A Curse Dark as Gold by Elizabeth C. Bunce

Summary

As Charlotte struggles to manage the difficulties she inherits along with Stirwaters Woollen Mill, she discovers a shadow world at the fringes of the familiar: Dark magic, restless spirits, a mysterious Helper. A wicked uncle, an age-old curse.... How can Charlotte prevail with such forces allied against her? In this novel inspired by “Rumpelstiltskin,” the miller’s daughter of the fairy tale comes to life as a young woman determined to save her family and her mill--whatever the cost.

http://www.elizabethcbunce.com/elizabethcbunce/Books.html

Number of pages: 395

Review

I decided to get this book when I saw all the good publicity it got. I got the book, sat down on my bed to begin, and was let down. I was disappointed to find that nothing of interest came out of that book until at least the first 95 pages, and considering that the whole story is a mystery and needs your full attention, I was lost. I don’t know exactly what it was, but I couldn’t pick up the book to continue with the story. I am the type of reader that can spend all day reading and won’t put the book away until the entire story is completed, but with this book it took me twice as long to even get through even half. I did take it up again because the thought that there could be a good story somewhere in there and that I wasn’t giving it chance made me trudge forward until the end. Besides, the story of Rumplestilskin has always fascinated me so I gave it a second chance. I quickly realized that the main character and the voice of the story was driving me crazy! I think that that was why I didn’t enjoy the book, because the person leading me through the story was so annoying. I kept think to myself of how much I want to get rid of that character. I did like some other characters though like Randall or Charlotte’s sister, they were cool. Now I must admit that there were parts that interested me like how the author took the original Rumplestiltskin and created a completely different story line with similar characteristics. Overall I don’t think I would pick that book up again. Lots of people apparently like it though. I didn’t. From 1-10? I give this book a 4.