Overall, I really enjoyed reading this! This felt like a fresh idea and the premise was promising. Unfortunately, the plot fell a bit flat for me and I found myself wanting more. I enjoyed the dynamic with Death but did not feel a connection with the romance in this book.

4 ⭐️

In this story we follow Hellevir, a girl who can travel between life and death as easily as blinking. But bargaining for the recently dead does not come without a great price taken from Hellevir herself. After she brings back Princess Sullivain, she finds herself tangled in court politics and a deal with a man inside of Death.

I really loved the scenes inside of Death and how it was described. It felt like you were really there with Hellevir. I feel like we got a really clear picture of the city of Rochidain and I hope we will get more in depth world building as we continue the series.

Hellevir is a very compassionate and naive character who we see learn that most people will take advantage of her kindness. This includes Sullivain, who is selfish and arrogant and angry. Despite her negative qualities, we see glimpses of who she is underneath how she has been taught to act by her grandmother. Hellevir finds herself caring very deeply for the Princess and I did too, though that might not be everyone’s experience. Though she finds herself tied to Sullivain in ways she can’t explain, Hellevir does not trust her.

Seeing how Hellevir interacted with the world, was so fun and I’m excited to see where she and her raven companion go next.

*Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Voyager for an arc in exchange for an honest review.*

I dnf'ed at 25% thank you Netgalley for this eARC in exchange for my honest opinion, to be honest I still give it a 3 stars because I did like the writing style and the characters but for me what was hard to keep going was the plot as well as the world building it didn't give me the hook I needed as a reader to keep reading. I know that everyone has different taste in fantasy and this one just wasn't for me

I definitely understand that some people will like it and her writing definitely enchants people but I wasn't one of them ..

The summary made me think that this book was going to be more in the realm of romantasy, but it really stands alone as a clear fantasy story, teeering on darkness, with very little actual romance. But the thing is, there’s a level of emotional tie, but it seems much more based on trust rather than lust.

While I didn’t dislike Hellevir, I found myself repeatedly baffled as to how willing she was to trade slices of her soul (her soul!) to save just about everyone who asked, when they weren’t being particularly grateful or even very nice to her. I could even understand being “forced” to do it for the Princess, but she was handing out life do-overs like she had nothing to lose! But, it did get us back to Death again and again, and I enjoyed those scenes. He was very fair for Death! I guessed the twist but I still thought it was well done, especially with the additional component added and the shift with her mother.

The ending made me want to read more and I’m looking forward to more development with Hellevir. Overall, the writing was wonderful and the world building in both worlds was so vivid - I’m down for another adventure!

Thank you to Netgalley for sending me an Ebook arc in exchange for an honest review!

*3.5/5
The atmosphere, magic system, and world building were the best parts of this book for me! I loved the interactions Hellevir had with Death and the world that he inhabited. I loved the exploration of religion and religious structures (one of my favorite topics to be explored in fiction, it's absolutely fascinating to me). The world felt very alive to me, I genuinely enjoyed being in it. I also really appreciated the casual queer rep we got. It wasn’t a big deal that there was a gay (man-loving-man) relationship, and our main character develops feelings for another girl. That being said, I didn't care much about the main romance, I just didn’t feel like it was realistic the way it progressed but that may just be me. Romances hardly ever work for me in fiction.

I don’t have much else to say, the ending felt a bit abrupt, like I got to the second to last chapter and was like there's no way it's ending in one chapter, there's still so much happening, but I know that this has a sequel, so hopefully things get resolved in it.
A solid fantasy read with queer rep and an interesting world and magic system!

This book has an interesting plot and some characters. I just didn't enjoy how the story developed or how many of the characters behaved. The MC was beyond frustrating in my opinion. I just couldn't understand her actions when there were other options available. The characters that really made the book we didn't see enough of or you wouldn't see again. I did enjoy the magic system and having it come at a price. The world of the undead had me intrigued. This book wasn't bad I just couldn't get into it and I couldn't stand the mc. I definitely think other people would enjoy it.

