TITLE: A Rarer Gift Than Gold
AUTHOR: Lucy Branch
SERIES: Standalone
PUBLICATION DATE: March 20 2015
PUBLISHER: Clink Street Publishing
SOURCE: Free copy in exchange for honest review
RATING: 4.5 STARS!!!

Synopsis from Amazon

Abigail Argent stands out. Some people notice that she always wears gloves and shudder when they know why. The ones who know her best notice her ability with metal. Abigail's particular talent lies in the colouring of alloys, for seeing the beauty in a plain piece of metal and being able to draw it out. Her study leads her to discover a connection between her own craft and that of her favourite childhood myth: changing lead into gold. Moving to Venice, Abigail continues to uncover more about the history of her trade while making friends, and a lover, whose lives become inextricably linked with her own. But her abilities soon peak the interests of a powerful group, determined to guard the secret that she may unwittingly expose. Delving into the deepest secrets of ancient Italy, Abigail's story will take everything you think you know about alchemy and turn it on its head.


MY REVIEW

This isn't a YA book-it's adult but it still rocked! 

I loved Abigail. She's allergic to metal and has to wear gloves but her skin still seems to be getting worse. Her passion to work with metals is so overwhelming it literally shocked me. Even though she has this allergy, she keeps working with metals, you really felt like nothing could separate her from her passion. She describes her feelings as she works and it was so interesting because i didn't even know this job existed- i know i don't have a lot of general knowledge. But it was so intriguing to find out  what her job entails and the way she spoke about it felt like she was coaxing a reaction from the metal. I would so watch a documentary on this!!

She travels to Venice for a job and she makes some friends. She starts to become kind of obsessed with finding out the secrets behind alchemy. It was a kind of creepy book especially when she researched about the priest who'd dabbled in alchemy. He believed that only special people could do it and that let Abigail on a kind of wild hunt to find out the real truth about the ability to change an object into something else.

There was romance in this book! Yay! At first i wasn't sure who she'd end up with but i think her love interest is extremely sweet and treats her like a gem. However this book is in't just about following a mystery. It's about the greed of men and to what extent they'll go only to get a nugget of gold. Abigail will have to face betrayal and the loss of a dear friend as her research drowns her deeper and deeper into a dangerous plot in Italy.

Treachery and passion. That's the two words that can describe the whole summary of the book. Lucy Branch shows us how real passion can be a danger to Abigail and all those around her! This is definitely a book that will keep you hooked in this dark conspiracy and will make you explore a world you never knew existed!