I received a free copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own.
A young woman’s world is turned upside down as she learns she is part of a family she never knew existed, and must navigate a world of lies, conspiracy and murder in author R.G. Angel’s “Bittersweet Legacy”, the first book in The Patricians series.
The Synopsis
You don’t realize when your life is about to change forever, how a simple text can tear your world apart.
Esme Danvers doesn’t have an easy life but at least she is loved by her widower father… or at least that’s who she thought he was for 17 years. Enter William Forbes, top 10 of America’s 1% and her actual father – or rather the father of Esmeralda Forbes, the girl she was born to be, the heir to a legacy she’d never known or wanted.
Esme’s thrown into a world of glamour and money, smoke and mirrors, hate, pain and unspoken rancor. A world with a distant, calculating and uncaring father; Archibald, a brother who hates her; and Caleb, his best friend who is as wicked and mean as he is beautiful and charismatic.
Caleb, this broken boy whom she can’t seem to hate enough to keep him out of her bloodstream, a boy who doesn’t seem to hate her enough to stay away.
But as the past reveals itself in ways Esme didn’t expect, she finds herself in the middle of a swirl of lies, betrayals, conspiracy and even murder, with barely anyone to watch her back.
The only thing she really wants is to get back to being Esme Danvers, to find a way out before it’s too late.
The Review
This was a fantastic story. The author immediately does an incredible job of layering the mystery and suspense of the narrative, creating a protagonist many people could relate to and throwing her into a whirlwind of psychological and emotional upheavals that drastically change the course of her life.
The narrator does an amazing job of bringing this story to life. Readers and listeners really can feel the protagonist’s struggle and emotional journey. The story plays out like a blend of Cruel Intentions meets Pretty Little Liars, expertly navigating the YA genre while artfully crafting a suspense thriller that both entertained and engaged the reader on multiple levels.
The Verdict
A thrilling, breathtaking and shocking yet fun read, author R.G. Angel’s “Bittersweet Legacy” is a must-read YA suspense novel. The audiobook does a great job of implementing emotional storytelling with a brilliant sense of imagery. If you haven’t yet, be sure to grab your copy of this audiobook today and read for yourself how this shocking first novel ends in a massive cliffhanger.
Rating: 10/10
Author: R.G. Angel
Narrator: Stevi Incremona
Length: 8 hours 14 minutes
Series: The Patricians, Book 1
Publisher: Angel Production
Released: Nov. 24, 2020
Genre: Romance; New Adult
You don’t realize when your life is about to change forever, how a simple text can tear your world apart. Esme Danvers doesn’t have an easy life but at least she is loved by her widower father…or at least that’s who she thought he was for 17 years. Enter William Forbes, top 10 of America’s one percent and her actual father – or rather the father of Esmeralda Forbes, the girl she was born to be, the heir to a legacy she’d never known or wanted. Esme’s thrown into a world of glamour and money, smoke and mirrors, hate, pain, and unspoken rancor. A world with a distant, calculating, and uncaring father; Archibald, a brother who hates her; and Caleb, his best friend, who is as wicked and mean as he is beautiful and charismatic. Caleb, this broken boy whom she can’t seem to hate enough to keep him out of her bloodstream, a boy who doesn’t seem to hate her enough to stay away. But as the past reveals itself in ways Esme didn’t expect, she finds herself in the middle of a swirl of lies, betrayals, conspiracy, and even murder, with barely anyone to watch her back. The only thing she really wants is to get back to being Esme Danvers, to find a way out before it’s too late.
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Stevi Incremona is a New York based actor and singer
originally from the small town of Fair Haven, New Jersey.
She is now a 2013 graduate of the Tisch School of the Arts with a BFA in Drama.
Website
Q&A with Author R.G. Angel- Part 1
- Was a possible audiobook recording something you were conscious of while writing?
- No actually and thank god for that because let me tell you that listening to the sex scenes I wrote make me blush terribly!
- How closely did you work with your narrator before and during the recording process? Did you give them any pronunciation tips or special insight into the characters?
- I worked very closely with my narrators. We had regular meetings to discuss the books and yes we had guides and we discussed characters. For example Antoine is French and my narrators wanted to know if he had a faint accent etc… What helped a lot was that they both LOVED the story and therefore were really invested in making it as good as they could. I am truly honored to work with them.
- Were there any real life inspirations behind your writing?
- Lord no, it’s maybe a good thing that my life is not as chaotic as my heroines bless them. The only character which i would say is a bit like me is Alessandra from Lovable – she is a geeky lawyer (okay 100% guilty as charged here)
- How do you manage to avoid burn-out? What do you do to maintain your enthusiasm for writing?
- Well working full time as a lawyer and writing is time consuming but writing has always been a passion of mine so I see it more as an escape than anything. So I think that it’s writing that is keeping me grounded and helping me to avoid Burn-outs 🙂
- If this title were being made into a TV series or movie, who would you cast to play the primary roles?
- Oh I love that question! Esme would be Alexandra Daddario – Caleb would be a young Alex Pettyfer from Beastly he fits him to the T – Attitude and everything. I see Archibald as a young Robbie Amel (in The Duff)
- What do you say to those who view listening to audiobooks as “cheating” or as inferior to “real reading”?
- This is elitist and frankly incorrect. Reading is reading and audiobooks force you to use your imagination without any visual stimulus so it is a form of reading; those people are just narrow minded.
- How did you celebrate after finishing this novel?
- I started the next one!
- What gets you out of a writing slump? What about a reading slump?
- Ah a writing slump is always frustrating. When it happens I take a couple of days off – trying to get my mind off of it or I jump ahead on the story and write a scene that amuses me hoping i’ll get back in the mood. As for reading slump I go and reread one or two of my favorites it usually works.
I received this audiobook as part of my participation in a blog tour with Audiobookworm Promotions. The tour is being sponsored by R.G. Angel. The gifting of this audiobook did not affect my opinion of it.
Click here to view the full tour schedule!
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