5 Star
Gold is the story of two women, Zoe and Kate, world-class cyclists who have been friends and rivals since their first day of elite training years ago. They have loved, fought, betrayed, forgiven, lost, consoled, triumphed, and grown up together. Now, on the eve of London 2012, their last Olympics, the two must compete for the one remaining spot on their team. In doing so, the women will be tested to their physical, mental and emotional limits. They will confront each other and their own mortality, and be asked to decide: What will you sacrifice for the people you love?
Kaley - 5 Star
I was pretty obsessed with the Olympics this year. I had the
TV on from when I got home from work until I went to bed and I was constantly
checking Twitter during to see the results of competitions. I was all about
London 2012 and was kind of sad when it was all over. With Chris Cleave’s novel
Gold, I was able to revisit the
excitement of the Games through the eyes of two athletes.
I honestly wasn’t sure what to expect with this novel. I knew
it was about cycling and the Olympics but that was the extent of my knowledge. The
book turned out to be about so much more than the sport. Sure, the majority of
the action took place at various velodromes and events but that’s because
racing was the most important thing in Kate and Zoe’s life. Besides, when you’re
training for the Olympics you’re obviously going to spend a lot of time racing
and training. I felt like the races helped make all of the other events feel more
action packed and more like they were racing against time. There’s a particular
part of the book almost at the end where this really comes through. The story
cuts between an actual cycling race and…something else that I won’t tell you
because I don’t want to give anything away. The point is that it’s written so
you’re almost constantly on edge. Who will win? What will happen? It’s almost
as if the adrenaline felt by Kate and Zoe, in particular, is coming right
through the pages.
The thing I loved most about this novel was that there were
so many secrets cleverly hidden in the lives of all the characters. Not just
Kate and Zoe, but with Jack and Tom as well. I like to think that I’m pretty
smart and there have been more than one occasion where I have figured out plot
twists to books, TV shows, or movies. I didn’t find that to be the case with Gold. I kept thinking about what might
happen and while I got close a few times, I was never absolutely correct. It would
have been frustrating to have all these secrets that I knew were just waiting
to come out if I didn’t know that Cleave would reveal them when they were meant
to be revealed.
I was much more emotionally involved in Gold than I thought I would be and I loved that. I think Chris
Cleave has written a fabulous novel and I highly recommend it.
Connect with Chris Cleave here:
Website
Facebook for USA
Facebook for UK
I loved this book and thought it was just as fantastic as you did. I would definitely give it 5 stars. Chris Cleave just really knocked it out of the park with this one. Absolutely loved it and I'm glad you did, too ;)
ReplyDelete