2.5

I was really hoping to love this book more than I actually did. I absolutely love the story of Rumpelstiltskin and was really excited for a Rumpelstiltskin retelling as I find us a fairytale that is not often retold.

Our main character is quirky and I really like that because I felt like a different vibe then your typical YA. However, there were long stretches in this book where the character was just talking to herself in her head or explaining to the reader what was going on around her. And because the stretchers were so long I felt I got pulled out of the story and quickly got bored. My favourite parts of the story were any time the main character was interacting with other people.

Like the main character, the readers often confused with what’s going on around them. Which also played apart until why I had difficulty enjoying this book.

I will say I really enjoyed the romance and the interactions between Sirlda and Gild were my favourite.

I am not gonna lie, I am slightly curious on where the story is going to go in the second book. But I don’t know if I will pick it up.

If you like dark dark retailings then you will enjoy this one.

Oh my god I really sat on this one for a while and now I’m kicking myself for waiting so long to finish it. I just hate waiting for sequels! So now that we are so close to its release date, I finally did it. I read a mix of hardback and audiobook and heartily recommend either option. The reader is good and the voice matches the character well!
This book had lots of twists and turns. When our MC tries to escape the hunt, she goes all out! The inevitability and the dread that consumed me while realizes over and over again that she couldn’t escape this evil must have perfectly mirrored what anyone in her situation would have felt. That drew me in. And now it has a hold on me because I have to say this book doesn’t exactly end on a happy note—if anything, things are even bleaker. The only thing we have is our heroine’s word that this story has a happy ending. I know Meyer tends to favor a happy ending of love conquering evil and justice for all but I’m not gonna lie—it’s really emotional and heart wrenching to reach that point!!! I think part of that is the reason why I had such a hard time going past the first 40% of the book for so long. I finished the final 60% this week and most of it today. I hate that feeling of hopeless inevitability in a story and it really kept putting me off. How does one escape from the earl-king? It kept me from wanting to commit more to it because I knew it would hurt. But I will try to be optimistic.

Ok a few details about the story beyond my feelings. I love Serilda and her Cassandra-like ways. Her storytelling has been held against her for so long yet there is something so suspicious about how much rings true. I would like to know if things become true because she says them or if she unknowingly tells the truth but I’m willing to bet most of her “lies” will end up truths in the end. At least, her story form ones. I also loved Gild. I thought he was so sweet and a bit puckish. At times he is almost childlike but then he will show himself a man. I liked that feeling that he was on that threshold because it suited this story with the veil between the dead and the living.

The Earl-King is an interesting character because at times he seems to be almost romantic. I don’t mean that he is a figure I find attractive but rather he appears to think and behave in a way that demonstrates a romantic view of the world. But if it were combined with psychopathic tendencies. His goals appear to be all for rescuing his love. His behaviors, like leaving an arrow for Serilda, seem almost a perversion of romantic gestures. He is twisted and cruel. And yet, I half expected him to be redeemed. I felt at multiple points in the story, that I could not necessarily trust that I understood what he was like or what he wanted. I feel like there is a ton of potential for him to have unexplored depths and I hope to see something profound in the next book. It would be interesting to see if he remains a villain or should things change for him as the curses get sorted out.

Honestly, I'd read any book written by Meyer. Personally, this is one of my favorite retelling works she has written. The writing style makes it so easy to read but the plot was so engaging.

Fun twist to Rumplestiltskin. I always love fairy tale mash ups and this did not disappoint! Not all sunshine and rainbows, but kept me turning pages. Can't wait for the next in the series - Cursed.

3.5 stars

Gilded was an entertaining young adult fantasy. I enjoyed the imaginative world Marissa Meyer created and felt very invested in the characters and story right away. I especially enjoyed Serilda's stories and her friendship/relationship with Gild. Rebecca Soler did a fantastic job with the narration and I had no problem differentiating between characters. Her performance was really wonderful and helped bring the story to life. I often have problems listening to fantasy audiobooks though, so I was glad I had the ebook version too.

