This is a good start to an interesting series, but not enough elements of the story that can hook a reader. The characters seemed flat to me and I didn't feel connected to the characters. I do, however, like this concept about the necklace, the crystals, the "tug"s that they felt, and the abilities that they have while not knowing what or who they really are, but they happened to have found each other and became more. Everything seemed too fast and it needs more details, descriptions, and character development. ( )

I'd really prefer to give this a 3.5 but the stars won't cooperate. I think that this book would be well suited to junior high students. It has some interesting sci-fi tones to it that will give forth to more stories as the series builds. Though it does bounce between the two main characters I didn't find that that format took away from the story presented. ( )

I found “The Golden Thread”… interesting. I’ve given it three stars because, while I finished it, it was only really because I like to finish what I start. I would have given it two-and-a-half stars if given the option. The following has some minor spoilers.

What first lost my interest was Megan’s character. She’s supposedly this perfect, super-hot girl who’s /suddenly/ dragged across the country to California. I understand she doesn’t want to leave her father, but she also says that “what hurt the most is that he didn’t even try” to stop her mother from taking her from NYC to Cali. If her parents were open about her being adopted, why didn’t she know that her mother had sole custody? Why would that even matter when they were living together with her father anyways? She’s also 17, I’d imagine a judge would let her decide who she wants to stay with if she asked. Also… it feels a little selfish that she needs to get her parents back together, despite her being able to somehow feel how her mother is feeling. Anger and resentment? You’d think that would be a clue. And why on earth would she even think the anger was toward her? Again, feels a little selfish.

Then, there’s the way she gets described as being actually physically perfect. Despite her emotion problem and her severe desire to go back to NYC, she reads as a Mary Sue from the start. “Heavenly legs,” “incredible ass,” “eyes that sparkle like faceted diamonds,” “hips rocking side to side in this sexy way.” The list goes on with how absolutely /perfect/ she apparently looks. Why does every female protagonist have to be blond haired and blue eyed?

The same goes with Bry’s character; he’s apparently perfect, too, by the way Megan describes him. “Perfect jawline,” “arrow-straight eyebrows,” “eyes as black as the night of a new moon,” “velvety eyes,” “soul-pinning eyes,” “perfect dimples.”

Neither really felt like they had individual personalities; they were almost written as the same person, just different pronouns and names.

The action/climax of the story also left little to the imagination. I understand it’s a novella but there was so much exposition and the awkward are-our-parents-secretly-having-an-affair, casually-dating-even-though-I’m-definitely-moving-back-to-NYC thing was uninteresting and predictable. Nothing /actually/ happened. Megan leaving was like a child throwing a tantrum and her getting tired after only two hours of driving was irritating to say the least; then, as a woman in today’s society, she thought it’d be a good idea to sleep overnight in a truck stop?! I don’t understand why she was so desperate to get to NYC that she decided on a whim, with like, two days to plan, if that, to /drive/ across the country to New York. And then, Bry, who she’s known barely two weeks, volunteers to go all white-knight and save her? The near-violence she suffers is also a tale-as-old-as-time and something we could definitely do without.

The romance was quick and unbelievable to me. Two weeks feels a little brash to “come to love everything about this guy.”.

Overall, I suppose the plot was okay. I think, if given the chance in a full-length novel, it could have been fleshed out better and the romance could have taken a lot longer to build. I definitely could have done without the instant attraction, but it is what it is. It just didn’t have enough action that would keep me wanting to read more.

If you’re into quick sci-fi-ish-fantasy with a bit of romance, this could be up your alley.

For proofreading:

“Once the lady’s left” should be “ladies” on page 13 (or the first page of chapter 2: Bry) ( )