Hidden Legacy #1-3 (Nevada Baylor Trilogy) by Ilona Andrews (2014 – 2017)

Fiction | Urban Fantasy

Note: These are not romance novels despite the covers LOL

Blurb:

BURN FOR ME (Book One)

Nevada Baylor is faced with the most challenging case of her detective career—a suicide mission to bring in a suspect in a volatile case. Nevada isn’t sure she has the chops. Her quarry is a Prime, the highest rank of magic user, who can set anyone and anything on fire.

Then she’s kidnapped by Connor “Mad” Rogan—a darkly tempting billionaire with equally devastating powers. Torn between wanting to run or surrender to their overwhelming attraction, Nevada must join forces with Rogan to stay alive.

Rogan’s after the same target, so he needs Nevada. But she’s getting under his skin, making him care about someone other than himself for a change. And, as Rogan has learned, love can be as perilous as death, especially in the magic world.

Goodreads | Amazon

pooled ink Review:

I titled this review “Hidden Legacy Series”, yet only feature three books and mention a Nevada Baylor Trilogy? Yep! Okay so, Hidden Legacy is an on-going series broken up into trilogies and I’m just covering books 1-3 aka the Nevada Baylor Trilogy. Books 4, 5, and (coming 2022) 6 are the Catalina Baylor Trilogy which continue the series but focus on Nevada’s sister, Catalina, and her growth with her powers and place in the world. I haven’t gotten to book 4 yet so I can’t say much about it, but it has favorable reviews so I’m sure I’ll add it to my library list when life slows down and I get another break for a reading binge. You can see the whole Hidden Legacy series list here, but for now let’s just focus on that first trilogy…

The covers, the titles, even the descriptions really all exude a heavy romance genre vibe. I mean the cheesy shirtless dude, the windblown hair, the double entendre titles, and the descriptions sound very romance centered (can you tell it’s not my thing? Lol). I’m here to tell you that’s not quite accurate and the books are SO much stronger for it. Is there romance and does it affect the plot? Yeah, it begins in book one, develops in books two, and is 100% endgame in book 3 (and I loved it btw). Yes the romance element affects the characters (I mean, how could it not?), but you could remove it and still have a kick ass series which is why it’s more of a gritty P.I. Urban Fantasy than a Paranormal Romance. The romance is a strong element, but it isn’t the point of any book in the trilogy. Rather than be the driving force of the plot or the entirety of the plot itself, it simply adds to the already existing plot, ya know, the one where a P.I. gets roped into saving the city from evil supernaturals? Yeah, that one and it’s awesome.

This was my first time reading a book by Ilona Andrews (I kept hearing about the Kate Daniels series which I’ll get to but my library had this one available first) and I couldn’t be happier with the introduction.

Author Ilona Andrews is actually a wife and husband writing duo and they do it well. If their writing partnership is indicative of their marriage partnership, then they are goals. The romance is swoon-worthy, paced perfectly, and never over saturates the main plot, the action is often military in style or description and knows what it’s talking about (you’re going to learn a lot about tactics, weapons, and procedures as a by-product of these books, but not in a way that’s heavy handed or boring, just in a way that makes these books feel even more real and makes you feel a bit badass haha), the characters all stand on their own and captivate in their own way, the plot threads are a combination of an ongoing conspiracy, ongoing romance, single-book city disaster threats, and shorter bursts of enemy attacks or family matters. It’s expertly done to keep you reading and it works. I binged all three books centered on Nevada in a handful of days.

Nevada Baylor, the main character of this trilogy, is a self-made Private Investigator and currently the primary provider for her family. She’s smart, quick, willing to do what needs to be done, and is a loving sister, daughter, granddaughter, and cousin. Family is always her priority and I really adored that entire element of both Nevada and the series. A lot of books sideline or ignore family from the plot, but not this series. The Baylor family is a unit and they work together. Nevada may head an investigation, but she has her family to help out when needed and they do. When Nevada falls for Mad Rogan, a war vet billionaire with some serious telekinetic powers and a scary reputation, her family is right there making sure he toes the line. A big factor for me liking a book is whether or not I can stand the M.C. and I really liked Nevada, I liked Rogan (the moment he ordered bulgogi I knew he was a good egg haha nom), I liked Rogan’s security people/personal army, and I loved the Baylor family. The characters were strong and had me feeling invested in their lives so of course I’ll be reading Catalina’s trilogy as soon as I can find the time. I’d read the Hidden Legacy series for ages just to see them all grow up and find their happily ever afters because I like them all that much.

Supervillains, a determined P.I., a sexy war vet, and the whole city of Houston to protect, the Hidden Legacy series is a fast-paced mystery, action thriller, and romance all rolled into one and served to perfection.

Cheers.

Similar Reads: Mercy Thompson by Patricia Briggs, The Others by Anne Bishop, The Guild Codex by Annette Marie

Meet Ilona Andrews!

Website | Goodreads | Twitter | Instagram

Ilona Andrews is the pseudonym for a husband-and-wife writing team. Ilona is a native-born Russian and Gordon is a former communications sergeant in the U.S. Army. Contrary to popular belief, Gordon was never an intelligence officer with a license to kill, and Ilona was never the mysterious Russian spy who seduced him. They met in college, in English Composition 101, where Ilona got a better grade. (Gordon is still sore about that.)

Gordon and Ilona currently reside in Oregon with their two children, three dogs and a cat. They have co-authored two series, the bestselling urban fantasy of Kate Daniels and romantic urban fantasy of The Edge.