Unfortunately, the pacing slowed to a crawl in the middle of the book and it started to feel like a lot of filler so that the story could be spread between two books. Things picked up again at the end, but so much got thrown at the reader that it felt very rushed. Gilded could have easily been 100 pages shorter or wrapped up entirely in one book. The book ends with a cliffhanger and I'm curious to see what happens to Gild and Serilda, but I'm not sure I can make it another 500+ pages to find out.

Audiobook Review
Overall 4 stars
Performance 5 stars
Story 3.5 stars

CW: murder, death, gore, imprisonment, kidnapping

I loved Serilda SO MUCH. She's a fantastic main character who gets herself into trouble by telling a lie and then keeps on lying her way out of trouble in the best way. Meyer's writing is perfect for this fairytale and kept me intrigued and reading compulsively. This book was darker than I expected, but I honestly loved that. I'm excited to read the second book and will be recommending this to customers who love fairytales!

I wanted to love this one so much. I have loved this authors other stories but this one just fell flat for me. It was far to long and just bogged down with way to much info dumping. I also think that this story could have been done in one book vs. two. I don't think I will check out book two. I just don't care what happens at this point.

Marissa Meyer is a genius! And I believe completely underrated.

Perhaps this wasn’t her best re-telling, but I enjoyed it very much. It’s very creative!!

My one complaint is that it’s a bit long, felt like it dragged at times.

But, I am looking forward to the next book.

Marissa Meyer is back with a different fairy tale retelling. This time it’s a retelling of Rumpelstiltskin set in a medieval Germany-like setting, with the “king” that imprisons our heroine, Serilda, as a menacing ghost king. While I enjoyed the book overall, the pacing felt a little off to me. It’s a very slow book to get going, especially when you already know the broad strokes of the Rumpelstiltskin story. Furthermore, there’s a distinct tone shift after a key plot point that’s a bit jarring and doesn’t feel true to Serilda’s initial character. Overall, 3/5 stars for me.

An atmospheric ode to gothic literature, Gilded is a dark fairytale retelling that doesn’t shy away from the gruesome. Using clear influences of horror, Meyer weaves a believable YA retelling of Rumplestiltskin.

STRENGTHS: Strong and cohesive world-building, with careful attention to German folktales and cultural traditions. A villain with chilling, cold-blooded motives and a backstory straight out of a classic fairytale.

WEAKNESSES: Gild fell flat for me, didn’t stand out much as a character. The intimacy between Gild and Serilda seemed difficult to believe. Also, I did not love the pregnancy trope. I know it’s a classic plot point from the original fairytale, but it rubbed me the wrong way, as she was just-barely an adult. As a reader, I would have liked to see more of an examination of Serilda’s moral compass. Why is she so willing to fight for some kind of universal good, despite the difficulty and alienation she’s experienced in her life? What keeps her from resentment or disillusionment?

Overall, an enjoyable read with a consistent tone, atmospheric setting and an intriguing premise, but not as strong as I expected.

i love rumpelstiltskin, i think it's one of the most interesting fairytales there is, but a couple of changes (including the swap from the king's son) kind of confused the story for me, as did the very long length! but overall this was very fun and i will be picking the sequel up for sure.

I admit that I went into GILDED knowing it could go either way for me. I adore Marissa Meyer's writing, but while I am obsessed with her Lunar Chronicles series, Heartless didn't have as warm a reception from me, so I was guarded. Sadly, Gilded didn't grip me either, and it's a shame because there are elements of this book I really enjoyed.

For starters, I loved the writing style, which is easy to follow and beautifully interwoven with moments where you get to actually read the stories the protagonist, Serilda, tells. I also loved the darker atmosphere of this novel. There are plenty of supernatural beings at play, and the world was quite mystical because of it. Sadly, that's about it. I had issues with the pacing, which felt incredibly slow, and I think the story could have been a good deal shorter and more enjoyable without long moments of down time with secondary characters that didn't really play a role in the plot. I also didn't feel much of a draw toward the main characters, Serilda and Gild. More often than not they seemed to act much younger than their 18 years, and although they did have their cute moments, overall I didn't feel much for their romance.

