Aurora's Gold (Aurora, #1) by K.J. Gillenwater

Aurora's Gold (Aurora, #1) Reviews

• 
  theliterateleprechaun

  “My whole life in Nome had been a lie, and I’d bought it hook, line and sinker.”
  
  Author K.J. Gillenwater capably put me in the mind of a dredger, placed me on the Alaska Darling and showed me the high-stakes world of underwater dredge mining in the small town of Nome, Alaska.
  
  Aurora ‘Rory’ Darling is the only female dredge operator to ever work the Sound. She owns the ‘Alaska Darling’ and is looking for a diver so she can head out into the Bearing Strait. When Ben Abel agrees to work for her, he has no idea what he’s getting into - not only has he not used to Alaska weather, he’s never dredged before and he is unaware of Rory’s family dynamics and relationship turmoil. So, why does he agree? This mysterious man has just arrived in Nome that morning, he needs money and feels his qualifications speak for themselves; he’s been a navy diver for 8 years. When these two head out on the boat alone, sparks fly.
  
  Gillenwater reveals that dredging relies on teamwork; one dredger and one tender. Trust is paramount because the person underwater relies on the person on the boat to keep them safe while diving. When the shift is over, there’s still work to be done when the boat docks. You’ll read about the spiral wheel concentrator, the trommel and the sluice as well as cleaning out the mats. I was amazed at the skill and effort needed, the aggressive tactics of the competitors, and the blatant jealousy that still arises in a town with so little to offer, as much as the facts the author shared about gold.
  
  I loved learning about Nome. I’ve been to Whittier several times and thought it was the end of the world. I can’t imagine the desolation of somewhere 1000 km NW of Whittier! The city is almost a character unto itself. Intriguing. I know that Alaska is a great place to go if you don’t want to be found, so I was hesitant of Ben and what he was hiding. The mystery was compelling and the dredging operation informative. I can’t wait for book 2.
  
  The theme of this book is ambition and what we’ll push aside in our clamber to achieve. It’s also about trust, deception, betrayal, being the victim of someone’s lies, and the need to believe in oneself.
  
  
  
• 
  Jessica Mitchell

  I love a good woman's adventure. The plot was good and the adventure from point A to B was great. The characters were all written out good too.
  Aurora aka Rory has grown up in Nome since she found out about her real dad. And lived the life of a dredger. Always looking out for the next mother load. But what happens when your father gets hurt on the job. He's hospitalized and your in need of a diver? Or the business will turn sunny side up with humiliation. She's a woman in a man's world. Will she get the job done or will she fail...
• 
  K.J. Gillenwater

  Fans of Bering Sea Gold, Gold Rush, Life Below Zero, and other Alaska reality TV shows would love this 5-star action-adventure romance!
  
  My husband encouraged me to write this book due to my enthusiasm for the show "Bering Sea Gold." Not only does this reality TV show have great characters, the risk to those who take on underwater dredge mining in the Bering Sea creates a perfect setting for an action-packed, suspenseful story.
  
  If you know nothing about underwater dredge mining, you will learn a lot as you follow the story of Aurora "Rory" Darling and her newest diver, Benjamin Abel.
• 
  Denise

  This was the first time I came across this author with her novel calling my name. I have been devouring alot of thrillers and such, suspense and mysteries inbetween other stuff. I also know this one was able to hold a reader's interest on many levels. How many books have you read with a female dredge owner? Aurora holds her own in this along with Ben whom has his own colorful background. Some of that being a mystery that will call your name. Where their is gold you know what follows-greed and followed by deceit. This will speed up in places but it will be filled with danger and followed with some romance also. Big picture of how trust must come to work in this along with that love. This certainly had the power to keep a reader in the depths of this one.
• 
  Cath

  This is a book straight out of the pages of the TV program Gold Divers, where people use dredging platforms to try and dive for gold off the coast of Nome, Alaska, no matter what the weather is, whether it be in the winter, under feet of ice, or in the short summer season, still in freezing waters. This book follows the main character, Aurora ‘Rory’ Darling as she has to take over the running of the family dredge, when her father has an accident whilst diving for gold and ends up having to be flown to Anchorage, with a serious heart attack. Until last week, she worked on the dredge with her father and Kyle, who was also her boyfriend.
  
