Amanda Dykes

Born of Gilded Mountains by Amanda Dykes is an exceptional story of friendship, grief, healing, and mystery. A story of how God’s love can repair and restore us.

Dykes with her picturesque prose paints a lasting image of life in Mercy Peak within the mineral rich San Juan Mountains of Colorado. Due to an accidental mail mixup, Marybeth Spatts, of the coal mines of North Carolina, and Rusty Bright, of Mercy Peak, become pen pals and forever friends. Dykes draws her readers into their lives from the very beginning with her exquisite character development. They will grip your heart as you walk with them through life’s ups and downs feeling each and every emotional moment. Join their adventure as they work together figuring out the clues to the treasure, and much more along the way.

I was totally immersed and emotionally invested in the story throughout, and will forever savor, Born on Gilded Mountain, by Amanda Dykes. Unfortunately, all good stories must come to an end, and I reluctantly said goodbye to Marybeth, Rusty, and all the townsfolk of Mercy Peak, who left a lasting impact upon me.

A complimentary copy of this book was provided by Bethany House via NetGalley through Interviews & Reviews. I was not obligated to write a favorable review, and all opinions are my own.… (meer)

I want to preface this review by saying I’m a 67-year-old male who rarely reads fiction, so my opinion may not be of any use to the intended audience of “Born of Gilded Mountains.” I manage a church library where we often evaluate books before their inclusion in our catalog. In this instance there was no one else available to read this title which we had agreed to review in order to receive a free copy.

I have to admit it took a little time to understand what was going on in the story since it went back and forth in time and in style (from narrative to screenplay script to newspaper article). Returning to read the book’s prologue (which I at first skipped) helped fill in some holes.

Even as one perhaps unqualified at judging women’s fiction, I found the author’s writing skills to be first-rate. She had a creative way of expressing even the most mundane things. She’s no Stephen Ambrose or Shelby Foote, but still has a splendid ability to entertain and captivate an audience.

On the negative side, there were some scenes that were just unbelievable, from my perspective, which took me out of the story, though not enough that I didn’t keep reading. Her narrative carried my interest until around midway through. I did finish the book, though to me the later chapters seemed at times a bit unnecessary despite their warmth of feeling.

For women who love this type of relational adventure, I think “Born of Gilded Mountains” would be a very worthwhile read. My overall opinion, though, was greatly reduced by the story’s scant spiritual thread. This book is released by a Christian publisher (Bethany House), and it’s main characters go through some heart-rendering events. It is hard to believe that any of those people were believers from their almost total lack of thought or words expressing a love for Christ (with the exception of one minor character). With all those intense emotions occurring throughout, where was even the slightest momentary thought of their need for or acknowledgment of the One who blessed them?

BOTTOM LINE: If you’d like a touching tale of a powerful friendship between two women, amidst the environment of a lovable small town atmosphere, with a touch of romance thrown in, you will likely enjoy this book. But if you’re expecting to find in the story a sense of the character’s recognition of God’s hand in their lives, His deep love for them, and their hope in their circumstances because of that, you will be disappointed. — reviewed by BH as part of the LibaryThing Early Reviews program… (meer)

BRILLIANT STORY OF FRIENDSHIP!

The writer of this novel is one of my favorites. She uses beautiful word pictures to tell deep, meaningful stories! Born of Gilded Mountains is a brilliant story of a past, present, and future friendship. Readers are introduced to the two main characters as their friendship begins when they become pen pals in elementary school. They live across the country but quickly learn to take advantage of the opportunity to share their deepest feelings and longings through the writing of their letters. They understand how hearts can share things through letters that might never be able to be shared in person. There is freedom of expression in knowing that someone is waiting for your letters who loves you, trusts you, encourages you, respects you, and tells you the hard things, and in this friendship, the feelings go both ways. As they grow older, their circumstances change one fateful night, and they are separated, perhaps forever. Many years go by, and by God’s providence, they discover one another again. After working together to solve some mysteries, they soon realize that despite all the years of separation and misunderstandings, their old friendship is still there and how much they have missed each other. They work together on a common goal and know they will be friends for life and beyond.

I was provided a complimentary copy of this novel by Bethany House Publishers and NetGalley. The opinions expressed here are entirely my own and without influence.… (meer)

Born of Gilded Mountains was a delight to read from beginning to end. It is many things: part mystery, part treasure hunt, part fable, part tale of lost love and above all a story of the healing power of the love of friends and found family. Two motherless girls from different parts of the country are matched as pen pals in elementary school, and become close friends and confidants, though they do not meet in person. When they reach adulthood and it seems they will finally meet, tragic circumstances come between them. This book opens 10 years later, and we gradually learn who these women are, what happened, what will happen, and all about the remarkable community that surrounds them. I don't want to spoil the mysteries here, but I wasn't able to put it down until I read every word. This is the first time I have read anything by Amanda Dykes, but I will certainly search out more of her books.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.… (meer)