With Blossoms Gold

I needed this one for a reading challenge (fantasy genre category). I would have chosen to read it anyway, though, because the cover is gorgeous and the premise was intriguing.

Overall, it was a good story. It lost me in the details, really.

NOTE: THERE ARE MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD. CONTINUE READING AT YOUR OWN RISK. YOU'VE BEEN WARNED.

It started off with a heavy emphasis on mythological gods and goddesses (all of Nella's pets had names like Persephone, Orion, Ursa, etc.). Then, it moved on to a clueless, naive king (he should have had bodyguards on his son, but instead he thought “no one would dare raise a hand” against a member of royalty). Come to find out, his son was a playboy prince (who, by his own admission, was engaged to eight or nine different women). That point really made me wonder if he would be a good ruler once it came to be his time on the throne, because if he can't make decisions in his personal life, I found it impossible to believe he'd be able to consider properly the needs of his fellow countrymen. Another note on the prince: He claimed “I do not lie, m'lady,” then promptly lied to townsfolk in the very next scene. Wishy-washy!

Both leads struggled to make up their minds. It was almost as if they were directionless or goalless. And by the end, it felt like the female lead had barely made any progress on her emotional struggle as she “didn't want to leave” her former “prison” of sorts in the final couple of pages. Shouldn't there be a stronger growth in her character arc by the end of the story? (rhetorical)

A plethora of inconsistencies made this book a real struggle for me to get through. Even factual errors were spread throughout (such as: “pieces of a breastplate” – a breastplate is the front piece of armor that covers the chest; it does not have more than one piece to it). Better, more detailed research and greater attention to story details would have made a world of difference for this book, and I would have enjoyed the adventure of this story.

One more two-part thing I found highly unlikely: A man went five days without food and water. I am pretty sure that length of time without water (though he could have lived without food for that long, I think) would have killed him, but to follow it up, he then traveled by foot for several days (climbing down a mountainside at one point) and joined a battle, fighting hard against a fierce and strong enemy. Where did he get the energy for all of that action? He nearly – and should have – died! This was the most unbelievable portion of the entire story for me, which was sad, since it was also the most exciting.

There were a couple of swearing-by-saints expletive phrases that easily could have been omitted to preserve a clean slate presentation.

Now, I will say that the overall journey of this story was entertaining, engaging, and sweet. The angle of anxiety attacks as the heroine's inner conflict was intriguing and one not widely used, I think. I really liked the prince's brother and sister-in-law-to-be. They were my favorites in the story, because they seemed the most developed with consistency (and it helped that they were incredibly sweet folks too, which was quite refreshing). There were some definite high points in this story for me, which indicates that, with more practice and perhaps some more development of research skills, this author will be publishing wonderful books for years to come. I will consider trying another of her books in a few years to see if she's improved. I liked her style and storytelling abilities enough to give her another chance to wow me.

I was not compensated for my honest review.