Gold (The Plated Prisoner, 5) Paperback – July 30, 2024

Magnificent writing with great plot twists. I wish I could read it for the first time again. I was not trying to get sucked into this series but have found myself ignoring other things in my urgent TBR to blast through it.

*sigh*I continue to be infatuated with Slade. I think he is solidly and forever in my top 5 book boyfriends. He is out of his mind trying to find Auren, and it broke my heart over and over reading his chapters. I really feel for him, and have so much respect for his dedication to finding her again and making sure she is safe. He is doing this all while dealing with his own struggles, which is literally insane.The revenge Slade took for Auren’s trial was written so well, and I could feel every emotion he and everyone involved felt. It was like you were transported to the scene, and as horrifying as it was, I could not put the book down. If Gold was written purely from Slade’s perspective, I think it might just have been my favorite book of all time.Gold was written from the perspective of 4 people: Auren, Slade, Queen Malina, and Osrik. Osrik had a few chapters, but the rest was focused on the main 3. Auren, as she deals with falling through the rip to Anwyn. Queen Malina as she deals with the fallout of fixing the bridge to Annwyn. Slade, as he tears through Orea trying to figure out how to get back to Auren.As much as I want to give Gold 5 stars because of how much I love the series, it unfortunately fell flat for me. Book 4 was a filler book in its own way, and for some reason Gold felt like even more of a filler book – but with less exciting filler content. I loved the content of book 4 with Auren learning her powers, being at Deadwell and the Brackhill, etc. Gold was filled with Auren in Annwyn doing things that didn’t make sense to me. It didn’t give me the angst of her missing Slade, the frantic desire to get back to him.I didn’t have as much investment in Gold as I have in the other ones, and I think Auren in Annwyn was the main reason why. I just didn’t care about that part of the story, it didn’t fit, and it came out of left field. I understand why Raven Kennedy wrote this, because how else were we going to tie in the things that happened at the end of Gold with where we left off in book 4? I just didn’t personally love it.Now what else did I love other than Slade’s perspective? Queen Malina’s story. She is a whiny, self-centered, annoying, horrible woman, and I am here for it. She gets knocked down a peg (or 20) throughout the story by Dommik, who doesn’t take any of her whining. This was a really great part of the story, and I was invested in her redemption arc. She is not 100% there yet, but she made a lot of progress. I can’t wait to see what role she plays in Goldfinch.Overall, the Slade plot and the Queen Malina plot points were great, and I loved them! If Gold was only those 2, I think it would be 5 stars. Unfortunately, I just did not vibe with where Auren’s storyline went in Gold. I think it could have gone in several other directions, OR there should have been more of an emphasis on her desire to get back to Slade. He was frantic and out of his mind, while she what? Looked up at the sky occasionally?I will say I did like her using her powers more confidently, and watching those grow while she fought with them. That was awesome!Now, the ending? WOW. Wow, wow, wow, wow. SO MUCH stuff happened in the last 15% of the book, and it was a lot to process. You learn so many things, lots of twists are revealed, and we are set up for the last book. Who captured Auren and took her to Orea? Where did the people of Deadwell go? What are we going to do about Annwyn? There was one twist I did not like at all, and it has to do with Una. Once you read it, you will understand which one it is. I did not think it was necessary.I think Gold by Raven Kennedy was a good addition to the Plated Prisoner series. I would read it again as part of the series re-read, though mainly for Slade and Queen Malina. Honestly, I would recommend it solely for the Slade chapters.

I’ve just finished this and not only is it taking everything in me to write this review instead of jumping into Goldfinch, I also do not think I have even processed all that has happened.Gold was the best book yet! Auren and Slade have been separated by worlds. His only chance of saving her was to send her through a rip he made, one he is unable to duplicate no matter how hard he tries. Going on a revenge rampage, he fells kingdoms, destroys monarchs, and does everything he can to get back to her.Auren has fallen from the sky just as Saira did in Annwyn. She is the broken winged bird now. The one who the Vulmin expect to unite the kingdom and overthrow the Monarchy.Meanwhile, Malina has made the gravest mistake. In her quest for power and acknowledgment, she unwittingly assisted the fae in rebuilding the Bridge of Lemuria allowing the them crossing to destroy Orea.While Dommik, the assassin who was sent to kill Malina, has decided to abandon his task but will only save her from the fae if she proves to want to be queen for the right reasons. Their trek back to Highbell is quite the journey physically, mentally, and dare I say it? Emotionally.I usually hate it when a chapter switches to a different character in the story, but in Gold, every pov had me itching to get back to it. As with every book in this series, there is exponential growth within all of the characters. I have to say that I never expected to like Malina and Dommik, yet alone love them as characters. I think we forget even the worst characters have a back story and can have redemption if they choose the path.Auren is learning so much in Annwyn. She is remembering, learning, growing. Meeting the fae has given her a whole new perspective.I could keep rambling about these characters all day! Instead I will say, this has been my favorite of the series thus far. I haven’t stopped messaging my reactions to friend and I have more than once startled my boyfriend with gasps and tears. I am so sad this series is almost at an end for me.

I love this series but my biggest issue is the lack of character development for the male characters. The women go through many transformations but only once they find their male counterpart. The men are all secure in themselves and the only change is they fall in love and become protective and possessive over their female partner. The women in this story rely on men to grow into themselves.I think the story would’ve been stronger without all the romance arcs. For example, Malina could’ve gone through her personal transformation without falling in love. She really just needed someone to believe in her and that didn’t have to be romantic.I liked how the different povs helped the reader to explore different parts of the world and timeline throughout the book.Gold took me so long to read compared to the others. I think I was simply getting fed up with the narrative that a woman can only become her best when supported by a man. Comparing that with current events, made some themes exhausting to get through.Regardless, I’m starting the final book right away.The ending was a good mix of predictable and surprise.Oh! The spicy scenes were all very very similar even when between two separate partnerships and povs. All the men acted the same. All the women responded the same. Some diversity between character arcs and behaviors would’ve elevated the story so much more.

I’m enjoying the series. It has so much depth in this story. It is a breath of fresh air in this genre. I love paranormal dark fantasy with a good story line to go along with it. You definitely have achieved that with this series so far. I’m excited to read Goldfinch and see where this story ends. Great work.