Legend: Collector’s Edition

Reading the first pages of this book about how this story came to be, about how Day came to exist, and peeking into Marie’s thoughts made me shiver a bit. Really!

It must give her such a nostalgic feeling to look back at all those bumpy roads she had to take until her story came to life.
It must have been a journey filled with emotion and hope; it must be amazing for her to look back and realise just how much she has achieved.

You know, when we were teenagers we all had dreams, but how many of us did get to make them come true? I must confess I want other things for myself these days, I can barely remember what I wanted in my life back then.
But Marie Lu had a dream .. one on paper, and maybe it changed over the years, maybe it barely resembles the story she sketched back then, but I think that her younger self would be proud of her, because her story today is better, her connection with her characters stronger and people all over around the world are reading her books and loving them.

And even though my words might never reach her, I want to congratulate Marie Lu not only for achieving all that, but for inspiring other people to try to follow their dreams.

Back to Legend..

In the original story you get to find out about the characters through their actions and thoughts, but it felt like knowing them better with their skills and weaknesses in this limited edition.
You get not only the story itself, but also details about the characters that you might not pay much attention to while reading the novel (having them hidden between the lines).

The book is filled with yummy bonuses – an alternate ending, a deleted scene, the profiles of our beloved characters that you might find handy, the origins of our wonderful Day through the excerpts from “The Glass Sonata” – because he is the true center of Legend’s universe, without him there would be no story, no June, no nothing.. and even though the Day you know is a bit different from his old version, at heart they are still the same.

Also, you’ll get the lovely sketches made by the author – which might not be new to you if you follow her, but you will still appreciate having them in the book.

Note: the the above picture of Day (from back in his fantasy novel days) is NOT present in this edition, but I think it really should have – it would have made a great addition to The Glass Sonata. But you can still enjoy other beautiful sketches made by Marie Lu, for example: 

The only thing I miss at this very moment (while holding the ARC and not the actual copy) is having the book signed by Marie Lu, LOL.

Conclusion..

Now, you know how much I liked Legend the first time. I didn’t change my mind about that, in fact I think I liked it better the second time around, as I could focus better on the characters and the world, instead of turning pages like crazy to see if things will end the way I want.

It was like reading inside their souls, now that I know how they came to be and also knowing what awaits for them. Somehow it made me see them in a different light, it made me connect better with them and afterwords understand better their story. Hopefully you will feel the same.

More info about this edition can be found here.
See my full reviews for Legend, Prodigy and Champion.

Happy midnight reading!

Book source: ARC received for review. Thank you!