I was disappointed with this one. Reading the summary I could tell it would be politically driven (I’m okay with that) and dark romansty. BUT the romansty was not there.

I loved Hellevir’s magic and Death but you don’t get a lot of him throughout the story.

The princess and Hellevir’s romance was unbelievable and she wasn’t a likable character at all.

I can see the author was trying to make the characters complex to give the readers a reason to explore and think about them. I just feel like the execution could have been better.

Thanks NetGalley for this ARC

The Gilded Crown is a wonderful interesting take on necromancy and the FMC and how she chooses to use her powers. She was very likable and the storyline itself was great! Loved this book! Highly recommend!

I liked this book! I would say it’s YA and not adult. Really great writing! The FMC is easy to like, the MMC not so much 🤷🏻‍♀️

I received this book through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I went into this book pretty blind, and this might be one of my top reads of the year. Excellent piece of literature, and the writing was stunning.

We follow in this book a young girl journey through life that are shaped by her interactions with death and those she chooses to help with her “gift”. She must find out who is trying to kill the princess she has sworn to raise from the dead, in order to be freed to live her life.

The premise in this book is so interesting and her relationship with death also intrigued me, her relationship with the princess was all the more interesting. Honestly just read the book you won’t be disappointed.

The Gilded Crown brings a new perspective to necromancy. Hellevir is a young woman intent on saving everyone. Everything she does is for the good of the many, no matter the personal cost. When she realizes as a very young girl that she can bring the dead back to life, she becomes determined to use her gift as often as possible. As you can imagine, most others are not as altruistic as Hellevir and she quickly ends up entangled in the violent machinations of politics and court life as news of her abilities spreads. With her family, friends, and even her own soul at risk, she is forced to make decisions between what is possible and what is right.

This book includes:
- Death as a corporal concept
- Religious conflict between a monotheistic religion and a philosophical/spiritual religion
- Necromancy as it has never been seen before
- Altruism vs Ruthlessness
- Violent political machinations
- LGBT characters and love stories
- A Familiar
- Who done it murder mystery

I loved "The Gilded Crown." It was nothing as I expected based on the book title or cover art, however, Hellevir's story captured my heart. Her connection with the natural world and dynamic with Death was so visceral, and the imagery was strong. I was in blissful agony watching her be so trusting and innocent over and over, and I wished for her success so badly. I can't relate to her, I related much more to Farvor, but I rooted for her regardless.

My only plot issue is that I felt like Hellevir's relationship was a bit forced, I think the soul-bonding was enough of a motivation for her. Cutting the weak romance would have removed some of the scenes that dragged. I also mentioned the cover art and title a bit before, but I think the book title was hugely misleading. It should have been something like *The Girl Who Made a Bargain with Death* or *Death's Bargain" or *walks with Death* or something that alludes more to the dark fairytale aspects that are central to the plot. The cover art should also never have been changed. I loved the original cover and it matched the genre and themes way better. The new cover alludes to a spicy romantasy, and this is very much not that.

All that said, I did enjoy this book and I highly recommend this one to all lovers of folktales and fables. Fans of "After the Woods," "Thornhedge," and other less literal and slower-paced stories will eat this book up.

I received this ebook as an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to NetGalley, Avon and Harper Voyager, and Marianne Gordon for the opportunity to review this book. This review is also available on my GoodReads - check out my profile https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/62314863

I will have to say I was pleasantly surprised to learn that death was not the love interest in this story. That was very refreshing to me. And while I still was not invested and fully believing of the romance, the story itself made up for the rest of that. The magic system was incredible and the plot was engaging. This was such an overall refreshing read.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an advanced copy off this!!! Deal with Death, paying the price, and some romance. I really enjoyed the naive country girl going from being scared to actively threatening the royalty. Coming into your own is always the best trope with a little death magic is fun. I'm just going to not so patiently wait for the next one in the series.

