I requested this title as I've found myself in a similar position. Although the premise appealed to me , I didn't warm to any of the characters,finding them shallow and one dimensional. Unless I empathize or care for the characters, I can't engage with the story or the outcome. I did attempt to finish the book but there are so many others that will hold my interest more, that I decided to give up on this particular one.

The story started at a fast pace and I became engrossed very quickly. However, it began to falter and failed to deliver where there was enormous scope but there was no real exciting development or bite to it. it became too predictable.
Admittedly it was a very strange will left by Jonathan where his three children were executors and required to work out the best solution for the distribution of his estate. The author could have explored the reason why it was left in the way it was.
It held my attention throughout but I do believe more could have been made of the story and it fell short of my expectations

I enjoyed this book - I particularly enjoyed the setting of Scarborough as I’ve spent quite a bit of time there over the years and have a soft spot for it. I didn’t, however, particularly like any of the characters but I enjoyed the spats between the family and the different perspectives that they had about how the estate should be distributed and ultimately it was satisfactorily concluded.

A story about dysfunctional adult siblings who are forced to pull together after a request in their father’s will that they should determine the division of his assets after his death. With an ex-wife and her replacement on the scene and each of them with problems of their own, there was plenty of scope for the story to develop in a number of interesting directions, but for me, it failed to deliver. There is some character development and growth as the children reach a consensus, but there was too little tension and intensity and not enough exploration of the reasons why this strange request was put into the will in the first place. None of the characters were particularly likeable and there were no obvious heroes and villains, just people learning to cope. Not interesting enough to keep my attention at the end of the day.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The plot of this book centre's around the will of Jonathan, who's passed away following a MND diagnosis. He's got three grown=up children, an ex-wife and a new younger partner, who due to his illness it's become too late to marry. The premise of the novel is a will in which Jonathan appoints his three children the executors, with the request that they divide his estate as they see fit. Why he chose to do this never becomes hugely clear - my assumption is it was intended to bring his children closer and to value their family ties more, but this is a theme I didn't feel was explored fully.

The characters are all well-written, and the writing created a clear mental image of each of them, and of The View, the family home. Generally speaking, all were a little stereotyped with their own issues and battles, but their stories, and the impact of Jonathan's death and the family weekend gathering (planned to discuss and agree the division of the estate) on them make their motivations clearer in the closing section of the book. The chapter with the ex-wife and the 'mistress' was particularly well written, although I did struggle throughout with the Eloise character, with it being hard to believe any mother would be quite so detached from the obvious emotional upheaval her three children were experiencing.

I'd have liked Lisa's story and character explored more, particularly after her final chapter at the end of the book when we discover her thoughts on, and potential involvement in, assisted suicide - a tough theme yes, but one anyone's who's watched a relative suffer a slow and painful decline will relate to.

Overall I did enjoy the book, although with no particularly likeable characters, I found it hard to care about what happened to any of them. Having said that, it held my attention and I wanted to find out how the Coulter family's story concluded.

I received a copy of this e-arc thanks to NetGalley and Atlantic Books in return for an honest review.

Where to start? There were many times I wanted to give up on this book, but I never admit defeat and this was no exception. I found the author's constant unnecessary insertion of inverted commas as an attempt to highlight something that didn't need highlighting, infuriating.

I didn't warm to any of the characters and frankly I was rooting for their inheritance to go wholly to MND, which in the event, they very "generously" (correct use of inverted commas here) donated £3,000 from a cool three-quarters of a mil!

The plot (such as it is) is ponderously slow and the only semi-precious jewel in the whole novel is the scene involving the ex-wife and the deceased's onetime mistress now partner's interaction in the cafe which comes towards the end of the novel.

Not for me, but I'm sure if you like stereotypical characters with trite and predictable backgrounds argue amongst themselves for 250-odd pages, before copping a whopping reward for their bad behaviour, this will be for you!

"The Legacy" should highlight to some the importance of a full and fair will as Jonathan Coulter's idea of seemingly leaving matters to chance is fraught with argument and soul-searching. The situation is complicated by the presence of Jonathan's new partner Megan who appears to have been left out of the will. What should the 3 children do about her? And why has a woman he had only known a few months been left a specific legacy? There are so many questions to be addressed and only a short time to resolve them.

This is a powerful and thought provoking book which makes the reader think about the real impact of their death on those left behind. Well written and deserves to be read.

I received a copy of this e-arc thanks to NetGalley and Atlantic Books.

I was able to read a preview of this book thanks to Readers First. Here is my first impression review:

The cover and description are what intrigued me. From the preview I can tell this is going to be an interesting read. Why exactly was Megan and Eloise cut out of the will? What is it about the children's rivalry that Jonathan wants them to sort out? I wonder if the children will be unable to sort things out themselves and will just give everything to Megan - and possibly Eloise. I feel that a lot of family secrets are going to be revealed throughout this book!

Now that I have read the book, here is my final review:

It’s a beautiful story about family and loss. It follows the 5 main characters following the death of their father/partner/ex-husband, slowly revealing bits and pieces from their life that they haven’t told each other. I predicted some of what would happen but I loved reading it anyhow. It was so bittersweet, as I expected it would be.

A great story about the dynamics in a family and indiviudal relationships, and how things aren't always what they seem...

Why would a father leave his children to determine how his legacy should be divided? Well I'm not sure I entirely got to the bottom of this after reading this novel which describes how the bereaved coped after the unveiling of a will, but nevertheless found it an at times poignant and satisfying read. I wish more time had been spent on exploring the relationship between the deceased and his partner, Megan, or on developing a smaller number of characters rather than attempting to take on the whole cast, as this resulted in some sketchy character writing.

