Days of Gold: A Novel [Hardcover]

Second novel in her newest "Edilean Series" Jude Deveraux takes us back to the origin of the name of the town in her first novel "Lavender Morning." If you are thinking that this new novel is going to have anything to do with the characters in the first novel you'd be sadly mistaken, this book could have just as easily been a stand-alone rather than part of a series.

At the beginning of the novel Edilean Talbot is a young heiress who looks to be saved from a forced marriage that her uncle as arranged for her to one of his horrible friends. She turns to Angus McTern, the former Laird of the lands that her uncle now owns for aid from her forced marriage but at first angry he refuses to help her. Fortunately for her a former love of hers concocts a plan of escape for both Edilean and her gold but Angus, finding it hard to not help a damsel in distress gets caught up in the plan and framed as her kidnapper. Forced to flee for America both Angus and Edilean must pretend to be married to get her gold safely out of enemy hands. With this intimacy a bond is formed and each one doesn't know what they will do in the new world without the other. Although he is scared of this change Angus sees the new world as an opportunity for a man like himself (poor but hardworking) to make a fresh start and get his own lands. Edilean is terrified that she will be all alone in this new world she is running to. Pride forces Angus to break away from Edilean as he doesn't think he's good enough for her.

I liked this book, but I can't really say I feel anything more passionate about it. Upon reading it I don't get the urge to pick it up and re-read it again (that's how I know it's a good one!). I found myself predicting what was going to happen before it was written and honestly there were really no surprises in the plot as I'm assuming Ms. Deveraux had intended. At the beginning of the book Angus has a beard but naturally upon removing it he's one of the most handsome men Edilean has ever seen. Haven't I read that in multiple other books before? The female character of Edilean reminded me of several of Jude's other heroines, while not necessarily a bad thing just made me think she could have used a little originality. I liked both Angus and Edilean, I just think she could have made the ending a lot more climatic and really gotten a good cry out of me, but it just wasn't there. In the end I'm left feeling a little sad at what could have been a great book, and I'm hoping the next in her series is going to be one. If you can wait for it to come out in paperback I'd say go for it, it's worth seven dollars but not twenty.

Ahh...Where is the Jude Deveraux that wrote Knight in Shining Armour, Twin of Fire and Ice, The River Lady, etc!? We haven't seen her for such a long, long time! It seemed like she was there, starting off this book in an engaging way, but suddenly everything changed when the hero and heroine disembarked from their ship to America. After that, for most of the remainder of the book, the main characters are apart for no good reason and too many uninteresting secondary characters and plotlines are introduced. If you want to read 5 star, "keeper" books, read the other Jude Deveraux books that I mentioned or look for her books, The Princess, or The Maiden! :)

I'm sorry that my review is so different from all the others, but I really liked this story. I've been reading Jude Deveraux for a good fifteen years now (some great, some so-so, and some worth skipping), and this book in my opinion is so close to being on par with her classics. No, the second in the Edilean Series didn't interweave the different stories and time lines like I had originally thought Deveraux would do. Yes, Days of Gold could be read as a stand-alone story. And, yes, J.D. uses her go-to hero/heroine character types and love/hate storyline. But, if the reader just allows themselves to enjoy the story for what it is, it's a classic tale in J.D.'s tried and true Scots/Early America/sweeping family saga trademark storyline.

I loved that the story had really strong lead characters. The reason why they were apart for so long seemed silly, but it worked within the storyline. The 'girl fight' was hilarious and unexpected. The 'shootout' toward the end was completely unexpected. I didn't anticipate the full-circle ending, but I was happy with it. This story definitely had a few good sweet and laugh out loud moments (especially the mentioning of Thomas Jefferson). The love scene in the story was heartbreaking, mainly because of all the drama and confusion that followed. In true J.D. form, that scene was over-the-top and very... "earthy" (and not just because of the outdoors). What also really drew me in was the seeming beginnings of the other Edilean ancestors of families mentioned in the first story - I just wish J.D. spent more time developing their stories rather than repeating the same thing about Angus and Edilean and their cat-and-mouse game with Harcourt.

I had a very difficult time believing that this story took place around 1770. Especially after Edilean and Angus arrived in Boston, the language and actions of the characters felt like the story could have taken place in a more modern 1920s or 1940s. Sorry to say it, but a female-run company (sounded more like a modern-day corporation) is really unbelievable for 1770. Right before 'part two,' the author's voice made an obvious switch from staying in the time period to being more generalized and modern. Honestly that kind of threw the story for me. It felt like I kept having to mentally remind myself of the RIGHT time period. I also thought it was annoying that Deveraux had to sneak in random mentionings of Williamsburg. Obviously this couple is going to found their town in Virginia, so it didn't make sense to have random incidental characters suddenly talk about living in Virginia. Also, the way Angus came to own his acres in Virginia was a real disappointment. (A business transaction?? Really??? Not even remotely romantic!!)

Overall, this story was much stronger and more enjoyable (despite the obvious setbacks) than the previous installment of the Edilean Series. Had I read Days of Gold first, I'd have been VERY disappointed in Lavender Morning. But this second story definitely was closer to what has made J.D. a favorite. I have zero clue how Deveraux plans to wrap up this series and I won't even try guessing, but I'll probably read it no matter what.

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