Review - Gilded (Gilded, #1) by Marissa Meyer

 

 

Title: Gilded (Gilded, #1)

Author: Marissa Meyer

Pages: 435

Publisher: Faber & Faber

Release Date: 2nd November 2021

 

Blurb from Goodreads:

 All magic comes at a price, but love was never part of the bargain . . .

The look he was giving her. Serilda had never been looked at like that before . . . The intensity.
The heat. The raw astonishment. He was going to kiss her.

Cursed by the god of lies, a miller's daughter has developed a talent for storytelling - but are all of her tales as false as they appear?

When one of Serilda's stories draws the attention of the devastating Erlking, she finds herself swept away into a world of enchantment, where ghouls prowl the earth, and ravens track her every move. The king locks Serilda in a castle dungeon and orders her to spin straw into gold, or be killed for lying. In despair, Serilda unwittingly summons a mysterious young man to her aid. And he agrees to help her, for a price. But love wasn't meant to be part of the bargain.

A compulsive read, and as bewitchingly good as you'd expect from a YA bestselling author. You will stay up all night reading this.

Goodreads | Storygraph | Amazon UK | Amazon US | Bookshop

 

 

 

My Review:

*I received an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. Thanks to Faber & Faber and NetGalley*

Serilda is a miller's daughter and lives in a small town where her unusual eyes have always marked her as something other, something to be wary of.

When Serilda crosses paths with the ruthless Erlking, she is drawn into a dangerous world of ghosts and dark creatures.

The Erlking orders Serilda to spin straw into gold - an ability she told the Erlking she has, but lied about. If Serilda fails, she will die. Luckily, a young man appears, able to help, but he needs something from Serilda in return.

Can Serilda escape from the Erlking?

As a fan of the author's previous novels, and being intrigued by the Rumpelstiltskin-retelling aspect of this book, I was intrigued to read it.

Serilda was a likeable and relatable protagonist. As someone who was treated like a curse because of her eyes, Serilda didn't really have any friends, and I felt sorry for her. I liked her relationship with the school children she told stories to.

Gild and the Erlking were were both interesting characters.

The setting and lore in the book were interesting and I liked finding out more about them.

The plot was enjoyable to begin with, and the author did a good job of setting the story up, but after a while the plot became a bit repetitive and dragged for me. I felt that the book could have been a lot

shorter, and because I did lose interest and was not very invested in what happened, I was not shocked by certain events that happened.

At the moment, I am not planning to read the sequel, and am disappointed that I didn't enjoy this more.

Overall, this was a mixed read.

Review - The Dead Romantics by Ashley Poston

 

 

Title: The Dead Romantics

Author: Ashley Poston

Pages: 365

Publisher: HQ

Release Date: 28th June 2022

 

Blurb from Goodreads:

A disillusioned millennial ghostwriter who, quite literally, has some ghosts of her own, has to find her way back home in this sparkling adult debut from national bestselling author Ashley Poston.

Florence Day is the ghostwriter for one of the most prolific romance authors in the industry, and she has a problem—after a terrible breakup, she no longer believes in love. It’s as good as dead.

When her new editor, a too-handsome mountain of a man, won’t give her an extension on her book deadline, Florence prepares to kiss her career goodbye. But then she gets a phone call she never wanted to receive, and she must return home for the first time in a decade to help her family bury her beloved father.

For ten years, she’s run from the town that never understood her, and even though she misses the sound of a warm Southern night and her eccentric, loving family and their funeral parlor, she can’t bring herself to stay. Even with her father gone, it feels like nothing in this town has changed. And she hates it.

Until she finds a ghost standing at the funeral parlor’s front door, just as broad and infuriatingly handsome as ever, and he’s just as confused about why he’s there as she is.

Romance is most certainly dead . . . but so is her new editor, and his unfinished business will have her second-guessing everything she’s ever known about love stories.

Goodreads | Storygraph | Amazon UK | Amazon US | Bookshop

My Review:

*I received an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. Thanks to HQ and NetGalley*

Florence Day ghostwrites for one of the most popular romance authors in existence, but Florence is stuck on her latest novel as she no longer believes in love after a bad break-up.

When Florence's new editor refuses to give her more time to finish the book, she doesn't know what to do, but then tragedy strikes when Florence's father dies.

Florence travels back home, a place she hasn't been in ten years, a place that Florence escaped from because of her ability to see ghosts.

When Florence's editor turns up at her family's funeral parlour as a ghost, they will have to work together to figure out what unfinished business is keeping him there, all while Florence is grieving for her father.

Adult romances are not my go-to genre, but I've been wanting to try and read books that I wouldn't usually pick up, and this one sounded like a fun read.

Florence was a very likeable and relatable protagonist. She had been treated badly by her ex-boyfriend and had some bad memories from her hometown, but was fun and the kind of person I would like to be friends with.

I really liked Florence's best friend, Rose, and it was interesting to read Florence's interactions with her family, who I also liked.

The concept of Florence being able to see ghosts was interesting, and it was sad to find out how it led to her leaving home.

The plot was enjoyable and held my attention. It did surprise me a little, and it was quite a cute read, but I liked the family aspects as well as the romance.

Overall, this was an enjoyable read that I would recommend.