Legacy

Carrie Ann Ryan

Ashford Creek Series, Book 1

474 pages, Paperback

Expected publication January 6, 2026

With one scowl, I fell just that much harder for Callum Ashford—NFL star turned small town brewer. He’s not only older, but he’s my brother’s best friend. Two very important reasons I should stay away.
Only two years ago, after the worst night of my life, he kissed me and I can’t keep him off my mind.
When the only house available to rent in town happens to be the one across the street from him, the close proximity does its work.
We can’t keep our hands off each other. Yet as the heat rises, so do feelings. He might want me, but he wants peace more.
There’s a darkness within him I know he fights. Just as there are secrets his family needs to uncover. But when the danger comes full force, it won’t be from the obvious corner. No, we both have our pasts we chose to hide.
And our fears.
Yet when I break, he catches me.
And I hope I have the strength to do the same.
**Legacy is an age gap, best friend’s little sister, small town romance and the first in the Ashford Creek series featuring Callum and Felicity. Each one can be read as a complete standalone. A HEA is guaranteed!**

4 Stars

I love that Carrie Ann Ryan can always make me feel deep emotions with her books. In Careless(which was absolutely spectacular and an amazing set up, did not prepare me for the emotions that I truly felt while reading Legacy.

Callum is an ex pro football player who returned home after his retirement. His family may have found his town, but secrets and mystery run deep through Ashford Creek. A lot of that surrounds the Ashford family themselves. Callum is a man of mystery and his secrets run very deep. One of those secrets is that he has it bad for his best friends little sister. Believing that he is not good enough for her, Callum pushes her away. Whether it be fate or call it what you will bring in the universe keeps putting them together, and he can only take so much.

Felicity is a sweet and genuinely caring person. She left Ashford Creek to go to college. now she is returning home to work in the bookkeeping office and be closer to her family. Her older brothers Rune and Atlas are an absolute trip. I absolutely love them. They are extremely loving and protective of their sister. Felicity gain some independence while she was away at college and now, she is ready to start the next chapter of her life. There are two issues that she is dealing with. One the housing situation in her small hometown is very very limited. Second, the only house available is across the street from the man that she has been crushing on for years. Her brother ‘s best friend who she does not see as a brotherly figure at all. Shared a very passionate kiss and then he pushed her away. Fate has a funny way of doing things. and it seems that Felicity and Callum keep ending up in the same proximity as one and another.

Legacy checks a lot of the boxes that I love in my romances. We have a small town, a brother’s best friend, insane chemistry, and the amazing sense of family. Whether it be by blood or by choice. Oh, and we have an age gap in there as well. Felicity and Callum are amazing together. They are opposite enough of each other that their differences complement each other in an amazing way. Their chemistry burns hot before they even touch one another. Legacy is one of those stories that will take you through all the emotions. Be prepared to be entertained and maybe even find herself blushing. Callum seems to be a master at dirty talking. I have been reading Carrie Ann Ryan‘s books for well over a decade now. I was at a book conference where she was on a panel where she announced the original Montgomery series. I remember how excited I was. Her work was good back then and fast forward a decade or so and I know that I can expect an emotional read that will hit me in the heart every time. Legacy is a wonderful beginning to the Ashford Creek series.