Customer Reviews

The Legacy

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

If you have ever read a book that held your attention throughout, that you did not want to put down and, in fact, resented having to leave, that you wished would go on forever, then you understand what I mean by saying this book is captivating.

Maggie Claydon is a character the reader will quickly fall in love with: an innocent woman with a heart as big as gold. Even though Maggie grew up in an orphanage, she learned to appreciate what love means and generously shares herself and her love with a group of elderly tenants in an apartment building she inherited from the grandmother she never knew. Jake Murphy experienced a terrible tragedy when his wife and two children were murdered, and Jake functions in a deep depression until he meets Maggie. Maggie's generous nature and inner and outer beauty help Jake to understand that life goes on and he can love again.

This is one of the best books I have ever read. I laughed, I cried, I grew anxious wondering if Maggie and Jake were ever going to tell each other how they felt! A beautiful love story that is written in such a wonderful way. I was surprised this is the author's first book. Cadelo's eloquent writing style is the best. She has the unique ability to write a story that will enthrall the reader from start to finish and leave the reader anxiously awaiting the next book by this fantastic author.

If I could rate this more than five stars I would. I highly recommend this to everyone. A beautiful love story that will capture your heart, I promise!

Cindy Cadelo's "The Legacy" is a well-written and irresistible debut novel. From Prologue through to the last chapter readers are enchanted with the tale of Maggie's orphaned beginnings, her sweet nature and her courageous independence. Few love stories captivate the reader as quickly as "The Legacy." Regardless of the challenges life sets before her, Maggie Claydon continues to view the world with a fascinating freshness and a wealth of wisdom. Cadelo's use of authentic dialogue and realistic action will keep readers glued to the story from beginning through to the apt conclusion. Cindy Cadelo has presented us with a marvelous first novel. Hope we will be reading more from this author. Beverly J Scott author of Righteous Revenge.

I loved the way each chapter ended with a line that made me want to sneak a peek at the next one. Then the chapters were a perfect length so once I peeked, I knew I could read the next one easily and so and so on until it just reeled me into it and I was hooked. The characters are very believable and the story really did hold my attention from the first word to the last, and when it was over, I looked up the author's name to see what else she had written because I liked The Legacy that much that I would've read anything else Ms. Cadelo had written, but this was her first novel. I grew very emotionally invoved with all the characters and it felt like I was there on Harper Street, like a fly on the wall or looking through the windows, and I can honestly say that I was so sorry when the story ended, and I've found myself thinking about so many of the things that happened in the book ever since I finished it, that I've started reading it again! Hope Ms. Cadelo comes out with another book soon. Can't wait to read it. Anybody with a heart will love this story, it's that well-written. I even think it would make a great movie. It's just a really sweet story that will make you feel good, and you'll think about the characters long after you read it. That's the sign of a good book in my opinion! I bought it for my Mom for a Christmas present and she loved it too, so I think lots of people, young and old would like it. I also loved the way senior citizens were portrayed in the book. My grandma wants to read it next!

The Legacy is a heartwarming tale about a twenty-something orphan's adventures in the Big Apple. If you want the plot to be a total surprise, skip down to the last paragraph. Maggie Claydon's earliest memories are of the San Sebastian Children's Home in Florida where she grew up. She leaves the home at the age of 18 to strike out and make her own place in the world. Maggie works for a few years and lives simply until she receives a mysterious letter that convinces her to move to New York City and start a new life.

The introduction to the story is very cleverly done. When we are first introduced to Maggie, she is an old woman tending her garden when she becomes the victim of a sudden heart attack. The story then starts out from the beginning with an event that changes the course of her life forever before she is old enough to even realize what has happened. Later on, through her interactions with the kindly Mrs. Everhart, and Sean, the kind policeman she encounters in New York City, she is able to put her tragic past behind her, and move toward a future she can look forward to.

