As much as I loved the first book of this series, Gold wasn't as thrilling or entertaining as its predecessor. I think my expectations might have been too high after reading Silver which was without a doubt an amazing debut for Talia Vance. However, don't get me wrong, GOLD did have its strong points and I think it sets up the rest of the series rather nicely.
The main reason why I wasn't crazy about the book is because it started off rather slowly. No, I shouldn't say slow. It's more like the beginning was a little too confusing for me with its flashbacks and short scenes, which made me keep putting the book down. So instead, I should say my reading was slow. Once I was a little less confused and I made sense of what was going on, I was able to really immerse myself into the story and enjoy the pleasant Irish setting. I don't know what makes me enjoy an Ireland setting so much but since this series is all about Celtic lore and mythology, a visit to the country was more or less expected. I loved everything about the town of Cath, which can only be described as your typical, quaint Irish countryside town.
Brianna's story wasn't quite finished when Silver ended, and its definitely not finished with GOLD. As a bandia, a descendent from an Irish demigod, she has lots of enemies, or in other words, people who would like to see her dead. The Sons of Killian, other descendants from a demigod, have been waging war against the bandia for over a millennia. When her life is endangered, she flees to Cath, Ireland, where she seeks shelter in Austin's mansion, the boy from her hometown, who actually turned out to be the god of the underworld. The same god she banished to the underworld after he tried to make her kill her boyfriend Blake (who is in fact a Son of Killian himself). Now that her bandia powers are dwindling down, her life is even more in peril and she has to depend on others in order to survive.
I was quite surprised when Austin made an appearance in Cath. I knew he would continue to play a pivotal role in the story and that he would find a way out of the underworld, but I never really expected him to become such an important part of Brianna's life and them becoming so intimate. Especially since he caused Brianna so many heartache and trouble before. Their relationship ends up being really sweet but obviously causes problems between her and Blake, her not so boyfriend. Brianna and Blake's love is obviously tested to the max, especially with Austin now in the picture.
Cath ends up being where the ultimate battle between the bandia and the Sons will happen. As the date of the battle grows closer, tensions arise between the gods, the bandia, the Sons and other magical creatures. All the different character are amazing and each of them play an important part, in their own way, despite some of them having small roles. Some that were very important in book one don't really have an important role in this one but all the conflicts and tension between them is definitively present. I think what really saves the book is all these great characters. It's not just a story about three people in a love triangle but about the effects of people's relationship on the rest of the world. Even if Talia Vance excel at writing about relationships in a paranormal setting, the story isn't just about love and hate, but also about action and intrigue.
Overall, I think I enjoyed the book, despite my problems getting into it. The complicated love triangle, and Brianna's dwindling bandia powers makes for an interesting story. Fans of Silver won't want to miss this one but will be left anticipating the next book.
I haven't read the first one, but I peeked at your review of it. I'd never even heard of this series before, but it sounds really interesting, and the covers are beautiful! I'll have to hunt it down and then read it (and then shove it at my sister who is a big fan for anything set or based out of Ireland). Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteAwesome review, i do want to check out the whole serie now, thanx for sharing :)
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