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Legacy #1
Dark Legacy
“Die!” scream her nightmares. The voice is her sister’s, the compulsion stronger than any ordinary dream.
Maddie Temple can’t go through this again. Her twin has been in a coma for the last ten years. Their psychic link was severed. At least, that’s what she thought.
But there’s a lot Maddie doesn’t know—about the 200-year-old curse on her family, about the shadowy group that wants to exploit the Temple twins’ powers for themselves, about the sexy psychiatrist offering to help her. The only way to find the answers antd avoid being pulled into the abyss of madness is to trust her heart and confront her... Dark Legacy.
Maddie Temple can’t go through this again. Her twin has been in a coma for the last ten years. Their psychic link was severed. At least, that’s what she thought.
But there’s a lot Maddie doesn’t know—about the 200-year-old curse on her family, about the shadowy group that wants to exploit the Temple twins’ powers for themselves, about the sexy psychiatrist offering to help her. The only way to find the answers antd avoid being pulled into the abyss of madness is to trust her heart and confront her... Dark Legacy.
307 pages, Paperback
First published July 23, 2009
21 people are currently reading
792 people want to read
About the author
Anna DeStefano
42 books273 followersAnna DeStefano brings to life heart-warming, emotion-packed stories about community, family and second chances. Her award-winning, nationally bestselling small town romances spotlight family, friendships and the forgiveness that nurtures her characters’ dreams…as they explore the issues all contemporary families face.
Anna’s imagination is forever inspired by our ability to claim an unlimited and exciting future—by honestly confronting and bravely overcoming the setbacks of the past.
She’s the author of more than twenty-seven books, including the Echoes of the Heart and the Mimosa Lane novels that are set in Chandlerville, Georgia, and her Atlanta Heroes series.
Look for her other titles featuring the reader-favorite Dixon family: Here in My Heart, Let me Love You Again, His Darling Bride, and Book 3 of the Seasons of the Heart series, Love on Mimosa Lane.
Born in Charleston, South Carolina, Anna’s lived in the South her entire life. Her background as a care provider and adult educator in the world of crisis and grief recovery lends itself to the deeper psychological themes of every story she writes.
A wife and mother, she currently writes in a charming northeast suburb of Atlanta, Georgia, not all that different from her characters’ beloved Chandlerville.
She is also a workshop, masterclass and keynote speaker, a writing coach, and a freelance editor.
Get to know Anna at annawrites.com/blog and the Anna DeStefano: Author page on Facebook, where she shares her inspirations, her challenges, a healthy dose of honest optimism, and tidbits about upcoming projects.
Anna’s imagination is forever inspired by our ability to claim an unlimited and exciting future—by honestly confronting and bravely overcoming the setbacks of the past.
She’s the author of more than twenty-seven books, including the Echoes of the Heart and the Mimosa Lane novels that are set in Chandlerville, Georgia, and her Atlanta Heroes series.
Look for her other titles featuring the reader-favorite Dixon family: Here in My Heart, Let me Love You Again, His Darling Bride, and Book 3 of the Seasons of the Heart series, Love on Mimosa Lane.
Born in Charleston, South Carolina, Anna’s lived in the South her entire life. Her background as a care provider and adult educator in the world of crisis and grief recovery lends itself to the deeper psychological themes of every story she writes.
A wife and mother, she currently writes in a charming northeast suburb of Atlanta, Georgia, not all that different from her characters’ beloved Chandlerville.
She is also a workshop, masterclass and keynote speaker, a writing coach, and a freelance editor.
Get to know Anna at annawrites.com/blog and the Anna DeStefano: Author page on Facebook, where she shares her inspirations, her challenges, a healthy dose of honest optimism, and tidbits about upcoming projects.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 99 reviews
June 9, 2011
DNF.
In all fairness, I'm not sure I should write a review on this book, since I didn't finish it. However, I feel like I must warn people who might be thinking of buying it. The premise sounded really good: girl tortured psychically by her comatose twin, as a relationship brews with the handsome doctor determined to keep her sane. Throw in some covert agencies, mind control, and bam! Awesome story, right? Wrong.
First of all, we're dealing with so many bouncing POV's, it's hard to keep straight who we're talking about. Most of the time, I found myself struggling just to figure out whether Maddie is controlling her own mind or Sarah is. Then, I tried to wade through the murk of Sarah's experiment-induced dreamscape. There are ravens and metaphoric weapons that turn into real weapons and there's a mysterious Brotherhood and some unidentified bad-guys... and it's really just a train wreck. And to make matters worse, the dream-program is actually called a "Dream Weaver." So on top of the headache I got reading this, I'm now subjected to bad 70's stoner music stuck in my head for the duration of the night.
So, no, I won't be making it past page 103. And I won't be reading the sequel. I'm sorry, but this was not for me.
*ARC Provided by NetGalley
In all fairness, I'm not sure I should write a review on this book, since I didn't finish it. However, I feel like I must warn people who might be thinking of buying it. The premise sounded really good: girl tortured psychically by her comatose twin, as a relationship brews with the handsome doctor determined to keep her sane. Throw in some covert agencies, mind control, and bam! Awesome story, right? Wrong.
First of all, we're dealing with so many bouncing POV's, it's hard to keep straight who we're talking about. Most of the time, I found myself struggling just to figure out whether Maddie is controlling her own mind or Sarah is. Then, I tried to wade through the murk of Sarah's experiment-induced dreamscape. There are ravens and metaphoric weapons that turn into real weapons and there's a mysterious Brotherhood and some unidentified bad-guys... and it's really just a train wreck. And to make matters worse, the dream-program is actually called a "Dream Weaver." So on top of the headache I got reading this, I'm now subjected to bad 70's stoner music stuck in my head for the duration of the night.
So, no, I won't be making it past page 103. And I won't be reading the sequel. I'm sorry, but this was not for me.
*ARC Provided by NetGalley
January 11, 2010
As many who've read this book have mentioned, this book defies being placed into one genre or another. There is suspense, romance, sci-fi and paranormal elements to this complex story. It's not a traditional romance. If you are looking for something different that is very light on the romance then you might want to check this out.
Although the story takes off right from the start, it was hard for me to get pulled into this book because I just couldn't buy that there was ever anything between Maddie and Jarred before Sarah started influencing Maddie. This makes the risks that Jarred takes throughout the book to be very hard to believe. In my opinion, if you can't see the relationship between Maddie and Jarred, then the rest of the book falls flat.
In fact, I never came to feel deeply for any of the characters and I thought the slight love story that was included didn't have any sparks. Again, I question whether Maddie and Jarred had any real feelings for each other. The relationship seems too forced, probably because of the intensely fast pacing of the story, but it still needed something more for me to buy into the story.
Dark Legacy works much better as a suspense story and I would have enjoyed it more if it had left out the slight try for romance. I really felt the forced romantic elements took away from what was a very well written paranormal suspense. As I mentioned, the pacing is furious as the story unfolds and Anna fills every second with intense scenes and emotions. She keeps the suspense at the highest level throughout the entire book and you race through the story.
But, it left me wanting more. I wanted a more believable romance tied into the story and I hope that the next book provides that. I was also left feeling like I didn't really like any of the characters except Jarred – and even he got on my nerves because I couldn't figure out why he would risk his life for Maddie. The rest of the characters all leave you wondering if they are pure evil, or what they are looking to get out of each other.
This book got a huge amount of hype online and I was so looking forward to reading it. Unfortunately, because the romance didn't work for me at all, it clouded how I felt about the book as a whole. Add to that not having any likable characters and this just wasn't a book for me.
If you go into it just for the paranormal suspense and don't always need to relate/connect with characters, then you might be able to enjoy it since the language and pacing are very good.
