The Golden Spiral
by Lisa Mangum
Series: Hourglass Door #2
Published: May 10, 2010
Genres: Paranormal Romance, Young Adult
Format: Hardcover (365 pages)
Source: Gift
With each new change that ripples into her present, Abby's life continues to spiral out of control. Her relationships with Jason, Natalie, and even her family are threatened to the breaking point—and beyond. Zo’s power is greater than Abby ever imagined, but as she struggles, she receives help from an unexpected—and unlikely—ally.
Spoiler free even if you haven’t read the first book in this series.
The best thing about The Golden Spiral was that it was realistic. Time travel had huge consequences in Abby’s (the main character) life. But I think it crossed the line into being way too realistic. I felt like the plot focused on what would really happen to the point that it stopped being interesting to read about. I didn’t think the story was bad but it was not riveting, either.
The thing that really slowed this novel down was the villain, Zo. I really just did not get why Zo was that bad guy. He seems to have no motivation whatsoever. He was so cliche. When the world literally starts falling apart and the consequences start having major effects on even the villain’s life, the explanation was because he wants to take over the world. Yeah, so did Pinky and the Brain. At least they were funny. The lame villain motivation made for a weak conflict.
Let’s talk about what else made this novel slow (I wrote the word “slow” at least five times in my notes while reading this). I mean, a slow plot doesn’t always ruin a story for me if the characters are interesting, but all the characters felt very flat to me. We know almost nothing about their past or what makes them tick and it was frustrating to me. It takes forever for things to happen in this novel. There was one major quest that Abby was trying to accomplish and the solution was completely obvious. I hate it when solutions are obvious.
The romance was okay for me. It had some cute moments, but Dante was very cheesy. (I like cheese on my tacos, not in my romance. I like chocolate in my romance). Dante doesn’t seem to act like a real guy in my opinion. He seemed more like an unrealistic fantasy. Which isn’t bad. It’s fun to read about fantasy. But I did roll my eyes at him a couple of times.
Overall, this story felt bland and slow with a villain that had no good reason to try and take over the world.
Content Rating: Mild, for some kissing.
About Lisa Mangum
Lisa Mangum has loved and worked with books ever since elementary school, when she volunteered at the school library during recess. Her first paying job was shelving books at the Sandy Library. She worked for five years at Waldenbooks while she attended the University of Utah, graduating with honors with a degree in English. An avid reader of all genres, she has worked in the publishing department for Deseret Book since 1997.
Besides books, Lisa loves movies, sunsets, spending time with her family, trips to Disneyland, and vanilla ice cream topped with fresh raspberries. She lives in Taylorsville, Utah, with her husband, Tracy. She is the author of The Hourglass Door (which was named the 2009 YA Book of the Year by ForeWord Reviews) and The Golden Spiral.
Reading this book contributed to these challenges:
My name is Jessica. I love to read Young Adult and classic literature. I’ve been a book blogger for six years and I haven’t gotten tired of it yet. I’m a very curious reader. Writing about all the questions and thoughts I had while reading a book is the best hobby ever.
Sorry you had a disappointing reading experience! It is so frustrating when that happens!
Huhh. Well, this doesn’t exactly sound riveting and exciting like a sequel should be! Lame villains are absolutely a huge pet peeve of mine. And you’re right, it take away a lot of tension and conflict if the villain is lame. Bummer! I appreciate the review anyway. Will you be reading the sequel?
I mean, will you be reading the third book?
Sadly, I’ve already read the third one and it did not get better. I changed my DNF rule because of it :( I just did not click with it at all.