The Golden Rush
by Ariella Talix
My review:
In “The Golden Rush” author Ariella Talix gives us a fast-paced, highly entertaining historical novel with a trio of lead characters who end up in a committed relationship, together. Yes, this is a MMF love story, so if that bothers you or you think you can’t read it with an open mind, please don’t read it and then penalize the author because that part bothers you.
Most of this story is set in 1850s California, during the early and middle part of the gold rush years. Royal and Jasper are two men on a wagon train heading on the perilous journey cross country become friends, then best friends, and eventually more than that. Adeline is a young woman who makes an equally dangerous journey there across the ocean with her father. She pays for their passage by being a working passenger, cooking for the crew. I’m not going to say much about the plot because it’s a complicated one. It’s not difficult to follow, but there is a lot that happens. Many things in the story were clearly well-researched and I don’t want to ruin anything for you. Suffice to say Royal and Jasper come to Adeline’s aid down at the docks, and the three of them then become friends. Their California adventures continue, and they become romantic adventures as well.
The story is told from a third person perspective, except when Adeline writes in her journal, which we read as first person. It seems a little odd at first, but I think it works. Royal and Jasper have been a team for years; Adeline is a singular entity with a completely different outlook and set of experiences. She has the biggest changes to deal with for the majority of the story, and this technique lets us understand her thought processes as she thinks things through and makes decisions.
This book starts off a little slow because a lot needs to be set up and explained as a foundation. Once it picks up the pace, it never slows down again. There are a lot of interesting secondary characters and a couple of appropriately awful bad guys. I thought the ending was handled well and in a way that did justice to everyone.