BLOG TOUR SPECIAL POST, REVIEW & GIVEAWAY: Like a River Glorious (The Gold Seer Trilogy #2)

I am SO excited to help celebrate the release of Rae Carson's LIKE A RIVER GLORIOUS. And great news - it's out TODAY! This series has me so captivated. It's gorgeous and sweeping and so epic.

Speaking of epic, I was thinking about my own Oregon Trail team and who would be on it if I wanted our group to be epically successful on our cross-country trek. Here's what I came up with.

My Oregon Trail Team

1. Bear Grylls - Bear Grylls is an expert at surviving in the wilderness, and in the mid-1800s, that is exactly what much of North America is. I would definitely want someone who is an expert at hunting and gathering like he is on my team. But, I draw the line at drinking my own pee and eating bugs and animal dung. #idratherdie

2. Ree Drumond - You may know Ree Drumond by her blog and book name - The Pioneer Woman. And, ah - this choice makes sense now, doesn't it? Ree is a jill of all trades, and that would come in handy on our long journey. She lives on a ranch, so she knows about animals. She is the MacGyver of  the home, able to make beautiful and useful things out of seemingly nothing. And best of all - SHE COOKS. WELL.

3. Drew and Jonathan Scott - When we finally reach our destination, I want a sweet homestead in less than six weeks. (Camping in the woods is SO not my thing.) So, of course, I need The Property Brothers. Jonathan can build anything we need and Drew is an expert at dealing with difficult people, so he can smooth things over with any Native Americans we encounter.

4. Nick Bateman - Because, NICK BATEMAN. Also, he has mad ninja skills.

5. Rae Carson - After working all day, side-by-side with Nick Bateman and the Scott twins, I'm going to want some down time. I can't think of a better way to pass the time than to sit around a campfire and listen to stories. And no one tells amazing stories like Rae Carson.

Like a River Glorious (The Gold Seer Trilogy #2), by Rae Carson
Publish Date: September 27, 2016
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Format: ARC, provided by the publisher
Genre: young adult historical fiction/fantasy
To Buy: Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Rating: 5 STARS

(Synopsis) After a harrowing journey across the country, Leah Westfall and her friends have finally arrived in California and are ready to make their fortunes in the Gold Rush. Lee has a special advantage over the other new arrivals in California—she has the ability to sense gold, a secret known only by her handsome best friend Jefferson and her murdering uncle Hiram.

Lee and her friends have the chance to be the most prosperous settlers in California, but Hiram hasn’t given up trying to control Lee and her power. Sabotage and kidnapping are the least of what he’ll do to make sure Lee is his own. His mine is the deepest and darkest in the territory, and there Lee learns the full extent of her magical gift, the worst of her uncle, and the true strength of her friendships. To save everyone, she vows to destroy her uncle and the empire he is building—even at the cost of her own freedom.

The second epic historical fantasy in the Gold Seer trilogy by Rae Carson, the acclaimed author of The Girl of Fire and Thorns.

I've heard big-time professional book reviewers use terms before like "sweeping" and "epic" and "sprawling," and I never really got it before I read Like a River Glorious. I thought those were fancy schmancy words they threw around to make them look extra special. But, seriously - Those terms describe The Gold Seer Trilogy by Rae Carson perfectly.

Leah, Jefferson and their friends have made it to California, and now it's time to get to work. But, Leah is constantly looking over her shoulder waiting for that other shoe to drop. A shoe by the name of Hiram Westfall, her positively evil uncle. He's been waiting for her to get comfortable before coming for her. And he has too much to lose - he WILL come for her.

Once again, Rae Carson brings California in the 1840s to life in vivid detail. Not only is the landscape and situation described beautifully, but the people really take on lives of their own. We meet more Americans, both good and bad, Chinese immigrants, and of course, Indians. The situations in which the Indians find themselves will horrify you, and what's even worse is I'm sure some of this really happened.

For those that bemoaned the lack of Lee using her gold seeking ability in Walk on Earth a Stranger, fear not. She more than makes up for it in Like a River Glorious. Lee herself is still discovering the depth of her abilities, and it's awesome to be along for the ride. Lee and Jeff also make up for the lack of romance in the previous book. My swoon meter was pegged a few times.

Like a River Glorious was an incredible book. It was exciting and heartbreaking and infuriating and romantic. And yes - sweeping, epic and sprawling. I can't wait to see what the final book brings.

