Once Upon a Week Review: A Curse Dark as Gold by Elizabeth C. Bunce

Last word first: (5/5) Love it!

Description: After the death of their father, Charlotte and Rosie Miller do their best to keep his wool mill running. Yet it seems that the mill itself is doing its best to prevent them from succeeding. Bizarre accidents, mysterious disappearances, and strange twists of fate thwart them at every turn. Just when everything seems lost, a stranger named Jack Spinner appears at the mill and offers to rescue them. But is he their saviour, or just one more force pitted against them?

My thoughts: If I were going to choose a fairy tale to retell, Rumplestiltskin would probably not be the one I picked. The story doesn't have any likeable characters! You have a baby-stealing elf, a mercenary king, and a grasping miller. You might feel sorry for the miller's daughter, but she doesn't even get a name. I suppose this lack of vision is why I am not a published author.

Elizabeth Bunce has taken this familiar story and brilliantly reshaped it, giving new life and personality to its characters and setting. Instead of a nameless "miller's daughter," we have Charlotte, doing her best to save a mill that doesn't seem to want to be saved. Even though she suspects the mysterious "Jack Spinner" isn't exactly what he says he is, she takes him up on his offer out of desperation. When she realizes her mistake, she does everything in her power to foil his plans. And the story's love interest (though the romance is pretty minor) is far more likeable than the king who only marries a miller's daughter for her supposed ability to spin straw into gold. Jack Spinner (Rumplestiltskin) himself gets a backstory and a motivation other than just being a baby-stealing fairy. Add that to a diverse and believable cast of supporting characters, and this is turning into a story I can like!

Bunce has chosen to set her story in a land that looks a lot like British or American countryside on the brink of the Industrial Revolution. The conflict between old ways and new feeds the conflict in the story, and gives it a sense of realism that can be tough to achieve with a fairy-tale (wonder why? lol). Her writing brings the characters and setting to full and beautiful life; you won't want to put this one down.

If I had to say this book had a flaw, I can only say it was perhaps ever so slightly slow-moving. But I was so wrapped up in the story, with its pleasantly creepy feel, that I didn't mind at all. Also, I'm not really a fan of the cover photo- I think it looks a little cheesy. But don't let that stop you, this book is highly recommended!

Elizabeth C. Bunce in her own words: "I’m a native Midwesterner, currently living in the tall grass prairie near Kansas City with my husband and our dogs. When I’m not writing, you can find me with a book, a dog, or my needlework in hand, sometimes all of the above, which makes for some furry embroidery. " From the bio on her website. Go check it out... she also uses the phrase "historical fantasy," which might be my new favorite genre title, right after "creative non-fiction."