Like a River Glorious

By: Rae Carson

Narrated by: Erin Mallon

Length: 10 hrs and 27 mins

Publisher's summary

The sequel to the New York Times best-selling and National Book Award long-listed Walk on Earth a Stranger.

After her harrowing journey west to California, Lee Westfall has finally found a new home - one rich in gold, thanks to her magical power, a power that seems to be changing every day. But this home is rich in other ways, too: with friends who are searching for a place to be themselves, just as she is, and with love. Jefferson - her longtime best friend - hasn't stopped trying to win her heart. And Lee is more and more tempted to say yes.

But her uncle Hiram hasn't given up his quest to get Lee and her power under his control. When she's kidnapped and taken to him, Lee sees firsthand the depths of her uncle's villainy. Yet Lee's magic is growing. Gold no longer simply sings to her, it listens. It obeys her call. Is it enough to destroy her uncle once and for all?

Rae Carson, acclaimed author of the Girl of Fire and Thorns series, takes us deep into the gold fields as she continues this sweeping saga of magic and history and an unforgettable heroine who must come into her own.

©2016 Rae Carson (P)2016 HarperCollins Publishers

Solid Second Book From an Excellent Author

This was a pretty solid follow-up to book one, which I really loved. I enjoyed having more time with some of my favorite characters, and it wrapped up more thoroughly than a lot of 2nd books do, which I appreciate.

Rae Carson has a great voice in the YA world. She writes strong, interesting female characters, grows relationships slowly, and includes a lot of diverse characters and perspectives which provides a nice depth to her worlds. I will definitely read book 3.

Also, the narration is excellent. I will listen to/own the entire series on audiobook (as it comes out), since it's such an enjoyable story to listen to.

Great narration

Leah continues to fight through the prejudice of the 1840's. Her motley crew includes a window, cripple, ½ Cherokee, gay, runaway slave, and ofcourse, witchy Leah.

I love the character development in this book! exciting heros and foes. good plot line. strong heroine!

narration is an A+, one of my new favorite

Golden sequel!

Would you listen to Like a River Glorious again? Why?

Yes! This sequel gives the reader everything that a sequel should: revelations, tension, terror, hope and in this one, lots of gold. The pacing was perfect for me as we learn about mining, life in California and the progression of Leah's story.

What other book might you compare Like a River Glorious to and why?

I would compare it to the Old Kingdom series by Garth Nix because there's a great balance of passing time and building tension to the plot.

Have you listened to any of Erin Mallon’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I listened to Walk on Earth a Stranger and I love Mallon's narration. She's up there with some of my top favorite narrators. Her tender emotion gripped at my own emotions many times and her soft Southern accent gives extra life and authenticity to the story.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Some parts made me giggle and some made me tense when things were quickly escalating. There's a few shockers in this book and I felt uncertainty when the book ends. I have no idea where the final book will go, but that's a good thing. Carson has managed to make me feel something in every book, which had been somewhat rare for me in the past.

Any additional comments?

This is a special series that I don't know that we'll see again. The backdrop of 1849 America is wild, terrifying, realistic and beautiful. There's a healthy romantic relationship that builds in this book, as well as great messages of serving others, tolerance of others and bravery. Highly recommended series.

Gripping, from start to finish!

As a follow up to "Walk on Earth a Stranger" this book does not disappoint. Fantastic story. This is definitely not a book for tiny kids though, as there is death, sadness, misery and slavery. Among other things. But that's one reason I like this series so much. Rae Carson doesn't shy away from the realities of life in the Wild West. The lawlessness, hopelessness and lack of choice/options for women. It's full of positive messages for young women to be their own person and never let their name and roots dictate who they can and can't be. It also helps them appreciate what our ancestors have had to fight through, kicking and screaming, for the basic rights we have today. There are some dark, dark moments in this book about the treatment of the natives and the Chinese working in the mines. But again, it's important that the ugly face of history is exposed for young listeners to understand that the lawless west was not like a movie or tv show.
The narration was great. The ONLY gripe I have is that they should let men do the voices for the male characters. It's hard to take the characters seriously when their voice is just a deepened female voice. I liked how she varied her voice for all the female characters too.

I love Rae Carson's writing!

The author is gifted period piece writer. After reading her other series I was so impressed how she completely envelopes you in yet another world and time. Never predictable and always impossible to put down. I was at the edge of my seat the whole time!

Another triumph for an awesome author! I

Absolutely loved this book. sure to be a classic. as good as (if not better than) pride & prejudice.

One of my favorites!

This trilogy is by far one of my favorites and Erin Mallon does a great job bringing it to life!

Amazing story telling, fabulous world and character development

One of the best books I have heard this year. About the California gold rush. A young woman in danger and her best male friend join a caravan of people traveling through unimaginable danger to stake claims in California. Indian attacks, buffalo stampedes, betrayals and other deaths and murders make for dangers times. Enjoyable narration.

Not quite up to the first book

Not quiiiite as good as the first book, but I still loved it. The middle section dragged on for a long while but the characters do a good job carrying it.

A gem of a story. Definitely recommend it!

This series is great. I loved Rae Carson's Fire and Thorn series a few years back and was looking for a new book and came across this series. I would definitely recommend it. I had gone through a few audiobooks where either the story was silly or the narrator was bad, but these books did not suffer from that. I thought the story was original with lots of details of life during the gold rush. The characters were fairly well flushed out and were not unidimensional like they are in so many fantasy novels. In fact, I hesitate to call this fantasy because the fantasy elements were really minor. I gave the story 4 stars because it did get a little slow in some places. Also, I would like to see a little more detail about the magical aspects of her "gift" and understand a little more about whether there are others like her, etc (I guess I'm asking for some additional world building in the concluding book). The narrator was absolutely excellent. A pleasure to listen to and I will be getting the third book in October when it comes out.