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A review by bangiebangs
Gild by Raven Kennedy
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
This was dark. Darker than I expected tbh, so heed the CNs - this has a lot of uncomfortable elements.
The fact that the king's harem are called "saddles", or that this is also the term for any sex worker ("wh*re" is used a lot) isn't the worst, but there are scenes very close to rape, and one that is a quite detailed rape scene). The one thing that bothers me the most is the relationship between Auren and the king tbh. I'm not on bord with seeing this as anything but exploitative. In the backstory, we learn that they started their relationship when he rescued her from an abusive situation (sexual trafficking is implied), and they start a relationship when she is 15 and he is "seven years older". Even if the story picks up 10 years later than that, this still makes this something that starts as an adult/minor pairing... so her sexual desire for him... ew.
I found the pacing a little uneven as it takes a long time to set the scene: I was more than 100pp in before I felt this picking up steam or having much of a story- this is an issue throughout. While there are some nice minor twists in there I think this book mainly sets up the second one and does some basic world-building. Also some serious emotional gut-punch moments, so yeah, this one is not exactly uplifting.
This is also not a romance, dark or otherwise. There is no romance in this book. Maybe the next? But if you're looking for dark romantasy spice... this ain't it.
Be aware that this ends in a cliffhanger.
Spice level wasn't there for me - there is a lot of sexual content, but the way it's described doesn't really do much for me. Not that every book needs this, but in this one the sex is so often mixed with abuse or dubious (/absent) consent that it's not exactly something I can enjoy.
All in all, a dark but enticing read, though one that will might make you uncomfortable at times. I'll continue with the series and see how it goes.
I found the pacing a little uneven as it takes a long time to set the scene: I was more than 100pp in before I felt this picking up steam or having much of a story- this is an issue throughout. While there are some nice minor twists in there I think this book mainly sets up the second one and does some basic world-building. Also some serious emotional gut-punch moments, so yeah, this one is not exactly uplifting.
This is also not a romance, dark or otherwise. There is no romance in this book. Maybe the next? But if you're looking for dark romantasy spice... this ain't it.
Be aware that this ends in a cliffhanger.
Spice level wasn't there for me - there is a lot of sexual content, but the way it's described doesn't really do much for me. Not that every book needs this, but in this one the sex is so often mixed with abuse or dubious (/absent) consent that it's not exactly something I can enjoy.
All in all, a dark but enticing read, though one that will might make you uncomfortable at times. I'll continue with the series and see how it goes.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual harassment, Physical abuse, Sexism, Emotional abuse, Rape, Confinement, Death, Sexual assault, Cursing, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, Bullying, Misogyny, Slavery, Kidnapping, and Adult/minor relationship
Moderate: War