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The Golden Apple (2014)

by Michelle Diener(Favorite Author)

3.72 of 5 Votes: 3

ISBN

0987417681 (ISBN13: 9780987417688)

languge

English

genre

Romance

publisher

Michelle Diener

series

The Dark Forest

review 1: This is a fast-paced retelling of a Norwegian fairytale. Princess Kayla's father has offered her hand to anyone risking life and limb in a mad challenge who wins a golden apple. Princess Kayla has been placed on top of a glass mountain with a gold apple in her lap while knights gather, muttering. Dark magic has to be at work, and nobody trusts a sorcerer.Warrior Rane gains Kayla's trust and wins, but the two are bound by the spell on the apple. The sorcerer orders them to bring him a jewel from a witch's house outside their kingdom and then the princess will be set free. The wild land has woods and fells and harbours trolls, grindylows and desperate men. If the betrothed Rane and Kayla can pull together, they may survive... but they barely know each other, and Rane has his... more own entirely separate reasons for wanting the gold apple. This is a dark fantasy with a growing romance which is atmospheric and well written.
review 2: The Golden Apple, Michelle DienerReview from Jeannie Zelos Book reviews. My first Michelle Diener book, although she's written many, mostly historical, novels. This one is loosely based around the fairy tale “the princess on the glass hill” Its not a story I’ve read so the whole premise was new to me. Kayla; her father has set a task for her hand in marriage. She's sitting at the top of a glass mountain holding a golden apple, and the winner must retrieve it. She's tired of having her life decided for her, and the previous evening made her own choice of who should receive her virginity. She chose Rane thinking she was seducing him, and that he was simply an innocent onlooker, a secretary/poet he'd told her. Rane though was the real seducer, using her to get the apple. He needs it to save his brother, but poor Kayla feels betrayed. What neither of them or the king knows though, is that the apple has been enchanted to get the holder to retrieve something for Eric the Bold, the sorcerer who has used dark magic to get his way. Its a very dangerous task and Kayla and Rane need to cross a magical forest, where few ever come out...As they cross the forest they come across lots of dangers, and they both learn more about each other. Gradually they begin to understand that each are not the person the other thought, that they were more than appears on the surface. The dangers mean they need to work together but that comes hard to Rane, he's not used to it. They learn that there are threats to the kingdoms from sorcerers who are overusing magic, and creating more and more of the overspill dangers that reside in the Great Forest.I've always had a love for fairy tales – though I do want my HEA even in them :) The magic here was interesting in the way it was used and created. Kayla wasn't a snippy, spoiled princess but a person with heart and very adaptable. She's learning more about her heritage on the journey from the people she meets. Rane, first I liked him then when I found out his betrayal I was upset with him. Then again, we all do things for family that maybe we wouldn't otherwise. Kayla is angry but comes to understand his reasoning. I was a bit lost at the end....I’d got so into the story I wanted more, but luckily the sequel, The Silver Pear, will be out in autumn 2014. It’s priced at £2.49 for 298 pages so a decent length for the reader to really get “into” the story and characters. Its not breath taking fantasy, or heart stopping romance, more a gentle meander than a rip roaring ride.Stars: Four. Its an interesting book but a one off read for me. ARC supplied by Netgalley less

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