'When a letter from her uncle Henrik arrives on Bryn Roth's eighteenth birthday, summoning her back to Bastian, Bryn is eager to prove herself and finally take her place in her long-lost family.
'Henrik has plans for Bryn, but she must win everyone’s trust if she wants to hold any power in the delicate architecture of the family. It doesn’t take long for her to see that the Roths are entangled in shadows. Despite their growing influence in upscale Bastian, their hands are still in the kind of dirty business that got Bryn’s parents killed years ago. With a forbidden romance to contend with and dangerous work ahead, the cost of being accepted into the Roths may be more than Bryn can pay.'
When the Fable duology came to a close it felt like perhaps it would be the last time that we return to the world that Adrienne Young had created, that we'd say goodbye and move on to the next story. Whilst we might not be meeting up with Fable and her friends again, I was happy to learn that we would be going back to this setting with The Last Legacy, and that we'd be exploring some of the more interesting characters that made a brief appearance in Namesake.
The Last Legacy follows Bryn, a young woman who has grown up away from the port city of Bastian, where the rest of her family live, learning how to be the perfect young woman in high society. Once she reaches her eighteenth birthday her uncle, Henrick Roth, calls her back home to take her place as one of the Roths, a family of traders who aren't afraid to commit crimes and get their hands dirty.
Upon returning home Bryn is shocked to find a family unlike any she's ever experienced before. They don't stand on ceremony or put much stock in the ways of high society, and they all seem to live in fear of angering Henrick and incurring his wrath. Bryn is unsure how to operate in such a family, or even what her roles is going to be as all Roth need to be of use to the family if they're going to survive.
However, Bryn soon learns why she's been summoned home. Her uncle is close to getting the merchant ring that will allow him to expand the family business, making them even more rich and powerful than they already are. The only problem is, they need to impress the right people in high society. To that end, Henrick wants to use Bryn to help they make the right impression. But that's not all, she will also have to start getting her hands dirty and helping in ways she's not used to. This sets Bryn down a path of double dealings, plots, and betrayals that will put her future at risk if she should fail to come out on top.
If Fable was the high seas adventure book this is definitely the crime thriller story. Where Fable spent its time at sea, exploring the world and the various port cities The Last Legacy focuses exclusively on one family, the Roths, and their bid for power. Because of this, I felt like I got a better sense of one of the more specific parts of the world that Young had crafted, by taking the time to explore how the various merchants operate, and how much political movement goes on behind the scenes. The story has much more in common with something like The Godfather than it does anything else; and I love that.
Bryn coming into things afresh, as someone raised away from this family and their business schemes is the perfect entry vehicle for the audience. We get to learn alongside her, seeing the strange things that her family does, getting hints of their criminal ways, and learning just how dark their past is. At first there are just hints that the Roths, and Henrick in particular, aren't great people as we see them engaging in things like corporate espionage and dealing in fake goods; but there's a sense that this isn't just them, but something that the other main families in Bastian would also be doing. However, as Bryn gets deeper and deeper into things we begin to see that Henrick is also willing to hurt, and even kill people.
Rather than being something that would distress her, or take her out of the picture all together, as you might expect from someone who was raised to e the perfect high society woman, Bryn discovers a strength within her as she begins to adapt to her family. She doesn't stoop to their level, she never physically hurts anyone, but there is the sense that she's probably a lot smarter than them, knowing how to manipulate people and twist a scenario to get what she wants without having to resort to having someone beaten.
Because of how clever Bryn is, of how quickly she adapts to a world she's never been exposed to before, and how well she manages to do things I actually think I prefer her in a lot of way to Fable. Fable always seemed capable, and she continued to prove herself over the course of her books, so it was never a surprise to see her coming out on top, espcially as she had friends around her helping her out. Bryn, on the other hand, begins feeling like the kind of character you expect to see outmanoeuvred and outsmarted. So when she rises to the challenge and becomes the smartest person in the room, all on her own, it feels a lot more impressive.
Like with the previous books set in this world there is some romance to be found in The Last Legacy, as Bryn finds herself falling for Ezra, the young man who lives with the Roths. A skilled silversmith, Ezra is seen by Henrick as an asset to be used as much as he is a person, and there's a strong sense of him being desperate to break free of the Roths and escape. The romance that forms between him and Bryn is not an easy one, and there are times where you're left wondering if they're going to kiss or take shots at each other as their passion leads to some explosive moments. But overall, I found their relationship to be rather enjoyable, and probably because they didn't end up together too quickly, and it felt like the two of them really had to earn being together.
The Last Legacy ends feeling like a complete story, and this feels like it could be the conclusion for both the Roth family as a whole, and Bryn in particular. That being said, I found myself wanting more when it was done, and would love to see Young return to these characters in the future. Even if it was another stand-alone sequel that explored other aspects of this world. I hope that this is the kind of series where we'll keep coming back to things, exploring new places and new people. But if that doesn't happen, this feels like a great conclusion to things.
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