Although the story takes off right from the start, it was hard for me to get pulled into this book because I just couldn't buy that there was ever anything between Maddie and Jarred before Sarah started influencing Maddie. This makes the risks that Jarred takes throughout the book to be very hard to believe. In my opinion, if you can't see the relationship between Maddie and Jarred, then the rest of the book falls flat.
In fact, I never came to feel deeply for any of the characters and I thought the slight love story that was included didn't have any sparks. Again, I question whether Maddie and Jarred had any real feelings for each other. The relationship seems too forced, probably because of the intensely fast pacing of the story, but it still needed something more for me to buy into the story.
Dark Legacy works much better as a suspense story and I would have enjoyed it more if it had left out the slight try for romance. I really felt the forced romantic elements took away from what was a very well written paranormal suspense. As I mentioned, the pacing is furious as the story unfolds and Anna fills every second with intense scenes and emotions. She keeps the suspense at the highest level throughout the entire book and you race through the story.
But, it left me wanting more. I wanted a more believable romance tied into the story and I hope that the next book provides that. I was also left feeling like I didn't really like any of the characters except Jarred – and even he got on my nerves because I couldn't figure out why he would risk his life for Maddie. The rest of the characters all leave you wondering if they are pure evil, or what they are looking to get out of each other.
This book got a huge amount of hype online and I was so looking forward to reading it. Unfortunately, because the romance didn't work for me at all, it clouded how I felt about the book as a whole. Add to that not having any likable characters and this just wasn't a book for me.
If you go into it just for the paranormal suspense and don't always need to relate/connect with characters, then you might be able to enjoy it since the language and pacing are very good.
September 19, 2009
http://janicu.livejournal.com/83161.html
This book was sent to me by Dorchester as well (yes a string of books from them here lately). I had mentioned my interest in anything like the Shomi line, and this has some science fiction, paranormal and romance elements in it, which seemed to be in the same kind of vein.
The Premise: Maddie Temple is a promising young ER doctor who for the past three months has gone from being well-liked to unreliable and flagged for psychiatric screenings at work. The problem lies in Maddie's past and a very troubled twin named Sarah. Sarah, who was put into long-term care for a vegetative coma after a car accident that killed their father has somehow invaded Maddie's mind, slowly pushing Maddie into madness. Psychiatrist Jarred Keith wants to help Maddie, but he doesn't know what's going on. Is Maddie losing touch with reality like her twin? Is that the family's curse? Or is there some other conspiracy going on?
My Thoughts: This was mostly romantic suspense although the psychic aspects made also a paranormal. There's a lot of action, much of it involving Maddie and Sarah's mental instability and trying to stop them from hurting others because of it. Moments of clarity seem few and far between and the reader is propelled along a dark and disturbing ride with confusing images of a reoccurring nightmare involving the Raven, trees, a gun, and someone screaming. This nightmare is repeated throughout the story, sometimes interrupting other events and jarring the reader as much as it probably jars the characters.
There are a lot of disjointed sentences. In the dialogue there's people interrupting each other, letting their sentences trail off and yelling. Even the third person narrative gets interrupted by the dialogue. Other times, Maddie or Sarah are interrupted by each other's mental link, so Maddie will suddenly undergo a transformation from herself into a hateful screaming banshee. It's frustrating to read. You want to shake the characters so that they'll listen to whoever is speaking! Unfortunately most of the characters are angry and confused about what's going on so there are a lot of verbal fighting. It made me dislike them sometimes. All of these things added up to an emotionally draining reading experience. I think this was probably all deliberately done by the writer to make the drama the characters experience more realistic to the reader, but you do have to be in the right frame of mind for it, and I'm not sure all readers would be happy with the technique.
There is a romance that is going on at the same time as the suspense between the two doctors, but it seems that it's an already mostly established one. Dr. Keith is already in love with Maddie, she just wants to push him away before he gets embroiled in her mental nightmare. Of course Dr. Keith won't have any of this, and is pretty patient with Maddie, going beyond what I thought a normal guy would have accepted. His persistence pays off in saving Maddie, but because of where the story is, I had to just suspend disbelief and believe that Maddie was worthy of his loyalty. I understood that his patience and mental connection makes him the perfect partner to her and I hadn't seen Maddie before she was close to a psychotic break, but there was so much angry emotions surrounding the story it was hard to concentrate on the romance. I also had to suspend belief when they were having sex, because it felt like inappropriate timing. There was a lot of feelings going on by then that I was not really connecting to, plus I didn't like some of the phrasing during the act.
Overall: A fast-paced suspense, but very dark and emotionally draining. It's one of those books where you have to be in the right frame of mind to read it because there's mental mind games and turmoil and really angry (and at times unlikeable) characters. The anger is done realistically, which means things are messy, and that could be a difficult read for some. It looks like there may be a sequel to this one, but I probably won't pick it up.
This book was sent to me by Dorchester as well (yes a string of books from them here lately). I had mentioned my interest in anything like the Shomi line, and this has some science fiction, paranormal and romance elements in it, which seemed to be in the same kind of vein.
The Premise: Maddie Temple is a promising young ER doctor who for the past three months has gone from being well-liked to unreliable and flagged for psychiatric screenings at work. The problem lies in Maddie's past and a very troubled twin named Sarah. Sarah, who was put into long-term care for a vegetative coma after a car accident that killed their father has somehow invaded Maddie's mind, slowly pushing Maddie into madness. Psychiatrist Jarred Keith wants to help Maddie, but he doesn't know what's going on. Is Maddie losing touch with reality like her twin? Is that the family's curse? Or is there some other conspiracy going on?
My Thoughts: This was mostly romantic suspense although the psychic aspects made also a paranormal. There's a lot of action, much of it involving Maddie and Sarah's mental instability and trying to stop them from hurting others because of it. Moments of clarity seem few and far between and the reader is propelled along a dark and disturbing ride with confusing images of a reoccurring nightmare involving the Raven, trees, a gun, and someone screaming. This nightmare is repeated throughout the story, sometimes interrupting other events and jarring the reader as much as it probably jars the characters.
There are a lot of disjointed sentences. In the dialogue there's people interrupting each other, letting their sentences trail off and yelling. Even the third person narrative gets interrupted by the dialogue. Other times, Maddie or Sarah are interrupted by each other's mental link, so Maddie will suddenly undergo a transformation from herself into a hateful screaming banshee. It's frustrating to read. You want to shake the characters so that they'll listen to whoever is speaking! Unfortunately most of the characters are angry and confused about what's going on so there are a lot of verbal fighting. It made me dislike them sometimes. All of these things added up to an emotionally draining reading experience. I think this was probably all deliberately done by the writer to make the drama the characters experience more realistic to the reader, but you do have to be in the right frame of mind for it, and I'm not sure all readers would be happy with the technique.
There is a romance that is going on at the same time as the suspense between the two doctors, but it seems that it's an already mostly established one. Dr. Keith is already in love with Maddie, she just wants to push him away before he gets embroiled in her mental nightmare. Of course Dr. Keith won't have any of this, and is pretty patient with Maddie, going beyond what I thought a normal guy would have accepted. His persistence pays off in saving Maddie, but because of where the story is, I had to just suspend disbelief and believe that Maddie was worthy of his loyalty. I understood that his patience and mental connection makes him the perfect partner to her and I hadn't seen Maddie before she was close to a psychotic break, but there was so much angry emotions surrounding the story it was hard to concentrate on the romance. I also had to suspend belief when they were having sex, because it felt like inappropriate timing. There was a lot of feelings going on by then that I was not really connecting to, plus I didn't like some of the phrasing during the act.
Overall: A fast-paced suspense, but very dark and emotionally draining. It's one of those books where you have to be in the right frame of mind to read it because there's mental mind games and turmoil and really angry (and at times unlikeable) characters. The anger is done realistically, which means things are messy, and that could be a difficult read for some. It looks like there may be a sequel to this one, but I probably won't pick it up.
