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A review by infinite_tbr
Like a River Glorious by Rae Carson, John Hendrix
4.0
4/5
It was nice to get back to the Gold Seer trilogy with this book. We pick up with Lee and her friends having settled in California. They have some run-ins with claim jumpers and Becky makes friends with some nearby settlers, all oddly thrilled with her terrible cooking. Then, Leah’s Uncle’s men catch up with them and Lee, Jeff, and Tom end up captured and taken to Hiram’s mining camp where Leah finally learns exactly why Hiram is so intent on possessing her.
Leah grows significantly in this book from the girl we saw in the first book. She’s become more confident in her ability to sense gold and started developing new powers — the ability to manipulate gold. She has also realized that she is capable and has power as a single woman, though there are still limitations. It was also nice to see her reach out and befriend Mary, the Chinese maid at the camp. She truly comes into her powers in this book and learns to stand up for herself and others. No longer is she focused solely on keeping herself and Jeff safe, but also the Native Americans, the Chinese immigrants, and those who traversed the Oregon Trail with her.
There were some points where the story lagged but overall, it’s a solid continuation of Leah’s story and a decent representation of the California Gold Rush. I really appreciate the inclusion of an Author’s Note that discussed what was and was not accurate in the story, as well as the choices she made regarding language and issues of representation.
It was nice to get back to the Gold Seer trilogy with this book. We pick up with Lee and her friends having settled in California. They have some run-ins with claim jumpers and Becky makes friends with some nearby settlers, all oddly thrilled with her terrible cooking. Then, Leah’s Uncle’s men catch up with them and Lee, Jeff, and Tom end up captured and taken to Hiram’s mining camp where Leah finally learns exactly why Hiram is so intent on possessing her.
Leah grows significantly in this book from the girl we saw in the first book. She’s become more confident in her ability to sense gold and started developing new powers — the ability to manipulate gold. She has also realized that she is capable and has power as a single woman, though there are still limitations. It was also nice to see her reach out and befriend Mary, the Chinese maid at the camp. She truly comes into her powers in this book and learns to stand up for herself and others. No longer is she focused solely on keeping herself and Jeff safe, but also the Native Americans, the Chinese immigrants, and those who traversed the Oregon Trail with her.
There were some points where the story lagged but overall, it’s a solid continuation of Leah’s story and a decent representation of the California Gold Rush. I really appreciate the inclusion of an Author’s Note that discussed what was and was not accurate in the story, as well as the choices she made regarding language and issues of representation.