Book Reviews

review; a touch of gold

review

a touch of gold

A Touch Of Gold
by Annie Sullivan

King Midas once had the ability to turn all he touched into gold. But after his gift – or curse – almost killed his daughter, Midas relinquished The Touch forever. Ten years later, Princess Kora still bears the consequences of her father’s wish: her skin shines golden, rumors follow her everywhere she goes, and she harbors secret powers that are getting harder to hide.

Kora spends her days locked in the palace, concealed behind gloves and veils, trying to ignore the stares and gossip of courtiers. It isn’t until a charming young duke arrives that Kora realizes there may be someone out there who doesn’t fear her or her curse. But their courtship is disrupted when a thief steals precious items from the kingdom, leaving the treasury depleted and King Midas vulnerable. Thanks to her unique ability to sense gold, Kora is the only one who can track the thief down. As she sails off on her quest, Kora learns that not everything is what it seems – not thieves, not pirates, and not even curses. She quickly discovers that gold – and the power it brings – is more dangerous than she’d ever believed.

Midas learned his lesson at a price. What will Kora’s journey cost?

Review:

This was a more fun read than I expected when I started it. I think because the first person threw me off. I’m usually not so fond of the first person narrative but Kora’s voice spoke to me. A lot of the time, it felt like it was her talking to me, not just her inner monologue, and it made for an engaging read.

The story was predictable in a few ways – maybe I’ve read too much YA fantasy over the years, but it kept me from taking things at face value, and kept me from trusting most if not all of the characters. A few turns I predicted, a few I suspected but was still surprised by. It is a mark of a good storyteller that despite all of this, I was still constantly questioning everything Kora thought she knew, and found myself surprised and enjoying the turns the story took. And the stakes felt real. Honestly, the villain was quite chilling, and I would love a prequel on that, please and thank you.

Besides Kora, Hettie and Aris and Royce and even Rhat were well-developed characters. None of them felt flat or one-dimensional, and everyone was unique and individual. I loved the fact that the author chose not to go for a Kora vs. Hettie angle, as the only women in the story, and instead gave us a developed and developing relationship between them that was believable and heartwarming.

THERE ARE NO CLIFFHANGERS. This makes me so happy, because it presents this story as one on it’s own, but there is still place for the sequel (which I am excited for!) to happen.

I’m Ara, a Southeast Asian writer who someday hopes to have published a novel, and who is currently losing herself in the worlds created by others. I love books and food and television and blogging and I get distracted and sidetracked easily.

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