  Her father and Kyle went off without her that fateful day and she somehow blames Kyle for what happened that day. Rory said some hurtful things in anger, but also partly true, which can’t be taken back and have left her without another person, especially a diver to help her run the dredge and pay the bills. And now she has loads of extra bills to pay for her father’s hospital stay and a possible operation and then recovery time. She needs a new diver and ends up trawling around the local bars to see if she can find one. Rory is the only female dredge owner in the area and she has a hard time getting locals to take her seriously.
  
  She also has problems with a man called Nate, who until last year had worked on their dredge for some twenty years. But as she grew up from twelve years old into a young woman, his behaviour and language became somewhat inappropriate and he was fired after treating her badly. He knows she is without her father’s protection and he is trying to get money off her, supposedly for his share of the family’s business. Rory lucks out and finds a former Navy diver in the bar, who has just been flown in and is looking for work. He looks somewhat scruffy and overbearing, but Ben Abel is the only chance she has to get back to work.
  
  Ben keeps most of his business private, but Rory finds herself falling for him when he helps to save her from a couple of dangerous events. He is a quick learner and soon finds the gold without much assistance. Her one female friend, who works in the local diner, looks up Ben’s details online and finds he is on the run from the law, something a lot of people that have ended up in the wilds of Alaska, also have in common. Rory has started to trust Ben and needs to rely on him to get on the gold, in order to pay off her huge bills and her dad’s medical bills, because the gold diving season is almost over.
  
  Gold has a strange hold over people and can easily make best friends into violent enemies, as trust can fly out the window when gold fever hits. Competition for the best spots in the open waters outside Nome are being fought over and some don’t work with the same standards of first come first on the gold, common behaviour guidelines most gold divers abide by. Danger is mounting as one man in particular makes life extremely stressful and another who uses her good fortune one day, to then take her spot the next and push into her territory. People she should be able to trust, are now driven by their own needs for money, gold and what they see as what they deserve!
  
  A very realistic book, true to the programs many will be familiar with if you watch any of the Alaska programs on this subject. Adding in a touch of romance, but also a young woman fighting to prove her worth in a male oriented world, makes the book an interesting read. Rory is on a roller coaster of emotions and stress, trying to do her normal job and now her father’s as well, break in a new diver, try to succeed and get on the gold, otherwise she will have to sell her father’s only method of income and become desolate. The people she should be able to trust are not showing themselves as being very trustworthy and she will get a few surprises from those closest to her. And not in a good way!
  
  This book brought to life all the images I have from watching Gold Divers and other programs about Alaska and the harsh life it can be. Rory does an amazing job, getting a new diver, doing all the jobs her father and Kyle used to do and also working really hard to do her all to make things work. Being so far away from her father, who she only met when she was twelve, is difficult and places all the stress of making money on her shoulders. A very realistic storyline, with a very strong main character and an enigmatic new partner in work and love. An enjoyable read made more so, since I could relate to the story having seen some of the real life stories shown on TV. I received an ARC copy of this book from BookSprout and I have freely given my own opinion of the book above.
  
• 
  J.P. Choquette

  There were several things that made this book a 5-star read for me:
  
  1) Setting: I love, love, love anything set in Alaska.
  
  2) The heroine of the book, Aurora Darling, is the first female gold dredger in the state. She is young, impulsive, and hard--on herself and others--and it's interesting seeing how she changes and grows throughout the novel.
  
  3) Many fiction readers love learning real information in the form of a novel. K.J. did an excellent job with this. Aurora shows you how dredging works, the various points of danger and complications that can occur, and the importance of knowing what you're doing. The author does this seamlessly though, so it doesn't feel like you're reading a textbook, but rather that a close friend is filling you in on her unusual job duties.
  
  4) The writing--I know this one is obvious, but really great writing isn't always something I come across in new-to-me authors. I could tell before reading her bio that K.J. had either gotten her degree in English and/or worked as a journalist/professional writer. And I was right on both counts!
  
