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dealfea's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal death, Bullying, Confinement, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Violence, Blood, Trafficking, Murder, Alcohol, and Classism
Moderate: Animal death, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Slavery, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, and Abandonment
booshort's review against another edition
I then VERY VAGUELY skimmed the rest of the book. By that, I mean I searched up summaries, reviews, and recaps and then did not regret sticking this one out.
I think this book has the most serious trigger warnings I’ve read (/skimmed). TW FOR DESCRIPTIVE RAPE SCENE. Ya I’m good with avoiding that thanks. I found the writing very juvenile to an almost mocking degree. It sometimes came off more satirical of a dark fantasy romance, rather than and *actual* dark fantasy romance.
I’ve heard each book gets better; I might continue, I might not. But I know for sure I won’t continue any time soon.
Graphic: Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Infidelity, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Violence, Murder, Lesbophobia, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Body shaming, Child abuse, Blood, Trafficking, Death of parent, and Abandonment
filipa_maia's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I do appreciate this other side of the story. This is not King Midas' story (the one that everyone knows), it's someone else's... someone very important that stays in the shadows. Also, I very much enjoyed all this mystery around Auren, there is an aura of secrets involving her that kept me very focus till the end. Solving this mystery is exactly one of the things that is going to make me read the second book.
On a less positive note, this book is very hard to read: maybe I was distracted or maybe the trigger warnings weren't enough... I almost quit reading this book. Several times. I understand that women weren't seen as people, especially these women being King Midas' harem... but there is a less brutal way of describing some scenes. Honestly, the excessive use of some words were not to emphasise the narrative, but just to trigger the reader.
Graphic: Bullying, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Trafficking, Grief, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Infidelity, Death of parent, Alcohol, and War
Minor: Excrement and Vomit
missgarceau's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
Spice: 🔥🔥🔥
I couldn’t put this down from start to finish.
Although it felt somewhat predictable, I found myself not anticipating major plot twists.
This is not a “happy” retelling, and deals with dark & difficult topics. Please be advised.
However, I found the world, characters, and plot absolutely riveting.
This ends on a cliffhanger, is an unfinished series, but the final book is scheduled to be released this year.
Graphic: Alcoholism, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Hate crime, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Blood, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Sexual harassment, War, and Classism
Moderate: Alcoholism, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Hate crime, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Blood, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Dysphoria, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, and Deportation
jadie_berg's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Rape, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, Murder, and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Infertility, Infidelity, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and War
midnacine's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Kidnapping, and Murder
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Sexual content, Blood, Grief, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Minor: Animal death, Trafficking, Death of parent, and War
mspilesofpaper's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
1.0
Did I feel sorry for her and the other "saddles" (I still wonder why saddle when nothing else has to do with horses or riding in Midas' kingdom.)? Yes. Was I still absolutely annoyed by them? Hell yes.
After 80% something happens because the Love Interest appears and of course he’s fae. Why is every dude in a fantasy novel a fae nowadays?
Also, it’s rather blatant that it isn’t Midas who holds the power over the gold but Auren. I mean the girl is already named after the chemical symbol for gold (au).
Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Excrement, Trafficking, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Animal death, Death, and Death of parent
micaelamariem's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Graphic: Bullying, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Gore, Infidelity, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Murder, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Alcoholism and Grief
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Infertility, Death of parent, and Colonisation
midnacine's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
When I first started reading this I thought Auren, the main character, was annoying and a little stupid. I felt like stuff just happened around her and it didn't make sense for the book to be written from her perspective. I had to continuously remind myself she had been through traumatic events and was clinging to any source of safety she could find- as someone who's been in abusive situations, this part really hit home.
Then in the final third, she starts becoming proactive instead of reactive, and all of the world and character building from the first two thirds build up to have you root for Auren to grow.
If this was a hard read for you, know that the second and third books are so much better, but it is important for you to read this before those so you have a more comprehensive understanding of Auren's inner turmoil. Trust me, just keep reading and you'll fall in love like I did.
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Kidnapping, and Murder
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Kidnapping, Grief, and Gaslighting
Minor: Child abuse, Trafficking, and Death of parent
jamiebrito's review against another edition
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Emotional abuse, Gore, Infidelity, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Trafficking, Murder, Sexual harassment, and War
Moderate: Death of parent and Abandonment