Like a River Glorious

Like a River Glorious
By Rae Carson

Leah and her friends have arrived in California and are ready to stake their claims and make it rich. However, Leah's uncle Hiram is still desperate to use her "witchy" gold-finding talents to make it rich himself, and he sends an old enemy after her to help him get what he wants. Leah must find a way to defeat her uncle once and for all if she is ever to have peace and be free--and it will take all of her ingenuity and an improvement on her talents that she didn't know she had in order to best Hiram once and for all.

I love the historical fiction element of this series, showing the Gold Rush and settling California in a realistic light, combined with the slight twist of Leah's special power to find gold. Leah's a great character, and I love her friend Jackson's devotion to her, and I think the other supporting characters add so much to the book--without them, the story wouldn't be half as interesting. I love seeing the "family" they've cobbled together and how they look out for each other and care for each other. I'm excited to see what happens in the third book, with the new add-ins to their family. And I totally loved the ending!!

4.5 stars.