This was AMAZING. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and it felt like it just zoomed by. Hellevir was a pretty great main character with a lot of hidden depth that was interesting to read. I also like her power and ability to revive the dead - with a cost.

I wish there were more riddles and more treasure-hunting though. However, I think Gordon is going to do that in the coming stories. Hopefully she does it soon! Clearly, I thought this was going to be a standalone novel so I was pretty sad when I realized about 80% into the book that Gordon seems to be gearing up for at least a duology. I hope book 2 comes out soon!

That's kinda all I have to say, honestly. I really liked this book and it was great.

i LOVED this book. The writing was lyrical the story had me hooked from the start. i can't wait to get a physical copy for myself and read it again.

An unusual book! Right off, I’ll just tell you I am torn about my feelings regarding Marianne Gordon’s debut novel. It is such a unique premise and I could not predict where this book was going at any point. I must say, I’ve never read anything quite like it and I like that! But there were a few areas that made me not fall in love quite the way I wanted to, and I really wanted to!

Hellevir (what a name, right?) is a peculiar young girl who can talk with things in nature, not just animals but trees and the hearthplace fire and even Death…well, he may be death. Put a pin in that!

With this questionable gift she finds herself able to do what can rarely be done, go into the realm of the dead and bring back those who have lost their life, but only at a dear cost to herself.

When her skills become known, she is forced by the Crown out of her quiet village and into a court full of political scheming and deceit. Will she help the Crown? Does she want to? If so, what will it cost her? Exciting questions and lots of potential!

The overall premise is so intriguing, and I gobbled up the first 1/3 of the book eagerly waiting for the plot to truly come to light. But frustratingly, it never really did. I see this is meant to be the first in a series so maybe there is some slow playing here, which I appreciate. It makes sense that things will develop and more will be revealed down the road. I don’t mind being patient. But I never quite got the point of why we should care if Hellevir succeeds in helping the princess and the queen she is bound in service to. They are both very hot and cold characters without a lot of backstory as to what drives them or why they are the way they are.

Hellevir is also so wishy washy and I wasn’t sure if i really liked her.. She doesn’t know her own mind and vacillates between what she wants to do and doesn’t want to do so often that I didn’t know what to cheer for. It was hard to really embrace her as the main character and want her to succeed because I was just never sure what she should be succeeding at. Saving the princess? Is that good? Bad? She makes it seem negative and against her will but then has a deep desire to save her. But it’s very unclear as to why and we don’t fully get to go inside her head and see the real turmoil that would make us sympathetic to her agitation. She doesn’t know what she wants and neither do we, and we don’t know WHY! I’m a girl who needs to know the inner workings of a character’s mind and then I’m all in for them. The lack of character development left me feeling uncommitted and I steadily lost interest more and more as the book continued.

Even as the book is over, I honestly still can’t put my finger on what the overall plot was because it felt like a bunch of small situations without a bigger endgame. We have a lot of great elements and all the pieces here, but the STORY is missing for me. A really wonderful Book Two could bring it all into focus and I think I am invested just enough to read a second book! I hope Gordon’s next book gives us more insight into where we are going because her writing is beautiful, creative and wholly original. Hopefully this is just the beginning of Hellevir’s story and I will get to fall in love with her yet!

Thanks to Avon and Harper Voyager books for this Advanced Reader Copy! This ARC was kindly provided to me in exchange for my honest review.

I was intrigued by this book's premise and extremely beautiful cover, but unfortunately my positive appreciation ended there. In comparison to other fantasy novels in shops right now, The Gilded Crown simply doesn't stand out. On the contrary, it falls flat. The world-building was lackluster, the main protagonist felt super immature and the plot did not deliver on its promise. Really wanted to like it and am sorry I did not, but I might just be an outlier on this one.

