Legacy

Do you have a favorite author? One you don’t even have to read the book summary before clicking add to cart? (Or maybe you do read it but only to make sure it’s not one you’ve already read in a new cover?) For me, that author is Nora Roberts. She’s been writing books since the ‘80s and I literally have an entire 5-shelf bookcase full of only NR’s books. I’ve been collecting them since around 2000, so it’s been a hot minute. I recently picked up the 2021 release #Legacy but, for a minute, I’d have sworn I’d read it before. I even double checked that bookcase to make sure! But nope, I hadn’t bought it before. Possible I read an excerpt at the end of another book, but I digress. As much as I hate to say it, that “read it before” feeling stuck with me through the whole book, even though I knew I hadn’t. Remember how I said NR’s been churning out books since the ‘80s and I’ve been reading- and REreading- her books for 20-odd years? This one felt familiar because it was familiar. This story is about Adrian, following in her mother’s footsteps as a fitness influencer. The book opens when Adrian is seven when her biological father tries to kill her and her mother. Then, as Adrian gets older and starts releasing her own workout DVDs, she starts getting letters from a stalker. After a family death, she relocates to the town her mother grew up in where she lives and runs her business. Her stalker doesn’t miss a beat though. She later reconnects with Raylan, her friend’s brother, when he also moves back to town following his wife’s tragic death. Now, does Roberts have another book EXACTLY like this? No, of course not. But, there are a number of plot parallels between this one and Tribute, a little with The Liar, and the town of Traveler’s Creek is heavily reminiscent of Boonsboro from the Inn Boonsboro trilogy. And none of this is to say the book wasn’t good- quite the contrary! It was very good and I thoroughly enjoyed reading it; I always do with her books. Have you read any Nora Roberts books? What about this one? Did you see the parallels or has my mind made connections that aren’t really there?