A review by karly_rose_reads
A Touch Of Gold And Madness by K.L. DeVore

adventurous challenging dark emotional inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

A Touch of Gold and Madness is a criminally under-hyped dark fantasy romance. I could not put this book down, and the ending left me looking like this: 🤯

Quick blurb:
Two magic wielding species—the Kinetics and Elementals—and humans are at war in this post-apocalyptic world. Gray, the Kinetic princess is out for revenge against the Elemental prince because he killed her first love. After Grey fails an assassination attempt on the prince, she ends up on the run when her father, the King tries to assassinate her for this failure. Griffin, the Elemental prince wants the Kinetic King dead and Gray in his hands. The problem is, he's losing his sanity Jekyll/Hyde style.

This book has intricate but digestible world building, a unique magic system, a feisty FMC, a tormented MMC, and plot twists galore. It covers a lot of dark themes, so please read the TW ⚠️ 

What to expect:
⚡ Dark fantasy romance series (incomplete)
đź–¤ 1st person, dual POV
⚡ Post-apocalyptic, dystopian world
đź–¤ Vengeful princess assassin
⚡ Tortured, villainous prince
đź–¤ Secrets, twists & betrayal
⚡ Slow burn & open door spice (not a ton)
đź–¤ Found family, fated mates, touch her & đź’€
⚡ Trauma rep

This book is available on KU for my fellow subscribers. It's also on audiobook, which I HIGHLY recommend. The dual narration is fantastic.

An incredible read and even more impressive that this is the author's debut novel. I can't wait for the prequel to come out in November 2024 and book 2 to come out in 2025 (especially after that cliffhanger!!).