Author Kennedy likes to think of herself as an awkward, shy, and misfit person. During her young age, she used to blush a lot and feel low on self-confidence. Now, she is a proud mother and a loyal wife. Kennedy enjoys her life one day at a time and never worries about what the future has in purse for her. Literally so many times I had to put the book down and stop reading because of the disturbing scenes like wow does this have all the trigger warnings out there. I knew this was going to be dark, but ahaha I wasn't expecting this💀 This is definitely adult. Anyone who plans to read this—make sure to look at the trigger warnings and prepare yourself. To summarise, out of 66+1 chapters the side characters povs take up a whole 9 of them and none of them offer anything of relevance to the plot or progression of the story in the form presented for this book. They may shed a little light on possible further paths for the next book but to be honest, to finally go through with all those opened and continuously ignored plotlines, the finale of the series would need to have twice the size of Glow and probably still feel unfinished. Do I kind of expect RK to announce more books or butcher the series completely based on this? Absolutely, I do. And now, when she sits down to write a story, things often get too emotional. So, Kennedy feels the need to work on something light-hearted. This way, she has managed to maintain the balance in her work all along.

Auren is now a character I dislike. Sorry, but she’s a stagnant character at this point, a bit whiny, and she goes on melodramatic monologues ever other chapter of hers. She has had so much great character development and I felt like nothing happened to her at all in this book despite her spending so much time doing nothing.I level him with a look. “I think I’m starting to learn that you’re just as unhinged as some of the Orean rumors have claimed.” Bright side? At least I’m alive. At least I got away from the Red Raids. I won’t be subjected to whatever Quarter wanted to do with me once he discovered his captain was missing. I was nothing but a road to Midas. A means to get to where he wanted to go, and I paved that path in gold." Also please no more Queen Malina chapters!! I know they are there to drive the political plot and see what the other parties are up to, but istg I was bored to tears that I wanted to k*ll myself while reading those chapters so I'm begging Raven Kennedy no more 😭 My mind can't handle being in King Midas and Queen Malina's POV.. that's too much negativ energy at once.

Everything is reaching its crescendo. I cannot wait for the fifth book. I need someone to put me into sleep paralysis until the next book is released because how am I supposed to move on.. I may be out of my cage, but I’m not free, not even close. In the game of kings and armies, I’m the gilded pawn. The question is, can I out maneuver them? I can't wait to see the rest of you. When you let it go, when you finally let that out, your fury is going to light up the spirit you've shadowed." He looks like someone who's won, boasting in superiority. "I hope you burn so bright that you scorch your Golden King down to ash."People will want to fight me on this and I'm ready, waiting and prepared to go to battle ... cause you know NOTHING happened. 😇 The betrayers. The murderers. The ones who nearly destroyed Orea, and wiped out Seventh Kingdom in the process. He has power sizzling beneath this skin and glinting spikes down his spine. But his eyes—his eyes are the most compelling of all. Kennedy also likes to go on long walks with someone on the beach. Many a time, Kennedy takes up hiking with the hope of making it exciting. However, she ends up turning the journey into a boring one every time as she spends all day sitting with her computer and writing her heart out.

This book also played into my least favorite tropes: traumatized women can only be healed by an equally traumatized man, slut shaming, insta-love, miscommunication, etc. My eyes were rolling like marbles when Kennedy did the whole “mention a mysterious Her but surprise it’s his mother not his lover” bit. Tired and played out. Part of the powerful and magical people who are said to have abandoned this world entirely three hundred years ago. There is romance in this book, of course, and it's a delicious mix of sweet moments, dirty talk, smut, and also serious conversations, and some clashing between Auren and Slade. On a little side note, while I have nothing against dirty talk in books, I struggled to get on board with it a few times during this book... I can't really explain why, because I don't mind graphic details or very spicy smut, but the dirty talk kinda clashed with the intense moments at times... There were also at least a couple of deus ex machina moments thrown in too, though more so on Slade’s side when inevitably trying to rescue Auren from all the things happening to her. Are people so content in ignorance that they'll believe every lie fed to them, despite what they right in front of their eyes?"The slow burn was absolute torturee. There was barely any romance in this honestly like it wasn't a huge focus, which I'm totally fine with since all this sets it up for the next book anyways. I need more Aurip content for sure.

One question before we start: Have all those ARC readers, giving 5 stars, received a different copy than we did? A different book, maybe? Slade is a villain through and through. He is unapologetic about it and he fully embraces his Fae nature and it's ruthless urges. I'm glad this is something Raven did not erase or attempt at a redemption arc and while he does have good intentions but he is ready to unleash the villain if anyone as so much harms a hair on Auren.

Publication Order of The Plated Prisoner Books

I really love Raven Kennedy’s writing, and I would have read this whole book in one sitting if it wasn’t for my body’s stupid need for sleep… 🙄 Seriously though, this book is even better than the first one, and this series is definitely a new favorite of mine, and an addictive guilty pleasure. I loved the ACOMAF and FBAA/AKOFAF vibes of this book, while still being unique. This is the captivating second book of The Plated Prisoner Series. It’s an adult epic fantasy story blending romance, intrigue, and beautiful imagery. Return to the seductive world of magic inspired by the tale of King Midas, and get caught up in the world of Orea. King Midas rescued me. Dug me out of the slums and placed me on a pedestal. I’m called his precious. His favored. I’m the woman he Gold-Touched to show everyone that I belong to him. To show how powerful he is. He gave me protection, and I gave him my heart. And even though I don’t leave the confines of the palace, I’m safe. I will say that this time round, this book is more focused on fleshing out the characters and the plot slowed a bit, but Raven does moves the plot to a new direction I'm very happy with. Glint focused on Auren’s character development. Or tried to. She is surprisingly naïve despite her traumatic childhood making her a very difficult character to root for. Though, in her defense she isn’t faced with many life shattering truths to make her question her life with Midas. Kennedy spends the entire novel trying to make Auren realize that her life is worth more than sitting in a cage only for Auren to continue turning a blind eye until the last possible second.