The Legacy

Legacy Series #1

by Jewel Adams

Revised Edition- July 2013 North Carolina native, Cisely Matthews has seen and suffered much in her twenty-two years of life, and she has the scars to prove it. When amazing blessings come to her, she wonders if she will ever feel worthy enough to deserve them. Australian-born Ingo Kelly is thrown for an emotional loop when he visits his aunt in Utah and meets Cisely for the first time. He falls for her hard and fast. But getting her to accept his love is a challenge he is more than willing to take on. Adagio St. John is Ingo's best friend and the two are as close as brothers. When Adagio travels to Utah from his home in Italy to attend Ingo and Cisely's wedding, he is overjoyed that his friend has found happiness with such an amazing woman. He hopes he can find the same happiness one day and end the loneliness he struggles with on a daily basis. There are prospects aplenty, but none of the shallow beauties can capture his heart. When love does finally come to Adagio, will he allow himself to embrace it or continue to go it alone?

Genres: Romance, Interracial Romance, Contemporary Romance, Lds Fiction, Novels

688 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 2004

About the author

I am a mother of eight, and grandmother, a published author and motivational speaker.

ATTENTION: Occasionally a title or two will show up in my list of published books that are not mine but are written by another author by the same name. I write clean romance and many of her titles are erotica. This is NOT cool and I have no idea why this keeps happening. If you are unsure about which titles are mine, please visit my Amazon page.
https://www.amazon.com/Jewel-Adams/e/...

Reviews

[Charmer (+ Vibes Only) · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book for me was awesome. I've never read anything like it. I've read sweet-romance books before but this would have to be my favorite of the sweet-romance genre. It made me smile a lot and cry like I never have. After reading this book, I did a lot of thinking and more crying. I don't know why this book affected me the way it did.

Cisely has had some serious trials and tribulations in her life, and she still remained positive. She finds friendship, respect, and love with a hot aussie Ingo, who shows her she can trust, have a relationship, and be loved. The love that these two ppl, their friends, and loved ones share is so special.

J. Adams has a gift for drawin you in and makin you part of her books, and for makin you want more.

[Anna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Legacy is a great book, but it is very, very long. Almost 150,000 words, so a real epic to rival War and Peace. It's also a romance - several romances in fact - and I'm really not a fan of that particular genre. I could have done with a whole lot less of our couple going googly-eyed over each other (and cutting half of the declarations of love and counting of blessings would have shortened it considerably) and rather more actual action and events, but if that's what you enjoy, then this is beautifully done and the characters really are people the reader can love too, and be happy for, if rather jealous of.

Jewel has taken some risks with this book. It's written in the present tense, for one thing, and the narrator changes at intervals from first to third person. And yet she pulls it off perfectly. It comes across as a very artistic book and the present tense has the effect of making everything seem very immediate and personal. It reminded me of the current craze-book, The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake by Aimee Bender, which also throws out the usual conventions of novel writing. Except that this is better.

It follows the life of Cisely, coming in when she is a young adult which, ironically, means that the most dramatic part of her life is skipped over and only referred to in hazy retrospectives later. If I have one criticism, it would be that her life then becomes a little too perfect to be believed. She meets a wealthy woman who not only invites her to come and live with her but gives her a job and even leaves her house and entire fortune to her in her will. Gorgeous rich men fall passionately in love with her, and they are men who are able and ready to declare their love frequently, make her breakfast in bed, and never leave the seat up. She is able to find peace with her past and her parents relatively easily and without any of the usual issues and problems. Not only that, but everyone around her finds love, and she even manages to learn Italian in only three months.

Lovers of the saccharine will revel in this book and probably find it inspiring and satisfying. I found it so cheesy I was tempted to slice it and serve it with crackers, but I was nevertheless able to recognise it as a well-written tome.

