The Romanceaholic

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Expected Release Date: December 31, 2012
Publisher: Harlequin
Imprint: Carina Press
Author’s Website: http://www.vivianna.net/
My Source for This Book: Netgalley
Part of a Series: Yes, Book 1, League of Illusions
Series Best Read In Order: N/A
Steam Level: Warm
Pet Peeves: Past Betrayal A Letdown
Favorite Tropes: Magic Society Hidden From Public

Official Blurb:

London, 1851

Former thief Jovan Davenport is the black sheep in a family of powerful sorcerers. But when his dying father—head of the League of Illusion—reaches out for help, Jovan has no choice but to accept. He must find his missing brother Sebastian and stop the power-hungry Hawthorne family from taking control of the council. If only they’d appointed someone other than Skylar Vanguard to help him in his quest.

Skylar, a druid and accomplished tracker, has spent three years trying to forget her past, especially Jovan Davenport. Once in love, she left Jovan when she discovered his betrayal. She wants nothing to do with him or his family, but must obey the council’s will by accompanying Jovan and reporting back on his progress.

Forced to work alongside each other, neither of them expects their passion to return so quickly. But as the conspiracy deepens in a steam-powered world of dirigibles and mechanical golems, will their secrets stand in the way of their mission…and their love?

What Worked For Me:

• I loved that Skylar was a strong character, and yet wasn’t overly arrogant like many leading ladies can tend to be.  She was both an accomplished tracker and warrior, but she was also smart enough to let the men take the lead when in situations where they were more suited to do so.
• I really enjoyed the martial arts angle, and how well it blended into the world of mages and druids in the Victorian society. 
• I’m not normally a huge fan of estranged lovers, but I immediately enjoyed the chemistry and tension between Jovan and Skylar that stemmed from the nature of their parting so many years ago.
• I loved the amount of action and fight scenes in this story. This may go back to my love of the martial arts, but there were plenty of opportunities for all of the characters to show off both their brawn and brains when it came to battle, and the extra steampunk elements were a lot of fun.
• I loved the mystery involving Jovan’s missing brother, and the hints towards the next book in the series (which I am definitely looking forward to reading).

What Didn’t Work For Me:

• The whole “betrayal” thing from the past honestly felt like a let down by the time it was revealed. I’m certain it felt like a huge deal at the time, but honestly, since we’d really only gotten to witness Jovan as a decent sort of fellow who had a rather sketchy past, it fell sort of flat for a reason for Skylar to have run off as she did. I realize that she was quite a bit younger (and therefore far more immature at the time), but.. meh. 
• I’m not a big fan of on-page sex of characters other than our hero and heroine, so that was a bit of a turn-off for me, even though it was rather brief.
• Without giving away spoilers, I had a bit of a problem with the ending — I felt that a certain main character got off a little too easily, and so the ending felt a little too neat and tidy for my tastes.

Druids, magic, martial arts, and mechanical monsters are only part of what make up this story. At the heart is a family that’s falling apart at the seams, two lovers separated by a terrible misunderstanding, and a man attempting to make amends for a lifetime of selfish behavior.

Even though I felt that the ending was a little too convenient, and I was a bit disappointed in the whole “past betrayal” between Jovan and Skylar, Legacy was still quite enjoyable, and I’m very much looking forward to the sequel.

A very solid 3.5/5 Stars