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caelfind's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-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? It's complicated
4.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence
Minor: Pregnancy
caroline_peacock's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Murder, Death of parent, Blood, Body horror, Gore, Grief, Cannibalism, Pregnancy, and Violence
Moderate: Vomit, Abandonment, Animal cruelty, Suicide, and Child abuse
Minor: Sexual content
stacyhowe13's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
I just felt like that was A LOT of build up and the ending is just a big cliffhanger. If you read this you just plan on reading the second one.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Sexual content, Violence, Kidnapping, Blood, Death, Death of parent, Gore, and Murder
clem9's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
sad
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
4.0
I loved this book, I don't even know how to describe how I feel.
I know it's a retelling, but I don't think I knew about it in the first place so ... Anyway, I didn't have much expectations while beigining but I was not disappointed in the least.
I think I went from every emotions possible with this book. But the last few chapters almost killed me with anticipation and I really didn't see this ending coming. I'm really excited to read book 2.
I spent my all read making theories about what could happen next or what could something, which is really exciting while reading and makes you not wan to put the book down.
Serilda was probably my fav character of the book, I love her so much, she's such a kind person and deserves so much better from the people in her town whom are such assholes to her for no reason. Also, she lost so much in this book, I seriously hope to see her getting the happy ending she deserves with Gild ;) she's very brave and doesn't hesitate to talk her mind or defend herself with her words which I admire so much. I found very interesting to realize that every stories she tells are not just stories but are in fact true.
Gild, I found him so cute and as well as Serilda, he has such a sad story. I hope to see more of him in the next book, cause I feel like we still don't know much about him. But he's so adorable.
Erlking, is such a great bad guy, cause we just hate him. There's not anything that makes us want for him to "win" or just feel bad for him (which is impossible in my opinion). Everything he did through Serilda's stories or during the present time is horrible and I hope he'll pay. If you hate him in the begining what he does to those children and him being responsible for Serilda's father's death (and probably her mother's too ? but I think we'll learn more of this in Book 2) just makes you hope for him to finally be taken by Velos (I truly hope and believe it's his end in book 2)
This first of the duology made my expectations for book 2 to be so high I hope I won't be disappointed.
I know it's a retelling, but I don't think I knew about it in the first place so ... Anyway, I didn't have much expectations while beigining but I was not disappointed in the least.
I think I went from every emotions possible with this book. But the last few chapters almost killed me with anticipation and I really didn't see this ending coming. I'm really excited to read book 2.
I spent my all read making theories about what could happen next or what could something, which is really exciting while reading and makes you not wan to put the book down.
Serilda was probably my fav character of the book, I love her so much, she's such a kind person and deserves so much better from the people in her town whom are such assholes to her for no reason. Also, she lost so much in this book, I seriously hope to see her getting the happy ending she deserves with Gild ;) she's very brave and doesn't hesitate to talk her mind or defend herself with her words which I admire so much. I found very interesting to realize that every stories she tells are not just stories but are in fact true.
Gild, I found him so cute and as well as Serilda, he has such a sad story. I hope to see more of him in the next book, cause I feel like we still don't know much about him. But he's so adorable.
Erlking, is such a great bad guy, cause we just hate him. There's not anything that makes us want for him to "win" or just feel bad for him (which is impossible in my opinion). Everything he did through Serilda's stories or during the present time is horrible and I hope he'll pay. If you hate him in the begining what he does to those children and him being responsible for Serilda's father's death (and probably her mother's too ? but I think we'll learn more of this in Book 2) just makes you hope for him to finally be taken by Velos (I truly hope and believe it's his end in book 2)
This first of the duology made my expectations for book 2 to be so high I hope I won't be disappointed.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Blood, Child death, Abortion, and Death of parent
takarakei's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
I’m not super familiar with the Rumplestiltskin fairy tale but this seemed like a fairly dark twist on the tale. I think it was a bit long and could’ve been edited down to keep it more condensed and punchy plot wise. I really enjoyed Serilda’s gift for storytelling throughout the book, but this did the whole - not a whole lot of action must be saving it all for book 2 thing
🌶️ 2.5/5 (closed door)
🌶️ 2.5/5 (closed door)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death of parent, and Death
Moderate: Blood, Animal death, Gore, Kidnapping, Murder, Pregnancy, and Violence
Minor: Abortion and Sexual content
millyfox's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Pregnancy, Violence, Blood, and Child death
Moderate: Death, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Adult/minor relationship, Death of parent, Gore, Abandonment, Confinement, Animal death, Body horror, Blood, Grief, and Pregnancy
Minor: Cannibalism, Child abuse, and Sexual content
jessyhayward's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
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
3.5
Marissa Meyer’s Gilded is a dark and intriguing retelling of Rumplestiltskin which involves gods, curses, faeries, a pinch of romance, and a young woman with a penchant for lies.
