A Design of Gold

Adelaide Hills #3

by Paula Vince

After a traumatic experience, Nicola recovers by taking refuge in Casey and Piers Bowman's spare room. Jerome, Piers' son, is learning to be a young man, struggling in his quest to make a difference, with ideals of mission life from his childhood hero. Michael, a teenager who's been down all the wrong roads, is trying to follow the straight and narrow. As their lives intertwine they grow, learn about themselves and find that true discipleship starts at home. Romance and drama combine in this novel, set in Australia by Australian author Paula Vince.

Genres: Adult Fiction

242 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2009

About the author

Award-winning author Paula Vince loves to evoke tears and laughter through writing fiction. She stirs her stories with mystery, romance, drama and suspense to create something delectably special. A wife and homeschooling mother of three children, she resides in the Adelaide Hills of South Australia, a beautiful spot for inspiration with its breath-taking scenery and four distinct seasons.

Paula's quest is to provide quality faith-inspired fiction set in Australia. Her quest started way back when, as a Uni student, she discovered the writing of American Christian fiction authors. She wants to provide similar enjoyable reads that highlight her own country.

Her novel "Picking up the Pieces" won the religious fiction section of the 2011 International Book Awards.

Her novel "Best Forgotten" was winner of the 2011 CALEB Award in the fiction category and also overall winner for the year.

Her novel "Imogen's Chance" (April 2014) won third place in the Book Club Network's Readers' Choice Book of the Month Award for September, 2014.

Reviews

[Susan Barnes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Paula Vince has tackled a difficult subject in A design of gold. The death of a close friend is difficult enough but when the main character feels her actions may have contributed to her friend’s death, it is seriously complicated. Paula handles her subject matter well and the story feels realistic. Characters behaved in a way that is consistent with those suffering grief and loss.

From this tragic beginning the story develops into a slightly unconventional love story with many bumps and twists along the way. There are a number of characters in this story but I managed to keep track on them all. This is something I sometimes have trouble with because I tend to skim over descriptive passages but Paula’s characters have depth and uniqueness.

I enjoyed the way subtle life lessons were weaved into the plot. God’s plans for a person’s life often take a different path to the one we expect and this idea was well fleshed out.

Overall a good read.

[Omega Writers · Rating 4 out of 5]

From our CALEB reviewers:

When the body of Shane is found washed up on the beach, his friend Nicola had no way of knowing the depths of pain and injustice she would experience, nor the way her life was about to change.

A Design of Gold by Paula Vince is a young person’s easy to read book that holds the reader’s attention while promoting healthy Christian values. The story follows the lives of a number of young people and their families who are struggling in their own way to come to a place of peace, forgiveness and trust as they work through their grief in different ways. The reader quite often enters into their lives and sees life from another perspective. DS

[Michelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the first of Paula Vince's book that I read. It completely gripped me. I could not put this novel down. It's fast passed, intriguing and enthralling.

[Debra Clewer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Three family’s lives intersect in varying emotional ways, after a tragedy. In the centre is 22-year-old Nicola, gifted at art but suffering low self-esteem. When her best friend, Shane, mistakes their relationship for something deeper, the feelings are not reciprocal and the worst ending possible results. Wanting to start afresh, she becomes a boarder with another family, where she is welcomed. Nicola keeps her feelings close to the chest for quite some time, as she tries to process her grief. Into the mix comes Jerome, the oldest son of her host family, with whom she develops a close friendship. Jerome is struggling to find a sense of place in life. Then along comes Michael, a whirlwind who is struggling with a sense of place himself and the expectations of his family. Through several incidents, both boys have to search who they are, especially within God’s family. Jerome’s ambition and passion drive him one way, Michael’s the other. Amongst the moments of angst are those of revelation, each one discovering that the spiritual relationships that they had either taken for granted or neglected, were just there waiting for both of them to act. I am not normally a romance reader, but this one is light enough on the romantic side to let the deeper issues of faith and commitment to shine through. Just what is The Design of Gold? All is revealed at the end, particularly through a chance (?) contact. Not a heavy theological treatise but a well-written novel for deeper thinking.

[Zachary Dorward · Rating 2 out of 5]

Did not finish
When I realised that this book followed the same characters as Picking Up the Pieces, I had to stop reading. The fact that a rape survivor has married her rapist and has kids with him goes against everything that I believe in.