⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ / 4 stars
Gild is a story about Auren, a woman with golden skin and hair, who is the King Midas’s favourite.

“A cage is a cage, no matter how gilded.”

I kept seeing this book everywhere and everyone was so loving and enthusiastic that I couldn’t really put off reading it any longer. Everyone’s enthusiasm made me super curious and I wanted to know what all the hype was about hahaha.

The story started off really interesting and it immediately set the tone for Aurens life. She’s kept in a cage her whole life, because of her gilded skin, and Midas takes advantage of that. The first thing I noticed was her devotion to him, even though he manipulates her at every turn and keeps her prisoner. Stockholm syndrome at its finest if I say so myself. It was heartbreaking to read about her protecting and justifying whatever Midas did. I was very happy she wanted freedom though.

When looking at the characters, Auren has a lot of potential to be a strong female protagonist. Her heart is in the right place, but because of her situation she is very much kept down and away (literally). I would like to see her grow more outside of the cage she is put in. Midas is very much a villain that I’m not the biggest fan of. He is interesting, but very corrupt and manipulative.

I liked the parts in the castle, as it really set the tone and world for Auren and the plot. The second half was more interesting in what was happening, but not as engaging as I found the first half. At the same time, I kept having the feeling that not a lot was happening and this whole book is just an introduction to what will happen later on in the series.

Overall, it was a good start to a series that has a lot of potential for more. I am curious to see how it’ll continue forward.