Lovely YA take on the Irish folklore/mythology of leprechauns!

16-year-old Tommin has always had an affliction, or better weakness for the precious metals. Yet he is uneasy because he knows that stealing is bad! So when the mysterious stranger offers help in exchange for some travelling with him...ah yeah, beware the strangers. Because Lorcan wants Tommin as one of his gold-sons in the Leprechaun realm as means in the way to the throne. Luckily, Tommin is not himself in his fight for his humanity - girl-in-hiding Eve, Lorcan's niece, is facing the similar fate.
Here or there, in the magical world under or in the present day America, these two will look for each other.

I am now an official fan of the authoress, as her worlds are unique and very creative. This novel reads like a fairytale; which might confuse some readers in want for a completely adult fantasy; but it is the sweeter for its tale-like magic and innocence. Because fairytales are simple and innocent, yet they are hiding some very powerful messages, which speaks directly to our souls's hidden parts.
After all, we know greed and how it can complicate lives, we want to believe in the unselfish love and at least i am prepared to discovery the magical world colliding with ours!

The beginning of this book was amazing. The author sets up this world to feel vibrant, quaint, and fanciful, and the settings are full of whimsical yet practical idiosyncrasies that your eyes zoom into. Not to mention, character dynamics are grounded right out of the gate as Tommen struggles to fight what is second nature to him for the sake of his loved ones, and it was a heartwarming conflict that I immediately latched onto.

Unfortunately, this is another book with great potential that fell through the cracks for me. The plot begins rolling downhill as soon as the leprechaun narrative kicks in. It certainly hits all the right notes to create a suspenseful and compelling narrative, but because these events occur so rapidly in succession, character relationships become a disjointed blur, the plot meandered without purpose, and details I expected to be fleshed out later were tossed aside unceremoniously, never to be mentioned again.

This was also the most glaringly evident in the relationship between Tommen and Eve. The romance is bewilderingly overplayed for how short a time they have known each other, and the passage of time is so severely rushed that we never see in what context these two characters harbor feelings for one another. In other words, the plot blows by so fast that there was no time to form an organic attachment to these dynamics.

Bottom line, I feel like this book failed to give moments of "cushioning" for its terrific excerpts. You can open up to any chapter in this book and that slice will feel rich, suspenseful, and compelling, yet because there was no breathing room to fully savor these moments, the story felt severely underdeveloped as a result.

Final thoughts: It's waaaay too rushed.

If the author ever rewrote this book to twice its length, I would leap at the chance to re-read it because it had some reallllly amazing excerpts. Unfortunately, it rushed to the point that none of these micro-moments were fully done justice, and it only ended up reading like a poorly abridged version of a potential masterpiece.

For that, I give this book 2.5 stars. I can definitely see where it was headed, but because the author never gives you a moment to fully sink your teeth into this narrative, I couldn't relish it to its fullest potential. Bit of a shame really.

An interesting twist on the leprechaun mythos and a couple of relatable characters really made this book for me. It was a different take on leprechauns than I had previously seen and it really worked. The first half learning all about the backstory and the world building really worked for me though I would have been more interested in Eve’s version. It was really intriguing to see the political maneuvers and the basic back stabbings of that world. If the story had continued like that it would have been great. I made it halfway expecting this kid to find his place and finally accept himself instead Part 2 happened.
The second half threw me. It felt jumbled and not really fitting with the back of the book or even the front half of the book. It’s hard to really sink into a book that tries so hard to throw you. Between the shift in location and time to the really unnecessary love story I lost interest in the characters. I kept hoping that the end would save the story but for me, I would say it’s a quick read and it isn’t a bad read. It just isn’t a book that I would reread in a hurry. It might really work for some readers and I won’t judge you for that. It just isn’t for me.

*I received a free copy of this ebook through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.*

2.5 stars.

There wasn’t necessarily anything wrong with this book, I just couldn’t get into it. All that time that passed from start to finish? Yeah, I kind of felt like that’s how long it took me to read The Gold-Son. I found myself rushing through it so I could be done. It’s a shame actually because the idea behind it is interesting. It just wasn’t my style of writing, I guess.

Eve and Tommin were all right. They each had interesting aspects that set them aside from the rest of the Leprechauns. Tommin, though compelled to thievery, loathed doing it. Eve, as the only female, appeared to have some different advantages and limitations from the others. But to be honest, neither of them really captured my interest. In addition, the love story didn’t feel very well developed to me, either. Sure, they had ample time, but it was as if by merely being in proximity to each other, they fell in love. I dunno.

Note: Nothing bad.

I enjoyed this at first, but soon the story dragged and it become too long. After the 55% mark, I just skim read the rest of the story. I love the fairytale-like writing style and description of the leperchauns world.

I love how Eve is more dominant than Tommin, and even though he was "the promising one", Eve turned out to be the smarter and more powerful between the two of them. The romance was unecessary though.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for sending me a digital ARC of “The Gold-Son” by Carrie Anne Noble. I was not sure what expect when I started this story but I was blown away. The writing style is fluid and quite interesting. The plot is original but not so much that it is off putting. I enjoyed this story and think that other fantasy YA readers will like it as well.

The Gold-Son by Carrie Anne Noble is charming and delightful. The Gold-Son reads a lot like a fiary tale story with a bit of a modern twist. This story has a great folk lore presence. I enjoyed the characters a lot.

Tommin Kelly is always wanting to steal things. He doesn’t understand why. If only he knew his heritage. IT is hard when you don’t know the truth about who you are and where you come from. This is what Tommin had to deal with all the time.