October 14, 2011
This seems more suited for readers who just graduated from YA Paranormal. Not my cup of tea. The set-up went from sounding cool (twin sisters with a psychic link - one of whom is comatose and being experimented upon) and wound up cliched.
Maybe I'm the wrong reader for this genre (I usually stick to crime), but I've read my fair share of paranormal. For an example of a better use of the sisters-connected-by-psychic-link, check out "The Remains" by Vincent Zandri. I read that one before reading "Dark Legacy."
Maybe I'm the wrong reader for this genre (I usually stick to crime), but I've read my fair share of paranormal. For an example of a better use of the sisters-connected-by-psychic-link, check out "The Remains" by Vincent Zandri. I read that one before reading "Dark Legacy."
May 25, 2011
I'm stretching the truth by marking this as "read". Unless read means, "barely made it through 6 confusing chapters" then, okay. I read it.
Maybe I didn't give it enough of a chance but there was just so much going on in such a short amount of space that it was information overload. I'm pretty sure my brain shut down at one point in an act of self-preservation.
Maybe I didn't give it enough of a chance but there was just so much going on in such a short amount of space that it was information overload. I'm pretty sure my brain shut down at one point in an act of self-preservation.
Read
September 3, 2009I probably shouldn't have marked this one 'read' because this was a did not finish for me. I started the book and read one confusing chapter after another. I finally just gave up. I hope someone else had better luck with this one. I'm just upset I spent money on it.
January 7, 2020
Started strong
Started strong- the book started interestingly. The characters were written well and the story New and intriguing. About halfway it became hard to read, relate and keep my interest. It became boring. It was the same thing page after page. Sarah saying kill and maddie doing her bidding until jarred stops her. This would have been great as a short story or maybe a novella. I will attempt another by this author as I always believe in second chances but couldn't finish this.
Started strong- the book started interestingly. The characters were written well and the story New and intriguing. About halfway it became hard to read, relate and keep my interest. It became boring. It was the same thing page after page. Sarah saying kill and maddie doing her bidding until jarred stops her. This would have been great as a short story or maybe a novella. I will attempt another by this author as I always believe in second chances but couldn't finish this.
February 17, 2020
So my anger, shouting and denial. I couldn't handle it. Maddie was flying all over the place, not accepting anything, which was driving me crazy to read about.
I skimmed through the rest real fast. I saw tons of arguments and thoughts repeated continuously. Jumped to the end.
Not my cup of tea.
I skimmed through the rest real fast. I saw tons of arguments and thoughts repeated continuously. Jumped to the end.
Not my cup of tea.
October 15, 2017
Doesn't have a cliff-hanger, per se, but the story is far from over when you reach the end. I don't care for these kinds of series.
September 28, 2024
I didn't really like this. Not totally engaged with this, but will try the next one.
September 20, 2011
2.5 - 3 stars
I was rather pleasantly surprised by this despite the low ratings. While it was by no means the best book I had ever read, I found it rather intriguing and fascinating. It was a paranormal romance with a strong suspense-thriller component - or was it the other way around? As a thriller, therefore, it was kind of dark and spooky, especially since I was reading in the dark. The nature of Maddie and Sarah's abilities made the whole experience of reading almost surreal and confusing, but that was also what I found so interesting. I was better able to identify with Maddie and Dr. Keith, who find themselves struggling to figure out what is going on, who they can trust, and how they can regain their normal lives.
The plot didn't make a whole lot of sense to me, probably because I couldn't clearly understand what was going on. I didn't understand exactly what the Wolf's mission was, and who he was. The world-building, in retrospect, seems a little sparse. While I kind of understood what the Watchers were, I didn't understand what the Brotherhood were. I didn't get a sense of either of their histories either. There was this big deal about the Temple legacy or the Temple curse but I didn't think this was explained adequately. Furthermore, a revelation toward the end of the book made me wonder whether this had anything at all to do with a Temple anything instead of targeting certain types of psychics. Finally, there were some questions such as...how was it that Dr. Keith was able to be on the run with Maddie and not think about whether he will still have his job when he returns?
I have mixed feelings about the characters. One thing I admired about them was the fact that almost all of them had deep flaws. Almost all of them. Dr. Keith was almost too perfect - loyal and trusting and strong from start to finish. I didn't understand how he could start developing some sort of psychic ability to connect with Maddie when he had not had any to begin with. This was not explained. Although I had to commend him for trying to do his best to protect Maddie and I couldn't blame his distrust of the Raven, it was so frustrating to see how he kept demanding answers and kept accusing the Raven of everything when time was clearly of the essence so he should have just shut up and got the hell out of the situations they were in. I'm tempted to label him as a TSTL hero but...I really could not blame him for wanting to ensure Maddie would be safe with the Raven.
Maddie was too helpless. While her strong psychic abilities made her a force to reckon with when under her insane twin's influence, from Chapter 1 to the very last chapter, she needed Dr. Keith. On the one hand, her mental status was deteriorating due to the Wolf's and her twin's tampering so it was understandable that she would need a lot of help. In fact, this helplessness didn't really bother me much as I was reading because it fit the context of the story. On the other hand, when I think back on it, I wish she was stronger. What I liked about her was that I kind of see her as a somewhat atypical heroine because her particular disability is a gradual deterioration of her mental status and being on the verge of insanity. I don't often come across books where the heroine's sanity can be questionable.
Her relationship with Dr. Keith was believable because they had been kind of seeing each other before the start of the story. Dr. Keith's loyalty, strength and support made it seem obvious to me why Maddie would fall in love with him. While I didn't see what the attraction was going the other direction, I could accept that perhaps he had seen something in Maddie that he had really liked before Maddie started having problems.
Sarah was...a total nutcase. However, the author successfully made me feel sorry for her. What I found intriguing about this character was the fact that she is clearly the heroine of a story yet to be told, but she is more of an atypical heroine than Maddie. She is certifiable and has done things that you would rarely find a romance heroine doing, and yet she is the other half of a relationship that remained in the background of this story. I am interested to see how the author pulls her HEA off.
Just as intriguing was the Raven, the man who loved Sarah. It was kind of hard to believe because we were never really shown what attracted him to her, considering Sarah had spent nearly almost all her time in either a coma or a drug-induced dream state - and she was crazy. It was also a little hard to believe that he cared about her so much given the fact that he participated in the experiment that nearly destroyed her. However, I was able to accept the fact that he had to hurt her in order to save her due to their particular situation.
So, overall, I guess I kind of enjoyed the book. I mostly appreciated the way the author seemed to push the envelope when it came to characterization. It left me bemused and interested in checking out Book 2.
I was rather pleasantly surprised by this despite the low ratings. While it was by no means the best book I had ever read, I found it rather intriguing and fascinating. It was a paranormal romance with a strong suspense-thriller component - or was it the other way around? As a thriller, therefore, it was kind of dark and spooky, especially since I was reading in the dark. The nature of Maddie and Sarah's abilities made the whole experience of reading almost surreal and confusing, but that was also what I found so interesting. I was better able to identify with Maddie and Dr. Keith, who find themselves struggling to figure out what is going on, who they can trust, and how they can regain their normal lives.
The plot didn't make a whole lot of sense to me, probably because I couldn't clearly understand what was going on. I didn't understand exactly what the Wolf's mission was, and who he was. The world-building, in retrospect, seems a little sparse. While I kind of understood what the Watchers were, I didn't understand what the Brotherhood were. I didn't get a sense of either of their histories either. There was this big deal about the Temple legacy or the Temple curse but I didn't think this was explained adequately. Furthermore, a revelation toward the end of the book made me wonder whether this had anything at all to do with a Temple anything instead of targeting certain types of psychics. Finally, there were some questions such as...how was it that Dr. Keith was able to be on the run with Maddie and not think about whether he will still have his job when he returns?
