A Curse Dark As Gold, Elizabeth Bunce

When my father died, I thought the world would come to an end. Standing in the churchyard in my borrowed mourning black, I was dimly aware of my sister Rosie beside me, the other mourners huddled round the grave. Great dark clouds gathered over the river, and I knew them for what they were: The End, poised to unleash some terrible wrath and sweep us all right out of the Valley. I let go my hold on Rosie's arm, for I was ready to be swept away. 


As you probably know, I love fairy tale retellings, and this book was on the summer reading list, so I was looking forward to reading this. A Curse Dark As Gold is a retelling of Rumpelstiltskin. Charlotte Miller owns a mill, but it is going into debt, and plus, her Uncle Wheeler is determined to make her sell it. But then a mysterious man who calls himself Jack Spinner, arrives, spinning straw into gold. But the Millers have had an age-old curse and many secrets, which now resurface. "And Charlotte's mill, her family, her friends, her love...What do those matter to a powerful stranger who can spin straw into gold?" Charlotte must discover what the mysterious curse is that caused the Millers to have bad luck through the generations. And do the Wheelers have something to do with it?

At first, I was slightly disappointed by A Curse Dark As Gold. But after the first few chapters it quickly picked up, and was an entertaining fairy tale retelling, though Charlotte's marriage to Randall was kind of sudden.  It was also quite suspenseful, and is definitely a good read for anyone who enjoys fantasy and fairy tales.

Read A Curse Dark As Gold

• if you like fantasy
• if you like fairy tale retellings (Rumpelstiltskin)

392 pages.

Very Good! I would recommend this book!