Legacies: A Shadow Grail Novel    by Mercedes Lackey & Rosemary Edghill Order:  USA  Can Tor, 2010 (2010) Hardcover, Softcover, e-Book Read an Excerpt      Reviewed by Hilary Williamson At first I thought I was seeing shades of Harry Potter in Legacies, first in a new Shadow Grail series by Mercedes Lackey and Rosemary Edghill. But the story is darker from the beginning. It opens on an accident, which kills Spirit White's beloved parents and sister Phoenix, and leaves her grieving as she suffers through a long recovery process. When her parents' house burns down, it all seems to much. Then Spirit is informed that her parents had set up a trust for her, administered by the Oakhurst Foundation, which also runs a boarding school where she will be living from now on. This is no ordinary school but one for young magicians, all of whom have been orphaned like Spirit. After an odd welcome, in which Doctor Ambrosius briefly turns her and new schoolmate Loch into mice, Spirit makes friends of Loch, Goth-girl Muirin (an illusionist), calm Addie (skilled in water magic), and cute Burke (a combat magician). Testing shows that Loch's gifts are in Kenning and Shadewalking, but Spirit's Affinity does not manifest. Spirit is still adjusting to her new life when she and her friends realize that young magicians have been disappearing from the school steadily for many years - they have been Tithed. Terrified for themselves and their friends, they decide to do something about it, and discover that they must go up against the Wild Hunt, which might include demons. Legacies makes a fantastic start to what looks to be a great new YA series. At the back of the book is a sneak peek into the second episode - I can't wait. Note: Opinions expressed in reviews and articles on this site are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of BookLoons. Find more Teens books on our Shelves or in our book Reviews