I have mixed feelings about the characters. One thing I admired about them was the fact that almost all of them had deep flaws. Almost all of them. Dr. Keith was almost too perfect - loyal and trusting and strong from start to finish. I didn't understand how he could start developing some sort of psychic ability to connect with Maddie when he had not had any to begin with. This was not explained. Although I had to commend him for trying to do his best to protect Maddie and I couldn't blame his distrust of the Raven, it was so frustrating to see how he kept demanding answers and kept accusing the Raven of everything when time was clearly of the essence so he should have just shut up and got the hell out of the situations they were in. I'm tempted to label him as a TSTL hero but...I really could not blame him for wanting to ensure Maddie would be safe with the Raven.
Maddie was too helpless. While her strong psychic abilities made her a force to reckon with when under her insane twin's influence, from Chapter 1 to the very last chapter, she needed Dr. Keith. On the one hand, her mental status was deteriorating due to the Wolf's and her twin's tampering so it was understandable that she would need a lot of help. In fact, this helplessness didn't really bother me much as I was reading because it fit the context of the story. On the other hand, when I think back on it, I wish she was stronger. What I liked about her was that I kind of see her as a somewhat atypical heroine because her particular disability is a gradual deterioration of her mental status and being on the verge of insanity. I don't often come across books where the heroine's sanity can be questionable.
Her relationship with Dr. Keith was believable because they had been kind of seeing each other before the start of the story. Dr. Keith's loyalty, strength and support made it seem obvious to me why Maddie would fall in love with him. While I didn't see what the attraction was going the other direction, I could accept that perhaps he had seen something in Maddie that he had really liked before Maddie started having problems.
Sarah was...a total nutcase. However, the author successfully made me feel sorry for her. What I found intriguing about this character was the fact that she is clearly the heroine of a story yet to be told, but she is more of an atypical heroine than Maddie. She is certifiable and has done things that you would rarely find a romance heroine doing, and yet she is the other half of a relationship that remained in the background of this story. I am interested to see how the author pulls her HEA off.
Just as intriguing was the Raven, the man who loved Sarah. It was kind of hard to believe because we were never really shown what attracted him to her, considering Sarah had spent nearly almost all her time in either a coma or a drug-induced dream state - and she was crazy. It was also a little hard to believe that he cared about her so much given the fact that he participated in the experiment that nearly destroyed her. However, I was able to accept the fact that he had to hurt her in order to save her due to their particular situation.
So, overall, I guess I kind of enjoyed the book. I mostly appreciated the way the author seemed to push the envelope when it came to characterization. It left me bemused and interested in checking out Book 2.
March 26, 2012
Review brought to you by OBS staff member Heidi
Beware of spoilers
Maddie and Sarah Temple are twins with a special psychic connection. They are able to read people’s thoughts and know what they’re thinking and what’s going on around them. Maddie learned how to block this ability at a young age, but Sarah learned to use it and manipulate people to do what she wanted them to.
When they were young they found an old paper that spoke of “the Temple Legacy” that came from a relative from the witch trials and spoke of a set of twins being born and how they could choose evil or good. Their mother took the paper and threw it away and told them to pretend that it never happened.
Then, when they were teenagers their parents went to pick Sarah up from jail, as she was always in some kind of trouble or other. They got into a car wreck that killed their father and left Sarah in a coma. Maddie saw the whole thing even though she wasn’t there through the psychic connection she had with her sister.
The girls’ mother packed her and Maddie up and moved away for a fresh start.
Now, ten years later, Maddie is having horrible nightmares that include Sarah and that horrible night. They are so bad that they are affecting her during her waking hours as well. She is about to lose her job she loves as an E.R. doctor because the hospital doesn’t trust her alone with patients. A hospital psychiatrist that Maddie had dated in the past, Jared Keith, is her last chance of saving her sanity and her career.
It turns out that Sarah isn’t in a coma anymore, in fact, she is at a local research center where they have been doing testing on her. They are using Sarah to not only connect to people through dreams, but to actually project dreams to these hosts. The ultimate goal is to be able to use Sarah as a government weapon by having her project dreams to people where they could kill themselves or someone else that they feel is a threat.
The lead doctor, Richard Metting, has another agenda though and is making sure that Sarah doesn’t become the weapon he’s supposed to be making her into. But, someone else has been piggybacking his methods and implementing his own dream projections for her, making the results deadly. This other person is also the one that has forced these dreams onto Maddie as well.
Now Maddie, Jared, and Dr. Metting must find Sarah and discover who is doing this and stop them before anybody else is killed and before Maddie goes completely insane.
When I read the blurb on this book I thought it sounded intriguing, but I must say that the story just didn’t live up to my expectations at all!! I found that it was a miracle and a true act of will that I was even able to finish this book as reading it was a slow torture.
When I first started reading the book, everything was a bit confusing, but then once I started understanding what was going on it just became repetitious and boring.
I found the characters to be one-dimensional and not really complete. I also thought the constant dreams mixing with reality annoying and repetitive, especially considering the dreams were pretty much all the same, with just slight variations.
I also really hated how Maddie was so dependent on Jared and that she couldn’t really do anything on her own. I like my heroines to be strong and for them to be able to care of themselves and Maddie just couldn’t. I honestly can’t even consider her a heroine. She was too weak and just felt like a shell of a person.
I’m amazed after reading this book that there is a sequel, Secret Legacy. One of which I can assure you that I won’t be reading.
Beware of spoilers
Maddie and Sarah Temple are twins with a special psychic connection. They are able to read people’s thoughts and know what they’re thinking and what’s going on around them. Maddie learned how to block this ability at a young age, but Sarah learned to use it and manipulate people to do what she wanted them to.
When they were young they found an old paper that spoke of “the Temple Legacy” that came from a relative from the witch trials and spoke of a set of twins being born and how they could choose evil or good. Their mother took the paper and threw it away and told them to pretend that it never happened.
Then, when they were teenagers their parents went to pick Sarah up from jail, as she was always in some kind of trouble or other. They got into a car wreck that killed their father and left Sarah in a coma. Maddie saw the whole thing even though she wasn’t there through the psychic connection she had with her sister.
The girls’ mother packed her and Maddie up and moved away for a fresh start.
Now, ten years later, Maddie is having horrible nightmares that include Sarah and that horrible night. They are so bad that they are affecting her during her waking hours as well. She is about to lose her job she loves as an E.R. doctor because the hospital doesn’t trust her alone with patients. A hospital psychiatrist that Maddie had dated in the past, Jared Keith, is her last chance of saving her sanity and her career.
It turns out that Sarah isn’t in a coma anymore, in fact, she is at a local research center where they have been doing testing on her. They are using Sarah to not only connect to people through dreams, but to actually project dreams to these hosts. The ultimate goal is to be able to use Sarah as a government weapon by having her project dreams to people where they could kill themselves or someone else that they feel is a threat.
The lead doctor, Richard Metting, has another agenda though and is making sure that Sarah doesn’t become the weapon he’s supposed to be making her into. But, someone else has been piggybacking his methods and implementing his own dream projections for her, making the results deadly. This other person is also the one that has forced these dreams onto Maddie as well.
Now Maddie, Jared, and Dr. Metting must find Sarah and discover who is doing this and stop them before anybody else is killed and before Maddie goes completely insane.
When I read the blurb on this book I thought it sounded intriguing, but I must say that the story just didn’t live up to my expectations at all!! I found that it was a miracle and a true act of will that I was even able to finish this book as reading it was a slow torture.
When I first started reading the book, everything was a bit confusing, but then once I started understanding what was going on it just became repetitious and boring.
