with running water. He does this in secret as Lucy and Nick have a longstanding lawsuit against their uncle concerning the plumbing invention their father did right before he went off to war. Their father’s invention makes Nick’s work in the apartment buildings technica ...more

Nov 21, 2018
Kellyn Roth
marked it as did-not-finish
I got distracted. There's not a thing wrong with the book. :P However, I'm going to have to pick it up at a later time. I don't know why, but for some reason, there were months on end when I couldn't pick up a book and make myself finish it ... but I will finish this one later. For now, it just goes back on my "to-be-read" shelf.
.........
I just DNFed this book a second time. I DON'T KNOW WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME! Every time I start this book, I read the first chapter and get distracted.
Maybe I need ...more
.........
I just DNFed this book a second time. I DON'T KNOW WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME! Every time I start this book, I read the first chapter and get distracted.
Maybe I need ...more

Something I did that I don't recommend? Reading a series in reverse order. Sadly, that's the way I was able to borrow them through Overdrive. But, all's well. Each book within the Empire State series is easily a stand alone, however with recurring characters reading them in order would be beneficial.
A Dangerous Legacy, like each book in this series, is not what I would specifically call Christian Fiction. Ms. Camden (at least in this series) seems to have veered away from her faith inspired stor ...more
A Dangerous Legacy, like each book in this series, is not what I would specifically call Christian Fiction. Ms. Camden (at least in this series) seems to have veered away from her faith inspired stor ...more

Elizabeth Camden's historical fiction always captures my attention. This story is filled with suspense, danger, romance, and history. Focusing on the beginning of the competition between England's Reuters News Agency and the United States own Associated Press News Agency, the two agencies are constantly competing for getting the news out the fastest. Lucy Drake is the only woman telegrapher for AP and Sir Colin Beckwith is the manager of the Reuter's office in New York.
I loved the twists and tu ...more
I loved the twists and tu ...more

There were several times while reading this book, that I had to put it down.... NOT due to poor writing or storytelling, but because I was getting nervous for these characters. I was actually worried that this story would not have a happily-ever-after ending!
I have read almost all of Elizabeth Camden's books and she is most definitely a "go-to" author for me. Her stories are always solid and she takes her own personal passions throughout history and gets her readers to care about them as well. ...more
I have read almost all of Elizabeth Camden's books and she is most definitely a "go-to" author for me. Her stories are always solid and she takes her own personal passions throughout history and gets her readers to care about them as well. ...more

Easily one of the best of this genre that I've read in 2017. I'm not going to go into an incredible amount of detail here, since it's been over a month since I read it, but I felt like I should give this book at least a sliver of what it deserves.
The history. SO rich. So seamlessly inviting. It's not EVERY day that you get to travel the sewer systems of New York.
The characters. Beautifully flawed, yet redeemed. I actually was a bit wary of the FMC and her brother at first, because they were a l ...more
The history. SO rich. So seamlessly inviting. It's not EVERY day that you get to travel the sewer systems of New York.
The characters. Beautifully flawed, yet redeemed. I actually was a bit wary of the FMC and her brother at first, because they were a l ...more

One thing that you can always know you'll get when you pick up an Elizabeth Camden novel is history. I'm not talking about a time period, necessarily, but a lifestyle. You will learn so much about the era she chooses to write in. You will learn how they lived, worked and loved.
This time she takes us to the Turn of the Century. In a time of booming industry, factories, wires, and even plumbing, she intertwines a beautiful story. Of course, there is much more than that to it! You can count on love ...more
This time she takes us to the Turn of the Century. In a time of booming industry, factories, wires, and even plumbing, she intertwines a beautiful story. Of course, there is much more than that to it! You can count on love ...more

Note: I won this book in a Goodreads giveaway, but was not asked for a review of any kind in exchange. I'm am only writing this review because I like sharing my bookish thoughts and opinions. :-)
I have not read any books by Elizabeth Camden before and probably would not have for a while had I not won this book, so she was a completely new author to me and I did not know what to expect going in. Overall, it wasn't bad at all. I really enjoyed the historical elements like talk of the laying of the ...more
I have not read any books by Elizabeth Camden before and probably would not have for a while had I not won this book, so she was a completely new author to me and I did not know what to expect going in. Overall, it wasn't bad at all. I really enjoyed the historical elements like talk of the laying of the ...more

