(Image from Barnes & Noble)

Note:  While this review will not contain spoilers for Into the Bright Unknown, it may inadvertently reveal plot surprises from previous novels in the Gold Seer trilogy.  As always, I recommend reading books in a series in order.

Ever since she fled her home in Georgia, life has been one big adventure for Leah "Lee" Westfall.  The 16-year-old has survived innumerable threats, accumulated more wealth than she could ever have imagined, and found a happy home among friends who feel more like family.  Now that Glory has become a more established town, Lee's ready to settle down to a simple life with her childhood best friend and husband-to-be, Jefferson Kingfisher, by her side.  Despite all the hardships she's been through, she's more content than she's ever been. 

Of course, peace can never last in the Wild West.  The riches Lee and her friends have made have attracted the attention of a greedy, unscrupulous billionaire.  While the group from Glory is in San Francisco, he keeps a sharp, suspicious eye on Lee, making her fear that he knows her secret.  With a mysterious companion whose uncanny abilities feel very familiar, James Henry Hardwick may be an even more sinister foe than Uncle Hiram.  Several of Lee's friends have troubles of their own in The Golden City.  Can the merry band survive their woes and make it back to Glory in one piece?  After more trials and tribulations than any person should ever have to encounter, will Lee finally get her happily ever after?

It's no secret that I adore the Gold Seer books by Rae Carson.  They're clean, exciting, well-crafted, and just all kinds of enjoyable.  Into the Bright Unknown, the final installment in the trilogy, is no exception.  It wraps up the series with a smashing, satisfying conclusion.  My only complaint with it is that I'm now forced to say goodbye to these characters whom I've come to love so much.  It's been a delightful ride and I cannot wait to see what Rae Carson does next.  

(Readalikes:  Walk on Earth a Stranger and Like a River Glorious, both by Rae Carson)

Grade:

If this were a movie, it would be rated:

for brief, mild language (no F-bombs), violence, scenes of peril, mild sexual innuendo, and brief, non-graphic references to prostitution and rape

To the FTC, with love:  Another library fine find