Reviews

Sinister Legacy by Harleigh Beck

shannonspage's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix

4.25

Wow I have never read anything like this before; erotic horror is new for me! I appreciate that the story dove straight in. The multi POV of everyone was a little confusing at first but it made sense as the book went on. I was surprised who ended up being the copycat serial killer. I love how psychotic Keira and King are and they fit perfectly together

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Infidelity, Violence, Blood, and Murder

whatsalittlesmut's review against another edition

4.0

*I received an advanced copy and below are my independent and true thoughts.*

This book was: Dark, hot, and gore-y. Loved it!

I didn't know what to think going into this book. I expected spice (and boy did I get it), but I was open for pretty much anything.

Well this book is a dark whodunit, murder bonanza, super spicy, romance. It felt like a mix between SAW and Scream and kept me on the edge of my seat and screaming at my kindle like the characters could actually hear me.

The ONLY reason this book gets 4 stars and not five is because I personally need my villains to want and achieve redemption. (So what if they killed a few folks if they're sorry they did it...right?)

If you liked Hooked, Haunting Adeline, or other super dark and hot romance reads. THIS BOOK HAS YOUR NAME ON IT!

night_owl9's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

melissamolloy81's review against another edition

5.0

Title: "Sinister Legacy" by Harleigh Beck

"Sinister Legacy" by Harleigh Beck is an engaging murder mystery that I thoroughly enjoyed. From the very beginning, it had me hooked with its intriguing storyline and well-crafted characters. What sets this book apart is the element of suspense - the murderer's identity is cleverly concealed until the very end, keeping readers guessing and on the edge of their seats.

Beck's writing style is captivating, and the way she weaves together the intricate plot is masterful. The book takes you on a thrilling journey through a web of secrets and deceit, making it a page-turner from start to finish.

One of the highlights of "Sinister Legacy" is the depth of the characters and their complex relationships. As the story unfolds, you can't help but become emotionally invested in their fates.

I highly recommend "Sinister Legacy" to anyone who loves a spicy murder mystery. It's a suspenseful and well-executed novel that will keep you guessing until the very last page. Harleigh Beck has certainly delivered a compelling and memorable mystery that's not to be missed.

deannafemchonk's review against another edition

4.0

The angel on my shoulder wants me to confess. The devil cuts her neck. We won’t breathe a word, he whispers to me, slithering through my veins. They deserved it. I listen. I let it soothe me. They touched you. Used you. Defiled you.

This is my second novel by Harleigh Beck, my first one being [b:Sweet Taste of Betrayal: An Erotic Horror Novella|63024220|Sweet Taste of Betrayal An Erotic Horror Novella|Harleigh Beck|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1666016406l/63024220._SY75_.jpg|96218950]. This is told in multiple, first person pov and is erotic-horror with a dark romance subplot. In this book we follow Kiera Hill, whose father is a notorious serial killer due to be put to death by the death penalty. Beneath the facade of a good girl who is dating the lucky star quarterback, she is decaying inside. After school badboy King Knight gets challenged to a dare to sleep with her, a series of murders and attacks reveals that there is a copy-cat murderer in town. This book is trigger warnings for 90% of the book! So be warned that there is lots of gore, lots of dub-con and cnc, as well as sexual assault and abuse of minors. The characters are all flawed. I see a lot of other reviews swoon for King and gave it 5 stars probably solely because of him, and while I disagree with that rating scale to each their own I suppose.

I had a difficult time figuring out how to rate this novel. There are a lot of themes that were extremely uncomfortable, largely having to do with the fact that most of the main characters are all minors and in high school. My question was do I rate this based on how I personally felt about a lot of the situations? Or do I rate it based off how successful I felt the feelings that I think the author meant to provoke? I decided to go with the latter; this book definitely kept me at the edge of my seat, made me cringe because of the graphic content, and is definitely in the top of most unhinged books I've ever read (so far). For this I give it 4/5 stars as it was definitely impressionable and made me feel some strong emotions, but if asked as a recommendation for someone who has never read in this genre before it would definitely not be my first pick to get your toes wet.

I may have given this a higher rating if I felt a little more satisfied with the conclusion.

Spoiler

I felt like the reveal of the killers at the end was so..random. I guess I definitely didn't see it coming, but it didn't make much sense. It was a very unsatisfying 'ah-hah' moment.

As mentioned before 90% of the book is spent describing graphic content. I may have given this a higher rating if there was maybe a bit more focus describing the mystery or exploring the more psychological horror aspects in this novel. Perhaps that may be more my personal bias for psychological horror vs gore or body horror though. I will probably read more works by this author.

beastreader's review against another edition

5.0

I absolutely love this book. It is exactly what I was craving...dark, gory, addicting, and so much steamy goodness! Dark romance readers will definitely want to pick up a copy of this book.

Keira really came out of her shell and into her own with King. He is the book boyfriend that booktok is all about. Just thinking about him makes me very hot with need. The story got more twisted the further you read it. While, the physical scenes brought the steam, do be aware of the triggers. I can't get enough of Harleigh's books. She is an autoread author for me. Sinister Legacy will bring you sweet dreams!

murraymiranda81_'s review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

5.0

I couldn’t get enough… King Knight is by far one of my favorite book boyfriends. 

xandrialovesbooks's review against another edition

4.0

slasher/erotica

This book is the perfect book to read for Halloween if you love slasher books and dark romances. There are a good amount of twists and at one point I had my mouth open saying “what the f@*!?” It also has a good amount of spice. Definitely go into this book if you have no triggers. But if you do then please read the content warning.

rlynnw's review against another edition

dark medium-paced

• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

_alicialabonte_'s review against another edition

4.0

I really liked it! Like omg don’t get me started about king like damnnn. But it being about underage people, fucking for most of the book, it didn’t sit right with me. But if that doesn’t bother you, you will love this book!