A Curse Dark as Gold is a YA historical fairy-tale retelling of Rumpelstiltskin by Elizabeth C. Bunce.
I know, I know. This book has been out there for a while. Well, if you’re like me and you haven’t had the chance to read it yet – here’s a great opportunity to learn more about it! And this blog has NEVER been about reviewing only new books – and this blog is getting back to its roots, remember?
Charlotte Miller and her sister Rosie grieve their father’s death deeply – but Charlotte knows it is her duty, her place, to step up and take the reins of their family’s long-established woolen mill. Many employees depend on their wages at the mill, families in their small village have histories there – she would not give that up for anything.
Despite her young age and gender.
When more dire circumstances for the mill are introduced, however, Charlotte finds that she must get them out of debt. A deep debt that comes as a surprise, as their father took a loan they never told them about.
Her sister Rosie, pulling on the long held superstitions and belief in the strange of the town, arranges a meeting with a mysterious man who calls himself Jack Spinner. His bargain could possibly lift their mill out of possible ruin and provide a livelihood for her townspeople and security against their refined, regulatory uncle.
But at what cost?
Charlotte finds that just as things seem to be improving – she’s found love, some prosperity – those age-old whispers of curses at the mill are returning…
And turning straw into gold demands payment.
I loved A Curse Dark as Gold. Like really, really loved it!!!
Elizabeth C. Bunce has penned a sweeping, authentic, sensitive tale about two sisters determined to keep their family’s legacy alive – with character development and a true atmosphere of the time, which is roughly the late 1700s.
A soft romance that takes the novel into a cross-genre place and a dark, enigmatic, magical fairy-tale aspect that provides depth, suspense, and stakes to a classically eerie story of Rumpelstiltskin.
A Curse Dark as Gold is excellently historical, magnetic, and emotive – providing a sense of family, pride, and small towns in a vibrant, vivid manner. This novel really puts flesh and blood on a bare bones story.
Somehow each portion of the story feels like it has sufficient time to develop – no rushing, but no dull moments either. Just… loveliness. And the building plot reached a peak that did not disappoint – in fact it exceeded my expectations!
It’s creepy, spooky, and deeper than I expected it to be. Intense, emotional – I mean, WOW!!!
A Curse Dark as Gold is very, very cool. It was all I hoped for and more! A book that can easily be read by any age and enjoyed – and wonderfully, wonderfully written!
So – read it!!!
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