Stalks of Gold

Stalks of Gold

by Celeste Baxendell

Aurelia is the humble daughter of the village miller who possesses a certain talent for the spinning wheel. Although she does not know many people, her best friend Sandor has always been there for her. But, Sandor has never told Aurelia his biggest secret. Before he can, the king arrests her, locking her in the tower and ordering her to spin straw into gold. While Sandor races to free her, Aurelia turns to the only other person who has shown her friendship, the mysterious stranger who appeared on her doorstep only days earlier. Can he help her to survive?

A wonderful blend of Rumpelstiltskin and Rapunzel, this dual-narrative story is an interesting reinterpretation of the classic fairy tales. I especially appreciated how the main characters were constantly acknowledging their own flaws.

While I found the characters well-developed and enjoyed watching them grow, there were a few places where I would have liked to see more. For example, without giving any spoilers, when Sandor goes into the forest, there is a major time jump (three weeks) without even a scene break. The forest is such a new environment for him, I would have liked to have seen his first day there. His adjustment. His survival, or lack thereof.

Similarly, there is a scene when Aurelia is in the desert and has a flashback to her time in the forest. In my opinion, this scene would have felt more organic if it had been placed chronologically in the story instead of being used as a flashback.

There were a few grammatical and typographical mistakes, but not enough to detract from the overall story. Overall, I enjoyed this book and look forward to reading more by this author. I would rate this story four quills and place it on my middle shelf.