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cassie_richoux 's review for:
A Curse Dark as Gold
by Elizabeth C. Bunce
One of the best elements of this book was that I didn’t feel like I was reading a fairytale retelling. Now I should explain what I mean by that, because it’s pretty obvious I love a fairytale retelling. Ella Enchanted is one of my favorite books of all time. But in A Curse Dark as Gold, the Rumpelstiltskin elements were woven in with so much care that it was easy to imagine this was a story completely on its own. In fact, I’d compare this more to a ghost story/mystery more than I would a fairytale. I found the mystery elements to be the most compelling, and they kept me hooked page after page.
In fact, if it hadn’t been pointed out to me that this was a Rumpelstiltskin retelling, it probably would have taken me quite a few chapters to realize it. Sure, the golden thread shows up, as well as the taking of the baby, but we never see Rumpelstiltskin (who isn’t named that in the book) dancing around a fire, singing silly songs, and Charlotte has far more personality and control than the Miller’s Daughter (her name in the original) is ever given. Bunce did a good job of using the original fairytale as a starting point, but didn’t force the story to conform to our preconceived notions about the tale.
The setting was also well done, taking place at the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, in a small town caught between new and old. We have the competing ideas of old folk legends and Christianity, new steam powered machines and old hand run mills, and a girl on the edge of womanhood. These ideas complement each other very well, completing the story and bringing it all together.
Read the rest of my review on Bookwyrm Chrysalis
In fact, if it hadn’t been pointed out to me that this was a Rumpelstiltskin retelling, it probably would have taken me quite a few chapters to realize it. Sure, the golden thread shows up, as well as the taking of the baby, but we never see Rumpelstiltskin (who isn’t named that in the book) dancing around a fire, singing silly songs, and Charlotte has far more personality and control than the Miller’s Daughter (her name in the original) is ever given. Bunce did a good job of using the original fairytale as a starting point, but didn’t force the story to conform to our preconceived notions about the tale.
The setting was also well done, taking place at the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, in a small town caught between new and old. We have the competing ideas of old folk legends and Christianity, new steam powered machines and old hand run mills, and a girl on the edge of womanhood. These ideas complement each other very well, completing the story and bringing it all together.
Read the rest of my review on Bookwyrm Chrysalis