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The Legacy Chronicles #1.5
Conviction
Can two people with opposing principles overcome their differences to be together?
Than has spent his life ostensibly having fun while secretly fighting for his people’s freedom. A member of the underground resistance, he is only ever serious around his comrades and his family. When an injury forces him to step down from active duty and his reluctant nurse sparks his interest, Than finds himself in uncharted territory. The fascinating woman will have nothing to do with him.
Menali’s past has taught her to keep her head down and trust that God has a reason for allowing the human race to suffer on U’du. When Than explodes into her life, he refuses to take no for an answer and challenges all of her preconceptions. He soon has her re-evaluating her priorities and wondering what life with someone like him would be like.
Take a detour from the main series to follow Than and Menali through the aftermath of the culling and explore what happens when others see beneath the masks we wear. NOTE: For maximum enjoyment, The Legacy Chronicles are best read in order, starting with Courage.
Than has spent his life ostensibly having fun while secretly fighting for his people’s freedom. A member of the underground resistance, he is only ever serious around his comrades and his family. When an injury forces him to step down from active duty and his reluctant nurse sparks his interest, Than finds himself in uncharted territory. The fascinating woman will have nothing to do with him.
Menali’s past has taught her to keep her head down and trust that God has a reason for allowing the human race to suffer on U’du. When Than explodes into her life, he refuses to take no for an answer and challenges all of her preconceptions. He soon has her re-evaluating her priorities and wondering what life with someone like him would be like.
Take a detour from the main series to follow Than and Menali through the aftermath of the culling and explore what happens when others see beneath the masks we wear. NOTE: For maximum enjoyment, The Legacy Chronicles are best read in order, starting with Courage.
222 pages, Kindle Edition
Published September 7, 2018
1 person is currently reading
14 people want to read
About the author
Lauren H. Salisbury
14 books62 followersLauren H Salisbury writes science fiction and fantasy stories about courage, love, and redemption. She includes all kinds of relationships in her novels but loves a good found family trope when she comes across one.
When she's not engrossed in fictional worlds, she enjoys crafting, nature, food, and sleep. She lives in Yorkshire, England with her husband and a rampant cheese plant but tries to follow the sunshine south in winter.
A one-time avid collector of physical books, she made the switch to an e-reader when she discovered they could hold far more than one large suitcase. Her only complaint about them is that they're no good for taking bookish pictures.
To find out more, go to laurenhsalisbury.com
Happy reading!
When she's not engrossed in fictional worlds, she enjoys crafting, nature, food, and sleep. She lives in Yorkshire, England with her husband and a rampant cheese plant but tries to follow the sunshine south in winter.
A one-time avid collector of physical books, she made the switch to an e-reader when she discovered they could hold far more than one large suitcase. Her only complaint about them is that they're no good for taking bookish pictures.
To find out more, go to laurenhsalisbury.com
Happy reading!
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
January 19, 2019
Conviction begins where Courage ended, but the focus is now firmly on Than and Menali, two of my favorite characters from Courage. Than’s brash, flirtatious, and full of confidence personality is the antithesis of Menali’s shy, retiring and self-effacing personality. Yet, in the midst of the turmoil and harsh living conditions of the slave settlement after the massacre, the two form an unlikely friendship that blossoms into a love story. Than’s and Menali’s characters grow individually as they grow together.
Salisbury’s world building is spot on. The alien landscape of U’du and the otherworldliness of the Esarelians are painted in just a few strokes and yet that sense of other permeates the story. The living conditions of the slaves are harsh and still life goes on and hope is not lost.
The main flow of the story from Courage is given a backseat in Conviction but still kept alive in the reader’s mind through the brief passages pulling that thread through bit by bit. This is a well-written, enjoyable read.
Salisbury’s world building is spot on. The alien landscape of U’du and the otherworldliness of the Esarelians are painted in just a few strokes and yet that sense of other permeates the story. The living conditions of the slaves are harsh and still life goes on and hope is not lost.
The main flow of the story from Courage is given a backseat in Conviction but still kept alive in the reader’s mind through the brief passages pulling that thread through bit by bit. This is a well-written, enjoyable read.
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September 9, 2018Conviction wasn't supposed to exist. I originally planned to go straight from Courage to Strength, Reemah's story, but my mum, who was the primary reader for Courage, wanted to know more about Than and what happened to him. I decided to write a short novella as a thank you for all her work and include it in the series as book 1.5.
The trouble was that the more I dug into Than and Menali's lives outside of the events of Courage, the more I found to write. The novella became a full-blown novel, and book 1.5 became book 2.
Conviction takes a minor detour from the main plotline of The Legacy Chronicles to delve into issues many of us face in our walk with God. It's primarily a romance (something extremely new and unexpected for me as a writer), but I hope it also shows that when our masks, our plans - our convictions - are stripped away, God is still there and often directing us towards something even better.
