Wow, I got this one totally wrong. As the official Most Prolific Reader in the family, I pick books up all the time, and test them out. Maybe they’re right for my brother, maybe they’re for my sister. Perhaps someone is brutally murdered early on – then it’s for Nan. Lately, I’ve been screening books for Australia’s Best (10yo) Niece. I’d seen Gild around, and while I was (clearly) totally unspoiled, I somehow got the idea that it was YA fiction (maybe the price point?).
It is not. That was clarified about 15 words in.
*Note* – this review will cover all four books in the series so far. If you’re starting from scratch, don’t read the whole thing – here be spoilers.
Gild introduces us to Auren, who is part of King Midas’ stable of saddles. Yep. Saddles. I’m not going to lie, I hate this. I know, the cruelty is the point here, AND nobody is saying this is an ideal state. But it feels demeaning and present for the sake of titillation, primarily – designed to make a splash rather than a well thought out storyline. It’s a shame, because overall the Plated Prisoner series is, at times, telling a story I want to read.
Auren is completely golden. A living symbol of Midas’ power and control, she is caged (for her own protection). The cage is built into the rooms and hallways and grand salons of the palace, so that she can wander “freely,” but never be touched by any but Midas. There are also guards. The whole situation stinks to high heaven. A large portion of the first book is dedicated to letting us know just how much of a dick Midas is, and Auren, who may once have loved him, is clearly suffering from Stockholm syndrome now.
Midas has married into the nobility, having no station of his own, and he’s ambitious and pretty ruthless. After betraying the king of another realm (Orea is comprised of seven kingdoms), he decides to leave his wife to run Sixth Kingdom, and move to Fifth, to “help” the heir apparent as regent, until he comes of age. Of course, he can’t go without his saddles, so the entire stable is packed up and travel (more slowly) towards the next kingdom.
Over the course of the journey, they’re kidnapped by pirates, and that’s when we kick the actual story off. Turns out, the reason Midas wants to keep Auren closely guarded is that she’s actually the one with the power. We find this out when she uses it to save herself and another saddle from rape.
[Quick soapbox before we head into the second book: I loathe the use of rape as a plot point, particularly when the rape itself is realistic, but the comeuppance is cartoonish. This is why I stopped watching horror movies; I found it gratuitous (and triggering), and I have very little interest in fiction that graphically renders sexual assault. I do not think that exploding someone’s head in the microwave, or turning them into gold and comically tipping them out of a window into the snow below, balances the ledger. I feel like the lightheartedness of the vengeance minimises the seriousness of the offence.]
Having saved herself (this first book is an infuriating mix of things I like and things I loathe) from the Pirate King, Auren attempts to escape the ship itself, but is intercepted by Commander Rip, the leader of Fourth Kingdom’s armies. This is where I actually get interested, as we head into the second book. Rip is universally feared, with spiny armour and a ruthless reputation. His King – known as King Rot – is equally feared, with magic that can apparently rot men from the inside out.
In typical fantasy fashion, Glint shows us that contrast between inner and outer beauty – Midas of course is rotten to the core, while the fearsome Fourth Army is full of decency. Auren starts to learn to find her own strength (including the use of her “ribbons,” which are dexterous, able to bear weight or braid her hair, and extend from her back), defend herself, and become more independent. This is a story I’m interested in reading. Where did her magic come from? What’s her back story? Why was book one filled with gratuitous abuse, when this could have always been so compelling?
A spark of romance begins to flicker between Rip and Auren. He’s a great romantic lead, I can’t lie to you. What he wants, more than anything, is for Auren to flourish, to save herself, to make her own choices. However, he’s stuck in a mediocre series, so on we go.
Once the Fourth Army successfully delivers Auren to Midas in his new kingdom, he immediately attempts to put her back into her cage. Auren, having tasted independence, is horrified, and further disillusioned when Midas strikes her. Sneaking out of her room via the window (with the help of her ribbons), she encounters King Rot (real name Ravinger, for clarity), who turns out to be an alter-ego of Rip. Fascinating! This actually works for me!
But instead of just getting the fuck out of dodge, we spend the entirety of Gleam staging some torture porn. An extended plan of escape hits every note in the abuser songbook, with Midas threatening to hurt Auren’s only friend in the palace (a guard from the first book) if she doesn’t comply; drugging the saddles so they are sex-crazed (FFS); and finally cutting off Auren’s ribbons. And in return, she turns Midas and most of his guard golden. This book was pretty appalling – I understand the hero’s journey has to have obstacles, but, bleragh, I did not favour the execution.
Glow shows us Auren in the aftermath. And some more interesting plot (though tbh the more I write here, the more I wonder whether I will bother going back for the next instalment). Finally off to Fourth Kingdom with Rip/Ravinger, Auren must regain her strength and mental health, while also attempting to learn to control her golden power. At the same time we’re learning more about the origins of that power, as well as Rip’s, and dealing with the Orea-wide political repercussions of Auren’s vengeance against Midas.
Overall, wow, this series is just… swings and roundabouts. Obviously, your mileage may vary, but I found it to have the seeds of a good story wrapped in some shoddy choices. I can’t say it’s not compelling, and I’m certainly invested in the lead couple. But there are so, so many stories out there, and I’m not sure this one is worth continuing with.