I found the characters to be one-dimensional and not really complete. I also thought the constant dreams mixing with reality annoying and repetitive, especially considering the dreams were pretty much all the same, with just slight variations.
I also really hated how Maddie was so dependent on Jared and that she couldn’t really do anything on her own. I like my heroines to be strong and for them to be able to care of themselves and Maddie just couldn’t. I honestly can’t even consider her a heroine. She was too weak and just felt like a shell of a person.
I’m amazed after reading this book that there is a sequel, Secret Legacy. One of which I can assure you that I won’t be reading.
March 6, 2023
Mental instability has been known to run in her family but the heroine has always managed to maintain a mask in his life but now whatever control she had over herself is crumbling around her. Years ago, her father was killed in a car accident and her disturbed and ill twin sister was put into a coma and admitted to an institution by her mother. The heroine somehow managed to obtain a respectable career in ER medicine despite her own strange psychic gifts but now, she's tormented by nightmares and the sense of death awaiting around the corner. She begins to catch her co-workers’ attention with her disturbing behavior and it's her previous would be lover that brings it upon himself to try to help her. He doesn't understand why he's so determined to take a chance on this woman but something about her makes him refuse to give up. Her erratic behavior and the fact that she's hearing voices is truly disturbing but even though he's had no prior experience in paranormal happenings, he acknowledges the fact that he can read her mind. He can see they share a psychic connection and he can feel her terror and confusion like it was his own. That's why he'll do anything to help her. She feels so alone in this world where her mother has lied to her and her sister is a crazy homicidal maniac.
When the heroine discovers that her sister has been kept in a secret lab in her very own city, experimented on and left to feel abandoned by her family, the heroine storms to gates to get answers. Only, this is exactly what the powers that be wanted to happen. They've been playing with the sisters’ psychic gifts in hopes that they will slowly drive the heroine crazy and it's been working. They want both sisters in their power. Now that the sister has escaped, the heroine feels compelled to stop her from doing all the horrible things she has broadcasted through their link. She begs the hero to leave, to abandon this quest of his to remain loyal but he refuses to give up on her. He even remains what the sister takes control of the heroine's body and stabs him in their bed. The heroine manages to heal him but the emotional toll this is talking on the heroine's body and mind are staggering. Rapidly she is losing any part of herself and the two sisters are merging together and without the hero's aid and his love, she will be lost forever.
This book is about psychological damage and that's funny because it feels like it's written by a mentally ill author. This book was so freaking disjointed and trippy and I my head was spinning trying to understand what the fuck what doing on. I got it eventually but still, it was a horrible hybrid of complicated and stupidly basic. It was written like it's expected to be this thriller of the deepest darkness part of the mind but in reality, it had the wording and repetition of a young adult novel. Safe to say I did not enjoy the constant and annoying 'DIE' that was shouted every single chapter. It wasn't even clever or necessary, just 'DIE' over and over again. Also, I don't know why the author refused to let any character finish a sentence before he or she was cut off and interrupted. I guess she expected it to portray a sense of urgency and while the book was nonstop suspense, I found this interrupting really annoying. I didn't particularly like any of the characters and I found the heroine to be rather stupid and overly dramatic in everything she did. Yes, she's losing her mind but does she have to be a teenager in a horror movie about it? I ask you. Not impressed by this book and skimmed it frequently.
When the heroine discovers that her sister has been kept in a secret lab in her very own city, experimented on and left to feel abandoned by her family, the heroine storms to gates to get answers. Only, this is exactly what the powers that be wanted to happen. They've been playing with the sisters’ psychic gifts in hopes that they will slowly drive the heroine crazy and it's been working. They want both sisters in their power. Now that the sister has escaped, the heroine feels compelled to stop her from doing all the horrible things she has broadcasted through their link. She begs the hero to leave, to abandon this quest of his to remain loyal but he refuses to give up on her. He even remains what the sister takes control of the heroine's body and stabs him in their bed. The heroine manages to heal him but the emotional toll this is talking on the heroine's body and mind are staggering. Rapidly she is losing any part of herself and the two sisters are merging together and without the hero's aid and his love, she will be lost forever.
This book is about psychological damage and that's funny because it feels like it's written by a mentally ill author. This book was so freaking disjointed and trippy and I my head was spinning trying to understand what the fuck what doing on. I got it eventually but still, it was a horrible hybrid of complicated and stupidly basic. It was written like it's expected to be this thriller of the deepest darkness part of the mind but in reality, it had the wording and repetition of a young adult novel. Safe to say I did not enjoy the constant and annoying 'DIE' that was shouted every single chapter. It wasn't even clever or necessary, just 'DIE' over and over again. Also, I don't know why the author refused to let any character finish a sentence before he or she was cut off and interrupted. I guess she expected it to portray a sense of urgency and while the book was nonstop suspense, I found this interrupting really annoying. I didn't particularly like any of the characters and I found the heroine to be rather stupid and overly dramatic in everything she did. Yes, she's losing her mind but does she have to be a teenager in a horror movie about it? I ask you. Not impressed by this book and skimmed it frequently.
March 29, 2016
Although Dark Legacy's spine lists this as a paranormal romance, I think that including Gothic wouldn't be amiss. There is a certain tenseness to the novel, not quite anticipation, but close to it, as Maddie fights to fit the pieces of a centuries old puzzle together to have a future. As Maddie draws closer to the answer as to why (or what) caused her twin, Sarah, to slowly go mad and cast a dark shadow over the family, the plot only seemed to get more twisted.
And twisted this story becomes as Maddie's reality is slowly leeched away in the wake of her sister's overwhelming madness. There are times when Maddie isn't certain if what she's thinking, feeling or doing are because she wants to or because Sarah has taken control of her. Sarah who's so warped from twenty plus years of having to deal with feeling everything everyone feels, of trying to take drugs to dead out the world enough so that she can be herself and not some random stranger on the street, feeling guilt over the night her father died. I felt the worst for Sarah, even though she's really hard to get along with. Her rage towards Maddie is almost understandable. Maddie also had powers, but she seemed so normal. She didn't have to worry about invading someone's mind and being that person. She wasn't going mad.
The relationship between Maddie and Sarah is hard to describe. Maddie grew up wanting to protect Sarah as much as she could, but also hating her for the madness that she was being driven towards. She could feel that same madness want to leak into her own mind and was terrified of ending up like Sarah. Sarah wanted to latch onto Maddie in order to stay sane, but at the same time wanted to push her away so that she didn't infect her, resenting both the need and the feelings of protection.
The romance between Maddie and Jarred is fraught with problems. Not just that Maddie is anxious over what she feels is her own madness, but also Sarah who doesn't want Jarred to be in Maddie's life (tainted by her own experiences and feelings). The novel itself moves at a quick pace, not dwelling too long before the urgent current beneath the storyline pulls it off once again. I never felt lost, or as if the story was moving too quickly and leaving things behind however.
The surrounding cast of characters--Jarred, Metting, Phyllis (their mother)--represent a rather interesting triangle. Phyllis--who wants to forget and keep secret what the twins do, Jarred--who wants it all over and done with so that Maddie is safe and Metting--who, more or less, started this whole issue and wants it to play out to see the results (at first at least). Their different wants and needs created havoc for the sisters as they struggled to protect, to forgive, to trust.
I'm in hope that because the ending hinted at future possibilities there will be more to tell about the Temple Sisters and more to see as they face a future together.
And twisted this story becomes as Maddie's reality is slowly leeched away in the wake of her sister's overwhelming madness. There are times when Maddie isn't certain if what she's thinking, feeling or doing are because she wants to or because Sarah has taken control of her. Sarah who's so warped from twenty plus years of having to deal with feeling everything everyone feels, of trying to take drugs to dead out the world enough so that she can be herself and not some random stranger on the street, feeling guilt over the night her father died. I felt the worst for Sarah, even though she's really hard to get along with. Her rage towards Maddie is almost understandable. Maddie also had powers, but she seemed so normal. She didn't have to worry about invading someone's mind and being that person. She wasn't going mad.
