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Days of Gold: A Novel (Edilean)
 
 
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Days of Gold: A Novel (Edilean) [Abridged, Audiobook, CD] [Audio CD]

Jude Deveraux (Author), Gabra Zackman (Reader)
2.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (47 customer reviews)


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Book Description

Edilean December 29, 2009
Angus McTern is respected by the men of his clan and adored by the women. He takes his duties as laird seriously and has everything he wants in life- until Edilean Talbot shows up. Breathtakingly beautiful and born of privilege, Edilean needs Angus's help to reclaim the gold she inherited from her father. The treasure is bound for America, but when Angus tries to seize it, he's accused of kidnapping and theft and has to escape with Edilean to the new country. There they discover almost insurmountable obstacles, and a love as wild and free as the land itself. The second title in the multi-generational Edilean series that began with the contemporary novel Lavender Morning, Days of Gold is filled with humor, passion, exquisite detail, and pulse-pounding adventure. Stirring and masterfully rendered, it's the kind of epic story that so many novelists aspire to write, but only Jude Deveraux can create so well.

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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Book Description
New York Times bestselling author Jude Deveraux returns to her roots in this sweeping historical romance with a dazzling story that spans two continents and unites two people who are separated by class, wealth, and education.

In 1766 Scotland, the laird of the clan, Angus McTern, has everything he wants in life. Although his grandfather lost the family's land and castle in a card game when Angus was just a boy, Angus takes his duties seriously and is respected by all the men and adored by the women. That is, until Edilean Talbot shows up.

Breathtakingly beautiful and born of privilege, Edilean represents everything Angus despises. Still he is as dazzled by her as everyone else is, and he can keep his feelings hidden from her for only so long. When she rejects him he is deeply wounded and, worse, humiliated before his clan. But then the day comes when Edilean needs Angus's help, to reclaim the gold she inherited from her father, which is on its way to America. At first Angus refuses, but her beauty--and her tears--so haunt him that he puts aside his pride and decides to aid the heiress. However, when Angus tries to intervene, he's accused of kidnapping and theft. To avoid being prosecuted, he's forced to leave behind all that he knows and loves and escape with Edilean to America. There they will overcome almost insurmountable obstacles as they are pursued endlessly by the man who claims the gold for his own. Despite all that tries to keep them apart, Angus and Edilean also find a love as wild and free as the land itself.

The second book in the multigenerational Edilean Series that began with Lavender Morning, Days of Gold is filled with passion, humor, exquisite detail, and pulse-pounding adventure. Stirring and masterfully rendered, this is Jude Deveraux at her best.


Amazon Exclusive: A Note to Readers from Author Jude Deveraux

I came to write Days of Gold because I was curious. In the early pages of Lavender Morning, I'd written a few sentences about the founding of the little town I'd created, Edilean, Virginia. They briefly told the story of a young man kidnapping a rich man's daughter, along with a wagon full of gold, and taking her to America. All through the writing of Lavender Morning, I wondered about that story. Had the young woman been taken away forcibly, or had she run off of her own free will? By the time I finished the book, I knew I had to find out the answers to my questions. I decided to write my first historical in eight years, the story of the founders of Edilean, Virginia.

I very much enjoyed writing the book. It was fun to again visualize kilts and horses, and a huge sailing ship headed for the newly formed American colonies. I loved the attempts of my hero, Angus, to be noble and Edilean, my heroine, as she got angry at him when he made decisions without consulting her. My favorite scene in the books is when Edilean nearly shoots Angus. By that time, he deserved being shot!

I also fell in love with the people around them. I felt so sorry for Prudence, the wife of the awful man, James, that I knew I had to give her a good ending. I truly loved her and Shamus! By the time I finished Days of Gold, I had a better idea of how Edilean started, and about all the people of Edilean. When I wrote my next contemporary novel, Scarlet Nights, I could see where people had come from, and had an idea of where they were going.

--Jude Deveraux


--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly

The inevitable prequel to Lavender Morning places Deveraux on familiar historical romance ground as she traces the journey to America of the namesake of the fictional town of Edilean, Va. English-born Edilean Talbot is very out of place when she arrives in 1766 Scotland to live with her uncle. A pressing problem presents itself when her uncle plans to marry off the rich, beautiful and well-educated Edilean to one of his unsavory friends the moment she turns 18. Reluctantly, Angus McTern, the highland hunk who laughs at Edilean even as he falls for her, helps her escape and accompanies her on a transatlantic voyage acting the role of husband. Once in Boston, they go their separate ways, later reuniting when old friends help Edilean dispense with an enemy. After dozens of novels, Deveraux has a sure hand evoking plucky heroines, dastardly villains and irresistible heroes, as well as a well-rounded supporting cast. If the plot seems familiar and occasionally contrived (how convenient laudanum is available when someone needs to be knocked out), the pace moves quickly and the romance sparks with enough voltage to keep readers turning pages. (Dec.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

  • Audio CD
  • Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio; Abridged edition (December 29, 2009)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0743598938
  • ISBN-13: 978-0743598934
  • Product Dimensions: 5.8 x 5.2 x 0.9 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 5 ounces
  • Average Customer Review: 2.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (47 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,435,304 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Jude Deveraux was once a fifth-grade teacher who loved to read. When her imagination began to be filled with her own stories to tell, her career as a writer began. Jude's novels have been set in both contemporary and historical periods. Her strong, lyrical writing style and ability to write stories with memorable characters, rich detail, and believable dialogue has garnered her many devoted readers.

Jude has had over thirty books on the New York Times bestsellers list, has over 60 million copies in print, and has been translated into 18 languages. When she's not writing, she enjoys reading murder mysteries, working in her garden, and in boxing class she likes to show much younger males that she can throw a mean right cross.

