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3.91 AVERAGE
3.91 AVERAGE
Murg. That's how I feel about this. I really wanted to like it, but I was just SO. BORED. Nothing happened at all, and the magic--which was SO COOL--was barely in it. It was 431 unmagical pages that took me eight months to read. Murg.
Full Review to Come.
Full Review to Come.
Walk on Earth a Stranger...
The title itself when I first ran into it at my local bookstore was enough to grab my attention. Peeked at the cover, *awesome cover!* checked out the dust jacket and read the prompt. Something completely new and different that I have not read yet, shocker I know.
This book was my first read of 2016 and a great book to start out the new year.
Enter Leah Westfall a.k.a Lee McCauley. A young girl in 1849 with a terrible secret. She can sense gold in the earth which might not sound like much, except there is a gold rush happening in California and anyone who knows her secret and can control her will become very very rich.
This book is not a slow starter, you're introduced to the character and her way of life on her families homestead as well as her gangly friend Jefferson McCauley 'Kingfisher' who could possibly be something more. We don't really get started until the end of chapter 3 where Leah comes home and finds her parents dead. Yeah. I'll leave you to figure out who killed them. If you read the book you won't be in suspense long.
During her time of grieving Jefferson tells her he is heading west to California. After a very unromantic proposal and some exchanged words he tells her he will wait for her in Independence as long as he can.
His gaze drifts far away. Rubbing absently at his shoulder, he says," You're my best friend, Lee."
"I know."
"We're to old for school. I only come to see you."
"I know."
All at once he turns toward me and grasps my mittened hands in his bare ones. "Come west with me."
I open my mouth, but nothing comes out.
"Marry me. Or...I mean... We could tell people we're married. Brother and sister, maybe! Whatever you want..."
SPOILER
Her uncle killed her parents!...yeah did not see that one coming. When her parents were killed like that wasn't bad enough, someone stole their gold dust they had been hiding in their house. When her Uncle showed up Leah sensed it on his hands. Can't hide anything from this girl!
Leah hides from her Uncle by becoming Lee McCauley and heads west in search of Jefferson. She encounters robbers, a family who will become much more to her on the journey towards California, and more friends then she ever had in her hometown.
This is a quick read, with a story that will develop further when Leah finally confronts her Uncle.
An enjoyable first book to the gold seer trilogy.
The title itself when I first ran into it at my local bookstore was enough to grab my attention. Peeked at the cover, *awesome cover!* checked out the dust jacket and read the prompt. Something completely new and different that I have not read yet, shocker I know.
This book was my first read of 2016 and a great book to start out the new year.
Enter Leah Westfall a.k.a Lee McCauley. A young girl in 1849 with a terrible secret. She can sense gold in the earth which might not sound like much, except there is a gold rush happening in California and anyone who knows her secret and can control her will become very very rich.
This book is not a slow starter, you're introduced to the character and her way of life on her families homestead as well as her gangly friend Jefferson McCauley 'Kingfisher' who could possibly be something more. We don't really get started until the end of chapter 3 where Leah comes home and finds her parents dead. Yeah. I'll leave you to figure out who killed them. If you read the book you won't be in suspense long.
During her time of grieving Jefferson tells her he is heading west to California. After a very unromantic proposal and some exchanged words he tells her he will wait for her in Independence as long as he can.
His gaze drifts far away. Rubbing absently at his shoulder, he says," You're my best friend, Lee."
"I know."
"We're to old for school. I only come to see you."
"I know."
All at once he turns toward me and grasps my mittened hands in his bare ones. "Come west with me."
I open my mouth, but nothing comes out.
"Marry me. Or...I mean... We could tell people we're married. Brother and sister, maybe! Whatever you want..."
SPOILER
Her uncle killed her parents!...yeah did not see that one coming. When her parents were killed like that wasn't bad enough, someone stole their gold dust they had been hiding in their house. When her Uncle showed up Leah sensed it on his hands. Can't hide anything from this girl!
Leah hides from her Uncle by becoming Lee McCauley and heads west in search of Jefferson. She encounters robbers, a family who will become much more to her on the journey towards California, and more friends then she ever had in her hometown.
This is a quick read, with a story that will develop further when Leah finally confronts her Uncle.