  Great pacing, fantastic characters, enough questions, and concerns to keep you engaged. This is a book I'll be recommending to other adventure/outdoorsy nature-lovers like myself who also love mystery with a little romance in the mix.
• 
  Melanie S

  The real treasure
  
  Aurora (Rory) Darling is the daughter of a mother who abandoned her, and a dredge gold miner in Nome, Alaska. Stubborn, untrusting oof anyone but her father, she takes over the mining operation when he suffers a life-threatening accident. She's done with her old boyfriend, she's done with her father's former partner, she won't listen to her stepfather or half sister when they tell her to give it up, and the pile of back bills, medical bills, and business expenses grows... At the nth hour she finds a diver- Ben - and they start dredging for gold. But the old partner harasses her for money he claims her dad owes him. The former boyfriend is acting strange. Ben becomes the voice of reason, the helping hand, the other half of her team. Then Rory discovers Ben is a wanted fugitive. Who can Rory trust? A circle of threats closes around her and the mining operation, and Rory has to learn how to believe in her self and make her own dreams. Moderately suspenseful, and slightly steamy, but it's Rory's inner journey that takes center stage in this in this complex tale of finding 'true North'. This is a voluntary ARC review.
• 
  Cheryl

  Dredge mining in Nome, Alaska
  
  Rory Darling is the only female gold dredge operator/diver in the Bering Sea outside Nome, Alaska. After her father ends up in the hospital she needs help...fast. So she ends up hiring ex-Navy diver Ben Abel who just flew into town.
  
  He ends up learning quickly and maybe this season won't be a total loss. But they end up fighting other dredgers and Ben's mysterious past as they work feverishly to dredge while the weather is still tolerable.
  
  I liked all the different characters in this book. I also liked learning about the dredging history and about Nome. I've been to Alaska but never that far north.
  
  This was a quick, interesting, fun read and I enjoyed it.
  
  I received this book from the author through Net Galley in the hopes that I would read it and leave an unbiased review.
• 
  Isis Ray-sisco

  I enjoyed this story. I liked the plot and the characters (with the exception of a couple of them). I liked that Aurora was independent and smart. She still had her flaws especially for the people in her life that she had a blind spot for. I liked the interaction between her and Ben. His backstory was interesting as well. There were twists within the plot that were easy to guess but the story was still a great one to read. I have not read this author before but I would read another book by them anytime.
• 
  Christine Woinich

  This was an interesting story. It was heavy with description and explanation how gold mining in Nome was done. I loved that Rory was determined to be the best despite the danger and attitudes around her. She was so confident until things changed and that danger got to her. Ben was such a strong, silent, brooding type that had a soft spot for Rory and her plans. As things escalated toward the end of the book, I had tears in my eyes as Rory's pain was well written. I enjoyed this story and recommend it.
  
  I received a copy through CBR Services, and this is my unsolicited review.
• 
  Annette

  Very strong female character. Entertaining and detailed account of dredging business, it is so well described that I felt like I was underwater. Rory has some maturing to do in relationships and her stubbornness works for and against her. Ben is a mystery, strong silent type but importantly very dependable. Enjoyed the ride as they iron out the wrinkles in their search for pure gold. I received a free copy without obligation and am voluntarily reviewing.
• 
  Barbara

  Aurora's Gold grabbed my interest from the start and did not let go until I was finished reading. This is a new Author to me. Aurora is a dredge operator on the Bering Sea she hires Ben, a mysterious former Navy diver. Their story has suspense, drama, danger, villains, secrets, and romance. The story was well worth reading. I received a copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review.
• 
  Doris

  Always looking for outdoor romances/romantic thrillers set in Alaska/Canada and I found another well written one 👍🏻😊
  
  I have absolutely no knowledge of dredging etc. but it was very interesting to read and I loved the characters - tough Rory and sexy Ben. ❤️ My only small complaint - I would have loved more focus on their romance. 😉
• 
  Drew

  This was one of the best books I have ever read. Twists and turns everywhere. I couldn't put it down. I highly recommend this book. Can't wait for more.