From internationally bestselling author and TikTok phenom Raven Kennedy comes the first book in a stunning new fantasy series inspired by the myth of King Midas, perfect for fans of Sarah J Maas and Jennifer L Armentrout. The fae abandoned this world to us. And the ones with power rule. Gold. Gold floors, gold walls, gold furniture, gold clothes. In Highbell, in the castle built into the frozen mountains, everything is made of gold. Even me. King Midas rescued me. Dug me out of the slums and placed me on a pedestal. I’m called his precious. His favored. I’m the woman he Gold-Touched to show everyone that I belong to him. To show how powerful he is. He gave me protection, and I gave him my heart. And even though I don’t leave the confines of the palace, I’m safe. Until war comes to the kingdom and a deal is struck. Suddenly, my trust is broken. My love is challenged. And I realize that everything I thought I knew about Midas might be wrong. Because these bars I’m kept in, no matter how gilded, are still just a cage. But the monsters on the other side might make me wish I’d never left.
⭐️ The Quick Verdict: 3.75 / 5 Stars
The TL;DR: A glittering gold cage, a manipulative king, and a protagonist who is far too naive for her own good. It’s slow to start, but that ending will make you want to grab book two immediately just to see the cage smash.
🩸 The Vibe Check
- The Aesthetic: Liquid gold, cold iron bars, snowy mountains, and a lot of psychological mind games.
- The Mood: Frustrating but addictive.
- Pair This Book With: A strong, bitter espresso (because you’ll need the caffeine to get through the slow first half) and a playlist full of dark, vengeful alternative pop.
💭 The Honest Chat (Spoiler Free)
The “Naive” Problem
Let’s talk about Auren. Living in a literal cage made of gold for a man who claims he’s “protecting” you? Red flags everywhere. To be completely honest, she is portrayed as incredibly defenseless in this first book, which became deeply annoying to read, especially once you start to piece together the truth of her situation. She is naive, easily manipulated, and blindly loyal.
King Midas is an Absolute Arse
There is no nice way to put it: King Midas is a total arse. He is selfish, power hungry, and completely willing to use, abuse, and discard anyone to get exactly what he wants. The psychological hold he has on Auren is uncomfortable to watch, but it makes you desperate to see him get his comeuppance.
The Plot: More Questions Than Answers
If you like books where everything gets wrapped up neatly at the end, this isn’t it. Gild doesn’t really answer the big questions; instead, it just drops a trail of breadcrumbs and hands you more questions. The first half of the book moves at a snail’s pace, but once the plot finally gets going and the setting shifts to the ship, the stakes skyrocket. By the time I hit the final pages, I absolutely had to know what happened next.
🏆 Final Thoughts: Who is this for?
Read this if you love dark fantasy, don’t mind a very slow-burn plot buildup, and can handle a protagonist who has a lot of growing up to do. Skip it if you can’t stand submissive main characters or heavy cliffhangers.
Have you read Gild? Did Auren drive you as crazy as she drove me? Let’s argue about King Midas in the comments below!