★★★★★ - 𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰
The Gilded Crown by Marianne Gordon
Book 1 - The Ravens Trade
༘Spoiler free ༘
⭐️4.375/5
Dark Fantasy, Adult, Romance
➳ Paganism vs. Monotheism
➳ Forbidden Power
➳ Riddles
➳ Court/Political Intrigue
➳ Resurrection
➳ Dark God(Death?)
➳ Ancient/Medieval Setting
➳ Communicating with Animals & Nature

✨[Quotation Pending Confirmation from Publisher, to be updated]✨
Step into a world where life & death collide, and a gifted woman holds the entire fate of a kingdom on the brink of civil unrest in her hands. Sacrifice & secrets intertwine in “The Gilded Crown,” a dark fantasy where raising the dead comes at a haunting price.

📚📚📚

Meet Hellevir, a unique woman with the rare ability to resurrect the dead. However, this incredible power comes with a steep price, as each revival exacts a toll on her own soul, demanded by a mysterious figure that governs the realm of the afterlife.

When Princess Sullivain, the sole heir to the kingdom's throne, is tragically assassinated, Hellevir's talents are urgently required. The Queen summons her to bring the princess back to life. But one revival is not enough; political unrest looms, and the threat of further attacks on the princess necessitates Hellevir's continuous presence.

As Hellevir fulfills her duty to protect the princess, she finds herself entangled in complex political intrigue and grapples with emotions she can't deny. The looming shadow of war adds further pressure as Hellevir must trade more and more of herself to maintain the princess's safety.

Yet, one truth remains constant – Death will always claim what is owed.

❧✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*❦*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧❧

Marianne Gordon crafts a dark mysterious world steeped with political intrigue, mystical beliefs and deadly romances. The clash of the old religion/gods and the new monotheistic religion felt very reminiscent of The Last Kingdom, and Vikings. I loved seeing Hellevir communicating with the hearth, nature and the animals she came in contact with. She seemed to find a way to connect and speak to every spirit she interacted with, and let me tell you… I was so giddy when we got an appearance from the very alive Willow Tree (à la Grandmother Willow in Pocahontas.) Her raven Elsevir might’ve been my favourite animal companion I’ve read in any story of late.

I was fascinated with the man dressed in the black cloak (Death?) that she bargained with to retrieve souls from the afterworld. I have so many questions for him. I spent a good portion of the book concerned she was about to be stolen away to the underworld like persephone. I looked forward to the riddles he gave to Hellevir, and yearned for her to visit with him longer.

This world was so beautifully descriptive, in a way the writing style reminded me of Naomi Novik for an older audience, and with a darker less playful world.
If I were to narrow down and categorise the age range for this book I’d likely place it at New Adult (18-30) instead of being adult which is generally geared towards late twenties and older. This isn’t a complaint, just an observation. I would also categorise this book as being political fantasy and dark fantasy.
I absolutely adored (most of) Hellevir’s family, and especially loved her found family. Her brother Farvor’s romantic endeavours were truly touching and heartwarming. In truth, it was hard not to love Farvor, and to hurt alongside him. On the subject of romance, this book has no explicit scenes but (in my opinion) fully hits the mark with the romantic gestures and interactions we are shown. There are no spice scenes, but if you’re looking for the kind of love that will pull a body from a fire… this one’s for you. If receiving gifts or acts of service is your love language… you’ve found your book. I hope the next book includes some more romantic letters between characters because I found them to be so enjoyable. I loved seeing the characters grow throughout this story, and seeing there was more depth to Hellevir than simply being a martyr.
The Gilded Crown delves deeply into the theme of sacrifice, particularly with Hellevir’s sacrifice to perform each resurrection and the cost of bargaining with Death. This isn’t the steamy Death/Devil we see bargained with in stories like The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue. This character we are presented with is truly mysterious, seems to consider himself quite honourable and… clearly keeps a lot of secrets. The familial bonds in here honestly touched me more than i expected them to. The battle between love & family & self was one that kept me on the edge of my seat. In addition, the intricate web of political intrigue and power struggles created some serious tension. To top it all off, we saw the conflicts occurring between the old traditions and new beliefs. There was a lot going on, in the best way, and Gordon really has created a world full of so many opportunities for future stories.
Without giving any spoilers, I was truly shocked and impressed by the character growth necessary for the ending to happen. I have so many questions about Death and what is to come for Hellevir’s future. This was the perfect setup for a second book or spin-off series without it being a cliffhanger, so thank you Marianne Gordon so much for leaving me curious without leaving me hanging.

