An Enchanting Story with Fairy Tale and "Beauty and the Beast" Vibes--"Embergold" by Rachelle Nelson—Review

 My Review:

"Embergold" by Rachelle Nelson is a new favorite! Ms. Nelson weaves an enchanting story for young adults that has fairy tale and “Beauty and the Beast” vibes, while remaining its own unique story. I loved that it felt like I was reading a classic fairy tale or folk tale. From the incredible writing to the amazing world building, "Embergold" kept me glued to the page from start to finish. The world has castles and dragons and is Germanic in nature. Readers will love our heroine, Gilde, and her strength, persistence, loyalty, grit, and determination (despite the odds being stacked against her). Gilde is very relatable as she deals with anxiety, panic attacks, and health issues. I also loved the dragon and the character Wil. The romantic relationship in the story was super sweet and almost had me in tears several times. When Gilde meets the dragon, she begins to question everything she thought she knew and learns to think for herself. Ms. Nelson explores some deep themes such as what is truth, what is the true story, what is good, and what is evil. “Embergold” celebrates stories and why they matter. I loved the allegory and beautiful faith message. At times, I really did not know how things would end with certain characters. This is an exceptional story for young adults (and the young at heart) and lovers of fairy tales full of heart! 

Content: I give this book a PG-13 rating. Some examples of the content: mention of someone drinking alcohol; mention of and flashbacks of domestic violence and physical abuse; rumors of insanity; a character curses, but the words aren’t actually written; blood; a main character has panic attacks; there’s a ghost and mention of spirits; the word ar*e is used; there’s a type of dark magic and people get power by sacrificing and killing others; dark wizards and oracles; someone had a child out of wedlock; an animal is harmed in self-defense; someone thinks a girl may be possessed by demons; very vague reference to possible r*pe in the past.

TW: mention of domestic violence and physical abuse; rumors of insanity and madness; panic attacks; main character possibly has complex PTSD; toxic family dynamics; very vague reference to possible r*pe in the past.

I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book which I received from the author. All views expressed are only my honest opinion.