OK, so that's enough waxing lyrical from me. I hope you enjoy reading Conviction as much as I enjoyed writing about one of my favourite "minor" characters.
The trouble was that the more I dug into Than and Menali's lives outside of the events of Courage, the more I found to write. The novella became a full-blown novel, and book 1.5 became book 2.
Conviction takes a minor detour from the main plotline of The Legacy Chronicles to delve into issues many of us face in our walk with God. It's primarily a romance (something extremely new and unexpected for me as a writer), but I hope it also shows that when our masks, our plans - our convictions - are stripped away, God is still there and often directing us towards something even better.
OK, so that's enough waxing lyrical from me. I hope you enjoy reading Conviction as much as I enjoyed writing about one of my favourite "minor" characters.
May 30, 2019
A wonderful romance that perfectly bridges the two books in the series!
September 8, 2018
Star rating: 3.5
Picking up from the end of Courage, Conviction suffers a little from second-book syndrome, in that there's no resolution to the bigger arc of the story, even though there is a resolution to the immediate problem in this one: how on earth (or rather, U'du) Than and Menali are ever going to get together. This means that Gilla and baby Mahsan hardly ever appear, which was a bit of a downer for me because I really, really liked Gilla and wanted to follow more of the bigger baby-Moses-in-space theme.
ANYWAY! Than is awfully stretched in this one--besides doing his best to be a father figure to his niece Mirami, he's also struggling to find his footing in the Resistance now that his role has changed AND trying to court Menali at the same time. You really get to see his pureness and big heart but you also see him bouncing from thing to thing until he starts to settle down and maybe grow up just a little.
Menali also blossoms through the book. Her initial fearful wavering and wishy-washyness gain new impact as you learn more about her past and why she reacts the way she does.
In terms of interesting characters, Aronin is one I'd have liked Salisbury to dwell on a bit more. In Conviction, much more of his backstory is revealed, at least in relation to Menali, so I'm wondering if there's more to be uncovered.
Nothing really happens though--I mean, all sorts of things do happen, including intrigue, subversion, theft, and grievous bodily harm, but because they happen more in the background of the romance, it feels like nothing of the series' goals are being furthered. Everyone is still just waiting for the right time, and the original arc of saving Mahsan's life seems to be in limbo.
So yeah, Conviction is really a space opera romance, which didn't turn out to be 100% my cup of tea. Overall, I liked it, but I really want to find out what's happening with Gilla, Elias and Mahsan. Waiting for book 3: Strength!
Note: I received a digital copy of this book from the author as part of a book launch tour. I was given the book with no expectation of a positive review and the review is my own.
Picking up from the end of Courage, Conviction suffers a little from second-book syndrome, in that there's no resolution to the bigger arc of the story, even though there is a resolution to the immediate problem in this one: how on earth (or rather, U'du) Than and Menali are ever going to get together. This means that Gilla and baby Mahsan hardly ever appear, which was a bit of a downer for me because I really, really liked Gilla and wanted to follow more of the bigger baby-Moses-in-space theme.
ANYWAY! Than is awfully stretched in this one--besides doing his best to be a father figure to his niece Mirami, he's also struggling to find his footing in the Resistance now that his role has changed AND trying to court Menali at the same time. You really get to see his pureness and big heart but you also see him bouncing from thing to thing until he starts to settle down and maybe grow up just a little.
Menali also blossoms through the book. Her initial fearful wavering and wishy-washyness gain new impact as you learn more about her past and why she reacts the way she does.
In terms of interesting characters, Aronin is one I'd have liked Salisbury to dwell on a bit more. In Conviction, much more of his backstory is revealed, at least in relation to Menali, so I'm wondering if there's more to be uncovered.
Nothing really happens though--I mean, all sorts of things do happen, including intrigue, subversion, theft, and grievous bodily harm, but because they happen more in the background of the romance, it feels like nothing of the series' goals are being furthered. Everyone is still just waiting for the right time, and the original arc of saving Mahsan's life seems to be in limbo.
So yeah, Conviction is really a space opera romance, which didn't turn out to be 100% my cup of tea. Overall, I liked it, but I really want to find out what's happening with Gilla, Elias and Mahsan. Waiting for book 3: Strength!
Note: I received a digital copy of this book from the author as part of a book launch tour. I was given the book with no expectation of a positive review and the review is my own.
September 8, 2018
For a quick take on the story, please read my review of book one, Courage.
