Reviews - Gild | The StoryGraph

15.1k reviews for:

Gild

Raven Kennedy

3.49 AVERAGE

s_shandley's review against another edition

3.0

adventurous dark slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: No

amandapowers's review against another edition

2.75

dark slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

lizlovesbooks95's review against another edition

4.0

adventurous challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

Trigger Warning: abuse; sexual assault; murder; captivity

I enjoyed this book way more than I thought I would! I ended up giving it 4 stars because there was a portion of the book that slowed quite a bit for me, but after that 50-page slowness, the story picked up! I liked that our FMC Auren wasn't a complete pushover. She does have a form of Stockholm syndrome with her captor, but she also tries to help the other saddles (basically King Midas's sex slaves) on multiple occasions even though they hate her. She also tries to help herself in any way she can...sometimes she's successful, sometimes she's not. I liked the realism of that.

Also, the descriptions of Auren's Gilded cage were way more involved than I thought it would be. It wasn't just one gold cage, but an entire level of a gold cage that connects from one room to the next, so she had a bit more freedom to "travel" around in a sense. I think that was smart because it allowed for our FMC to be able to interact with all the saddles, guards, and diplomats that are in the castle. I can't wait to continue on in the second book, and I'm so glad this whole series is on KU.

SPOILERS AHEAD:
The fact that Auren's ribbons as she calls them can move and be utilized as a protection for her but also a hinderance is super cool. Obviously, these developed because King Midas gold touched her, and he has magical powers. It's still super cool. On a sadder note, I loved that Auren was able to make a friend in Sail, the guard who was set to protect her on the journey to Fifth Kingdom....when he helped her until his murder, I was so sad. I thought he would be a continued side character in later books, but I was wrong. Also, can we talk about when Auren helps Rissa after her rape and turns the pirate captain into pure gold and then they both push him off the ship?!?! ICONIC.

wonbinsbby's review against another edition

4.0

Near the end, the pace picks up but during the book I struggled to figure out what the plot would be :/ despite that though it was quite an easy and fast read, I read it within a few days. I'd recommend it if you don't want something with too much information that needs remembering.