Title: The Golden Locket
Author: Primula Bond
Publisher/Year: HarperCollins UK 5/6/14
Length:  400 pages
Series:  Unbreakable Trilogy #2

Overview

Temptation would test them…

The second novel in the Unbreakable Trilogy, The Golden Locket follows Gustav and Serena to New York.

Ensconced in their Manhattan penthouse, all seems blissfully happy for Gustav and Serena. Still in the first flush of love, they have every satisfaction they could need.

But as they enjoy their New York pleasure ground, ghosts start to emerge from Gustav’s past, and when his damaged younger brother, Pierre, comes back into his life, he brings with him a dangerous threat…

With temptation waiting at every turn, can Gustav and Serena survive all the excitement that the Big Apple holds?

My Thoughts

so, after reading the introduction of the tale of Serena and Gustav, I had such high hopes on what could become of them since there’s so much anxiety and animosity running through the relationships.  we were left on such a cliff hanger, learning that Polly’s boyfriend is none other than Gustav’s estranged brother…and all hell breaks loose.

Fast forward just a short bit, and we are now in NYC where Gustav and Serena have relocated.  Gustav is using some of his connections to get Serena some work, and she builds a name for herself not just as a voyeur photog, but as one that acts on it a bit as well.  That’s a big change from the naive little girl that we met in the first book and we’re starting to see that she’s not only becoming a master, but is she possibly mastering Gustav?  She participates in activities with folks that a small town country girl never would think about, she becomes a temptress and seductress that men can’t avoid being drawn to her and fantasize of her…and she indulges in fantasies that were originally not her own, but have somehow become such.

Throughout this story, we get a lot of insight into various sexual experiences, which of course are all designed to test Serena and see how devoted she is to Gustav?  does she pass, does she fail?  Well, what i will say is that she takes a commission to go to Venice and Gustav does not come with her….so make your own decisions there.

In this 2nd installment, Pierre rears his ugly head towards Serena since i have a feeling that his intentions are not on the nice and innocent side.  All the while, his relationship with Polly is crumbing and that’s a story line on it’s own.  Along with that, there’s the woman that both men started their hatred of one another from, Margot, and she seems to be coming up a lot and possibly may be planning and plotting a way to come back.

I have to say though, that there’s one small thing that i really enjoyed about this book aside from seeing where the friendships, brotherhoods, and relationships go – it’s the locket itself.  All throughout the book, we’re told about this lovely gift that Gustav has given Serena, and we know that something’s inside, and i’d be lying if i didn’t say that EVERY page i kept wondering what was in it.  is it something dark that would align with the vampire esque conversations in the first book, or is it something overly anti-climactic.

So, i will have to keep my eyes open for this 3rd and final installment that’s still untitled i believe, since i have a feeling that the roller coaster that we were on so far is only just beginning.