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

💖
LIKES:
⋆ The world-building felt so beautifully real and open, I feel as if we’ve only seen the peek into an expansive universe and I can’t wait to see what Gordon has in store for us. I’m gobsmacked that this is a debut novel. Congratulations, you’ve created a truly mysterious and intriguing world.
⋆ I loved every moment interaction Hellevir had with death, I look forward to tabbing these once I get my hands on a physical copy of the book.
⋆ I think the romance was done so with such a classic sort of feel to it. Gestures that some people might overlook, were things I found myself treasuring (notes, flowers, gifts… and the specific truly grand gesture Sullivain made really touched my heart)
⋆ The sibling dynamic in this story felt so real and authentic, and the conversations they had 100% seemed like conversations I could have with my sibling in real life.

❤️‍🩹
DISLIKES:
⋆ I would have preferred a bit more foreshadowing interlaced throughout the book. When finding my holy grail fantasy books, foreshadowing is one of the criteria I look for and while this book had a pretty good amount I would have preferred more.

**Fantasy Scoring**
Worldbuilding ➷ ✅ 5/5
Foreshadowing ➷ ✅ 4/5
Plot ➷ ✅ 4.5/5
Relationships ➷ ✅ 4/5

Thank you to the Marianne Gordon, Harper Voyager, HarperCollins Publishers and NetGalley for the opportunity to provide my honest opinion on the ARC of this book.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC!
A neat YA fantasy concept decently executed. The writing was good in this debut and the worldbuilding and idea behind it intrigued me.
I do wish more time had been spent on character and relationship development though and that we got to see more of the main character using her magic and exploring that.

Gilded Crown is an intriguing story of death and politics. Hellevar has special abilities: she can talk to animals and bring the newly dead back to life. As a child, her mother died in childbirth. In her desperation she enters Death and sees her mother with her baby sister. Death will only let her take one soul back at a cost. She chooses her mother. Her mother is angry and forces her family to leave Hellevar in the village as they move to the capital. Years later, as a teenager, yhe queen comes calling for Hellevar to resurrect her daughter who was poisoned. Unfortunately, this starts her life as the princesses personal herbalist and reserectionist. In the capital, Hellevar reconnects with her family and is thrown into the search for the one behind the assassination attempts. She quickly learns that things are not what they seem and not everyone shows their true self.

A solid four stars. Pacing was a little off, but the reader can become quickly absorbs in this young adult story. I enjoyed the gay couples, but I felt as if the author tried a little hard to make them so. However, I did quickly fall in love or dislike various characters.

This gave me belladonna meets priory of the orange tree vibes and I’m here for it. And a debut novel? ! Excuse me.

This was great, I’d be thrilled for a sequel- not sure if that’s planned yet or not.

Thank you NetGalley for allowing an arc in exchange for an honest review!

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for an arc. All of these comments are my own.

I think the plot and story had very good potential. Basically a herbalist being able to go to the land of the dead and bring people back by giving “death” a token and blood.

Although the plot had potiental; I just didn’t really connect with the story. I felt like it lead me nowhere. I’m unsure if there is going to be another one or not by the ending. I felt like them solving who wants Sulli murdered was very underwhelming. I didn’t really care for any of the characters either. Also the “romance” was lacking so much. Throughout the whole book there is literally no romance and then at the end there is a kiss and sulli begging her to stay. It was just random and weird to me.

I think maybe if more time had been put into this then it could’ve been amazing to me but it just wasn’t my cup of tea. With that being said, just because I didn’t favor it, doesn’t mean others won’t.

3 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The Gilded Crown was described as The Witch’s Heart meets The Priory of the Orange Tree. And I absolutely love that. This story did feel more like a YA book l, but it was good nonetheless.