I did enjoy the final chapters of the book. Despite the fact that the little hints leading up to it are easy to miss in the midst of the slow-moving middle, the story wrapped up well with some surprising twists. If I'd enjoyed the rest of the book more, I would have loved to see where the story was headed, but I don't think I'll be continuing with the series.

I love Marissa Meyer's fairytale retellings!
This story does not disappoint!

You are quickly drawn into the story and invested in the characters. I would never have picked the story of Rumpelstiltskin as the focus for her book, it was never one I enjoyed because I always found it creepy. That's probably why it works so well. The setting she has placed this is works so well, with the hunt, and the ghosts. I can't wait to see what happens in the next book!!!

Gilded is a unique, epic take on the story of Rumpelstilzchen and I was in awe of the scope Meyer went for with it. With cleverly woven stories within stories throughout, a heroine that is both strong willed and likeable, a sweet slow burn romance, and compelling world building and secondary characters to flesh it out, this is by far one of the best retellings I’ve read in the young adult recently, and I’m eagerly looking forward to the sequel!

I tried so hard but I could not finish this book. I love Marissa Meyer, but something about this one didn’t work for me. I am only rating this because it’s required.

DNF at 50%

Ugh, I tried fam, I really tried, but this didn't go well for me.

I have never read a Marissa Meyer book so this was my first experience with her writing. I know she's popular, but I felt like her writing was a mess, at least in this one. While reading this book, I never stopped feeling confused. The writing and the plot just felt so erratic and jumbled. Just when something would pique my interest suddenly I was lost again. I was intrigued by some of what I read, but I have to call it when I am just not enjoying or even understanding what the heck is happening halfway through. And there's some grotesque content in this book that makes me wonder how the heck it is YA. Over and over I asked myself, what the heck am I reading?

I am very disappointed with this book. It didn't live up to the hype for me at all. If this is your jam, I am happy for you. It wasn't meant to be for me, apparently.

Oh man this was such an interesting take on the story of Rumpelstiltskin and I liked it. It was really dark in places and there was a lot of murder that was hard to read at times. There was a lots of creepy fairy tale creatures though which made this a perfect read for spooky season. While it does end in a cliff hanger which I was mad about before I realized that this was a duology and I am looking forward to reading the conclusion of the series.

Thanks to Feiwel & Friends and Netgalley for the complimentary copy of this book in e-book form. All opinions in this review are my own.

Loved this retelling of the Rumpelstiltskin story as only Marissa Meyer could do it. I finished the book in November, 2021, and failed to post a review. (Not sure how that happened) The 4 stars (as opposed to 5) is because of the cliff hanger ending. However, that means that we have another book to look forward to. Thanks for allowing me to read this pre-pub. Our library has copies that are flying off the shelves!

Rumpelstilkin isn’t my favorite fairytale. I hate the deception and the whole part of giving away your first born. However, this story was so different. I highly recommend doing this one as an audiobook. So much story telling. I was immediately sucked into this world. It’s a bit tragic with lots of deaths and it ends on a bit of a cliffhanger…which I wasn’t expecting. I thought it was one story from beginning to end but now I have hope that some of the tragic things can be changed. Not sure the author will but it’s at least a nice thought. ;-)
I will definitely be reading the next book in this series because I have to find out how it all ends.

So. I was going to rate the book a 1 or a 2 at first because I didn’t realize it was the first in a duology and I thought the ending was just… like that with no expansion upon it. But knowing that there will be a sequel upped my ranking to a solid 3.5-4ish stars. Lets dive into the things I did and didn’t like:

DID:
- Serlida and Gild were both super sweet and I liked both a lot.
- Great side characters, and I loved that there were enjoyable children characters as well.
- Cute lil wlw relationship that was very minor but also super cute.
- A fun and different Rumplestiltskin (I have no idea how to spell that, don’t come for me) retelling, but still true enough to the original that it is easy to recognize and guess some plot points.

DID NOT:
- The fact that we had to endure 5 gruesome child murders?!?! What was that?!?
- The Erlking was just… too much for me.
- The world building is good but it’s sooooooooo slow. I struggled to want to continue this book at first (the end is the most riveting part).
- Once again: CHILD. MURDERS.

Overall, I enjoyed it and will want to read the sequel. But damn, this was a hefty book.