Carrie Anne Noble brings a beautiful story to her readers. As a reader I was introduced to selfish and greedy characters that caused plenty of mischief. Not only do we get to learn about these characters, we are taken on an adventure to fight a curse.

I really enjoyed this book. The Gold-Son is a delightful story and it is quite different than anything else that I’ve read. Check this story out and be prepared to be charmed.

Written as if it were a fairytale, The Gold-Son encompasses all the things that make a fairytale something beloved. It's easy to read and enjoyable most of the way through, A story about Leprechauns is completely unique in the YA Fantasy market and definitely takes all these old ideas about the mythical species and making this something new and yet familiar.

There were only two downsides - the tropes of the romance and the fact that the main character, Tommin, shouldn't have been the main character. He has a split POV with Eve, who by far steals the show but it's clear the focus is on Tommin, and it just shouldn't have been. Eve is strong and powerful, determined and has all these real character arcs that are far more interesting to follow than our leading man.

Despite this, if you want something new and simple and fairy tale inspired, this is a book that is worth you trying.

I received an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. I really wanted to like it. The cover is gorgeous and the description great. Seemed like it would be a fun read.

For starters, the story should have been centered around Eve instead of Tommin. He never changes or takes initiative and feels very flat. He's driven by his curse throughout the story and is nothing but a naive follower. Eve is much more interesting, does all the planning, leg work, and saving, and IMO has a much more interesting story that we hardly get to hear about. The book shifts in perspective between the two of them, written in third person.

With the magical, mysterious beginning of the book, I fully expected to love the whole story. Noble does an amazing job of describing nature and settings in the first half of the book. She has some really beautiful lines. But the characterization is sorely lacking.

The first thing that bothered me about The Gold-Son was that after meeting Eve twice for less than ten minutes, and hardly communicating with her because she doesn't speak, we get this line: "Strange as it was after knowing her such a short time, he thought he might miss her a little." He didn't know her "a short time;" he DIDN'T know her at all. His attraction to her makes absolutely no sense. From there, I continued to see how Noble relies on telling rather than showing in her writing.

Down in the Neathlands, certain death or a harsh beating loom over Tommin and Eve's heads to keep them in check, but neither of them really seems scared. Their fear doesn't come off the page at all. So I was never afraid for them, and sure enough, neither of them died or got beaten to a pulp. The story was interesting enough, but it felt like it was passing by before me. I never really felt connected to it or drawn in.

When something exciting actually happens halfway through the book, we get the best examples of Noble's failings in this regard. The narrative devolves into a 'this happened, and then this happened.' Literally going "And then" or ", and then" several times. At the outbreak of the excitement, the only clue about how Tommin is reacting emotionally or physically is summed up in a single line: "Heart pounding with terror, he ducked down behind the table and then peered over the edge at the Great himself." Seriously. That's it. AND "and then" is in the sentence. So while the action should be exciting, I again, didn't really care because Tommin doesn't seem to. Oh, but a few lines down we get a great description of how the cats are handling the situation: "Cats hissed and howled and scrambled between legs and out the narrow windows." They seem more scared than Tommin.

The first half of the book was a 3-4 star read. But then Part two happens, and it gets terrible. From chapter 37, the story jumps to chapter 1, restarting. So from 56% through 67% of the book, I was screaming inside, "why is this not two separate books?!?!" There is a major disconnect from the first half of the book, and the narrative wanders with absolutely no direction. I had no idea where it was going. Looking back, that section needs to be a whole lot shorter. The return of another character should happen sooner too to help the reader feel like the whole thing is still one story sooner.

The next section of the story is the greatest. From around 70-81%, it's a five star read. The characterization is wonderful.

Then the climax (sort of) begins with Tommin proving himself to be a naive idiot who is incapable of change, growth, or taking action for himself. From there, the problems begin.

There are a lot of minor problems throughout the book. I could make a list, a large list. But aside from spoilers, it feels very nitpicky to do so. Just trust me that several things stick out, making you furrow your brow, roll your eyes, or groan in annoyance. The worst of them hit after the exciting events at the halfway mark and surrounding the climax (so sprinkled throughout the story but mostly from 50-67% and 81%-the end). Things either don't make sense, are inconsistent, too convenient, or not explained well enough. All these little things pretty much ruined the climax and resolution.

Another thing that ruined the climax was the odd pause right in the middle of it. Seemed like a complete waste of time and was very frustrating. After the climax, the narrative gets insanely cheesy and is full of awkward 'explaining' conversations. As I said before, Tommin gets saved at the end. I really don't understand why the story is focused on him at all. He doesn't do anything exciting in book other than steal.

Overall, a disappointing read. The story has/had a lot of potential, but Noble failed to deliver it well.

I had a lot of love for this book. Tommin made for an endearing, bumbling protagonist, and I found myself rooting for him even while I wanted to pull out his hair. Eve was a great foil and I liked getting to see things from her perspective, too. I loved the dark atmosphere of the underground world, and the mind-games those below played on their captives. It put me in mind of THE PERILOUS GARD in all the best ways!

There were a few tiny plotholes here and there, but I enjoyed the journey so much I didn't really mind. Would definitely recommend to fairytale lovers who like the tricky, darker tint of classic legends.

I loved this YA novel! It was such a great read, I really struggled to put it down. I enjoyed the leprechaun fantasy, definitely shaking up YA's MO right now. I highly suggest this to folklore and fantasy lovers.

I really enjoyed this tale of a teenage boy who learns he was, at birth, destined to become a Leprechaun. We follow him as he tries to balance his two sides and determine what kind of person he is and what kind of life he wants to have. Well told, this is a nice YA book. Part folk tale, there is romance, though sedate. A nice read.