Strands of Bronze and Gold (Strands of Bronze and Gold #1)

An isolated and fantastical abbey, with rooms painted like underwater castles or adorned with paintings fit for any museum, sets the stage for Nickerson’s Strands of Bronze and Gold. An endearingly naive heroine and an insidiously twisted antagonist added a level of suspense, while the ghosts of Cressac’s ex-wives added a certain creepiness that kept me turning the pages late into the night!

I absolutely adored Sophie. She tried her hardest to be a proper lady, but her eccentric godfather would have none of it! Being “genteel, but only in a theoretical way” she theoretically knew how to live as a lady of wealth, but in practice hadn’t been able to afford it – and now that she could afford it, her godfather wished for her to enjoy life and carpe diem. At first, his oddness was something that Sophie entertained so as to appease him, to show him that she was grateful for his generosity.

"I leaned in to him a little stiffly since he was still practically a stranger, and I bravely kissed his cheek. It was not terrible, being the extraordinarily attractive cheek it was, after all."

As time passed, Sophie began to question her godfathers’ eccentricities.

"I allowed my godfather to stroke my hand or bring it up to his lips or his cheek, labeling his caresses his “Frenchities.” Besides being smitten by him, I genuinely liked him, although sometimes there was a look in his eye that made me uneasy. He could be…dangerous. now, why did that adjective leap to mind? Perhaps because it fit. M. Bernard resembled a tiger – sleep, velvety, smiling, dangerous. And very attractive."

But due to her innocence, I had the hardest time deciphering if his “dangerous” ways were a real threat or merely Sophie and her overactive imagination. It made Strands of Bronze and Gold a fantastically suspenseful read as I worked to unveil Cressac’s infatuations with redheads and true intentions with Sophie. It also made me really enjoy Sophie’s character growth: her childlike innocence was slowly stripped away as she realized the entire household was holding its breath, waiting for Cressac’s next blowup, and that Sophie, and Sophie alone, had the power to cool his temper and restore peace. As her eyes were opened to Cressac’s true nature, and her own curiosities were peaked concerning the details of his four former wives’ deaths, Cressac’s gentile manner was soon shown to be a mere farce, hiding a much more hostile temperament.

"His voice blasted me. Would he actually strike me? I had been waiting for it, fearing it, I realized now, for a long while."

And Cressac! What a brilliant antagonist; he’s an absolute master at manipulating those around him and at hiding his devious thoughts under the pretence of playful banter.

“I worried you might be huddled in your bed terrified. I tried to come reassure you.”
“Did you?”
“I did, but your door was locked. Do you lock it every night?”
“I do.”
“Do you think someone is plotting against your virtue?” A gleam of amusement twinkled in his honey brown eyes.
“No sir, I simply feel more secure with the big dark house shut out.”
“You know I have all the keys, don’t you? I could enter at any time I wanted.”

*Shivers* He knew exactly how to let Sophie know that he had all of the power, while maintaining his smiling and caring facade. It made it that much harder for Sophie to believe that he might not be as sweet and charming as he pretended. My only minor issue with Strands of Bronze and Gold was that despite my love for the two main characters, I didn’t really connect with either of them. I was completely invested in their fates, but only to appease my own curiosity – not because I truly cared about what happened to either of them. Mostly though, it didn’t matter. Thanks to Nickerson’s spot-on pacing, I was completely caught up in uncovering the secrets behind Strands of Bronze and Gold’s plot, and became as obsessed as Sophie in uncovering the truth behind Cressac’s devious scheming and sinister past.

For fans of historical romances with a thrilling twist, Strands of Bronze and Gold was an absolute pleasure to read. With simply lovely prose, an enchanting heroine and a sly antagonist I had a hard time putting it down!

Background: Seventeen year old Sophia is used to being spoiled by her mysterious godfather, Monsieur Bernard de Cressac. However when her father passes away she is given an offer she cannot refuse, to live with her godfather in his very lavish estate in Mississippi. He is a very mysterious and dark man and Sophia soon learns that her godfather may have more secrets than she bargained for. Nickerson creates a beautiful and exciting retelling of the famous tale of 'Bluebeard'.

Review: I received this book in various formats, which was great. I could experience it in a variety of media formats. I started with an e-book, then received ARCs and an audiobook. I dabbled in all of them. I also have a giveaway on the blog for one of my ARCs.

I really enjoyed this story and had to put it down only to try to slow down my reading, I didn't want to miss anything or take any detail for granted.

The plot is full of suspense, intermingled with spine chilling realizations and blood curdling non-gentlemanly actions. I found that Jane Nickerson's writing was a delight. It was beautifully composed and the historical elements only added to the ambiance of the plot.

Sophia, our heroine, is a bit naive and stubborn, but soon realizes her folly and tries to assert herself within the household of M. de Cressac. Sadly, she finds out very horrible things about her, now, captor.

The whole time there is a feeling of disgust with everything M. de Cressac does and it is NOT wrong to feel that way. I was not disappointed with his horrific character or the part he played, only that he did send shivers up my spine on many occasions.

This may be a slow moving book for some, most of the suspense is in emotions and psychological rather than running, chasing, and such. I did not feel this way but was a little taken aback by the time it took to get to the plots apex, and when it finally did, I felt the book was immediately over...

Overall I felt this was a beautiful retelling of a horrifying fairy tale.

Before reading this I had not heard of the Bluebeard fairy tale. I looked it up first just to see what I was getting myself into and holy moley, I was shocked. When I found out all the betrayal and deceit and mystery behind it, I KNEW I had to read it. And let me tell you, I definitely enjoyed it.
Sophie leaves her other family members behind when her father dies to go and live with her godfather Monsieur Bernard de Cressac to help keep their costs down. When she arrives things are very much different from her old home. But there is a mysterious air about Wyndriven Abbey and as it unfolds, things start to get more and more weird. Then out of nowhere, the mystery finally unfolds and Sophie is left in a compromising position.
For the story to be a retelling, it did not feel like it. For me not having read it before, it really felt like I was reading the original story. The story flowed so smoothly it didn't feel like a retelling. I was also very impressed with the writing of Nickerson. It gave off so much back story without it feeling like an info dump. This was so amazing because the book the background of the slaves, Sophie, and towards the end De Cressac. The only thing I'd like to know is how the sequel will come into play. The ending of this one pretty much sums up the whole story...
Sophie, the main character, grows so much throughout the novel. When she first gets there she seemed a little naiieve and scared to me. She believed anything de Cressac said. As De Cressac's true identity comes to light, Sophie grows by trying her hardest to stay safe. Her character grows stronger as the novel goes on.
Overall this was a wonderful retelling with a great main character and even more amazing writing. This novel is sure to keep and hold your interest and leave you wanting more.

Great read!