Wednesday, March 13, 2013

Strands of Bronze and Gold


Strands of Bronze and Gold by Jane Nickerson
3.5/5 stars
Alfred A. Knopf Books for Young Readers, 2013
339 pages
YA Historical Fairy Tale

Source: Received an e-ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I am a long time lover of fairy tales with "Cinderella" being far and away my favorite; happily that is one of the most popular for retelling. But I do try to seek out less well-known stories so learning that this was based on "Bluebeard" prompted me to pick it up.

Sophie has just been orphaned but receives a very welcome invitation from her godfather to come live with him, lifting her from being a burden to her three older siblings. He is fantastically wealthy, living in an English abbey he had shipped over to his plantation in Mississippi in the antebellum era. Although initially cowed by Bernard de Cressac's charm and wealth, Sophie soon finds herself increasingly uncomfortable and on the verge of a terrible discovery.

Having finished, I kind of wish I hadn't known that it was based on that tale (if you thought this looked interesting and didn't know that, I'm sorry for spoiling you-hugs!) as it would have had a lot more dramatic tension for me if I hadn't known. If you don't know the tale of "Bluebeard," maybe don't read it beforehand. Instead I spent the entire book waiting for Sophie to figure out what I already knew and cursing her slowness.

This book also suffered due to some of the other books I've been reading, which featured abusive relationships such as how Bernard controls Sophie. My emotions were already pretty spent from them and it was harder for me to become engaged in yet another one. I did feel very isolated and trapped (almost the entire book is set in the abbey and it gets a bit boring), right alongside with Sophie as Bernard won't let her leave but I spent more time checking the page count than worrying about Sophie's fate.

On the positive side, I thought the atmosphere was very well-done. The abbey was very Gothic and fitting for the plot while the muggy Mississippi climate was well communicated to me. I have mixed feelings about the slavery as presented in this book. I feel like it was mostly used to communicate how awful Bernard is and how good Sophie is for morally opposing slavery even if unable to actually do anything about it. But none of the slave characters got to have much of a personality and I just wish a few could have had a presence.

Apparently there is going to be a sequel, set in the same world and based on The Ballad of Tam Lin. I wonder if that means we will focus on one of Sophie's siblings or if it will be set in the plantations around.

Overall: A slow dark-ish read-recommended for those who don't really know the Bluebeard story or those who really love the Bluebeard story.

Other Opinions:
The Book Monsters
The YA Kitten

15 comments:

  1. Great review. I have been looking forward to this. I haven't read Blue Beard tale, and I have really no idea what is was about. I think I would enjoy this one.


    Jenea @ Books Live Forever

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    1. Oh good-I would be interested to read your thoughts since you don't know the tale.

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  2. I'm absolutely dying for this one-- it looks so good, and I devour any book based off of Bluebeard! I'm sorry that it was so slow, though. But gothic? I may need to pick this one up soon. Great review, girly! (:

    Loves,
    Megan@The Book Babe

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    1. I hope this works better for you! I don't tend to like Gothic books-I'm more of a comedy girl.

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  3. I really love the Bluebeard story and guess I was expecting a suspenseful story about a serial killer -- just much more creepiness and a darker tone. I did love the setting, though.

    Jen @ YA Romantics

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    1. I thought the setting was good although maybe there could have been a swamp? I don't know, swamps just seem very serial killer-ish to me. I'm glad I had your warning about slowness or I might have been more impatient. Instead I kept that in the back of my mind.

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  4. The atmosphere sounds well done at least, but sorry that it wasn't all you wanted. I don't really know Bluebeard story presonally.
    Brandi @ Blkosiner’s Book Blog

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    1. I hope you do give this a shot then-I hope it works better for you!

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  5. I'm reading this one right now and finding it so incredibly creepy. I can see how reading a few books about abusive relationships would make this one a bit of a struggle. Glad you were able to enjoy the setting, it really is well done. Great review!

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    1. I really deserve some lighter books after the darkness I consumed. I'm glad you digging the creepy vibe and look forward to a review.

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  6. I am kind of worried that I won't like this book now. I am familiar with the Bluebeard story because of Kill Me Softly. I am still planning to read this but I will not have super high expectations for it. I think it will be hard to read about her reactions to him until she gets to the point where she realizes he is evil...

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    1. It just took so long for her to get wise to his creepiness! I really do hope this works better for you-it definitely suffered from the string of other books I read beforehand.

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  7. I hate when you see everything coming in a book and the characters naiveté just comes of as annoying,

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    1. Right? That tends to be a signal to me to step out of YA and read something else for a break (not that adult books always have the smartest characters either).

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  8. It can be awful when you keep reading books about the same dark subject in a row. And reading about abusive relationships can definitely be a beat down.

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