Jane Nickerson

Review originally published on my blog: AWordsWorth.blogspot.com

This story ... oh man ... it's sweeping. It's isolated. It's dramatic. It's simple. It's ... well. Yeah. (I should probably also confess I read the bulk of this under influence of low-grade fever, waiting for the first dose of antibiotics to kick in and start kicking germ butt. Therefore, if anything totally oddball pops into the review, you know where it came from, ha).

Following the death of her father, Sophia Petheram's world show more is flipped upside down when her godfather - the mysterious, and exceedingly wealthy, Frenchman Bernard de Cressac, who is also now her guardian - invites her to come live at Wyndriven Abbey in a remote area of Mississippi. Adjusting to the sultry, heavy heat of Mississippi after a lifetime in Boston is Sophie's greatest challenge. At first. Monsieur Bernard is all doting kindness, showering her with gifts and delighting her with tales of his exotic travels. There's a wild, ancient beauty to the Abbey and surrounding countryside, and Sophia is happy. Then ... loneliness and isolation start creeping in. Dark mysteries of the Abby's previous inhabitants start infiltrating the carefully guarded mystique. And Sophie begins to see that Monsieur Bernard has as much darkness (if not more) in his soul as he does fanciful light. After months of rising tension and struggles, everything comes to a shocking conclusion -- rocking Sophie's world to its core once again.

The careful "world-building" in Strands of Bronze and Gold was mesmerizing. I use the term loosely, since it's not a fantasy world - the setting is our own past, the antebellum Deep South. But it's got a foreign touch, thanks to the eccentric habits of Bernard. And it's an entirely new and foreign life for Sophie, adjusting to slaves and servants and great wealth - and all the expectations and encumbrances that wealth entails. There's a fairly extensive cast of supporting characters, who help guide Sophie through the story, but the spotlight is clearly on Sophie and Bernard. Their interactions, and Sophie's gradual transformation from isolated, naive girl to a wiser, perhaps even fiercer, young lady who takes her destiny into her own hands, create an intense narrative and engrossing story. show less

I loved, loved, loved the antebellum Southern gothic setting of Strands of Bronze and Gold. It's a rather romantic (in the sense of Romanticism) view of what's portrayed as a decadent, patriarchal Southern aristocracy, but Nickerson carries out this portrayal tastefully rather than sensationally. The society she paints seems realistic, not the showy descriptions of wealth and upright heroines outspokenly moralizing against slavery I've often run into before in historical fiction. And the show more gothic feel? "Bluebeard" is one of my favorite fairy tales for its intrigue and gruesomeness, and Strands of Bronze and Gold certainly lives up to this with its decaying abbey-turned-plantation, ghosts, and seclusion. The creepy-crawlies just keep running down your back as you begin to realize along with Sophia just what she's tangled up with.

The gothicness definitely kept me fascinated, compulsively reading as I waited to see what the plot had in store. The ending wasn't much of a shocker if you are familiar with the original tale, but it was still gripping. Yet, parts of the novel seemed choppy. Some characters seemed shallow and underwent major changes without much development. There was just this certain feeling of a lack of complete cohesiveness. I highly recommend Strands of Bronze and Gold as a nice read for a rainy day (which will provide great atmosphere!) - it's an engrossing book for the time you're reading, but it didn't leave me with much afterwards. Breeze through, enjoy, and move on. show less

I wasn't expecting a companion book to Strands of Bronze and Gold, but I particularly like that this isn't a series continuation -- it's a stand alone book that hooks into to the first one if you care to do so. Love the creepy atmospheric settings that Nickerson pulls off, and the quirky, but endearing, characters. In many ways I feel that the setting is yet another character in the book, and very few authors can do that as well as Nickerson can.

Racist, misogynistic crap pretending to be a historical YA novel. Theres gonna be spoilers in this review but none of yall should read this book anyways so whatever.

The book could technically be said to have an anti slavery message, but from a modern perspective that doesn't mean much when every POC in its pages is a stereotype designed to motivate or care for the vapid and poorly written protagonist. The writer doesnt respect them, and neither does the protagonist, who at one point sneaks show more out to spy on a community spiritual gathering after she has been told its a special time for black locals to be alone without white people. The story romanticizes the antebellum south and spends far too much time describing all the fancy blood money bought clothes all the rich people are wearing.

The end of the book tries to surprise and horrify the reader with the revelation that the antagonist is a monster, but you already know he's a monster in chapter one when its revealed he is a slave owner. Literally everything about him enforces this initial impression of awfulness so the protagonists infatuation with him is weird and disturbing to read about seeing as she is underage and he is 25 years her senior and her legal guardian... its straight up an abusive relationship, but the book paints it as a flirtatious romance for far longer than it has any reason to, and seems to seek sympathy for the man who turns out in the end to be a goddamn serial killer.

If for some reason you do check this book out, heads up that there is a graphic scene of sexual assault in the final chapters. show less