Conviction picks up almost immediately where Courage leaves off, so I would definitely recommend reading book one first. This is not one of those series where you could easily jump into the story in the middle, you’d be a touch confused 😉
I’m not the least bit ashamed to say that Than was my favorite character in Courage so I’m so glad that he has the spotlight in Conviction! Even though this is a retelling of Moses in the Bible, and it has those very obvious aspects, Conviction branches off into it’s own story that is most definitely a romance. I love Than and Menali’s relationship, and the pace of it. It’s not rushed into with fire and fury but it’s not agonizing with suspense either.
The story is gripping, adventurous, and I really just enjoyed it! Especially since it’s clean. There are some religious themes to the book (obviously, it’s a retelling of a Bible story) but I didn’t think it was overly “Christianized” or pushy in any way. It was mainly just a clean, refreshing read.
So overall, I enjoyed Conviction just as much as I enjoyed Courage and give it a rating of 5 out of 5 stars!
I received this book from the author for the purpose of this review. All comments and opinions are entirely my own.
This is a LiteratureApproved.com Review.
Conviction picks up almost immediately where Courage leaves off, so I would definitely recommend reading book one first. This is not one of those series where you could easily jump into the story in the middle, you’d be a touch confused 😉
I’m not the least bit ashamed to say that Than was my favorite character in Courage so I’m so glad that he has the spotlight in Conviction! Even though this is a retelling of Moses in the Bible, and it has those very obvious aspects, Conviction branches off into it’s own story that is most definitely a romance. I love Than and Menali’s relationship, and the pace of it. It’s not rushed into with fire and fury but it’s not agonizing with suspense either.
The story is gripping, adventurous, and I really just enjoyed it! Especially since it’s clean. There are some religious themes to the book (obviously, it’s a retelling of a Bible story) but I didn’t think it was overly “Christianized” or pushy in any way. It was mainly just a clean, refreshing read.
So overall, I enjoyed Conviction just as much as I enjoyed Courage and give it a rating of 5 out of 5 stars!
I received this book from the author for the purpose of this review. All comments and opinions are entirely my own.
This is a LiteratureApproved.com Review.
April 29, 2019
This story is a delightful cameo featuring two of the characters from Courage. Despite being enslaved by an alien race, the humans carry on with their lives, figuring out their feelings, fighting their misconceptions and prejudices and learning to trust. Although the setting is alien the themes are ageless and Ms Salisbury weaves them into a colorful narrative populated by well rounded characters that the reader can believe in.
October 8, 2018
Than has problems. His shoulder still isn’t healed from the time not long ago when he participated in the slave uprising. His brother in law has been taken by his planet’s alien overlords for an almost invariably fatal job. His sister, who he promised to protect, and her baby are missing, and he can’t go look for them because his niece Mirami has been left in his care. He’s getting a crash course in parenting. The rebellion has lost many of its best leaders. Most painful of all, the woman he loves can’t make up her mind whether or not she loves him back.
Menali’s life is changing, and not in a good way. Love was not a part of her plan. And if she did by chance fall for someone, it would be someone reasonable, not the handsome guy that flirts with everything in a skirt. That’s the way to get hurt, and Menali has organized her life very carefully to avoid pain. You never know… someone who is that adventurous might even be a member of the Rebellion, and that would never do…
Gilla’s life is a study in uncertainty. Her newborn son is safe, for now, even though she must call him by the alien name Mahsan. Her mysterious alien benefactor has provided safety for her and her husband, but for now they must hide in a cave, able to care for Mahsan but separate from their beloved Mirami. The cave isn’t ideal, but what is coming next might be unthinkable.
This science fiction romance is the second book in this allegory of the life of Moses. I'm not usually a fan of romances, but I found the main characters compelling, and I especially enjoyed the spiritual growth that each of them displayed throughout the book. I also found some other characters compelling, but most notably Halarni, Menali's kind, wise adoptive mother, and Reemah, the alien princess whose heart is drawn to a human baby. I'm hoping to see more of them in future books.
I wish that the romance in this book had been a subplot instead of the main plot, but that is really a personal preference. Than and Menali were my favorite characters from the first book, so expanding on their story is a logical next step. I'm looking forward to the next book! I'm hoping that this series goes beyond the usual trilogy to cover the entire life of Moses.
Heat: A man has his wounded shoulder bandaged several times, but it is described without heat. An engaged couple kisses. A married couple kisses. All scenes are tactfully written.
Profanity: none.
Violence: Fights between people and aliens are spoken of but not portrayed. A nearly fatal accident is portrayed, but it is not gruesome in the slightest. Punishments for slaves including whipping are referred to.
