Early Review – Like a River Glorious (The Gold Seer trilogy, Book 2) by Rae Carson (4/5 stars)

Reading Level: Young Adult
Genre: Historical Fantasy
Length: 416 pages
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Release Date: September 27, 2016
ISBN-13: 978-0062242945
Stand Alone or Series: 2nd book in the Gold Seer Trilogy
Source: eGalley from Edelweiss.com
Rating: 4/5 stars

“After a harrowing journey across the country, Leah Westfall and her friends have finally arrived in California and are ready to make their fortunes in the Gold Rush. Lee has a special advantage over the other new arrivals in California—she has the ability to sense gold, a secret known only by her handsome best friend Jefferson and her murdering uncle Hiram.

Lee and her friends have the chance to be the most prosperous settlers in California, but Hiram hasn’t given up trying to control Lee and her power. Sabotage and kidnapping are the least of what he’ll do to make sure Lee is his own. His mine is the deepest and darkest in the territory, and there Lee learns the full extent of her magical gift, the worst of her uncle, and the true strength of her friendships. To save everyone, she vows to destroy her uncle and the empire he is building—even at the cost of her own freedom.”

I didn’t like this quite as much as the first book (not as much adventure). It was still a very good book, very engaging and entertaining. The book deals more with Lee and her fellow travelers settling down in California and claiming a stake as their own; they end up starting a town that they name Glory. A lot of time is spent on the issues of Chinese and Indian slave labor at the time.

I did enjoy the look into this time of history and I also enjoyed reading about Lee’s increasing powers over gold. Carson does a great job with all the characters in this story even the side characters.

I didn’t enjoy all the pitched gun battles and the storyline with Lee’s uncle as much; but it was okay. I also missed all the adventure and exploration that happened in the first book.

The book is very engaging and very well written. Carson’s writing style flows beautifully and makes the book easy to read and hard to put down.

Overall this was a good addition to the Gold Seer trilogy. I didn’t enjoy it quite as much as the first book because there wasn’t as much adventure and the storyline focused more about Lee’s evil uncle. I did really enjoy Lee’s growing powers and getting a glimpse into this time of history. This book is more of a look into the history of the California gold rush than a fantasy; but Lee’s powers do give the story a small element of fantasy. I would recommend to those who enjoy western fantasies.

This book goes towards the following reading challenges:
– You Read How Many Books? Reading Challenge
– New Release Challenge
– Flights of Fantasy Reading Challenge