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mykingdomforabookworthreading's review against another edition
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape and Violence
erynelle's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual content, Slavery, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, and Alcohol
viselik's review against another edition
dark
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
The book does have its issues, and I think if you know what you are getting into it's fine. But please read the content warning, this book is definitely not alright for younger readers who don't know what they are getting into!
The first time I read this I did not know it had the content in it that it did due to me skipping over the content warning and I finished the book feeling like I had missed something and felt icky. I only figured it out once I read the content warning that I had accidentally skipped and reread the book that it clicked what had actually happened, it wasn't what I expected and made me like the book a whole lot more than I originally did.
Edit 22/07/24: I have now read this three times, my most recent is to prepare for the release of Goldfinch, and I deeply enjoyed it. I think now, the first time I read this book, I may have been a slight bit too young as I didn't grasp the subject matter as well, but this time, I understood it a lot better. I still do feel this book can get a slight bit boring at times but I am highly excited to continue to read the series to prepare for Goldfinch's release.
I did find the whole first face-to-face talk with Rip a bit annoying this time, but I think it's more just I felt like I have read a similar thing over and over again by now. This is more a romance/romantasy issue I have though in general not just with this book.
Midus I feel like he was done well for what he is in the story, we can see the twisted perspective that Auren has of him and how it is slightly warped by the end of this book. We see some glimpses behind the mask and I deeply liked those moments where we get to see how he truly is.
The first time I read this I did not know it had the content in it that it did due to me skipping over the content warning and I finished the book feeling like I had missed something and felt icky. I only figured it out once I read the content warning that I had accidentally skipped and reread the book that it clicked what had actually happened, it wasn't what I expected and made me like the book a whole lot more than I originally did.
Edit 22/07/24: I have now read this three times, my most recent is to prepare for the release of Goldfinch, and I deeply enjoyed it. I think now, the first time I read this book, I may have been a slight bit too young as I didn't grasp the subject matter as well, but this time, I understood it a lot better. I still do feel this book can get a slight bit boring at times but I am highly excited to continue to read the series to prepare for Goldfinch's release.
I did find the whole first face-to-face talk with Rip a bit annoying this time, but I think it's more just I felt like I have read a similar thing over and over again by now. This is more a romance/romantasy issue I have though in general not just with this book.
Midus I feel like he was done well for what he is in the story, we can see the twisted perspective that Auren has of him and how it is slightly warped by the end of this book. We see some glimpses behind the mask and I deeply liked those moments where we get to see how he truly is.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Gore, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Kidnapping, Murder, Sexual harassment, War, and Classism
Moderate: Trafficking
Minor: Animal death and Slavery
queer_bookwyrm's review against another edition
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
3 ⭐ CW: Violence, sexual content, emotional manipulation, rape/sexual violence, blood, death
Gild by Raven Kennedy is book one in the Plated Prisoner series. I bought the first two books in this series in an effort to support this indie author when Amazon was giving her trouble, so I didn't really know much going into it other than it was a King Midas retelling. This was not for me. I finished it, but I won't be finishing the series.
We follow Auren, a gilded girl and favored 'saddle' of King Midas. She literally lives in a gilded cage, and is at the beck and call of the king. It was bold of the author to open the book with a full on orgy with our MC watching. Auren is in love with the king, who saved her from a wretched life, but she has no freedom or autonomy of her own, and is used as a pawn in his political scheming. After ten years of never leaving her cage, King Midas sends for her in another kingdom, and she finally gets to be outside. Unfortunately, for her and the rest of the saddles, bad things happen.
For a book of this length, nothing much really happens. The plot is kind of meandering and doesn't seem to have a central thread. Auren is plucky, but ultimately pretty one dimensional. I kept waiting for her to realize that Midas is not the good guy. There is a lot of power and control happening along with some hypocritical shit. Midas claims to want to stop a flesh trader, while at the same time owning men and women to be his sex slaves. It just really felt like we were meant to see Midas as the strong romantic type, but he just grossed me out. Every single man (apart from two) are the most disgusting misogynistic beasts I've ever read.
There is an unnecessary amount of violence and sexual violence. The world building was a bit lacking, and then suddenly there are fae? The concept of Auren being golden along with her ribbons was interesting, but it's not enough to hold my interest.
Gild by Raven Kennedy is book one in the Plated Prisoner series. I bought the first two books in this series in an effort to support this indie author when Amazon was giving her trouble, so I didn't really know much going into it other than it was a King Midas retelling. This was not for me. I finished it, but I won't be finishing the series.
