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A review by savaburry
Gild by Raven Kennedy
challenging
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Starting this quick review to say there is a serious TW for rape in this story!!
This was an interesting one....you're following a woman named Auren who's the gilded "favored" concubine of King Midas....and really that's all I feel like you should know about the main plot. I didn't know anything going in, and while I could tell that it was building up to some magic-like reveals I still wasn't fully expecting what I got.
I will say, even though this was a 3 star read for me, it was sort of slow. You spend a lot of time, most of the book, slowly world building. The author really gives the slowest stream of bread crumbs for you to try to piece together the history of Auren and Midas and the rest of the world's dynamics. The pace isn't the most interesting part of this book, that's for sure!
The biggest downfalls to me were Auren as the MC, and the sexual violence. Auren is the type of MC with zero self preservation and one who lacks the understanding that surrounds the concept of when to BE QUIET. There are so many situations in this story where she is doing the dumbest things and you're like ??????????? how does that make sense?? I hate when women write women to be like this, because why do you want your character to to lack self preservation for the sake of "being strong"? If you're in a life or death situation, running off at the mouth is like the last option I'd go with while trying to keep myself safe. Just saying!
Which leads to the biggest issue I had, the on page rape scene near the end of the book. So I'd say if you're someone who's got triggers around that, skip that scene. It's easy to see when it's coming, so thankfully it's not something that sneaks up on you.
All of that to say, I liked this enough to keep reading and have already started the second one. Even though this book has an explicit rape scene, I would say that if you're intrigued by the premise at all, it's worth reading. That's the only actualized scene of that nature in the entire story, so it's not something you have to keep revisiting. While the plot revolves around a concubine (and by proxy other concubines), Auren herself is never involved in anything of that nature and the book is from her POV. But if you're sensitive to sex scenes in general,
I'm waiting for the real reveals to kick in, because I KNOW they're coming. I hope they'll be worth it!
This was an interesting one....you're following a woman named Auren who's the gilded "favored" concubine of King Midas....and really that's all I feel like you should know about the main plot. I didn't know anything going in, and while I could tell that it was building up to some magic-like reveals I still wasn't fully expecting what I got.
I will say, even though this was a 3 star read for me, it was sort of slow. You spend a lot of time, most of the book, slowly world building. The author really gives the slowest stream of bread crumbs for you to try to piece together the history of Auren and Midas and the rest of the world's dynamics. The pace isn't the most interesting part of this book, that's for sure!
The biggest downfalls to me were Auren as the MC, and the sexual violence. Auren is the type of MC with zero self preservation and one who lacks the understanding that surrounds the concept of when to BE QUIET. There are so many situations in this story where she is doing the dumbest things and you're like ??????????? how does that make sense?? I hate when women write women to be like this, because why do you want your character to to lack self preservation for the sake of "being strong"? If you're in a life or death situation, running off at the mouth is like the last option I'd go with while trying to keep myself safe. Just saying!
Which leads to the biggest issue I had, the on page rape scene near the end of the book.
Spoiler
Leading up to that scene, it's extremely evident that sexual assault will be happening. They've been kidnapped, and it's like, heavily implied that as concubines they have zero autonomy over their bodies. We knew this, because again, it's quite literally there for you to read between the lines for the entire story, and is especially true by this part of the story. What we didn't need, was the suuuuuuper graphic MULTI PAGE rape scene? When I got there I was like wait what? I just don't think it needed to be written out in full detail of what was going to happen/what happened. The male character committing the act was no good to begin with, as he kidnapped and murdered dozens of people prior to this scene, so I personally didn't need to read all of his sick fantasies coming to life on the body of someone who's unwilling to participate!All of that to say, I liked this enough to keep reading and have already started the second one. Even though this book has an explicit rape scene, I would say that if you're intrigued by the premise at all, it's worth reading. That's the only actualized scene of that nature in the entire story, so it's not something you have to keep revisiting. While the plot revolves around a concubine (and by proxy other concubines), Auren herself is never involved in anything of that nature and the book is from her POV. But if you're sensitive to sex scenes in general,
Spoiler
this opens with an orgy.....so there's that.I'm waiting for the real reveals to kick in, because I KNOW they're coming. I hope they'll be worth it!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual violence