 

Customer Reviews

47 Reviews
5 star:
 (10)
4 star:
 (11)
3 star:
 (4)
2 star:
 (10)
1 star:
 (12)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
2.9 out of 5 stars (47 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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35 of 35 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars Another so-so book by Jude Deveraux, December 30, 2009
By 
J. Kollasch (Vadnais Heights, MN) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   
Second novel in her newest "Edilean Series" Jude Deveraux takes us back to the origin of the name of the town in her first novel "Lavender Morning." If you are thinking that this new novel is going to have anything to do with the characters in the first novel you'd be sadly mistaken, this book could have just as easily been a stand-alone rather than part of a series.

At the beginning of the novel Edilean Talbot is a young heiress who looks to be saved from a forced marriage that her uncle as arranged for her to one of his horrible friends. She turns to Angus McTern, the former Laird of the lands that her uncle now owns for aid from her forced marriage but at first angry he refuses to help her. Fortunately for her a former love of hers concocts a plan of escape for both Edilean and her gold but Angus, finding it hard to not help a damsel in distress gets caught up in the plan and framed as her kidnapper. Forced to flee for America both Angus and Edilean must pretend to be married to get her gold safely out of enemy hands. With this intimacy a bond is formed and each one doesn't know what they will do in the new world without the other. Although he is scared of this change Angus sees the new world as an opportunity for a man like himself (poor but hardworking) to make a fresh start and get his own lands. Edilean is terrified that she will be all alone in this new world she is running to. Pride forces Angus to break away from Edilean as he doesn't think he's good enough for her.

I liked this book, but I can't really say I feel anything more passionate about it. Upon reading it I don't get the urge to pick it up and re-read it again (that's how I know it's a good one!). I found myself predicting what was going to happen before it was written and honestly there were really no surprises in the plot as I'm assuming Ms. Deveraux had intended. At the beginning of the book Angus has a beard but naturally upon removing it he's one of the most handsome men Edilean has ever seen. Haven't I read that in multiple other books before? The female character of Edilean reminded me of several of Jude's other heroines, while not necessarily a bad thing just made me think she could have used a little originality. I liked both Angus and Edilean, I just think she could have made the ending a lot more climatic and really gotten a good cry out of me, but it just wasn't there. In the end I'm left feeling a little sad at what could have been a great book, and I'm hoping the next in her series is going to be one. If you can wait for it to come out in paperback I'd say go for it, it's worth seven dollars but not twenty.
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28 of 31 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars Not as wonderful as the old Jude Deveraux : /, January 2, 2010
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Ahh...Where is the Jude Deveraux that wrote Knight in Shining Armour, Twin of Fire and Ice, The River Lady, etc!? We haven't seen her for such a long, long time! It seemed like she was there, starting off this book in an engaging way, but suddenly everything changed when the hero and heroine disembarked from their ship to America. After that, for most of the remainder of the book, the main characters are apart for no good reason and too many uninteresting secondary characters and plotlines are introduced. If you want to read 5 star, "keeper" books, read the other Jude Deveraux books that I mentioned or look for her books, The Princess, or The Maiden! :)
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15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Almost classic Deveraux, January 17, 2010
I'm sorry that my review is so different from all the others, but I really liked this story. I've been reading Jude Deveraux for a good fifteen years now (some great, some so-so, and some worth skipping), and this book in my opinion is so close to being on par with her classics. No, the second in the Edilean Series didn't interweave the different stories and time lines like I had originally thought Deveraux would do. Yes, Days of Gold could be read as a stand-alone story. And, yes, J.D. uses her go-to hero/heroine character types and love/hate storyline. But, if the reader just allows themselves to enjoy the story for what it is, it's a classic tale in J.D.'s tried and true Scots/Early America/sweeping family saga trademark storyline.

I loved that the story had really strong lead characters. The reason why they were apart for so long seemed silly, but it worked within the storyline. The 'girl fight' was hilarious and unexpected. The 'shootout' toward the end was completely unexpected. I didn't anticipate the full-circle ending, but I was happy with it. This story definitely had a few good sweet and laugh out loud moments (especially the mentioning of Thomas Jefferson). The love scene in the story was heartbreaking, mainly because of all the drama and confusion that followed. In true J.D. form, that scene was over-the-top and very... "earthy" (and not just because of the outdoors). What also really drew me in was the seeming beginnings of the other Edilean ancestors of families mentioned in the first story - I just wish J.D. spent more time developing their stories rather than repeating the same thing about Angus and Edilean and their cat-and-mouse game with Harcourt.

I had a very difficult time believing that this story took place around 1770. Especially after Edilean and Angus arrived in Boston, the language and actions of the characters felt like the story could have taken place in a more modern 1920s or 1940s. Sorry to say it, but a female-run company (sounded more like a modern-day corporation) is really unbelievable for 1770. Right before 'part two,' the author's voice made an obvious switch from staying in the time period to being more generalized and modern. Honestly that kind of threw the story for me. It felt like I kept having to mentally remind myself of the RIGHT time period. I also thought it was annoying that Deveraux had to sneak in random mentionings of Williamsburg. Obviously this couple is going to found their town in Virginia, so it didn't make sense to have random incidental characters suddenly talk about living in Virginia. Also, the way Angus came to own his acres in Virginia was a real disappointment. (A business transaction?? Really??? Not even remotely romantic!!)

Overall, this story was much stronger and more enjoyable (despite the obvious setbacks) than the previous installment of the Edilean Series. Had I read Days of Gold first, I'd have been VERY disappointed in Lavender Morning. But this second story definitely was closer to what has made J.D. a favorite. I have zero clue how Deveraux plans to wrap up this series and I won't even try guessing, but I'll probably read it no matter what.
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