The relationship between Maddie and Sarah is hard to describe. Maddie grew up wanting to protect Sarah as much as she could, but also hating her for the madness that she was being driven towards. She could feel that same madness want to leak into her own mind and was terrified of ending up like Sarah. Sarah wanted to latch onto Maddie in order to stay sane, but at the same time wanted to push her away so that she didn't infect her, resenting both the need and the feelings of protection.
The romance between Maddie and Jarred is fraught with problems. Not just that Maddie is anxious over what she feels is her own madness, but also Sarah who doesn't want Jarred to be in Maddie's life (tainted by her own experiences and feelings). The novel itself moves at a quick pace, not dwelling too long before the urgent current beneath the storyline pulls it off once again. I never felt lost, or as if the story was moving too quickly and leaving things behind however.
The surrounding cast of characters--Jarred, Metting, Phyllis (their mother)--represent a rather interesting triangle. Phyllis--who wants to forget and keep secret what the twins do, Jarred--who wants it all over and done with so that Maddie is safe and Metting--who, more or less, started this whole issue and wants it to play out to see the results (at first at least). Their different wants and needs created havoc for the sisters as they struggled to protect, to forgive, to trust.
I'm in hope that because the ending hinted at future possibilities there will be more to tell about the Temple Sisters and more to see as they face a future together.
January 25, 2012
Synopsis:
In Book One, Dark Legacy, you dive into Maddie Temple’s spiraling madness as she hunts for the twin sister whose misfiring psychic gifts have come close to destroying Maddie’s world before. Only this time, Maddie’s own psychic gifts are growing beyond her control and her dreams are becoming more and more volatile. Sarah is taking over more and more of Maddie’s sleeping and waking world.
But who is controlling Sarah? The doctors who are supposed to be caring for her in a long-term mental health facility, where Sarah’s lived for 10 years in a coma?
Dark Legacy is a race to understand the symbols and mysteries of Maddie and Sarah’s shared dreams, before it’s too late–before the government perfect the “dream” weapon they’re creating out of the Temple Legacy, and before the Brotherhood of Watchers tracking the Temples’ activities decides to terminate the threat their growing powers are becoming in the government’s hands.
Review:
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The length was good and the story developed quickly. This book had all of the elements I look for in a good book: mystery, intrigue, and well placed romance (as opposed to a romance that exists for the sake of romance). Being partial to military tactics and general strategy, I loved how the author developed the storyline based on a secret government weapons development program. It is like Tom Clancy for women. Following the story of Dr. Madeline Temple, the author creates a vivid world that engrosses the reader from the first page. Madeline’s slow break with reality is deftly written and follows the storyline without being predictable. The author introduces new clues to the mystery slowly in a way that moves the story along without being cliche. These clues are frequently coupled with a new development in Madeline’s development as a psychic.
At times the storyline becomes a little confusing but this is necessary to drawing the reader deeper into Madeline’s break with reality. The mastery of this technique is that the reader begins to lose track of what is “reality” and what is a “dream”, in a way sharing the experience with Madeline. In many ways, the storyline starts to feel a lot like the movie “Inception.”
I often cringe at an author’s attempt to weave romance into a mystery/suspense novel. However, in Dark Legacy the romance is essential to the story. It is well placed and well done. The romance is not a sidebar to the story , it has a relevance to the story and without it, the book would not succeed. At times you question the readiness with which Dr. Keith accepts Madeline’s abilities and the situation at hand but, thankfully, this does not detract from the actual storyline. It does make the romance a little less believable but the author has crafted it well and it works.
Overall, this review feels as though it falls short of my highly favorable opinion of this book. I highly recommend Dark Legacy as a page turner you won’t want to put down.
In Book One, Dark Legacy, you dive into Maddie Temple’s spiraling madness as she hunts for the twin sister whose misfiring psychic gifts have come close to destroying Maddie’s world before. Only this time, Maddie’s own psychic gifts are growing beyond her control and her dreams are becoming more and more volatile. Sarah is taking over more and more of Maddie’s sleeping and waking world.
But who is controlling Sarah? The doctors who are supposed to be caring for her in a long-term mental health facility, where Sarah’s lived for 10 years in a coma?
Dark Legacy is a race to understand the symbols and mysteries of Maddie and Sarah’s shared dreams, before it’s too late–before the government perfect the “dream” weapon they’re creating out of the Temple Legacy, and before the Brotherhood of Watchers tracking the Temples’ activities decides to terminate the threat their growing powers are becoming in the government’s hands.
Review:
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The length was good and the story developed quickly. This book had all of the elements I look for in a good book: mystery, intrigue, and well placed romance (as opposed to a romance that exists for the sake of romance). Being partial to military tactics and general strategy, I loved how the author developed the storyline based on a secret government weapons development program. It is like Tom Clancy for women. Following the story of Dr. Madeline Temple, the author creates a vivid world that engrosses the reader from the first page. Madeline’s slow break with reality is deftly written and follows the storyline without being predictable. The author introduces new clues to the mystery slowly in a way that moves the story along without being cliche. These clues are frequently coupled with a new development in Madeline’s development as a psychic.
At times the storyline becomes a little confusing but this is necessary to drawing the reader deeper into Madeline’s break with reality. The mastery of this technique is that the reader begins to lose track of what is “reality” and what is a “dream”, in a way sharing the experience with Madeline. In many ways, the storyline starts to feel a lot like the movie “Inception.”
I often cringe at an author’s attempt to weave romance into a mystery/suspense novel. However, in Dark Legacy the romance is essential to the story. It is well placed and well done. The romance is not a sidebar to the story , it has a relevance to the story and without it, the book would not succeed. At times you question the readiness with which Dr. Keith accepts Madeline’s abilities and the situation at hand but, thankfully, this does not detract from the actual storyline. It does make the romance a little less believable but the author has crafted it well and it works.
Overall, this review feels as though it falls short of my highly favorable opinion of this book. I highly recommend Dark Legacy as a page turner you won’t want to put down.
September 17, 2009
Born with an extraordinary psychic link to each other, twin sisters Sarah and Maddie discover a secret piece of paper when they were little girls hinting at a legacy. But mom, in her state of denial, disposes of the paper and swears the two girls to forget what they read, it's just a silly myth. Eventually the two sisters grow into teenagers who despise each other. For Sarah seemed evil and on a path of destruction, where as Maddie was all that was good. Then one night a tragic car accident killed Maddie's and Sarah's father, and left Sarah in a coma. To Maddie it was like a blessing having the psychic connection severed from her sister.
Ten years later, all seemed to be going well for Maddie. Until three months ago nightmares began to haunt her in the dark hours of the night. Maddie is on the verge of a mental break-down and with the help of Jarred, a psychiatrist at the hospital she is an ER doctor at, Maddie turns to her mom, insisting, demanding answers to the truth about her and her sister be revealed. And no matter how much protest Maddie spouts against Jarred, he still insists on helping her. Because as strange as it sounds, he senses vaguely the strange things with Maddie, the way she can sense other peoples feelings and get inside their heads. Jarred being a psychiatrist only spurs him on to explore and help Maddie deal with whatever is causing her to mentally shatter piece by piece.
The unnatural and perplexing connection between the two sisters was fascinating and eerily written. But less than halfway into it, it seemed repetitive with the questions and the conversations between Maddie and her mom, and the episodes when things become critical with Maddie and Sarah within their minds. The length almost felt forced, I think everything could have culminated sooner than it did. For me, the suspense and build up began to fall short and I just wanted to know what the Legacy was, and have the answers to other questions.