Menali’s life is changing, and not in a good way. Love was not a part of her plan. And if she did by chance fall for someone, it would be someone reasonable, not the handsome guy that flirts with everything in a skirt. That’s the way to get hurt, and Menali has organized her life very carefully to avoid pain. You never know… someone who is that adventurous might even be a member of the Rebellion, and that would never do…
Gilla’s life is a study in uncertainty. Her newborn son is safe, for now, even though she must call him by the alien name Mahsan. Her mysterious alien benefactor has provided safety for her and her husband, but for now they must hide in a cave, able to care for Mahsan but separate from their beloved Mirami. The cave isn’t ideal, but what is coming next might be unthinkable.
This science fiction romance is the second book in this allegory of the life of Moses. I'm not usually a fan of romances, but I found the main characters compelling, and I especially enjoyed the spiritual growth that each of them displayed throughout the book. I also found some other characters compelling, but most notably Halarni, Menali's kind, wise adoptive mother, and Reemah, the alien princess whose heart is drawn to a human baby. I'm hoping to see more of them in future books.
I wish that the romance in this book had been a subplot instead of the main plot, but that is really a personal preference. Than and Menali were my favorite characters from the first book, so expanding on their story is a logical next step. I'm looking forward to the next book! I'm hoping that this series goes beyond the usual trilogy to cover the entire life of Moses.
Heat: A man has his wounded shoulder bandaged several times, but it is described without heat. An engaged couple kisses. A married couple kisses. All scenes are tactfully written.
Profanity: none.
Violence: Fights between people and aliens are spoken of but not portrayed. A nearly fatal accident is portrayed, but it is not gruesome in the slightest. Punishments for slaves including whipping are referred to.
October 19, 2022
Conviction
Book 1.5 of the Legacy Chronicles by Lauren Salisbury continues in the same vein of excellent, faith based story telling as her fist novel. The relationships between the brave and descent people who have lived lives of servitude with strength and grace shine! Please do yourself a kindness and read the Legacy Chronicles!
Book 1.5 of the Legacy Chronicles by Lauren Salisbury continues in the same vein of excellent, faith based story telling as her fist novel. The relationships between the brave and descent people who have lived lives of servitude with strength and grace shine! Please do yourself a kindness and read the Legacy Chronicles!
April 16, 2025
First and foremost, Conviction is a romance. I wasn't expecting this since Courage was so action-focused, but I am far from disappointed! In the first book, most of the reader's time is spent learning about the world of U'du. From the religious beliefs and social structure of multiple races, to soaking up descriptions of the planet's natural resources and cheering for the resistance as they attempt to overthrow their oppressors, the focus is largely on learning about the world in the public sector. Conviction tightens the reader's gaze to focus on the inner lives of two characters: Than and Menali.
Although fictional, these two are a wonderful example of God working in each person's life to prepare them for a future together. At first glance, Than and Menali are irreconcilably different. As you learn more about their background and mindset, though, their compatibility is revealed. The road isn't easy, but nothing can stand in the way of God's plans, not even the people involved. As they and their community respond to tragedy and increasingly harsh conditions in the wake of a failed resistance attack, each person must choose whether they will lean on God and their neighbors for support, or isolate themselves in order to avoid potential suspicion by their oppressors.
While romance and personal development are the main focus of Conviction, there is still plenty of action as well. The resistance is still alive and planning missions despite being recently beaten down. The protagonists from the first book pop in and out from time to time, keeping us updated on their suspense-filled lives as well. Justice, the human condition, and space aliens are all prominent features of the series.
Original, extended review posted on Reviews From the Stacks.
I received a free ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions herein are my own.
Although fictional, these two are a wonderful example of God working in each person's life to prepare them for a future together. At first glance, Than and Menali are irreconcilably different. As you learn more about their background and mindset, though, their compatibility is revealed. The road isn't easy, but nothing can stand in the way of God's plans, not even the people involved. As they and their community respond to tragedy and increasingly harsh conditions in the wake of a failed resistance attack, each person must choose whether they will lean on God and their neighbors for support, or isolate themselves in order to avoid potential suspicion by their oppressors.
While romance and personal development are the main focus of Conviction, there is still plenty of action as well. The resistance is still alive and planning missions despite being recently beaten down. The protagonists from the first book pop in and out from time to time, keeping us updated on their suspense-filled lives as well. Justice, the human condition, and space aliens are all prominent features of the series.
Original, extended review posted on Reviews From the Stacks.
I received a free ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions herein are my own.
November 26, 2021
The Legacy Chronicles are an enthralling series. This Sci-Fi journey of a slave destined to liberate the oppressed, and the people who loved and protected him is both exotic and familiar, but the setting is out of this world.
Whether Lauren takes you into a high-tech society or dusty, downtrodden planets, you will discover that her Legacy Chronicles are a great place to lose yourself.
Whether Lauren takes you into a high-tech society or dusty, downtrodden planets, you will discover that her Legacy Chronicles are a great place to lose yourself.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews