Strands of Bronze and Gold (Strands of Bronze and Gold #1)

Strands of Bronze and Gold begins quite slowly, taking almost the entire first half of the book to create the creepy and dangerous atmosphere that surrounds the story of Bluebeard. While part of it can be attributed to the fact that Bernard doesn’t allow Sophia to venture out of the Abbey, nothing of import seems to happen until the quarter of the book. Before that point, we get to read descriptions of Sophia’s clothing, the exquisite foods that her godfather eats, and the Abbey itself over and over. This repetition and lack of action caused me to start skimming through the pages of description, pausing only to read the salient points. It wasn’t until the last ~50 pages that the action began to pick up, capturing my complete attention. The ending is tense, creepy and full of suspense, though a bit too short for my liking – if the rest of the book had the same pacing, it would have made for a more enjoyable read overall.

Bernard is easily the most intriguing aspect of this book, as he is such a dynamic character. There are hints about his true nature from the beginning of the book, though at first they’re overshadowed by the more positive aspects of his character: his good looks, his generosity, and his charming personality. There is a slow buildup to the revelation of his true character, which is kind of disturbing to behold, though readers with prior knowledge of the fairy tale will not be surprised by it.

I have mixed feelings about the protagonist, Sophia. Her naive, unassuming nature was to be expected, as she said herself that she had been fairly sheltered from the world since her father’s death. Her willingness to sacrifice her happiness to ensure that her family is provided for is admirable, though the inquisitive nature that I expected her to possess – after all, the Bluebeard story is a cautionary tale about the dangers of curiosity – is somewhat lacking.

While I like the Southern Gothic setting, there is a subplot involving the slavery and Underground Railroad that I was not particularly fond of. It’s never fully explored and seems merely to be a plot device to highlight how kind Sophia is for wanting to help the slaves.

Overall, despite all of its potential, Strands of Bronze and Gold was merely an “okay” read. If I hadn’t been familiar with the original fairy tale – which provided me with expectations of a creepy, dark, and horror-filled story – I probably would have enjoyed it a lot more.

Never having read the original story of Bluebeard, this is the second retelling that I have put my hands and eyes upon. I liked Sophie's snarky, yet sweet personality. Her curious nature endeared her to me, because she refused to just blindly accept whatever Bernard told her and what everyone else wanted her to do. The gradual descent into total isolation, dependence and abusive behavior is chilling in just how believable it is written. The depiction of the slaves and the treatment of them is unfortunate, but more than likely true in most cases of 19th century slavery. Sophie's attitudes were great, but I echo similar sentiments to other readers that sometimes the slaves just seemed like plot devices and extra bodies for Sophie to meet/converse with. Her relationship with the Reverend was intriguing and the developing of feelings for him was sweet and very old fashioned - in other words, tonally perfect for the novel. The climax of the novel chilled my blood and was definitely gruesome enough to fit what little I know of the original tale. One of my few complaints is the clinical nature the last few pages of the book took on, kind of 'where are they now' type of thing to try and tie up loose ends. Overall, an interesting retelling and definitely one of the better offerings of recent YA fairy tale re-tellings.

I think this book would be good as a light/quick read. I didn't really feel attached to it, but it was an interesting take on a classic tale.