Unfortunately, I have mixed views on this book. It was pretty good, but it wasn’t great, and the story really lagged in some areas. The book didn’t actually have to be that size, especially since a lot of the story is basically an internal monologue. So yeah, the pacing was strange. Another thing that disappointed me is the lack of world-building. For such an epic fantasy, it really didn’t tell you all that much about how and where the characters lived. This made it rather vague and somewhat forgettable. It almost felt like a dream, which could’ve been the intention for all I know, but still. I also did not really buy the romance between Serilda, our main character, and her love interest. It felt flat and didn’t really connect with me much.
That being said, I read it all in one day (and sitting) so it definitely wasn’t boring. The plot, while having strange pacing, is a cool and unique (as much as it can be) retelling of Rumplestiltskin. Serilda is an extremely interesting character with a personality I rarely see in fantasy books. Her backstory is even more interesting but I won’t mention that due to potential spoilers. Her dialogue and thoughts felt real and were enjoyable to read, which is the main reason I continued the story with the above dislikes. I loved that part. Gild is also uniquely characterised and has an adorable but mischievous personality that leaves a lot to be discovered (does this make sense?). I definitely liked his relationship and dialogue with Serilda, though certain parts of it were rather flat.
Also, this ends on a cliffhanger so be aware of that, especially if you haven’t bought the second book yet. Overall, I did like this book, despite a few of my complaints, and would probably read it again. I do hope that some things are improved in the sequel though.
Unfortunately, I have mixed views on this book. It was pretty good, but it wasn’t great, and the story really lagged in some areas. The book didn’t actually have to be that size, especially since a lot of the story is basically an internal monologue. So yeah, the pacing was strange. Another thing that disappointed me is the lack of world-building. For such an epic fantasy, it really didn’t tell you all that much about how and where the characters lived. This made it rather vague and somewhat forgettable. It almost felt like a dream, which could’ve been the intention for all I know, but still. I also did not really buy the romance between Serilda, our main character, and her love interest. It felt flat and didn’t really connect with me much.
That being said, I read it all in one day (and sitting) so it definitely wasn’t boring. The plot, while having strange pacing, is a cool and unique (as much as it can be) retelling of Rumplestiltskin. Serilda is an extremely interesting character with a personality I rarely see in fantasy books. Her backstory is even more interesting but I won’t mention that due to potential spoilers. Her dialogue and thoughts felt real and were enjoyable to read, which is the main reason I continued the story with the above dislikes. I loved that part. Gild is also uniquely characterised and has an adorable but mischievous personality that leaves a lot to be discovered (does this make sense?). I definitely liked his relationship and dialogue with Serilda, though certain parts of it were rather flat.
Also, this ends on a cliffhanger so be aware of that, especially if you haven’t bought the second book yet. Overall, I did like this book, despite a few of my complaints, and would probably read it again. I do hope that some things are improved in the sequel though.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement and Grief
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Violence, Pregnancy, and Death
Minor: Sexual content, Abandonment, Murder, and Death of parent
passionatereader78's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
sad
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
This is an enjoyable dark fantasy. I like the writing and the dark world Marissa has created. Serilda goes out on the night of the full moon and runs into the Erlking. She tells him she can spin straw into gold to save her life. On the next full moon the Erlking comes for Serilda so she can show him her gift. This begins Serilda's dark journey.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Confinement, Child death, and Death
Moderate: Slavery, Torture, and Violence
Minor: Pregnancy
livvya's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death of parent
Minor: Pregnancy, Animal cruelty, Violence, Child death, Murder, Physical abuse, and Animal death
drlainie's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
hopeful
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
Check the content warnings!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Child death, and Violence