[Literary Chanteuse · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an emotional story of a woman who tries to rebuild her life while enduring many hardships and still manages to find herself and the love that she has always been searching for. The characters seem true to life and address very real issues that makes the story very memorable. There were moments of reflection by the main character that I found to be a few too many for my taste however the author has created an amazing drama that had me in tears of sorrow and tears of joy. I enjoyed this book and advise anyone to be sure they have a box of tissues handy while reading.

[Keshia Rambo · Rating 5 out of 5]

This work was awesome and worth every penny. It details the lives of couple. The storyline was strong. I dom't want to give anything away, but there were many twist and turns. All your emotions will be tried reading this story.

[Heather]

An epic story of 2nd chances.

[Valerie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good family epic

I enjoyed this story immensely. An epic love love of a young woman with a tragic past who finds a great love. I would have given it 5 Stars if the author would have refrained from going back and forth from 1st to 2nd to 3rd person so much.

[Lady Lauren Explorer · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was just not for me. The ideals of this book put way too much emphasis on religion and how shameful it is to have a past that is drugs, sex, & booze. I just couldn't continue to read this. Big LDS clean romance vibes.

[Anna del C. Dye · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the most captivating read I have had for a good while. I couldn’t put it down. The Legacy is a tale about a young woman of color battling her demons on a daily basis. She is quite beautiful, yet has a hard time seeing it. She has been scarred for life by the abuse of her alcoholic mother and her abusive father. Growing up in a home where she was told of her worthlessness, she finds it very hard to believe she has any value. Now in her early twenties, she struggles to erase the life she has tried to escape for less than two years. Drugs, immorality and drinking were her reality until she helped another abused girl and vowed to change her own life. That part has been the easiest for her. The hard part is believing she is worth anything more now than the nothing she was. With such a heavy shadow on her shoulders, she tries to take life one day at the time. That is until a young man comes into her life and stirs up anew all her guilt.
It is so hard to accept oneself when our entire life we have been told we aren’t worth anything. This is a beautiful book that teaches us that we can all change and forgive ourselves for the things we have done in the past. No one is perfect and we all need to forget and move on. Great writing.
review by Anna del C. Dye
Author of "The Silent Warrior Trilogy"
http://www.annadelc.com

[Teno Q. · Rating 4 out of 5]

An emotional story about love that is passed on from generation to generation, from family to family, & from one lifetime to another. It all started when Cisely moves in with a friend and falls in love at first sight with her friend's nephew. Cisely has had a hard past, but her man's love helps to overcome it and move on. She is the first who is healed with love, but she is not the last. From then on, trials and troubles come but Cisely and her husband persevere thanks to the Power of Love that transcends any dilemma they face, and any that their children, friends, or acquaintances, face, from the first day they meet to the last day they live. Their legacy is carried on with their children.
The book carries the message that love can overcome anything, and rightly so.

[Tifferz · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a powerful story. I could not put it down. Jewel has a way of pulling the reader into the story. This is a clean sweet story that has many ups and downs, twist and turns and leaves you so happy when you reach the end. The Legacy will pull at your heart and have you in need of a box of tissue. This is a great read.

[Laura York · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was my first book I read by the author. That was three days ago. I have since read two others & their novelettes. This writer is gifted as a writer. She draws you into the story within a few pages & you don't want to put it down until you have read the last sentence. The details of her characters and their world are beautifully written. I highly recommend this book.

[Holly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very good--I wish I could find the sequels!

[Vicki · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a lovely story of a lifetime of love and being given second chances when you've made mistakes. Unconditional love abounds in this book!

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a sweet story of love and redemption...more like 3 or 4 stories. It easily could have been multiple books.

[Jewel]

Not my book

[Jessica · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is such a great book. It is so inspiring and unpredictable. It left me wanting to read more. Great job Jewel. :)

[Nicole Gottschalk · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't know what to say about this book. I toke me on sooo very many highs and lows that I felt that I really was part of the story. I laughed, cryed, and had every and all moods in between.