Tuesday, February 2, 2016

Book Review—The Golden Braid

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The Golden Braid

About:

The one who needs rescuing isn’t always the one in the tower.

Rapunzel can throw a knife better than any man around. And her skills as an artist rival those of any artist she’s met. But for a woman in medieval times, the one skill she most desires is the hardest one to obtain: the ability to read.

After yet another young man asks for Rapunzel’s hand in marriage, Mother decides they need to move once again, but this time to a larger city. Rapunzel’s heart soars—surely there she can fulfill her dream. But Mother won’t let her close to a man. She claims that no man can be trusted.

After being rescued by a knight on the road to the city, and in turn rescuing him farther down the road, Rapunzel’s opportunity arrives at last. This knight, Sir Gerek, agrees to educate Rapunzel in order to pay back his debt. She just has to put up with his arrogant nature and single-minded focus on riches and prestige.

But this Rapunzel story is unlike any other and the mystery that she uncovers will change everything—except her happily ever after.

My Review: 3

I have very mixed feelings about this book. As a huge fangirl of Tangled, of course, I could hardly wait to get my hands on this Rapunzel retelling. Especially considering the gorgeous cover. However, though I dove in with gleeful expectations, the story just never fully captured my interest. It actually took me three months to finish reading it. There was just something about it . . . it just felt awkward and stilted much of the time. And I never grew to truly love the characters like I did in the previous books of this series. In fact, I was quite annoyed with them most of the time. For some reason, the story just didn’t satisfy the anticipation for the book.

That said, I did enjoy certain aspects of it. I would recommend reading or rereading The Princess Spy just before you start this one, since they parallel each other. I would have enjoyed that part of it more if I had read The Princess Spy more recently. I also do always love hearing more about Rose and Wilhelm’s family. That was probably my favorite part of the book.

I may not have enjoyed this book nearly as much as the ones before it, but I do recommend reading it to continue the story. There were some interesting bits of history tied together from the other books. So don’t pass it up based on my review.

I received a copy of this book free from BookLook Bloggers in exchange for my honest review.

6 comments:

  1. I started this book, but I couldn't finish it.

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    1. I had to skim to finish. I probably would have left it sit for a long while if I didn't have to review it.

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  2. I was wondering what you think of BookLook. I've been looking at different review sites, and am trying to find one that I can do with my age (almost 14). So if you have any suggestions once you have time, I'd appreciate it!

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    1. I really like BookLook. They usually have a lot of good books. You just have to make sure you request and/or review a book at least every 90 days or your account will be suspended. I've had to get mine reactivated a couple times.

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  3. I love Booklook Bloggers. It's one of the precious few platforms that allows me as an International reader to get Kindle or Print editions of great books, and unlike the old plaform, Bookseeze, most of the titles are available on time.

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