Blog Tour, Book Review and #Rafflecopter #Giveaway: The Legacy of Eden by Nelle Davy

About the Book:

When New York sculptor Meredith Pincetti receives a letter from a law firm, alerting her to the death of her cousin, she is suddenly confronted by her disturbing past—a past she successfully escaped and buried seventeen years ago.

Informed that Aurelia, the once-grand Iowa estate and farm where she was raised, is to be sold at auction to settle her late cousin’s debts, Meredith resolves to return to her family homestead and collect the few possessions that belonged to her parents. 

In doing so, Meredith recalls the spectacular rise and disastrous fall of the Hathaway family beginning with her grandfather, Cal’s, dreams and ending with his utter disappointments.  We experience her grandmother, Lavinia’s, iron will and ceaseless machinations to ensure that her visionof Aurelia comes to pass.  As Aurelia thrives, becoming the largest farm in the county, behind the veneer things are crumbling.  Dissipation, brutality and betrayal find fertile ground in the next generation of Hathaways.  Seemingly idyllic childhoods precede the exile and return ofHathaways from multiple generations—including Meredith. 

And, as Meredith returns to Aurelia, she is forced to confront her own role in her family’s tortured fall from grace.  What part did she play in the events that took place during her adolescence two decades earlier?  How does her festering relationship with her sisters mirror similar connections between her father’s and grandfather’s siblings?  What secrets did she leave behind when she fled Iowa for New York? 

Though founded and overseen by male Hathaways, it is the women—Lavinia and her sister-in-law, Piper; Julia, Cal’s daughter from his first marriage; Meredith and her sisters, Claudia and Ava—who play pivotal roles in shaping the events that occur at Aurelia.  And, ultimately, it is they who reveal its unspeakable secrets.

About the Author:


Nelle Davy was born in Grenada in 1984 and was raised in London within an Anglo-Caribbean family. She studied English with creative writing at the University of Warwick and then undertook a master of philosophy degree in creative writing at Trinity College Dublin. She currently lives in London with her husband, where she works in publishing. THE LEGACY OF EDEN is her first novel and she is currently working on her second.


My Opinion:


Oh the evil than can be wrought with the best of intentions. That is the story told with this dark and troubling book. Aurelia is a large farm built from nothing and its master is dying. He calls back his prodigal first son and despite the fact that his second son has worked his heart out for the place, it is left mostly to the first born. You can imagine the rift this causes between the brothers.


Cal has an affair with the local doctor's wife, Lavinia and they eventually marry creating the dynasty that makes Aurelia great but behind that facade lies a history of secrets. Secrets told to Meredith, one of Lavinia's granddaughters as Lavinia lay bedridden. Secrets Meredith wanted to know up until they reached the time of her family. Then she didn't want to hear any more - but Lavinia forced her to hear it all.


The book is told as the stories of four main players in the history of Aurelia through the voice of Meredith. It got slightly muddled at times trying to figure out whose voice was doing the telling but overall this was a compelling tale of mostly unpleasant people. Despite there being no one to really root for, I found it hard to stop reading. Most of the characters were so flawed they had very little to redeem them. No one got along, at least not for very long. All was done for the sake of Aurelia as if it were a living being instead of a farm. Lavinia had big plans for herself and for the farm and she did everything in her power to see that they were fulfilled. Needless to say she was not a warm and fuzzy matriarch.


Meredith is not really happy about returning the Aurelia because it has too many memories for her - both happy and sad. She has settled into her life and managed to put her childhood behind her but she and her sisters are now the only ones left when their cousin dies and the estate is left in debt. The lawyer calls to see if she wants to retrieve any of the family belongings. She heads out to do so and that is what starts her remembering of what her grandmother told her. This is not a happy story by any means but that does not mean it is not a good story. It is well written and you truly feel the pain and anger of the characters as they live through Lavinia's machinations.


You can purchase The Legacy of Eden on Amazon.com


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Disclosure:  I received a copy of Legacy of Eden from Media Muscle gratis. Any opinions expressed are my honest opinions and were not impacted by my receipt of the free book. I received no monetary compensation for this post.