It seems like it might be a bit of an unpopular opinion, but I really liked Hellevir. I enjoyed her relationship with her family (even though it made me sad!) and I really liked how Gordon wrote her.

This book might not be for everyone, but i definitely enjoyed it and recommend it.

Overall, there are many things to enjoy about this book, but I do think it sometimes struggles with adjusting character motivations for the sake of the plot which can be frustrating. The book follows a girl who can raise the dead when she is thrust into court politics and a growing tension between a new monotheistic religion and the old pagan tradition.

The writing style is very good, the author I very capable and handles well the tricky balance in fantasy between world building, characters, and plot. However it feels that in trying to navigate threads of the characters relationship with death, her relationship with Sullivan, the conflict with the church, and a plot to overthrow the crown, I felt like there were some crucial underdeveloped pieces. I would agree with other reviewers that is does feel more YA or “new adult” as those books, like this one, tend to gloss over very troubling relationships such as those between Hellevir and Sullivan. I wish that there had been more time spent developing Hellevir relationship with her magical and healing abilities outside of raising the dead. Ultimately I think lovers of YA and new adult dark fantasy will really enjoy this, but for me I would have ditched one of the subplots to dive deeper into her magic and her relationships. Also she should have talked to more animals because that is a COOL power she really never used.

This was an enjoyable read. I did have a difficult time with the pacing- there was always a feeling of heaviness in the story. My heart ached for Hellevir so much & her choices that turned into not really choices at all. I feel like a need a hug & a hallmark movie now.

This book aired more on the YA side of things. I enjoyed this book but it felt a bit immature and that isn’t exactly my favorite thing. I think with some more polishing that this could be excellent. Thank you to net galley and the author for allowing me to arc read.

This is the sort of book that I think tried to bridge the gap between YA and Adult but felt much more on the YA side of things at times. That's not to say that adults can't enjoy this one but primarily the protagonist felt more YA than I hoped going in. Considering this is marketed as an adult book, that's a problem, as it changes perceptions and expectations. Overall, I think there's a lot to like about THE GILDED CROWN (cliche title, but oh well) and I particularly enjoyed the premise and the worldbuilding. It doesn't feel huge in scope, but it didn't need to, and worked well for the story at hand. I struggled with the romance here as I felt it wasn't as developed as it could've been--and again, felt more YA than mature. Sames goes with the writing style, as it felt like it fit what I read in YA novels (that's not a bad thing generally, but is when a book's been pitched as adult.)

I think if this book was edited to fit YA and marketed as such, I might have had a more positive reception to it.

Hellevir lives in a remote town with her mother, father and older brother. At ten years old she finds that she can bring animals back to life. Despite this, she lives a fairly ordinary life until one night when her mother dies, brought on by the early birth of her sister. It is then that she realizes that she can navigate death and negotiate to bring back her loved ones, though the cost is much higher than that for woodland creatures.
But she can only bring back her mother, something which her mother find difficult to forgive. As a result the rest of the family moves to the city, leaving Helleivr in the tutelage of the local herbalist/healer.
Despite her rural life, Helevir's secret does not remain so, and the Queen brings her granddaughter to her, or rather to the town's herbalist, for resurrection. When she cannot do it, Hellevir steps in and sets her life on a new course, bringing her to the city where her family resides and into a world she is not completely prepared for,

There was a lot I enjoyed about this book. Hellevir's skills were something unique, and I enjoyed the description of Death and the world he inhabits. Helevir's relationship with her family, and even the Princess Sullivan were well done.
But there was a definite YA feel about some of this book, which, when it's marketed as an adult read, threw me a little bit. Overall, enjoyed, but I kept hoping for a little... more.

Thank you to Netgalley and HarperCollins for allowing me to read an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thanks to the publishers and netgalley for allowing me to read this book.

So, I enjoyed this book. I did. But I wouldn’t recommend this book to many people. I have a very specific group of people who enjoy this book.

