I went in THINKING this was a standalone, and now I’m screaming from the rooftops because THAT ENDING.
I don't know what I expected going into this new release, but I certainly did not expect it to be AS DARK as it was, which is not a negative thing at all. It was a pleasant surprise, and it added a lot to the story overall.
Serilda is blessed by the god of lies and has a knack for storytelling and just embellishing stories, in general, but one night during the full moon, she lies to the wrong person: the Alder King. A full moon cycle later, Serilda is called to act on her lie, which is to spin straw into gold, and her life is thrown into chaos. When all seems lost, a mysterious ghost(?) named Gild arrives and offers to help Serilda with her task in exchange for payment. The rest is history as Serilda survives the first night, but she soon realizes the Alder King wants more than just a night's worth of straw turned gold. And the worst part? Serilda doesn't mind Gild as much... She's sorta drawn to him for some *unknown* reason.
To put it simply, Marissa did a wonderful job holding onto the darkness of this fairytale but added in her own details and changes to the plot to make it just as bad— if not worse. I found myself laughing, trembling, and even covering my mouth with my hand at numerous spots. She's a genius at writing addictive fairytales!
Personally, I think Gilded is now my new favorite Marissa Meyer book; although, Archenemies is still fighting it each and every day. I think plenty of people will love all of the elements or even just a few. In many ways, I wasn't sure if I'd enjoy this book since Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik is an amazing Rumplestiltskin retelling too, but this story is wholly unique and just as invigorating to read. Maybe this is my favorite fairytale retelling.All these authors do it very well.
TW: death of loved one, child death, child abuse, emotional/ mental abuse, gas-lighting, loss of free will, slavery, kidnapping, suicide, animal cruelty, torture, gore, lots of violence, and isolation
I don't know what I expected going into this new release, but I certainly did not expect it to be AS DARK as it was, which is not a negative thing at all. It was a pleasant surprise, and it added a lot to the story overall.
Serilda is blessed by the god of lies and has a knack for storytelling and just embellishing stories, in general, but one night during the full moon, she lies to the wrong person: the Alder King. A full moon cycle later, Serilda is called to act on her lie, which is to spin straw into gold, and her life is thrown into chaos. When all seems lost, a mysterious ghost(?) named Gild arrives and offers to help Serilda with her task in exchange for payment. The rest is history as Serilda survives the first night, but she soon realizes the Alder King wants more than just a night's worth of straw turned gold. And the worst part? Serilda doesn't mind Gild as much... She's sorta drawn to him for some *unknown* reason.
To put it simply, Marissa did a wonderful job holding onto the darkness of this fairytale but added in her own details and changes to the plot to make it just as bad— if not worse. I found myself laughing, trembling, and even covering my mouth with my hand at numerous spots. She's a genius at writing addictive fairytales!
Personally, I think Gilded is now my new favorite Marissa Meyer book; although, Archenemies is still fighting it each and every day. I think plenty of people will love all of the elements or even just a few. In many ways, I wasn't sure if I'd enjoy this book since Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik is an amazing Rumplestiltskin retelling too, but this story is wholly unique and just as invigorating to read. Maybe this is my favorite fairytale retelling.All these authors do it very well.
TW: death of loved one, child death, child abuse, emotional/ mental abuse, gas-lighting, loss of free will, slavery, kidnapping, suicide, animal cruelty, torture, gore, lots of violence, and isolation