An enjoyable first book to the gold seer trilogy.
not quite as good as her previous series but a solid start to a new series! I particularly enjoyed that the main character was strong but imperfect. she was open minded but still a product of her time.
I loved this sooo muuuuuuuuuch. GIVE ME SEQUELS. more later.
// pre-reading: COVER COVER LOOK AT DAT COVER
// pre-reading: COVER COVER LOOK AT DAT COVER
I've never read a Western before, so this genre was a first for me. And you know what? I really enjoyed it.
It could have been because of the awesome main character, Leah Westfall, who is strong and smart, and doesn't need no man (sorry I had to say it!). Or it could have been the super slow-burn romance with her child-hood friend, Jefferson, who was also strong, smart and complex. Or maybe the wild west setting, with cowboys, Indians, horses, oxen and carriages and the journey across the country to join the Gold Rush in California. I could even hear the country accents of the characters when they spoke.
There is a huge cast of characters and not all of them are fully fleshed out, but it didn't limit my enjoyment at all. If anyone is squeamish, there is on scene that made me grit my teeth.
There's no disguising this is a journey book. I'm quite partial to a good ol' journey book - [book:The Lord of the Rings|33] I'm looking at you <3 - as long as they are written well and in this case, researched well, with enough drama and danger to keep a reader invested. That is what this book does. There's an author's note at the end explaining her research and any liberties she took. I'm Australian, so my knowledge of American History is limited, but everything felt authentic; right down to the treatment of women, the slavery of African Americans and the prejudice against Native Americans.
The 'magical' element of the story is intriguing. Leah can sense gold, a pretty handy skill to have when the Gold Rush comes around. There are no other magical abilities or scenes in this book, so it's very 'fantasy lite' for those interested in reading the story but worry the fantasy elements will be too much.
This is my first Rae Carson book and after reading this, it definitely won't be my last. I look forward to reading the sequel.
It could have been because of the awesome main character, Leah Westfall, who is strong and smart, and doesn't need no man (sorry I had to say it!). Or it could have been the super slow-burn romance with her child-hood friend, Jefferson, who was also strong, smart and complex. Or maybe the wild west setting, with cowboys, Indians, horses, oxen and carriages and the journey across the country to join the Gold Rush in California. I could even hear the country accents of the characters when they spoke.
There is a huge cast of characters and not all of them are fully fleshed out, but it didn't limit my enjoyment at all. If anyone is squeamish, there is on scene that made me grit my teeth
Spoiler
the amputation scene was done well, but still hard to readThere's no disguising this is a journey book. I'm quite partial to a good ol' journey book - [book:The Lord of the Rings|33] I'm looking at you <3 - as long as they are written well and in this case, researched well, with enough drama and danger to keep a reader invested. That is what this book does. There's an author's note at the end explaining her research and any liberties she took. I'm Australian, so my knowledge of American History is limited, but everything felt authentic; right down to the treatment of women, the slavery of African Americans and the prejudice against Native Americans.
The 'magical' element of the story is intriguing. Leah can sense gold, a pretty handy skill to have when the Gold Rush comes around. There are no other magical abilities or scenes in this book, so it's very 'fantasy lite' for those interested in reading the story but worry the fantasy elements will be too much.
This is my first Rae Carson book and after reading this, it definitely won't be my last. I look forward to reading the sequel.
I really enjoyed Rae Carson’s Fire and Thorns trilogy and I felt confident I would enjoy her writing in this book as well. Why did I take so long to pick it up? I’m not a huge fan of historical fiction and this honestly just wasn’t a book I was itching to read. It did start out slow and I will admit I was still skeptical about 20% into the book. However, after I finished it I realized that I really really enjoyed this story! While I’m not a huge fan of historical fiction I was intrigued by the bit of magic with Leah’s gold-sensing abilities. The story ended up being more historical fiction with less magic or fantasy than I expected, but I was actually very okay with that. I hadn’t realized how attached I got to all of the characters until I finished the book and thought about how much I wanted to read the second book. It was really good, and if you are willing to give it a chance, I definitely recommend it! Also, the cover is one of the more beautiful covers I’ve seen lately, so that certainly doesn’t hurt