About the book:

Title: Birthright (Legacy #1)

Author: Jessica Ruddick

Published: March 20th 2017 by Jessica Ruddick Books LLC

Source: Received from the author, in exchange for an honest review

Format: .mobi

Blurb:

How do you live with yourself when you decide who dies?

Ava Parks would have killed for an iPod for her sixteenth birthday. Anything would have been better than coming into her birthright of being a seeker for the Grim Reaper, an arrangement made by her fallen angel ancestor in exchange for his re-admittance to heaven. And she isn’t just any seeker—she finds souls that have the potential for becoming angels and sentences them to death. A year and two souls into her role as a seeker with her conscience overflowing with guilt, Ava comes up with a plan to thwart the system. When it goes awry, she is forced to submit the name of a classmate, Cole Fowler, an ornery, rough around the edges guy who always seems to come to her rescue, whether she likes it or not. Her feelings for Cole prompt her to intervene, and she saves him from death, upsetting the Grim Reaper’s agenda.

While Ava schemes to find a way to save Cole, she learns he has some secrets of his own. She lets him believe he is protecting her, and not the other way around, until a final showdown with the Grim Reaper forces Ava to make choices Cole may never forgive.

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My Review:

This is one of the series that I will for sure follow! The first book develops great, with Ava struggling with her tasks as a seeker, trying to find a way around. I loved the writing and how well the characters blended with the story.

Ava has her own moral compass. Ever since finding out she’s supposed to provide names of people with white auras (people who soon after die), she has tried to find a way to deceive Xavier (their contact) and spare innocent lives. It’s easier said than done, since neither her, nor her mother know too much about this person or even about what happens to the souls after they are ripped. The task becomes much more difficult when she has to deliver the name of the only guy she has become attached.

Cole is one character with a mysterious past, his aura shows signs of being a pure soul, but his scars and history with gangs prove otherwise. He is still a mystery, but his emotional attachment towards Ava is visible since their first encounter. Their relationship evolves nicely and neatly.

I must admit though that this total lack of knowledge surrounding a Grimm Reaper’s tasks seems a little bit unbelievable, since not even Ava’s mother has not so much knowledge about it.

I did enjoy the book very much and I can’t wait for book #2. This will hopefully be one of my favorite series, since I am a fan of all these angels, daemons, reapers stories. Hope you like it as well, come by with your comments, as usual.

 

About the Author

Jessica Ruddick is a 2014 Golden Heart finalist for her new adult novel, Letting Go, which was inspired by her own college experiences. She lives in Virginia and is married to her college sweetheart—their first date was a fraternity toga party (and nothing inspires love like a toga, right?). When she doesn’t have her nose in a book or her hands on a keyboard, she can be found wrangling her two rambunctious sons, taming two rowdy but lovable rescue dogs, and battling the herd of dust bunnies that has taken up residence in her home. To learn more about Jessica, please visit her website at jessicaruddick.com. To sign up for her newsletter, visit jessicaruddick.com/NL.