Elizabeth Camden's books are so quirky that they fill your heart with fuzzy feelings and make a silly smile impossible to be hidden.
Plus, she has the talent to pick "simple" historical facts/inventions (many things we might actually take for granted today) and spin a fascinating story that grows very strongly in your heart. And the way she ties all these little details to support the main plot is truly astonishing. Maybe you've heard that her novels are veeery detailed, but no fear, there's noth ...more
Plus, she has the talent to pick "simple" historical facts/inventions (many things we might actually take for granted today) and spin a fascinating story that grows very strongly in your heart. And the way she ties all these little details to support the main plot is truly astonishing. Maybe you've heard that her novels are veeery detailed, but no fear, there's noth ...more

A spy, a bold telegraph operator, Messenger pigeons and morse code. It eventually kept me very entertained!
It started a little slow for me but I really enjoyed the second half.
I really liked Lucy I thought she was very bold and brave. Her courage really shines through this story. However I didn’t like Colin much even at the end!
I like that the author lead the story to a very dangerous edge :)
This was my first by Elizabeth Camden and I look forward to reading more in the fire.
I also listened ...more
It started a little slow for me but I really enjoyed the second half.
I really liked Lucy I thought she was very bold and brave. Her courage really shines through this story. However I didn’t like Colin much even at the end!
I like that the author lead the story to a very dangerous edge :)
This was my first by Elizabeth Camden and I look forward to reading more in the fire.
I also listened ...more

Reviewed at my blog: Babbling Books
“Theirs was a case of David versus Goliath, and in battles like that, the honorable people were supposed to persevere until they finally won.”I think I’ve said this before but it can’t be stated enough, books with unrealized potential are the ones that frustrate me the most. The books that start out on a path where you can really see great plots, well developed characters and awesome stories but as they go fizzle out into just so-so stories, those a ...more

A Dangerous Legacy by Elizabeth Camden is a unique historical novel that takes place during the early twentieth century. One thing I really enjoy about Camden's novels is her ability to bring the technology we use every day to the forefront of my imagination in a fictionalized story. I'm always drawn into the trouble the characters find themselves in while learning something about the great inventions that have made life easier for modern day life.
Camden does a great job at writing the story. S ...more
Camden does a great job at writing the story. S ...more

I have read plenty of novels in my life in which Morse code played a part in the narrative, however this is the first time I have seen it played out in the setting of a newspaper industry. The history between AP and Reuters was something that I enjoyed learning about, along with how new stories were dispersed in that day. Sometimes it is difficult to wrap my mind around the realization the internet is not as old as it seems to those of us who cannot remember a time without it, and that the sprea
...more

There is something so decadent about an edge-of-you-seat suspense paired with historical romance! And this one is riveting. Deeply intricate story threads woven into a complex pattern of loss and greed and vengeance. A villian who has "...no soul and that let him fight with the single-minded zeal of a jackal." (p 12) and a heroine determined to stand up for what is right and just though it alters the course of her life in devastating ways. A family legacy of sorts that has ensnared both Lucy and
...more

A DANGEROUS LEGACY is the first book of Ms. Camden's newest series. I am seriously behind in reading her books so I have several in my to-be-read as-soon-as-possible pile beside me. I was glad this is the first book of the series so I didn't have to figure out what order to read them in.
I liked Colin, a British hero, with an accent and a sense of humor. What's not to like? Plus, he used homing pigeons which was a unique twist. Lucy is somewhat prickly, but understandable since she is being stal ...more
I liked Colin, a British hero, with an accent and a sense of humor. What's not to like? Plus, he used homing pigeons which was a unique twist. Lucy is somewhat prickly, but understandable since she is being stal ...more
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Romance Book Budd...: A Dangerous Legacy - September 19 | 23 | 6 | Sep 23, 2019 02:16AM | |
Sinopsis en Español // Synopsis in Spanish | 1 | 3 | Mar 15, 2017 04:23PM |
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Empire State
(3 books)
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