This book had one of the most unique plots I have read in a while. The magic system is stunning and the mc's relationship to magic and death is one of my favorite parts of the story. I will say I didn't feel alot of chemistry for the romance for this book, but frankly I didn't care because the plot was quite engaging.

Thank you NetGalley and Avon and Harper Voyager for the E arc!
Can we all take a moment to appreciate such a beautiful cover? I am so glad that I picked up this book and get a chance as the summary was absolutely fantastic. I went in hoping for an epic sapphic fantasy, and that is precisely what I got. I think the story focuses so much on what we are willing to do for those we love, and getting to see that struggle in balance for Hellevir was very emotional. This book definitely brought so much intrigue and tension. It was a great mix of the world with a little bit of romantic elements sprinkled in.

To everyone's surprise, death is not the love interest...(I've been reading too much romantasy) but he was my favorite character

The highlight of this book is the writing. I was fully immersed in Gordon's world, hanging onto every beautiful crafted prose and feeling my heart break with Hellevir's. Though the stakes are low (as in we're not fighting in a war), this political fantasy has extremely heavy and dark themes. But she walks with death, able to pull souls back to life, so themes of sacrifice and duty to family were anticipated. Also, a raven companion? LOVED.

The queer representation was spot on, and though I've seen a lot of reviews who disliking Sullivan, I loved her how complex she was and the constant battle between her own morals and her duty to the crown. Truly morally grey.

My biggest issue is the marketing of this book. The title and the cover lead you to believe this is ACOTAR-adjacent. Do not be fooled. This is not a fantasy romance with death as the love interest. This is a much slower-paced, low stakes, spiceless political fantasy. It is great, just not what I expected when I picked it up. Other reasons I didn't give it 5 stars were: pacing felt a bit off and it was a bit too predictable at times.

Thanks to Netgalley and Harper Voyager for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was a solid read but just wasn’t for me. I didn’t really care for any of the characters, and I don’t understand how the MC’s father could just abandon her for 10 years while still maintaining that strong kind of bond they shared.

I had a lot of hope and excitement at the start of this book but unfortunately as it progressed it never seemed to meet my expectations. Hellevir is a strong character and I enjoyed her developments throughout the story, at no point did she make choices just for the sake of plot. Her relationships are also some of the strongest points of the novel especially within her family and with the man in Death, but the relationship with the princess was in my eyes the biggest weakness. The romantic tone it began to take felt a little icky given the power dynamic between the two girls and how often one of them had their family threatened with death to do something for the other. It began to feel like a chore to read the scenes where they interacted or when Hellevir thought about her.
The religious plotline was a highlight though and I would be very curious to see that develop further in other books in this world. Additionally Hellevir and Death (or the man in Death's realm) were the best scenes in the book. I was always so excited when she decided to go and save someone because that mystery kept me going.

I liked this book but I felt like something was missing. There was just something that kept me from being fully invested in the characters and the story.

I started off absolutely adoring this book - loved the atmosphere, the worldbuilding and lore, the mystery of Death. And I absolutely adored Hellevir, Elsevir, and Milandre. There were so many times while I was reading that I actually felt the weight of Hellevir's despair and helplessness.

Maybe it's because I loved Hellevir so much, but I really, intensely disliked Sullivain. At first her casual disregard for Hellevir's sacrifices grated on me and I was like "oh, she'll probably get better as the book goes on, maybe she'll come to appreciate Hellevir after all," but her wildly inappropriate reaction to Hellevir bringing her back after she's thrown from a horse made me actively dislike her. She treated Hellevir like garbage, even when they were alone. And re: Calgir, she never outwardly expressed regret for what she did until it was too little, too late. If Hellevir couldn't sense some sort of turmoil in her because of their soul bond, how would we have known she had any redeeming qualities at all? I could not for the life of me figure out why Hellevir was so drawn to her (aforementioned soul bond aside).

Also, the religious aspect seemed a little misplaced and never really went anywhere, but I have a feeling there's more to it - this book is trying to do A LOT - but I definitely intend to read the next book in this series to see what happens next! Thanks for the opportunity to read an early copy.