Review: Love this series.
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 04 28, 2013
Once again, I am immensely satisfied. The Mackenzie Legacy picks up where The Athena Effect left off, with Cal squared happily together.I would like to draw attention again to all the characters. Cal and Cali both have a level of ferocity that I find totally acceptable, given the reasons. Cal's insecurities regarding Cali are not unfounded, and his actions were easily traced to these worries. Cali's entire focus is on helping others and finding a family for herself. I was so happy when Jarod and Crystal came back into the picture, and I think their situation was handled well. Jim came in a little late to the game, and I'm hoping we get to see his character and relationships develop more in the next installment. He's off to a good start, and I can only hope that he stays the course.What I was really intent on though was Layla and Michael. Whereas in The Athena Effect I liked Michael despite his mistake, in this he ground on my nerves quite a bit. He was idiotic and stubborn and blind to what was right in front of him, and I was beyond irritated. He pissed me off to no end.Layla was the exact opposite. I enjoyed her desire to be free, and the steps she took to try and make that happen. She was defiant and willing to fight back in some manner, like Caledonia. I even liked her faults--her high maintenance tastes, her total lack of conscience about using her ability on whoever she wanted. She was raised by the scientist, and it showed. It was accurate to what I think someone would actually have grown up to be, especially since she learned from an early age that these behaviors were acceptable. She doesn't know any other way, and I think that will play a larger role later on. Perhaps Cali will have to knock her down a bit so she's not so full of herself, I don't know.And obviously there's going to be some connection to the land they own. I was reminded of The Stand, Stephen King's (gigantic) dystopian novel. In it, all the "good guys" dream of an old woman sitting on a porch beckoning to them. This is a similar case, and I can't wait to see what it uncovers. I enjoy the romance aspect to this series (which is unusual for me; I have found that I'm kind of tired of YA romance) and love who everyone is with. I want Crystal to stick around. I obviously want the Cals together. And I hope even Layla and Michael find someone special for each of them. It seems as if Layla may have found someone already....I'm very, very happy with this series. It's only two books in and I'm hooked and I love it. I'm going to be anxiously waiting for the third to come out, preferably sooner rather than later!Also, I just want to take a moment to draw attention to the author. Derrolyn Anderson is self-publishing. And she is amazing at it. I have never come across an indie author whose writing is so polished and near perfect that it could conceivably have come from any major publishing house. The writing is so fluid and easy to follow. There are no info dumps, no random and drawn out unneeded descriptions. It's amazing, and I highly recommend her work.