I wanted soo badly to love this story, but it just fell flat for me and was a like, not love. It definitely has potential if it is a series that will be continued though.
I found that the characters and story overall was pretty one dimensional. I could feel what the author was trying to do with the characters but it just didn’t pull through for me. I think they just needed to be more fleshed out all around as well as the world and magic.

Odessa has cared for everyone in her home for most of her life but has never been appreciated for what she does and longs for a family. She ends up going to work for the terrible prince in order to save her brother's lives. She meets Talon the princes right hand man who has many secrets that are dangerous for Odessa. This is a very interesting romantasy. It definitely focuses more on Odessa and her journey working at the castle and her desire to be loved than her romance with talon. It feels like he pops up randomly to make things more difficult for her. Her family is also terrible and she has so much trauma do them.

Beyond Those Gilded Walls is a binge worthy standalone fantasy romance read. It’s an interesting mashup of gothic, atmospheric settings and fantasy elements. The world building was so well done. It was easy to picture myself in the story especially the opulent balls hosted by the Prince. There was also an incredibly interesting juxtaposition between those living inside the luxury of the castle and those struggle outside the castle walls. Odyssa had the makings of an interesting FMC; however, I often struggled with her choices. On her own, she’s fierce but with her siblings, she lets them walk all over her. The dynamic between Odyssa and advisor was fascinating to explore as things kept changing and evolving between them. For the most part, I felt this story was well paced. It progressed in an organic way until the ending. The ending felt more rushed than the rest of the book, so I wish it had kept the pacing the rest of the book held. I read this via audiobook and loved Stefanie Kay’s narration. Kay really captured the atmospheric setting of this book while bringing Odyssa to life. There was plenty of emotion and life injected into the narration that I was fully captivated. I highly recommend checking out the audiobook for Beyond Those Gilded Walls.

I could not listen to this fast enough! Trust me, I tried.

The following are the notes I wrote as I listened to it.

*A blood sickness has plagued the city. The royals are ignoring the issue while people have to quarantine to not accidentally kill off their family members. Sounds familiar.

*The anger in this book is palpable! Both in the writing and in the narration. Shout out to this narrator. She really got the emotions across. The parental-sister dynamic is so real. F those spoiled brat brothers.

*Homie is 20 and still living off mommy? And you want your sister to leave and still send you money? Be so for real right now.

*Soul shades? Oop (won't spoil this)

*I'll be your little wolf shadow daddy

Okay I'll stop because I don't want to spoil it. Spice is limited to one real scene. Slow burn.

I will now be going to read the rest of her catalog.



I got this audio via netgalley.

Absolutely loved this book.

A deadly sickness attacks a kingdom and people are sick and dying daily.

We start the story off with Odyssa, a survivor of the disease, taking care of her sick mother who is dying from it. As her dying wish, she asks Odyssa to take care of her brothers.

Soon, her mother passes and her brothers return home and immediately, I don't like them and I don't understand why Odyssa even tries because they are absolute jerks to her and blame her for their mother's death and everything else that goes wrong in their lives.

After turning her out to get a better job to support them, Odyssa starts working in the castle... while working in the castle she catches the eye of one of the lazy prince's men. He's a mystery to her and she to him.

Will she get the cure from the prince to save her brother? Will she find a place and meaning in the world? Read this book to find out!

It's a great read that sets a wonderful scene in an imaginary world caught in between magic and death.

Beyond Those Gilded Walls is a Poe-inspired gothic fantasy romance that hooks you from the very first page.

In a land shrouded by the red mist of the Blood Plague, Odyssa, one of the few survivors, works tirelessly to provide for her brothers. But as her money dwindles, she finds herself applying for the only job that will pay enough to give her family a chance at survival. The catch? It’s within the walls of a castle where no one who enters ever comes back out. A castle where lavish parties are thrown every night, and Odyssa will be forced to serve the wretched humans who care nothing for the suffering beyond those walls. But Odyssa has a plan: she’ll infiltrate the castle, find the cure that the evil Prince withholds from everyone, and steal it.

