Wendy the Super Librarian‘s review of Hidden Legacy by Margaret Way
Contemporary romance released by Harlequin SuperRomance 1 May 08

The entire time I was reading Hidden Legacy I was struck by the notion that I was not the intended audience for the story. The only way to describe this book is that it reads like a category romance I could have found on the shelves of my local public library….20 years ago. Old-fashioned doesn’t necessarily make a “bad” read, but coupled with an everything-and-the-kitchen-sink style plot and a heroine I never really warmed up to? Let’s just say it didn’t go well.

The first chapter signals trouble ahead when Alyssa Sutherland breaks up with her boyfriend by telling him:

“I can’t be with you anymore, Brett! You…you damage my psyche.”

Um, yeah sure, whatever you say, Queen Of The Dingbats. From that moment on, while she never does anything outright too-stupid-to-live, Alyssa does display a tendency towards petulance that grated on my nerves. Meanwhile, Brett morphs from needy to potentially abusive. Alyssa is glad to be rid of him, but soon gets devastating news when she learns her beloved great-aunt Zizi (real name: Elizabeth) has passed away.

Zizi leaves Alyssa her fabulous plantation-style house in Queensland. Once there, Alyssa meets Adam Hunt, the great nephew of Zizi’s former beau, and the man who found Zizi’s body. Adam believes that Zizi had many secrets, and was charged by his great-uncle to find them out. After some resistance, Alyssa agrees to help him, uncovers Zizi’s secrets, and opens up a big ol’ can of worms in the process.

Besides the Big Secret plot, which I suspect many readers will find repugnant and not romantic at all, the author also tosses in the abusive ex-boyfriend, a snide Other Woman, a suspense thread, and gothic overtones that never quite mesh. As if all this weren’t quite enough, the author tries to generate even more conflict by throwing up trust issues between Adam and Alyssa, naturally by way of the Other Woman who likes to plant ideas in Alyssa’s empty head.

The whole thing reads a bit like a sub par gothic romance that easily could have been published in the 1970s. Longtime fans of the author will likely find something to enjoy here, but as a newcomer I felt what I was reading was dated, and decidedly boring. Plot conventions are one thing, but when there’s nothing fresh added to the proceedings, it leaves readers with a paint-by-numbers story riddled with plot twists that can be seen a mile off.

Grade: D

Blurb:

Alyssa Sutherland has always adored her great-aunt Zizi-Elizabeth Jane Calvert-and valued their special relationship. Zizi has lived a quiet, contented life, one without great passion. Or so Alyssa thinks…

Then, unexpectedly, Zizi dies. Alyssa inherits her wonderful house in Australia’s tropical north Queensland, where she meets Adam Hunt, Zizi’s very attractive neighbor. It’s from Adam that she learns the first of Zizi’s secrets.

Together, she and Adam uncover the greatest secret of all-the lifelong love that Elizabeth Calvert kept hidden from the world. Zizi’s secret passion could change Alyssa’s whole world. But falling in love with Adam will change it even more….

Read an excerpt.