So lets first mention the things I loved:

Hellevir, I loved her. Other reviewers didn’t seem to but I did.

The magical fantastical element was really enjoyable it felt like a storybook fantasy. And I was in the mood for that.

Her family, her dad and brother and hers relationship was beautiful. A little confusing because how could they leave her. But ultimately it was a fantastic relationship.

Things I didn’t love:

Hellevir felt much younger to me than her twenty one twenty two years. She felt very immature and her way of thinking was not well developed. However I loved her a lot.


The romance was not for me. I love a woman woman relationship especially in fantasies. But it just didn’t work for me in this book.

Overall I think this book would work for the audience who loves young adult but wants to get into adult fantasy. But also who loves storybook retelling. As far as I know, this isn’t a storybook retelling, but it reads like one.

My overall thoughts are good because this book worked for me, but I know this book wouldn’t work for a lot of people. I am just in my young adult fantasy retelling era, and that is why this book worked for me.

Hellevir discovers early on in childhood that she has the ability to hear the whispers of the world around her. The old religion of the country has many such people. What makes her different from the rest is her relationship with death - she can pull souls back. Hellevir is sought out by the queen to resurrect her granddaughter and then becomes inextricably connected to inner court politics and scheming, as well as religious turmoil.

Cute and vaguely gay. I know this is tagged as romance but it really didn’t come across and I was so wishing that we were going to see a different love interest pop up. I didn’t love how self sacrificing Hellevir was, and the queen is the bitchiest mega bitch to ever live. I so wanted there to be a twist coming with Hellevirs powers but maybe we’ll get that in book two.

This book was captivating! From the moment I picked it up I was engrossed in this world. The characters captivated me! Can’t wait for more!

For the most part, I really, really enjoyed this. The world isn't super big (yet), but it feels lovingly crafted with an edge of danger to it. Hellevir is a really wonderful protagonist; she's pulled in so many different directions and yet she tries hard to stay true to her core belief: that if she can use her ability to walk through Death to save someone, she will. The way Death is portrayed--both the person and the place he inhabits--are unnerving and faintly Labyrinth-esque. Plus, Hellevir can communicate with animals and the spirits that inhabit the natural world, which is always a fun concept. What I loved, especially, was Hellevir's relationship with her family (and I'm including her mentor back in her village, too).

There were two aspects of the story, though, that I had a harder time with. The first was Hellevir's relationship with Sullivain. Truthfully, I didn't think the romance between them was developed enough. I could definitely buy Hellevir's attraction to her, but a romance felt like a bit of a stretch. I think it needed a bit more development in order to fully get me invested in their relationship. Because as it stands, all I could really focus on was their uneven relationship and the resentment Hellevir felt for Sullivain and the queen.

The second thing was that, towards the later end of the book, there was a choice to include 2 different POV changes when, up until that point, the only POV we'd seen from was Hellevir's. In my opinion, while I understand what the switch was trying to do, it didn't work. It felt jarring and should have either: a) been left out entirely or b) been more of them throughout the book, while still keeping to Hellevir's POV as the standard (more like interludes between chapters). It honestly gave me whiplash and I kind of hope it's taken out of the finished copy of the book because it doesn't really add all that much to the story.

Other than those two things, though, I think both the concept and the characters were really well-done and I look forward to continuing with the series.

3.5 ⭐️ rounded up

This review is a mess and just a bunch of random thoughts and feelings mashed together but it’s all I can manage right now 😅

Possible spoilers ‼️

I really enjoyed this! I liked the writing from the beginning and thought Helliver was an interesting MC. Even if I didn’t like some of the decisions she made and knew how they would turn out I still understood why she made them. I loved the relationship she had with her father and brother, Farvor, but what I don’t get is how they just up and left her behind for 10 years without even a visit? I also never came to like Sullivan. She just never grew on me and I was really glad that Helliver kind of stood up to her eventually. I absolutely loved Farvor and Calgir and was totally sobbing at the end 😭

Overall, well written and intriguing🤗