This is a story of family, of love, of loss and of the devastation that a terminal and debilitating disease has on the patient and those close to them.

When Jonathan Coulter left his wife and adult children for a younger woman the whole family were devastated. Much of the blame landed in the lap of Megan, the new girlfriend. Jonathan’s haughty ex wife Eloise and her feuding children Liv, Noah and Chloe have complex relationships between themselves and with each of their parents.

A MND diagnosis leaves Jonathan becoming increasingly frail and when he suddenly dies leaving a complex set of instructions for his children to follow, it seems he is looking at them from beyond the grave to heal and decide who will inherit what.

The writing style is excellent and the story carries you along, making you in turn find out about each of the characters and drops small clues about them and why they are the complex people portrayed in the book. As the story develops you find out why Jonathan made his final requests and see how his family adjust to their new roles and try and deal in their own way with his death.

There is also the mention of assisted suicide and although this is not explored fully it is touched upon and towards the end of the story we see that Jonathan’s carer Lisa may have helped him and others to make their final journey. I felt that this could have been explored a little more and her story expanded a bit further as she was a character I wanted to know more about.

I felt quite an emotional response from reading this book. At a time when we have all suffered with huge changes to the way we live our lives and for many, including myself, loss of a parent it was a tough but thoroughly enjoyable read and one that I would wholeheartedly recommend to others.

Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher and the author for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and author for this ARC.

This is my first read by this author and I thought the premise looked interesting and a book I would like. I wasn’t disappointed, I devoured this book in less than a day and thoroughly enjoyed it. I thought it was very well written. and it captured and held my attention all the way through. Following Jonathan Coulters death his three children are told they have to all be in agreement on the distribution of his estate before they can arrange his funeral. The siblings arrange a weekend in their childhood home to come to an agreement which isn't as easy as they hoped. Add in a partner and ex wife and sparks fly! The characters were believable, although not all were really likeable and the story was told through their different points of view which I enjoyed. The book portrays the family dynamics and sibling relationships very well and how their grief affected them. I had a lot of empathy for Megan although she did irritate me at times. Overall a very good absorbing and at times poignant read that I would recommend.

This was a wonderful book about sibling rivalry and tensions existing within a family following on from childhood into their adult years. The death of their father and his instructions to his will sought to address this, and the results were surprising. The characters were well written and most siblings could relate to the roles played by these characters quite clearly, it certainly reminded me of some of my childhood..

I really enjoyed the unfolding events, as the family tried to come together to resolve the issues surrounding the will, but not addressing the issues surrounding their relationship with one another. It was a lovely read, characterisation, scenery and mood were perfect and I will look for more by this author.

The premise of this story was good and intriguing, but I felt it didn't quite fulfil. I quite enjoyed it but I think never quite cared enough about the characters. Just ok.

An interesting premise to this novel, and a surprising development at the end of the book,but more a steady read than a book of heavy plot and clever twists. Thought-provoking & sensitively highlighting the struggle of families affected by MND. I enjoyed the dialogue between the characters, especially the ex-wife and current girlfriend, but wonder if a potential plot twist with the role of employed carer (assisted suicide) was edited out and could have been explored further.

Following Jonathan’s death, the family meet to hear the reading of the will. The family consists of three grown up children, one ex wife and one live in lover, not much older than the children. With that mix, it’s never going to go well. Jonathan’s strange request in his will involves them all meeting up at the family home for one weekend to “discuss” his wishes. Naturally, they all have their own agendas and their own opinions about how to divide his estate.

Although the plot is fairly simple and straightforward, I thoroughly enjoyed this book and found it difficult to put down. There are no surprising plot twists, but I liked the way the story came together, gradually revealing more and more of each person’s story until they all come to terms with Jonathan’s death in their own way.

I received a free copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I absolutely love this authors books so was so excited to read this one and it most certainly didn’t disappoint. Once I picked it up to start reading I couldn’t put it down. This author has a way of dealing with sensitive subjects in such an amazing way and raising awareness of the struggles that others face. This story is based around the families father dying of MND and the life choices and decisions they must face upon his death when he leaves them to choose their own path in his legacy and to work things out as a family. This book is full of raw and complex human emotion as it describes the families struggle to come to a decision on their dads legacy and also face up to the struggles and difficulties in their own lives and also face their demons as to why they have never got on with each other. This was a gripping read.

This is a very character lead book told from several perspectives following the death of Jonathon and his unusual request in his will. He leaves behind an ex-wife, his partner of five years who was the ultimate cause of the demise of his marriage and three grown up children. The children couldn’t be more different, have little in common and rarely agree on anything so coming together to honour their fathers wishes only highlights the issues between them. I really enjoyed the different viewpoints and understanding how their own issues, which they keep to themselves, impact on this behaviour. I did expect more tension than there was but this is still a very emotionally charged family read.

A death in the family rarely brings out the best in people - even the deceased. Jonathan Coulter planned for his death meticulously, leaving nothing to chance. His will states that his three adult children must decide between them how to dispose of his estate. If they cannot come together over their inheritance, then they risk losing it.

This book is very well written, has slight humour to it and is also 100% believable. The story has everything you need to make a slight mystery with the background of family, hope, and love after death. Well written and the cover is eyecatching and appealing.

This is a very good story about family relationships. I enjoyed it and will look for further work by this author. Thank you for allowing me to read an advance copy