Overall, I thought it was a near edge your seat suspense. I enjoyed the delicate yet intense bond between Maddie and Sarah. I would liked to have had some of the dream sequences eliminated to focus more on the relationship between them prior to the car accident. I just didn't feel a strong connection with either sister. I liked the relationship between Maddie and Jarred as it was explored and enhanced during Maddie's break-down, how he was there for her, keeping her strong with his warmth and determination to help her.
I do have my reservations with the execution of Dark Legacy, but by the way this one ended I would have to assume there is going to be a second book exploring more of the legacy . And if there is one then I will no doubt pick it up.
Ten years later, all seemed to be going well for Maddie. Until three months ago nightmares began to haunt her in the dark hours of the night. Maddie is on the verge of a mental break-down and with the help of Jarred, a psychiatrist at the hospital she is an ER doctor at, Maddie turns to her mom, insisting, demanding answers to the truth about her and her sister be revealed. And no matter how much protest Maddie spouts against Jarred, he still insists on helping her. Because as strange as it sounds, he senses vaguely the strange things with Maddie, the way she can sense other peoples feelings and get inside their heads. Jarred being a psychiatrist only spurs him on to explore and help Maddie deal with whatever is causing her to mentally shatter piece by piece.
The unnatural and perplexing connection between the two sisters was fascinating and eerily written. But less than halfway into it, it seemed repetitive with the questions and the conversations between Maddie and her mom, and the episodes when things become critical with Maddie and Sarah within their minds. The length almost felt forced, I think everything could have culminated sooner than it did. For me, the suspense and build up began to fall short and I just wanted to know what the Legacy was, and have the answers to other questions.
Overall, I thought it was a near edge your seat suspense. I enjoyed the delicate yet intense bond between Maddie and Sarah. I would liked to have had some of the dream sequences eliminated to focus more on the relationship between them prior to the car accident. I just didn't feel a strong connection with either sister. I liked the relationship between Maddie and Jarred as it was explored and enhanced during Maddie's break-down, how he was there for her, keeping her strong with his warmth and determination to help her.
I do have my reservations with the execution of Dark Legacy, but by the way this one ended I would have to assume there is going to be a second book exploring more of the legacy . And if there is one then I will no doubt pick it up.
May 13, 2011
I was amazingly surprised at this dark tale of anger, love and finally redemption. Dark Legacy tells story of two twins with psychic abilities, and the chance to use their gift for either good or evil a fight to free themselves from those who want control over them, their ability to influence peoples minds though thoughts and dreams. The Temple twins had their connection was severed early on, as Sara went into a coma while in their teens. Maddie went on with her life, tried to be happy, and into the medical field . Alas, someone is waking up Sara and wanting to use the gifts as a weapon. This premise created Ms. DeStefano kept me turning one page after another, her characters rich and full, the landscape dark and full of rich colours that reminded me of Tim Burton film or of Dean Koontz in his dark tales of Chris SnowFear Nothing. Not only do you have a pretty good thriller, but you have a decent romance too. The romance didn't feel forced, but added another dimension to the story.
It seems that this book has received some negative reviews, but maybe I'm not as picky as long as the story is good, and I believe that Dark Legacy is a pretty decent and easy read. I do agree with some in that the dialogue is written so that you can feel the unraveling of Maddie's' and Sara's psyche, and make the book seem darker...really it reminds me of the dialogue in some of Steven King books, this is not a fluffy bunny happy story, more of a dystopia really. I am one who is looking forward to Ms. DeStafano's next installment of the Temple Twins, and I hope I am just as pleased as I was with this book.
It seems that this book has received some negative reviews, but maybe I'm not as picky as long as the story is good, and I believe that Dark Legacy is a pretty decent and easy read. I do agree with some in that the dialogue is written so that you can feel the unraveling of Maddie's' and Sara's psyche, and make the book seem darker...really it reminds me of the dialogue in some of Steven King books, this is not a fluffy bunny happy story, more of a dystopia really. I am one who is looking forward to Ms. DeStafano's next installment of the Temple Twins, and I hope I am just as pleased as I was with this book.
August 23, 2011
Originally posted at: http://longandshortreviews.blogspot.c...
Thought provoking and addictive are just a few of the things that can be said about Dark Legacy. This spine tingling psychological suspense novel kept me glued to my seat. I had to discover what would happen to Maddie and Sarah.
From the first sentence, the reader is dragged into the confused and somewhat broken minds of a set of twin sisters who have inherited the gift of psychic empathy. After one of the siblings slips into a coma after a terrible car accident the other is forced to take on even more responsibility to keep her fractured family together.
From the moment you pick up this book you will be transported into a world where very little makes sense. Following Maddie as she desperately tries to build and maintain a normal life and build her career as an ER trauma doctor, the reader discovers that very little is what it seems. Between secret government agencies experimenting with her sister’s gifts while she is still in a coma and her losing her grasp on reality, Maddie is on the road to destruction. The question is will she be able to pull herself together in time?
Well crafted, Dark Legacy is one of those books the reader will be loath to leave until the very end. There are so few authors who can blend the heart racing suspense of a great psychological thriller with the detail and character development that Anna DeStefano did to produce this magnificent book. If you are the type who loves a good suspense you will not only read this novel once, but you will want to come back and experience it again and again.
Thought provoking and addictive are just a few of the things that can be said about Dark Legacy. This spine tingling psychological suspense novel kept me glued to my seat. I had to discover what would happen to Maddie and Sarah.
From the first sentence, the reader is dragged into the confused and somewhat broken minds of a set of twin sisters who have inherited the gift of psychic empathy. After one of the siblings slips into a coma after a terrible car accident the other is forced to take on even more responsibility to keep her fractured family together.
From the moment you pick up this book you will be transported into a world where very little makes sense. Following Maddie as she desperately tries to build and maintain a normal life and build her career as an ER trauma doctor, the reader discovers that very little is what it seems. Between secret government agencies experimenting with her sister’s gifts while she is still in a coma and her losing her grasp on reality, Maddie is on the road to destruction. The question is will she be able to pull herself together in time?
Well crafted, Dark Legacy is one of those books the reader will be loath to leave until the very end. There are so few authors who can blend the heart racing suspense of a great psychological thriller with the detail and character development that Anna DeStefano did to produce this magnificent book. If you are the type who loves a good suspense you will not only read this novel once, but you will want to come back and experience it again and again.
September 8, 2011
Okay... first let me start by saying it took me almost a month to finish this book. Not because I am a slow reader or because I was busy, but because I kept putting it down to try and find something more interesting to read. How was this book awful you ask. Well let me tell you... first, the characters were absolutely flat and uninteresting. Everything and I mean EVERYTHING I have ever read, I have been able to get attached to at least one character in some small way. Not so with this book. I didn't even care when one of the characters died because I was so done with the book by that point. Second, the theme repeats itself... literally. If I were to count how many times the word "die" appeared in this book... well let me just say that I would have to re-read the whole book. Third, I think this book must have been written by a 12 year old. The grammar was awful, the fragmented sentences gave me a headache and there were some points of the book that I had to re-read just to make sense of what the author was saying. Fourth, the text was seriously confusing at some points to where, again, I had to go back and re-read parts of the book to try and make sense of this garbled rubbish. That being said, I'm extremely happy that this was a free e-book because otherwise I would be demanding my money back for having wasted it on such utter and complete garbage.
May 18, 2011
I read this on Kindle, it was a freebie promotion.
There is A LOT going on in this book. It took me a little to get in to, but part of that was probably because I didn't have time and was reading 1/2 hour here and 1/2 hour there, once I could sit down and just read, it seemed to flow better.