Be sure to check out the rest of the stops on this tour, organized by Irish Banana Tours:

Week 1:
9/19: Two Chicks on Books - Photo Tour
9/20: Ex Libris - Review
9/21: The Irish Banana Review - My Oregon Trail Team
9/22: Good Books and Good Wine - Review
9/23: Across the Words - Dream Cast


Week 2:
9/26: Alexa Loves Books - Review
9/27: Krista's Dust Jacket - My Oregon Trail Team
9/28: Awkwordly Emma - Review
9/29: A Backwards Story - A Modern Day Oregon Trail
9/30: YA Bibliophile - Review

ABOUT RAE CARSON:  I write books about teens who must do brave things. I'm originally from California, but I now live in Arizona with my husband, who is the smartest and therefore sexiest man I know. My books tend to contain lots of adventure, a little magic and romance, and smart girls who make (mostly) smart choices. I especially love to write about questions I don't know the answers to.

LINKS: Website | Twitter | Facebook

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REVIEW: Walk on Earth a Stranger (The Gold Seer Trilogy #1)

Walk on Earth a Stranger (The Gold Seer Trilogy #1), by Rae Carson
Publish Date: September 22, 2015
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Format: ARC, provided by the publisher
Genre: young adult historical fiction
To Buy: Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Rating: 5 STARS

(Synopsis) Lee Westfall has a strong, loving family. She has a home she loves and a loyal steed. She has a best friend—who might want to be something more.
She also has a secret.

Lee can sense gold in the world around her. Veins deep in the earth. Small nuggets in a stream. Even gold dust caught underneath a fingernail. She has kept her family safe and able to buy provisions, even through the harshest winters. But what would someone do to control a girl with that kind of power? A person might murder for it.

When everything Lee holds dear is ripped away, she flees west to California—where gold has just been discovered. Perhaps this will be the one place a magical girl can be herself. If she survives the journey.

The acclaimed Rae Carson begins a sweeping new trilogy set in Gold Rush-era America, about a young woman with a powerful and dangerous gift.

Well, this was an unexpected surprise. I thought I was getting something different from Walk on Earth a Stranger than what I got. I thought it was a fantasy book with a bit of history woven in. What I got was exactly the opposite. 

Now, before I read a word, I would've said that was a bad thing. I love fantasy. Historical fiction isn't really my jam. I'm really glad I didn't know all this before I started, because then I may not have read this amazingly incredible book. 

Leah Westfall is a 15-year-old girl who leaves her native Georgia after the death of her parents and sets her sights on California and the promise of gold. It's early 1849, the California Gold Rush is just getting started, and women's lib is decades in the future. If Leah has a prayer of making it, she needs to become Lee McCauley, a boy willing to work his way west. 

If Leah can make it, she has a better shot than most at striking it rich. She has the uncanny ability to sense gold. I thought that this would be the main focus of the story, but in actuality, it was only a very small part to it. On the way to Cali, she doesn't have much of an opportunity to use her power, so there were many times I even forgot she had it. I have a feeling her ability will come into play a lot more in the next two books. 

Despite the low fantasy aspect, I loved this book. I never really understood what reviewers meant when they described a book as "sweeping" and "epic" until now. Walk on Earth a Stranger spans nearly a year, crosses 3,000 miles and introduces dozens of secondary characters. It highlights a lot of the hardships of the time - the difficulty everyone had traveling long distances, the inequality between men and women, the tension with the Indians, and the ineffectual means of treating sickness and injuries. 

Leah is an incredible character. She's unbelievably strong and so brave. To set out on such a journey alone - not to mention female - would have been considered suicidal back then. But, her parents let her be who she was when they were alive, and she refuses to be used and abused by her horrible uncle after they die. She's prepared to set out to make her own life or die trying. She does what she has to in order to survive, and it's not always easy, and it doesn't always make her feel good. 

Her best friend from home, Jefferson McCauley, joins her on her journey, and he too is an awesome character. His father was a drunken abuser and his mother was an Indian, so he has his own difficulties to face in this time. But, his constant and loyal companion has always been Leah, and I loved the way he protected her, and yet allowed her to be the only girl she knew how to be at the same time. 

I can't wait for the second book in this series to come out so that I can see what happens next. I suspect that Leah's mysterious gold-finding abilities and her manipulative horrible uncle will both feature more prominently in it and she, Jeff and the rest of their group settle in California and try to make a new life. This series certainly started with a bang, so I have high hopes for the rest of it.