Strands of bronze and gold

I was really looking forward to reading Strands of Bronze and Gold. I am a sucker for fairy tale retellings and historical fiction and Southern Gothics. How could it miss?

By a mile actually, and then some. Firstly, it was less Southern Gothic and more Plantation Romance. If you're going to set your novel in Antebellum American South there are approximately ten million ways to be racist. Nickerson found just about all them and polished it all off with an actual literal magical negro character. I can't roll my eyes hard enough.

The book doesn't even the literary merit of Heart of Darkness of good prose and decent storyline. The book is slow moving often to the point of dullness right until the character arc is completed lightning fast with no development.

terrible all around.