This is a mix of suspense, paranormal, romance, action, thriller -- evil vs. good, reality vs. fantasy, truth vs. lies, dream world vs real world . . . As I was reading, I thought this would make for a good action movie.
If you dissected and questioned all aspects of the book, would eveything make perfect sense? No, probably not, but was an enjoyable and entertaining read.
This is the first in a series and does leave open questions (cliffhanger) at the end. (Which is kind of a pet peeve of mine :)!). However, I will be adding the next book, Secret Legacy to my tbr list.
There is A LOT going on in this book. It took me a little to get in to, but part of that was probably because I didn't have time and was reading 1/2 hour here and 1/2 hour there, once I could sit down and just read, it seemed to flow better.
This is a mix of suspense, paranormal, romance, action, thriller -- evil vs. good, reality vs. fantasy, truth vs. lies, dream world vs real world . . . As I was reading, I thought this would make for a good action movie.
If you dissected and questioned all aspects of the book, would eveything make perfect sense? No, probably not, but was an enjoyable and entertaining read.
This is the first in a series and does leave open questions (cliffhanger) at the end. (Which is kind of a pet peeve of mine :)!). However, I will be adding the next book, Secret Legacy to my tbr list.
June 20, 2011
This was the free Friday selection on my nook this past week. I felt that it was disjointed. I did not like the writing style at all. Obviously being a book about a psychic twin who is having a meltdown can lead to some different issues, but I had a hard time following the characters and their dialogue. Between the mind speak, out loud speak, speaking between the twins and DIE! all the time I didn't enjoy this book as I have many other thrillers. It also set things up for a sequel, with there being a third sister? daughter? sperm donor? I don't think I will read it.
One cool this was that the book ended with everyone running to Lenox, MA in the Berkshires. I like it when I have been to the places talked about in the book. I could picture the trees, Mt. Graylock, some of the stores and things which did help me to ground myself.
One cool this was that the book ended with everyone running to Lenox, MA in the Berkshires. I like it when I have been to the places talked about in the book. I could picture the trees, Mt. Graylock, some of the stores and things which did help me to ground myself.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 1, 2011
This was an "okay" read. It started off with a bang and the suspense/intrigue was high. BUT, the romance aspect was totally unbelievable and not at all necessary to the story. In fact, I ended up really disliking Jarrod, the love interested of the "good" twin, Maddie. He was overbearing, rude & uncontrolled, all in the name of love! And some of the physical scenes were not believable to me. (I'm not referring to the sex scenes. They were...well...odd...)For instance, Maddie is being interviewed by Dr. Metting, who is digging in her unbalanced mind for dream-memories to help save her twin sister. She is having a difficult time, is agitated, and Jarrod...pulls her onto his lap. WHAT?! Just weird to me.
I did like the concept of the government program, the twins' psychosis etc. That would have been enough to make this a much better story for me.
I did like the concept of the government program, the twins' psychosis etc. That would have been enough to make this a much better story for me.
September 21, 2011
I enjoyed this book. It did have many point of views, so if you don't like that or you find that disruptive, this isn't for you. However, if you do like multiple POVs, you'll find the jumping back and forth between the characters contribute to the feeling of running out of time. I enjoy seeing what everyone is feeling and thinking, and it keeps me glued to the page to see what happens next from the upcoming character's point of view. The strange connection between Maddie and her tortured twin, with the men who love and are trying to help them save themselves and their family legacy was very intriguing. And I love that the book didn't end on a cliffhanger, but did have a definite lead into a sequel. I hope can't wait to read DeStefano's next twisted thriller!
September 1, 2011
Her sister's voice screamed in her dreams, "Die!" Maddie Temple couldn't keep doing this night after night. Her twin sister had spent the past ten years in a coma, her condition severing their psychic connection. Or had it?
But what Maddie doesn't know is that a 200-year-old curse haunts her family. And she doesn't know about the shadowy group with plans to exploit the Temple twins' powers for personal gain. She doesn't even know about her feelings for the pushy psychiatrist that keeps offering her help. But deep down, she knows that she will have to learn to trust him if she is ever to find the answers she seeks.
This is a thrilling story, both suspense and romance. An emotional and intense read that left me feeling like I wanted more.
But what Maddie doesn't know is that a 200-year-old curse haunts her family. And she doesn't know about the shadowy group with plans to exploit the Temple twins' powers for personal gain. She doesn't even know about her feelings for the pushy psychiatrist that keeps offering her help. But deep down, she knows that she will have to learn to trust him if she is ever to find the answers she seeks.
This is a thrilling story, both suspense and romance. An emotional and intense read that left me feeling like I wanted more.
September 14, 2011
Honestly, I'm not sure how I'm going to trudge through the rest of this book. My Kindle says I am 30% through and I'm already sick of it. I got it because I thought the idea for the story was intriguing, but at this point I think I'm wasting my time. It's a creative idea, but suffers from poor execution. The point of view shifts around so much that it's hard to figure out which character I'm with. The characters themselves are flat. I don't care about any of them and none of them are even likable. I will finish the book, but only because I hate to start something and then not finish it.
Update: Well, I finished it. It only kept getting worse. It gets one star for the idea which was actually interesting -- too bad the story was so awful.
Update: Well, I finished it. It only kept getting worse. It gets one star for the idea which was actually interesting -- too bad the story was so awful.
April 28, 2012
This was a Free Friday book for my Nook. It is not my style, but it was a fine book to read at the gym. I can't read super-serious books at the gym. They make me run slower. This one was entertaining, a touch of sci-fi for me, and a sort of fun storyline. I found it hard to read, confusing, but I think that was intentional, and I just had to patiently wade through it until answers were presented, assuming that they would be presented. I guess they were. I am not sure I would recommend it, but it might be a good summer read for some people. Really hot love scene in it, too, not badly written, not that I have a lot of experience with books that have love scenes that I could compare it with.
June 29, 2011
Dark Legacy by Anna DeStephano on the other hand was pretty disappointing (Barnes and Noble what are you doing to me!? your free fridays of late are epic fails!) I went for it because BN sold it as “if you liked the movie Inception then you’ll love this book” yea, major lie. The book focuses on twins who have psychic powers and one twin is insane and is being corrupted by the government and being turned into a weapon. A weapon that could kill people via their dreams….
It had potential but it just didn’t work. The characters were too perfect, no one had flaws, everyone could be forgiven of their wrongs…blah blah blah. It was boring and predictable.
It had potential but it just didn’t work. The characters were too perfect, no one had flaws, everyone could be forgiven of their wrongs…blah blah blah. It was boring and predictable.
August 11, 2011
This book is about a pair of twins that have the ability to see and feel each other's dreams and feelings. One is considered bad, the other good. One is put under a government testing learning how to use weapons. The other learns how to heal. But really they both arent bad. It is just what the testing has done and made one believe. Now they reunite after a 10 year separation and have to figure out if they can combine their powers to overcome the dark side "death". It overall is a pretty good book. Kept me interested. A little disappointed with the ending. Or should I say the open ending. Overall goodread.
February 20, 2010
If you love paranormal romances with a shocking twist, you'll love Dark Legacy. Ten years ago, Maddie's father died in a car accident, while her twin ended up in a coma. Now in the present, she realizes her sister's alive and the link connects them leads to a shocking truth of their dark legacy of psychic connections, when good over evil wins with the light over darkness and love conquers hate. They battle their fears and connect again to find their greatest demons in dreams and in real life. A great story!
July 19, 2011
This book was a free friday download for my nook, otherwise, I would never have bought it. It's just not my genre and honestly the reviews were horrible for it. In fact, many of the reviews indicated that they didn't finish reading the book, which I did. I think the author has a great idea for the book, but there's just way too much going on. It gets quite confusing and honestly I got very annoyed by how the main characters reacting to those around them. I'm glad the book was free, I would not recommend.
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