However, within these walls, she finds more than she bargained for. Inexplicable things begin happening in the chilling castle, as spectral beings—visible only to her—emerge from the walls, hell-bent on breaking Odyssa.
Only a mysterious man, the Prince's right-hand man, seems to have the answers to her burning questions.

This is gothic fantasy romance at its best. Taylor’s hauntingly atmospheric prose pulls you into this plague-stricken world and keeps you hooked until the very last page.

The mixture of psychological horror and romantic fantasy was perfectly executed. The imagery was both amazing and horrifying as this preternatural castle came to life, balanced expertly with swoon-worthy romance and damning secrets.

The romance takes a spicy turn about 70% into the book. Odyssa and the MMC (main male character) have a beautiful, heartwarming love story that I adored watching unfold. They’ve both been through so much, and the evolution of their relationship was wonderfully done.

One of the things I really loved about this book is that the FMC (female main character) is 27. It’s so refreshing to read a fantasy where the FMC isn’t 18 or 19 years old. I truly appreciated her maturity and life experience.

I loved how everything played out and can’t wait to see what Taylor writes next. She leaves the door open for another character’s adventure in this same universe, and I hope we get to see more from this world.

You’ll enjoy this book if you like themes and tropes of:
Gothic elements
Forbidden romance (servant and the Prince’s right-hand)
Magic
Gods
Plague
Spicy romance
Ghosts
Secrets

I listened to the audiobook, and the narrator did an incredible job. She brought the characters to life in such a fluid way which allows you to truly settle into the story.

Thank you NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for this ARC audiobook in exchange for an honest review

This had such promise! The premise and magic system seemed interesting, but I wanted more. More detail on the magic and the world, and more backstory to the side characters, especially that damn cat because she ended up being my favorite. A LOT of time and detail went into the FMC's penchant for getting into trouble, wherein the MMC was magically there to save the day (like on repeat, we get it she's a damsel in distress and he's going to make sure she's safe ~EVEN THOUGH HE DOESN'T ACTUALLY INTERVENE WHEN THE OPPORTUNITY DOES ARISE). The ending felt very rushed and, again, I wanted more information. Thanks Netgalley for the e-ARC!

3.5 Stars

In a kingdom forsaken by its cowardly prince, a blood plague is running rampant in the streets. Odyssa, a rare survivor of this plague, infiltrates the castle as a servant in a desperate attempt to save her family. There she encounters the prince's right hand man, Tallon, who might lead her to the answers she's looking for.

How can I describe my feelings towards this book? On the one hand, the magic was interesting, the romance was good and I loved that it's a standalone. On the other hand, the fmc frustrated me, and the villain of the story felt incredibly shallow. I also wish we got more of the gothic atmosphere promised to us in the synopsis.

I do think the Romantasy girlies will eat this up, and I'd probably recommend it to fans of One Dark Window by Rachel Gillig.

I really enjoyed this story, it was a lot of fun. I lived how she found worth in herself and someone who didn't need her to prove she was good enough.

The storyline is completely enthralling, the setting is perfect, the characters are grounded in their reality, and this gothic romance entirely took over my evening. I easily finished this in a single sitting; between the subtle hints of inspiration from Edgar Allan Poe’s work, and the cinnamon roll of a shadow daddy, my classic gothic loving heart was made very happy while devouring this one.

Beyond Those Gilded Walls, will go into the ever growing pile of books labelled: “Wish I could read this again for the first time”.

I loved reading this and I loved the audiobook experience even more.

Please. Do not miss this one.

I wanted to like this book more, but there was a lot of “telling” not “showing” going on with the writing….80% of the book were conversations of people warning her off of people/information. Things just kept happening to her despite her pretty much doing nothing, and the ending was abrupt and not the cliffhanger I think it was meant to be. Just wasn’t for me.