We follow Auren, a gilded girl and favored 'saddle' of King Midas. She literally lives in a gilded cage, and is at the beck and call of the king. It was bold of the author to open the book with a full on orgy with our MC watching. Auren is in love with the king, who saved her from a wretched life, but she has no freedom or autonomy of her own, and is used as a pawn in his political scheming. After ten years of never leaving her cage, King Midas sends for her in another kingdom, and she finally gets to be outside. Unfortunately, for her and the rest of the saddles, bad things happen.
For a book of this length, nothing much really happens. The plot is kind of meandering and doesn't seem to have a central thread. Auren is plucky, but ultimately pretty one dimensional. I kept waiting for her to realize that Midas is not the good guy. There is a lot of power and control happening along with some hypocritical shit. Midas claims to want to stop a flesh trader, while at the same time owning men and women to be his sex slaves. It just really felt like we were meant to see Midas as the strong romantic type, but he just grossed me out. Every single man (apart from two) are the most disgusting misogynistic beasts I've ever read.
There is an unnecessary amount of violence and sexual violence. The world building was a bit lacking, and then suddenly there are fae? The concept of Auren being golden along with her ribbons was interesting, but it's not enough to hold my interest.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Rape, Sexual violence, Violence, and Blood
annikenr's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Violence, and Murder
Moderate: Death, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Physical abuse, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Toxic relationship, Vomit, and War
peachtess's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Check the trigger warnings before reading. Interesting world building.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Slavery, and Violence
Minor: Child abuse and Trafficking
liv_182's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Bullying, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, and Sexual harassment
thelibraryofjen's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Gild - Raven Kennedy
BOOK ONE of The Plated Prisoner Series
Synopsis ~~
I picked this book right when I bought it because I was just so excited. This story is a King Midas retelling, with a much darker twist. We follow our main character Auren who has been caged up in the castle for over 10+ years. She is King Midas favored and we know why he is her favorite because she is completely gold.
Now for the things I didn’t like about this story is how late we meet the love interest. I was told this was a spicy romantasy and I just didn’t get that vibe at all. So if you go in expecting spicy scenes you will be disappointed. This story read more as a prequel book than has the first in a series. Be warned that there is a lot of grape scenes and the FMC has Stockholm syndrome so the choices and things she says can be a little weird for us, but for her that is all she knows.
The things i enjoyed is the pacing of this book it was really good to follow along too. This book I would say is more character driven than plot, but the plot that is in their is good there’s just way more character development. I really enjoyed the ending and how it left us on a cliff hanger. I also really enjoyed how Auren’s character transformed, she isn’t a scared girl anymore. She has so much potential and I really hope the author does her character justice in the later books. I also enjoyed her relationship with her royal guard that was a cute daughter/father relationship. It was so sad when Sail died, I rarely cry to books but that made me tear up a bit. The author’s writing was really captivating and made me keep reading. People have complained that this story doesn’t feel like an adult fantasy but for me it really did.
If you love:
⚜️ Fae
⚜️ Mythical Creatures
⚜️ King Midas Retelling
⚜️ Abused FMC
⚜️ Fantasy
⚜️ Magical Powers
⚜️ Character development for FMC
⚜️ War
⚜️ Character/Plot driven story
Genre/Type: Adult Fantasy, Romance (very little)
Format: Physical Book (462 pages)
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.⭐️ (4.5)
Spice: NONE (THERE IS GRAPE 🍇)
Series or Standalone: First in a Series
CHECK TRIGGER WARNINGS ⚠️⚠️‼️‼️‼️
TikTok: @j3nslibrary_
Amazon: Jenesis
TikTok: @j3nslibrary_
Amazon: Jenesis
Content Warnings
Graphic: Chronic illness, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Violence, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, War, and Injury/Injury detail
#AbusedFMC #MagicalCreatures #Characterdevelopment #MagicalPowers #Retellingtatyadevotchka's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Violence, Kidnapping, and Gaslighting
beckyremillard's review
dark
tense
medium-paced
- 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
4.0
Quick read. Really wasn’t sure about the gilded woman with prehensile ribbons coming out of her back but definitely an intriguing story and I will continue.
Check trigger warnings for sure; it’s very dark.
Check trigger warnings for sure; it’s very dark.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Minor: Animal death