Rating: ☆☆☆
Audience: Fantasy Romance
Length: 375 pages
Author: Raven Kennedy
Publisher: Self-published
Release Date: October 16th, 2020
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads
BOOK SUMMARY:
The fae abandoned this world to us. And the ones with power rule.
Gold.
Gold floors, gold walls, gold furniture, gold clothes. In Highbell, in the castle built into the frozen mountains, everything is made of gold.
Even me.
King Midas rescued me. Dug me out of the slums and placed me on a pedestal. I’m called his precious. His favored. I’m the woman he Gold-Touched to show everyone that I belong to him. To show how powerful he is. He gave me protection, and I gave him my heart. And even though I don’t leave the confines of the palace, I’m safe.
Until war comes to the kingdom and a deal is struck.
Suddenly, my trust is broken. My love is challenged. And I realize that everything I thought I knew about Midas might be wrong.
Because these bars I’m kept in, no matter how gilded, are still just a cage. But the monsters on the other side might make me wish I’d never left.
The myth of King Midas reimagined. This compelling adult fantasy series is as addictive as it is unexpected. With romance, intrigue, and danger, the gilded world of Orea will grip you from the very first page.
Please Note: This book contains explicit content and darker elements, including mature language, violence, and rape. It is not intended for anyone under 18 years of age. This is book one in a series.
I READ IT.
I feel that’s a pretty good accomplishment after it took me three tries to get here.
First and foremost: skip the first chapter. It’s not of use to the story and really turned me off. So much so it took a few friends to say consider giving it one more try. I can say I’m not upset I read it and truly do want to read book two, so that’s saying something!
I liked Auren. Not the strongest main character but there’s a lot of potential there. As the book progressed you could really see her slowly move towards independent thought and unravelling her old notions. I think Auren will only grow from here.
There is absolutely zero world building until about 80%. That’s when I FINALLY got a small glimpse of the world at large. Does it really explain the magic system? Nope. Still not sure about that one. At least the world is a touch clearer. I liked defined ideas and space in fantasies and that was missing here.
Not really any romance in this book. It’s a lot more like Stockholm syndrome. I think that’s played a big part into Auren’s character and the dynamic between her and King Midas. I like that I see potential. The ending added enough oopmh that I’m excited to see what book two holds.
Overall audience notes:
- Adult fantasy romance
- Language: strong and derogatory (a lot of the use of the word c**t)
- Romance: open door
- Trigger/Content Warnings: on page violent rape (occurs to side character), sexual assault, murder, blood depiction
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