Gilded

Gilded by Marissa Meyer is an enchanting book of twisted Fae, glistening stories and finely spun lies and mischief. 

 Long ago cursed by the god of lies, a poor miller’s daughter has developed a talent for spinning stories that are fantastical and spellbinding and entirely untrue. 

When one of Serilda’s stories draws the attention of the devastating Erlking, she finds herself swept away into a world of enchantment where ghouls prow the earth, and ravens track her every move. The king locks Serilda in a castle dudgeon and orders her to spin straw into gold, or be killed for lying. 

In despair, Serilda unwittingly summons a mysterious young man to her aid. And he agrees to help her, for a price. 

But love wasn’t meant to be part of the bargain. 

Review 

Gilded by Marissa Meyer is a Young Adult, Fantasy, Fiction, Romance, Retelling, High Fantasy, suitable for ages 13 and above.  

Gilded was an encaptivating read which entranced me by its plot and description. When reading the book, most chapters were filled with a detailed description of different locations our protagonist travels to throughout the chapters. though at times, it seemed unnecessary, when compared to the high stakes and entrapping plot with action. 

“ The boy cocked his head and said, as if it were the most natural thing in the world, “magic.” ” 

The balance of description with plot seemed off, and I found myself skipping a few pages of the book to find out what happens next. I personally tend to prefer books which skip to the action, while this book had a prolonged build up to the main conflict.  

Parts which especially stood out to me however were Serilda’s stories. The fac that Gilded is a Rumpelstiltskin retelling is not easily forgotten with the series of stories we get to hear Serilda weave throughout the book. 

 The coordination between the plot and Serilda’s story were lost to me till the grand reveal and climax at the very end. Gilded definitely kept me guessing till the end. Marissa Meyer found a way to make the story interesting but not overly complex as to confuse the reader. When re-reading the book, I could easily spot the points at which to ending had become increasingly obvious, yet escaped me. 

“You wield laughter like a weapon, a protection against your awful circumstances. I think you’re trying to create lightness where there is so much dark.” 

The Plot – The plot itself is fun and captivating to read. The writing style through me off as first, like I previously mentioned, but when looking at the isolating plot alone it was definitely worth reading through the tiresome description and build-up. I have read many books with fey, but Gilded was a new experience which hooked me on from the first mention of an elven king. The book stems a lot of its creatures and lore from the original story and German folklore. The action isn’t as big as other high fantasies, but worth the read- something that definitely helped me out of a reading slump. 

This book as a whole is a light-hearted read, which kept me captivated for all but one evening. The Queen of Retellings has given me so many fun and amusing elements in one book.  

“ But there are many reasons on might hope to capture a god ” 

The ending – The main flesh and blood of the book, in my opinion was in the ending. Throughout the book, the reader is given several characters, plot threads, and creatures at once, which get jumbled and knotted throughout the book. The ending effectively tied up any lose plot thread and ironed the wrinkled story to perfection. Everything is told for a reason and you can see that at the very end. So is the book worth a read, just for the ending? Maybe not for everyone, but it was worth it for me.  

Gild And Serilda – The majority of the plot focuses on the romance between Serilda and Gild. Gild is a classic trickster who meets Serilda by coincidence and ends up saving her life more than once. At first their relationship seems non-existent, as Gild has not felt a human n so long, the handholding seemed to be just for the sake of it and not mutual affection.  

“ She was Liquid Gold ” 

My thoughts- The romance seemed rushed and not as wholesome as it had potential in being, I understand some things were for the advancement of the plot but as a whole it took a lot of potentially good elements from the book. I cannot write about it without ruining the entire book, but other people would have different views from mine and its better if you read and find out yourself. 

About the Author 

Marissa Meyer is a New York Times bestselling author of the Renegades Trilogy and The Lunar Chronicles series. Her standalone – Heartless – is also a #1 New York Times bestseller. She currently lives with her two daughters, and husband in Tacoma, Washington.