Reviews with content warning for Abandonment - Gilded

Reviews tagging 'Abandonment'

Gilded by Marissa Meyer

21 reviews

ambaright's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

This book truly is a Rumpelstiltskin retelling, with all of the turning straw into gold gimics. As always, Marissa Meyer puts a great twist to the original fairy tales, this time with the chemistry between Gild, the castle poltergeist, and Serilda, the protagonist. Along with the villainous Erlking, the book is full of the dark and twisted stories found in the original Grimm fairy tale.

While the book was readable, and left on a great page turner for the sequel, it was very drawn out to be 500 pages. There was a lot of fluff in the book, while medium to fast paced, that was unnecessary. I also can’t imagine how this is still ya due to how gruesome some of the descriptions are. That being said, I’m still looking forward to reading the next book in the future, maybe.

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lalabeths's review against another edition

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adventurous dark funny medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

❤️ Love ❤️
- Marissa Meyer
- retelling of folklore in new way
- gruesome / dark nature of Grimm tales is kept
- writing style
- can’t wait to read the next

🍅 Meh 🍅
- could predict parts of the book pretty easily
- the romance aspect felt very sped up
- pacing was ok

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taryn_g's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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lewnie's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2

Blessed by the god of fate, fortune, and stories, Serilda has always had a talent for telling outlandish tales. When one of her stories captures the interest of the savage Erlking and his ghastly Wild Hunt, Serilda must make her stories a reality or face death. Tasked with spinning straw into gold, Serilda makes a desperate bargain with a strange young man. But all magic has a price, and Serilda may not be ready to pay.

The good: I was so delighted by the prospect of a Rumpelstiltskin retelling and I did not expect this story to be as dark as it was, having read Meyer’s other YA. The world-building is superb and incredibly immersive. I had no problems with Serilda’s characterization. She has flaws, but she loves her family and her friends. She is also a bit of a firecracker, which is amusing and it is clear how she gets herself into trouble. Between her devotion to her loved ones and her spirited personality, I had no problems believing in her heroism. The Erlking is a terrifying villain and I really enjoyed what Meyer did with the Wild Hunt. There is horror and gore, but it isn’t incredibly off-putting.

The bad: There isn’t a lot of representation in this book. Everyone seems to be generally “tanned skinned” but not presented as people of color. The world itself is also clearly Western-based. There is one character presented as potentially bisexual, but that is not on-page nor is it confirmed by the character. The idea of bisexual or gay relationships seem to be accepted as somewhat normal, however there are no on-page same-sex relationships. That is really the biggest detractor for me in this novel.

The pregnancy at the end of the book also bothers me. I should have expected it, being a Rumpelstiltskin retelling. However it just made me a little uncomfortable. This may not bother others, and I also know that teen pregnancy is a reality that is often not addressed in other novels featuring sexual relationships.

Overall: I absolutely adore a long fantasy full of world-building and character development and at 500 pages, this is definitely a time commitment. However, I think the payoff is absolutely worthwhile. The twist on the classic Rumpelstiltskin fairytale is interesting and doesn’t feel overwrought. While I did see the twists coming, I don’t think that ruined anything about the story for me. I was invested in the characters and their stories throughout the entire novel and I will absolutely be reading the sequel. I wish there was a little more representation built into the world, though. With the darker themes and brief sexual content, I would suggest this for a little older teen audience than Meyer’s previous YA novels. I think this is a great transition for fantasy readers who are looking for something a little more ‘adult’ or adult readers looking for a less complicated fantasy read.

For fans of: Elizabeth Lim, Hafsah Faizal, Melissa Bashardoust

Rep.: off-page bisexual minor character.

CW: abandonment; abortion (mention); animal cruelty; animal death; blood; body horror; brief sexual content; cannibalism; child death; confinement; death; death of a parent; grief; gore; murder; pregnancy; torture; violence.

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greenlivingaudioworm's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious fast-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? Yes

4.0

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gracecrandall's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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trippalli's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective fast-paced

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

5.0

Brutal but beautifully written classic horror fairytale with undead, monsters, witches and faery folk, tricks and tales of love and lost worlds .. Adventures and passing through the veil with the wild hunt under the full moons... Trigger warnings: children and innocents violently killed.

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silver_valkyrie_reads's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

It took me about a hundred pages to really get into the story, but then it was very absorbing. This was the kind of story I hope for when I start a book, that pulls me in and makes me keep reading without checking how many pages are left in the book. And it even explored the nature of story itself a bit, which gave it a bit of depth I quite enjoyed.

My frustrations with the book, which kept it from quite being a five star read, were mostly with the author's worldview. Most of the magic fits into a made up, fantasy world feel that I'm fine with, but one short part of the story involves the good side using magic that both has a more 'real world' flavor, and plays with the line of of what would normally be portrayed as 'dark' magic. I also felt a lack of characters who appreciated both hard work AND stories--that shouldn't have to be an either/or. And there's a lesbian side romance shoehorned into the story.

I also didn't realize going in that there's a book two, which may well be my own fault, but definitely made the cliffhanger ending feel abrupt!

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heytherekaity's review against another edition

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adventurous dark funny 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? Yes

5.0

HELLO YES THIS WAS WONDERFUL AND FANTASTIC AND somehow I missed that it's a series?????????

Absolutely LOVED it, but was very taken aback when I got to the end and realized.... the story isn't over.

My love of fairy tale retellings is back and I am so happy that this book was perfect!

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bookishflaneur's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious fast-paced

4.5

title: Gilded

author: Marissa Meyer

my rating: ️️️️ (4.5 stars)

This book is a heartbreaking story of curses, mistakes, loss of hope and darkness. You thought fairytales were supposed to have a happy ending? Marissa Meyer will snap that thread of hope before you can say Rumplestiltskin.

I am in total admiration of the way Meyer creates her characters. I felt so connected to everybody, even the side characters, and it was so hard for me to see everything go wrong for them that it took me over a week to read this book; I didn’t want to turn the page for fear of the new challenges that arise in every single chapter.

The writing was beautiful, and perfect for a YA audience. I loved reading the stories Serilda spins throughout the book, and how the book was structured generally. We deserve a sequel please, you can’t just leave me hanging like that, even if it is by an unbreakable golden rope.

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