Gild (The Plated Prisoner #1)
Title: Gild
Author: Raven Kennedy
Overall Rating: ★★★
Genre: NA fantasy/romance, classic retelling
POV: FPPRT
Stand Alone or Series: "Gild" is the first book in The Plated Prisoner series. It is currently followed by "Glint" (book 2), with at least 2 more books planned for the series.
Prose Proficiency: Average
Editing: Average
Steam and Smut: There is definitely some smut going on, with a definite promise of more to come. The MFC is one of several royal "saddles,"--the king's concubines--and there are several sexual encounters described in the book, not all of them consensual. This series is definitely aimed at a more mature audience, with an 18+ recommendation included in the original synopsis.
Originality: B
Review: Auren is the king's favored, the favorite royal saddle of the king. And not just any king ... King Midas, ruler of the 6th kingdom of Orea and gifted with the golden touch. Midas' most prized possession, Auren literally gleams and glimmers from head to toe--her skin, her hair, her eyes, her nails, every inch of her but the whites of her eyes and her teeth is golden. Though she has every commodity a woman could ask for, she lives her life behind golden bars; a pretty prisoner placed on a pedestal for all the world to see.
Though she secretly yearns for more freedom, Auren adores Midas, having given him her heart long ago. But when Midas uses a night with her as currency to pay the neighboring king for his alliance, Auren begins to doubt the man she's put her trust in for over a decade. Before long, Auren finds herself embroiled in the beginnings of a war, passed from enemy to enemy to hurt a man she's learning isn't who she's always believed him to be. In a situation growing ever bleaker, will Auren find the strength to become her own person, or is she fated to always be nothing more than a possession passed among men?
I couldn't help but be intrigued by the absolutely beautiful cover work of this book, and while Beauty and the Beast retellings are a dime a dozen, this is the first retelling of King Midas I've found; being an avid lover of Greek mythology, I had to give this book a try.
I did enjoy the story, and I do plan on reading the rest of the series as it comes out; that being said, this book had a lot of issues that ended up holding back from its overall potential.
The first major issue is the prose and editing; they're just not good. Raven Kennedy makes a solid effort to create an exquisite and mystical fantasy setting that draws her readers in; unfortunately, in trying to utilize more poetic and lyrical language as the major building block of her prose, she sacrifices any sort of real flow; with no mortar to hold the pieces in place, the prose falls flat. There are countless instances of fragmented sentences, often jumping from present to past tense, with incorrect or missing punctuation that simply makes the reading jarring; I was pulled from immersion so many times I lost count. It's obvious that Raven Kennedy wanted to build a world the reader could easily imagine, bringing it to life in their mind--and I do think she took some definite steps in that direction--but this book is in desperate need of some heavy editing polish. "Gild" has lost its glimmer.
The other aspect seriously lacking in this story is plot. There's just not a lot that goes on. This is understandable, and in my case forgivable, as there is quite a bit of world-building and character-introducing. This is definitely a set-up story, putting into place a foundation for what's to come; in truth, it reminds me more of an overlong prologue than an actual novel of its own. We get a decent look at the setting, at the cast of characters, at the pecking order, but by the time the pace really starts to pick up and things start happening, the book has ended.
For the record, these two major issues alone would often be enough for me to say "screw this" and stamp a book with a big, fat DNF. Godawful prose/editing and lack of plot are the exact reasons I didn't finish "Den of Vipers;" but that's a story for a different day. So what kept me reading "Gild?"
Two words: the characters.
Raven Kennedy does an excellent job of introducing and then developing her characters so you can't help but be invested in them. While in some ways Auren is your typical "damsel-in-distress" with no real backbone--and suffering from Stockholm Syndrome, no less--she's self-aware enough to know it, which gives me, as a reader, hope. She knows she's given up too much of herself in exchange for security, and she's beginning to wonder if it was worth it. She's observant, she's intelligent, and she's beginning to question the world and players around her.
I'm also intrigued by her ribbons. Though the Fae have only been hinted at this point, we do know they're the source of the limited magic in Orea, and we also know that a monarch has to have some sort of power in order to rule i.e. Midas can rule the 6th kingdom, not because he's from a royal line but because of his gift of the golden touch. So where and how did Auren get her ribbons and what effect are they going to have on the story long-term?
Besides Auren, there are several other characters that come into play, most of them hovering between ally and enemy. By the end of "Gild" you can't really say with any real surety who the other "good" guys and "bad" guys are. You've got Rissa, one of the other royal saddles, who is the epitome of a successful prostitute; good at what she does and plenty jaded by it. Midas, the golden boy who's attractive on the outside, but you get the feeling he's rotten to the core beneath. Digby, Auren's dedicated guard with a gruff exterior you can't help but love. King Rot, the dastardly villain ... except I'm not quite convinced. In spite of the rough writing, I'm desperate to know what happens to all these characters.
Quite honestly, it makes me sad that the quality of the writing not being up to snuff and the lack of plot drags the overall rating of this book down, because I really enjoyed it despite its flaws. I'm hoping those lines improve as the series goes on. Even at 3 stars, I'd definitely recommend this book to lovers of NA fantasy. It's worth a read.
Keep turning pages. Until next time ...
MR
Comments
Post a Comment