A Curse Dark as Gold in Pick-a-Shelf

Oct 11, 2010 Teena R. rated it it was ok

Shelves: young-adult, fantasy, romantic, historical

More of a 2.5 stars.

This retelling of Rumpeltiskin (did I got it right?) got lots of realistic element in, which is good. The story behind the curse is heart-breaking and I like the supporting casts, even the baddie is interesing enough. The problem is I can't connect with Charlotte at all, not before she spinned, nor afterward. Since it's a first-person story, liking the narrator is essential. And the first 100 pages is too slow for my taste.

All in all, not a bad book but not my cuppa. ...more

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Dec 24, 2019 Joanna rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy-sci-fi, audiobooks, young-adult, fairy-tales, lexile-800, 2019-read, rws-2019-winter

I love fairy tale retellings. This book examines the story of Rumpelstiltskin, but gives the unnamed Miller's daughter the lead role (and a name--Charlotte). The book is set in the early part of the Industrial Revolution and tracks the world changing from water wheels to steam power and the way that will change the mill and wool industry. Also at play is the way that the superstitions of the villagers are starting to fall away to scientific inquiry, but still hold a grip. And of course, this bei ...more

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Mar 18, 2010 Tara rated it liked it

Shelves: young-adult, retold-fairytale

This was a retelling of Rumplestiltskin. I loved that the main characters, Charlotte and Rosie, were strong girls. They took over the mill after their father's death. There were some strong parts to this book that I loved, but there were other parts that were a little slow moving for my taste.
Of course, you kind of knew what was going to come in the end, but I felt that the ending was really well done.
Overall, I think this one would be perfect for anyone who loves reading retold fairytales, lik ...more

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