Gild (The Plated Prisoner Series)

Rating: 4.6/5 ⭐Spice Level: 2.75/5Tropes/CW: Dark Fantasy Romance, Retelling (King Midas), Single POV, Abuse, SA, Kidnapping, Imprisonment, Misogyny, Single POVI've read this 3 times (so far), and each time I'm blown away. This is quickly becoming one of my favorite series of all time (reserving final judgment until the final book comes out). The worldbuilding, the writing, the pacing, the twists and turns are just *chef's kiss*This series does have quite a bit of abuse and trauma in it. So please read the trigger warnings before starting it just in case. I don't find the dark content to be gratuitous though, and it's well-handled and adds to the story and characters. Auren in particular experiences the majority of the abuse as the FMC and boy does she go through it.Auren is the favored, gold-touched "saddle" (a concubine with metallic gold skin/hair) for King Midas, the ruler of the 6th Kingdom, who keeps her in a golden cage that is strategically expanded throughout portions of the castle. He keeps her literally under lock and key, parading her about as needed for political purposes and as a demonstration of his power (turning things to gold).Midas has his sights set on ruling more than just 6th Kingdom and ultimately ends up needing to head for 5th kingdom, later sending for Auren and the rest of this saddles (concubines). This leads to a series of unfortunate and fortunate events that puts Auren on a journey of self-discovery and growth.The writing is phenomenal and portrays the mental side of abuse in a respectful and gritty way. There were several moments throughout where I literally stopped and said "damn, that's brilliant." The characters are all extremely well developed, even the bad guys and multiple morally gray characters. There are very explicit scenes (including the literally beginning of the book), so keep that in mind as well.If you like dark fantasy and fairy tale retellings with some unique twists and beautiful writing, please give this one a shot (while considering the trigger warnings)

This book is different. Not bad yet the jury is still out with a true verdict. 3.5 *** is what I’m feeling. For those who are avid fantasy readers, you may have liked this more than me. I’m a dark romance/mystery reader but wanted to try something different.The story begins interesting enough to keep my attention captive. The reason for 3.5 stars is it’s sooo wordy!! The constant description of what she “the favored” sees or thinks or remembers is monotonous. It gets boring. Not enough dialogue between the characters and we don’t get enough answers. I even skipped pages and it was still the same scene and conversation or thoughts in her head. BORING.The story begins with a woman who is gold. She has gold skin and hair and has “ribbons” that are whisps that grow from her spine - seems yucky and yet beautiful at the same time. Her name is Auren. She lives in a castle, inside a gold cage kept by her “savior” King Midas (the Midas touch was not lost on me. Kool and the Gangs song played on repeat in my head everytime his name came up). He found her in horrible conditions when she was only 15. She had lived an awful life on the run and being taken advantage of by men for 10 years of her young life. Midas finds her, rescues her, protects and she thinks loves her. He wasn’t a King when they first meet. However, he has some magic to turn things into gold and offers his hand in marriage to the princess of the 6th Kingdom. This hurts Auren however he promises to take her with him and keep her for himself. Ten years go by and she lives in a cage as his “favored”. The king has a harem of women he refers to as “saddles”. Auren is also considered a saddle yet she is only for the Kings pleasure, that he rarely touches.Throughout this book I keep waiting to find out who truly has the magic to turn things into gold, bc it surely isn’t the King. She clearly has untapped power she isn’t using due to her indoctrination by the king. She loves him and believes he loved her. I don’t believe he loves her at all. He manipulates her into seeing and believing something that isn’t there.The last two chapters are good. Looking forward to reading the next installment

Gild (The Plated Prisoner Series) By Raven Kennedy✨✨✨3/5📖“I’m the gold-plated prisoner. But what a pretty prison it is.”Gild by Raven Kennedy is the first installment of the Plated Prisoner Series, out of four. I was actually very hesitant to start any series, let alone this one. It seems all I’ve been reading lately is a series. I did try to venture out of my comfort of Dystopian/Post Apocalyptic books and ventured more into the fantasy genre.First off, let me start by saying this book is REALLY well written. It’s not drawn out, and there are no spelling or grammatical errors which I loved. The concept of having a golden favored of King Midas was super interesting to me. This was also my first book dealing with what one would call “smut.” While the smut was very little, it was tastefully done. When I first started reading it, I was actually kind of confused when the Author depicted her ribbons. I actually could not think of what she meant; I had to look up fan art to wrap my brain around it - so to that I say well done!This book is super interesting, and makes you think. I’m not one who really reads fantasy, but this book makes me think I will not hesitate when it comes to another. This is not a book that will capture you and have you finishing it in a day, at least not for me. The plot is amazing, the writing is amazing, it’s just lacking something - I just don’t know what!This book is a solid 3 out of 5 for me. Really well written, it’s interesting enough not to DNF, and the concepts and plot is intriguing. I’m excited for the next book!

Read this is you like- adult fantasy-retellings-character driven- world buildingThis book was 🔥I went into this book blind after being recommended by a friend and I absolutely loved it! The characters are so cool and interesting and the writing is so good! I can’t wait to read the next one!

Adorei o início dessa série, ela tem tudo pra ser muito boa… espero que os próximos fiquem melhores. Um universo interessante, no primeiro livro poucos segredos foram revelados, da pra perceber que vai ter muito plot twist nos próximos livros. O final nos deixa ansiosos pra começar o próximo, e fomos brindados com um POV diferente no final. Espero que nos próximos tenham mais, pq amo livros com perspectivas diferentes dos personagens.Amei a alusão a história do rei Midas, foge um pouco dos contos de fadas utilizados já batidos, mas esse livro tem algumas cenas com um tipo de violência e abuso que pode causar a pessoas sensíveis alguns gatilhos, se informe antes de ler, e ele é para adultos também. Estou muito empolgada e recomendo pros fãs de Sarah J Mass e Jeniffer L Armentrout, me lembrei de alguns dos seus personagens lendo a história da nossa Auren.

I’ve binged this series in a week! Couldn’t put my kindle down. If you’re into fantasy romance you won’t be disappointed. The books are impeccably written and never felt bored reading them. The world building is fantastic and the story line is unique. 10/10!

This is my new favorite book and I am so thankful to have read it. It is absolutely captivating. But it is definitely not for the fair and soft with a few very “bold” scenes. Do try to keep an open mind because believe me when I say: twists & turns will be coming in the following books. Especially regarding the romance, but I will not spoil it for you.What I especially love is that unlike most fantasies there isn’t a major “betrayal” scene as the climax of this book from the Male character like in most fantasy-romance books. Seen those done to death as the climax in most fantasies and it’s become quite predictable. But not here. Hopefully this will motivate you enough to give it a try. At least read the 1st & 2nd book to get a good glance if the books are for you.

I think it is a good book, there is a special scene that is very cruel but apart from that it is more like a world building story for the rest of the books.