This book is a story about Maggie's search for family and how she finds one that becomes larger than she could have ever dreamed of. I loved the way the book was old-fashioned in parts, and very contemporary in others. Mrs. Cadelo has done a wonderful job of knitting together two very different writing styles into an entertaining and inspirational story that shows the reader that sometimes through helping others we are able to find the very things that elude us.

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Ms. Cadelo, emailed asking if I would read her book and I am glad that she did...I enjoyed her story very much. The characters, dialogue, and plot were most appealing. A warm story about a young woman going full-circle in the game of life. Nicely done, Ms. Cadelo!

John Savoy
Savoy International
Motion Picture Inc.
Beverly Hills, California

Readers who appreciate decent, appealing characters living lives of tenderness and honesty, coming out winners against all odds will surely love The Legacy. If I had the contacts and the power to do so, this book would a Hallmark Hall of Fame movie. It deserves that and much more because this story demonstrates the finest of what we all would like America and Americans to be.

Maggie Claydon grew up in a Florida orphan's home with only the doting Francine Everhart as caregiver. At age eighteen she goes out into the world to make her own way, knowing Mrs. Everhart is nearby to provide loving support. When Maggie is twenty three, an official letter arrives from a New York City lawyer. She's inherited property from grandparents that she did not know existed. The property is run down, its residents all senior citizens with nowhere else to go. Maggie rolls up her sleeves and digs in, determined that this neglected old building will be brought up to code, will shine again and that its inhabitants will feel secure and loved.

Maggie is a thoroughly decent, compassionate girl. Her innocence and generous hearted turn makes every stranger want to be her friend. NYPD Officer Sean Murphy thinks Maggie and her building code dilemma might be just the thing to bring his younger brother Jake back to life. Jake's history is harrowing. On Christmas, more than three years ago, Jake came home from cutting down a Christmas tree to find his wife and two young children had been brutally murdered. Jake has comtemplated suicide, tried burying his horror in alcohol, and has withdrawn from everyone. He's finally learned to hide his misery away, but life means nothing to him. Sean urges him to help Maggie bring her tenement up to code. After seeing what Maggie is up against and meeting the elderly residents, Jake reluctantly decides to do ONE GOOD DEED. By book's end, everyone learns that good deeds - loving legacies - never die. Love is returned in kind through small and large acts down through the generations.

OK. That sets up the story and it's all I'm telling you. Read this book for yourself. Maggie, Jake, and everyone else in The Legacy represent positive old fashioned values in a contemporary settiing. I recommend this book to both teens and adults, despite some mild swearing and loving sexuality. Ms. Cadelo's second book is a contemporary psychodrama called Loyalties. If it's anything like her first, I want to be first in line to read it.

A wonderful first, but not last (we hope), novel. Pages packed with heartwarming "real" people and real-life situations with real-life decisions and remedies. I didn't want to be finished with this book--the middle was just as good as the end. It is the kind of book you want to go on forever! Ms Cadelo knows her people and her cities. Great job! I have and will recommend it!

Cindy Cadelo's "The Legacy" is a wonderful, warm story. Maggie's innocent and trusting nature is such a welcome relief in today's world. The world needs more Maggies - and of course, more Jakes to come in like a knight in shining armor and fall in love with her.

The book captivated me. I read it in three days - at meals, before bed, during tv shows, even sneaking pages here and there at work. The romantic in me wanted to see what wonderful things lay in store for Maggie - how would she survive the big city, would she be able to make the repairs on the building in time, and would she and Jake ever quit being afraid to tell the other how they feel?

Thank you Cindy, for a sweet, life-affirming book. Please please give us more from you. Congratulations on your success!!

My friend recommended that I read this book and I am so glad I did. I loved the story, it was beautiful and touching. It's the kind of book that once you start reading it, you can't put it down. I look forward to reading other books by this author.

I just happen to stumble across a copy of this book, and I immediatley fel in love with it. I had hears some friends of mine discuss it a few years back, but didn't read it then. Now that I have, I am hooked on Cindy Cadelo's darling characters and her down to earth style of writing. My only disappointment is that there does not seem to be anything else out there by her, as of yet. Cindy, where are you??