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Actual rating: 4.5 stars
What a beautiful, dark and whimsical retelling of Rumpelstiltskin where gold had been not the only thing that was spun!
I had two reasons to be very excited for Gilded: one, it‘s a retelling of one of my favorite fairy tales of all time, and two, it‘s written by Marissa Meyer. Ever since she introduced me with The Lunar Chronicles to the beauty of fairy tale retellings, I have been putting all my trust into her craft. And oh man, am I happy, I picked this one up.
From the very beginning, I really loved the setting of this book and the protagonist Serilda who had enchanted me with her stories just as much as the children of her village. Having been very familiar with the story of Rumpelstiltskin, I knew what to expect with most of the story, but I was thrilled to see how it had its own unique elements that twisted everything into a darker story, including some other tales or beasts from German folklore such as the Erlkönig.
Overall, what was truly impressing was how Marissa didn‘t stray too much away from the original story but kept it unique, and left me wondering what could happen next by switching the roles of the King and … Rumpelstiltskin. The latter has become one of those cinnamon characters that I just want to protect at all costs, while the former intrigued me in the beginning before he revealed himself as a rather two-dimensional villain. Which is one of the two reasons why this book didn‘t end up being a full five-stars-read. The other was the slower pace right before twist of the story begins. And while I can appreciate that, I do have to admit it was way too easy to just put the book aside during those moments.
This doesn‘t change anything though that I truly enjoyed reading this retelling, and I‘m now hyped to see where all of this is leading us in the sequel, Cursed. Which by the way, just happens to have one of the best covers I‘ve seen. I AM IN LOVE!
If you love a dark and whimsical retelling of a fairytale that has its strength in the way each tale is being spun to a bigger story, then this book should added to your TBR. Like now.
What a beautiful, dark and whimsical retelling of Rumpelstiltskin where gold had been not the only thing that was spun!
I had two reasons to be very excited for Gilded: one, it‘s a retelling of one of my favorite fairy tales of all time, and two, it‘s written by Marissa Meyer. Ever since she introduced me with The Lunar Chronicles to the beauty of fairy tale retellings, I have been putting all my trust into her craft. And oh man, am I happy, I picked this one up.
From the very beginning, I really loved the setting of this book and the protagonist Serilda who had enchanted me with her stories just as much as the children of her village. Having been very familiar with the story of Rumpelstiltskin, I knew what to expect with most of the story, but I was thrilled to see how it had its own unique elements that twisted everything into a darker story, including some other tales or beasts from German folklore such as the Erlkönig.
Overall, what was truly impressing was how Marissa didn‘t stray too much away from the original story but kept it unique, and left me wondering what could happen next by switching the roles of the King and … Rumpelstiltskin. The latter has become one of those cinnamon characters that I just want to protect at all costs, while the former intrigued me in the beginning before he revealed himself as a rather two-dimensional villain. Which is one of the two reasons why this book didn‘t end up being a full five-stars-read. The other was the slower pace right before twist of the story begins. And while I can appreciate that, I do have to admit it was way too easy to just put the book aside during those moments.
This doesn‘t change anything though that I truly enjoyed reading this retelling, and I‘m now hyped to see where all of this is leading us in the sequel, Cursed. Which by the way, just happens to have one of the best covers I‘ve seen. I AM IN LOVE!
If you love a dark and whimsical retelling of a fairytale that has its strength in the way each tale is being spun to a bigger story, then this book should added to your TBR. Like now.