I had heard so many things about The Plated Prisoner Series  by Raven Kennedy. It seems that people either adore it and consider it one of the best series ever, or absolutely despise it. Are you wondering in which camp I am? Read the review to find out!

Attention: I will be reviewing all four books that are currently available in this post, but everything apart from the first book will be hidden so that you do not read any spoilers unless you want to.

Book 1: Gild

Gild tells the story of Auren, an orphan girl who is rescued from a violent life by a young man with the remarkable ability to turn anything he touches into solid gold. When this talent earns him the hand of the crown princess, he decides to take Auren with him to the palace, turning her golden and naming her his favourite concubine. But even a golden cage is still a cage, so Auren soon starts to dream of a life outside of the palace. Nevertheless, her trust in king Midas is without question. Until war arrives on the borders of the kingdom and a dangerous deal is struck with another king.

A good start, but ready for more

I really liked this first part of the Plated Prison Series. I’m not easily shocked, so you won’t hear the same rant from me as you’ll read elsewhere. Is there sexual violence and misogyny in this book? Yes, heaps of it.  However, I do not feel that this is a problem seeing that the book opens with a trigger warning note and the characters who behave as such are in no way glorified.

This series is a loose retelling of the King Midas myth. At the moment, it’s not yet clear to me what the purpose is of having Auren been turned golden, except to make her (far too easily) recognizable to enemies and to illustrate what kind of a man Midas is. But I guess we’ll find out!

But memory and time aren’t friends. They reject each other, they hurry in opposite directions, pulling the binding taut between them, threatening to snap. They fight, and we inexplicably lose. Memory and time. Always losing one as you go on with the other.

At one point in the story, Auren encounters Snow Pirates. I had such a good laugh at that. Sleighs that look like ships, pulled by enormous felines with paws on fire. Loved it.

Truth be told, there were some minor inconsistencies that I noticed in the story. Nevertheless, these didn’t really bother me or prevented me from connecting to the plot.

Four out of five gemstones!

Book 2: Glint

Summary & Evaluation Attention: Spoilers! (click here)

I didn’t realise it before, but there are some similarities to be found between this series and the A Court of Thorns and Roses Series by Sarah J. Maas and these become more visible in book two. I have to say, I loved it :p I am a huge fan of A Court of Mist and Fury, so I did not mind the similarities to this book at all. For example: the initial love interest of the female main character turns out to be overly protective and more than a bit questionable (I know the world hates Tamlin, but I absolutely prefer him over Midas); book two introduces us to a new potential love interest, who is dark, mysterious, and dangerous (and breathtakingly gorgeous); the new love interest has a found family of warriors who would do anything for him…Like I mentioned, I quite liked these patterns I saw recurring, as these were my favourite bits of ACOTAR.

As you might already realise, I am team Rip all the way at this point (I just finished book two when I’m writing this). I also quite liked his found family (his wrath) and the army healer (mender). Those were characters that truly enriched the story for me and brought some Night Court vibes to it, which I loved. Auren is slowly starting to grow on me. I still think she acts as if she were plain stupid with a death wish half of the time, but I like her better than I did in book one and I’m also starting to understand her behaviour better. I’ve also realised that she’s more of an unreliable narrator than I expected, which is something I really like. I have to admit I didn’t see her grand reveal near the end of the story coming. Looking back, I realise that I really should have, but I didn’t. I feel a bit stupid, I admit. A few pages later, there’s the final plot twist of book two, and at the risk of repeating myself, I didn’t see that one coming either. I am so looking forward to book three to understand this one better…I have been re-reading some scenes to make sense of it, but I don’t grasp how it’s possible yet.

The second book is told from multiple points-of-view, with Auren remaining the main one, but with additional chapters by Queen Malina and King Midas. I really liked Malina’s chapters too, as they give the reader a much needed insight in what’s happening on the other side of the world and why the queen is acting as she does.

You might have already noticed that I am way more raving about book two than I was about book one, so without a doubt: 5 gemstones out of 5.

Book 3: Gleam

Summary & Evaluation Attention: Spoilers! (click here)

You might have guessed it, but by the point I started Gleam, I was already completely obsessed with this series. When I finished it? I loved it even more.

Like with the two previous books, there were many plot twists and reveals that I did not see coming. A great addition to part three are the smut scenes. Oh my, does she know how to write spicy scenes. Hot hot hot! I have really started to like Auren a lot more than I did in book one. My favourite character is – of course 😉 – Rip. And I quite appreciate his found family too <3 Night Court vibes all over <3

By book three, we have moved away from the literal cage and the story is now set in a more metaphorical cage, showing the life of females in a male world. By now, Midas has become the bastard I always suspected him to be. I am glad my loyalties don’t have to be divided between him and Rip though. Rip all the way!

Why does it all of a sudden seem as if my heart is a fawn picking her head up from behind a leafless shrub? Like I’m prey already entangled, not by teeth or claws, but by spikes. By the thorns hidden in the twist of the brambles I so willingly walked toward, my heart’s blood coating each barb

Last but not least, I also appreciated the interactions between two supporting characters, namely queen Kaila’s brother Manu and his husband Keon. I hope to see more of these two in the next books, although I’m not sure whether that will happen.

Once again 5 gemstones out of 5.

Book 4: Glow

Summary & Evaluation Attention: Spoilers! (click here)

I simply CANNOT believe I have to wait 6 months to read the last book now. Book four was just as great as the previous two and kept me fascinated from start to finish. And that is saying something, because this book is HUGE (my edition has 714 pages). Like with the previous ones, there were clear Sarah J Maas influences noticeable, especially this world’s version of Velaris. But like I mentioned before, this didn’t bother me at all.

I had tried so hard to stay away from spoilers, so the only thing I knew about this fourth book was that people were “not okay” after having finished it, as the ending was apparently shocking and heartbreaking. I might have read another book, because I wasn’t shocked at all. I didn’t see it coming, no, but it’s not the type of cliffhanger that will keep me up at night. Nevertheless, I am eager to read book five!

I have to admit I spent most of this book convinced that a particular person was going to betray the Auren and Slade. Turns out I was wrong. I am impressed though, I really thought it was going to be another “I KNEW IT” opportunity.

I still like Manu, although he’s become a bit of an idiot in this book. I believe he could potentially be a very interesting spin-off character though. Just a suggestion 😉

Once again 5 gemstones out of 5.

Age Category: New Adult

Representation:  LGBTQ+ supporting characters

Trigger Warnings (click here, may contain spoilers)

Warnings for (sexual) abuse, misogyny, and manipulation

Do you want to discover more?

If my review inspired you to pick up the first book, don’t hesitate to check it out at Goodreads or at the below online stores.

Amazon.nl: Gild Hardcover Edition

Amazon.nl: Gild Paperback Edition

Amazon.nl: Gild eBook Edition

Earlier this year, white/gold hardcover editions were released, which are absolutely stunning. The normal paperbacks were already beautiful but these are sublime *chef’s kiss* Furthermore, these editions are printed on a thick, glossy paper that feels luxurious (although I have to admit it’s difficult not to make dents in it while reading), and the illustrations at the start of each chapter are so pretty <3

The dust jackets of the new hardcover editions match those of the special editions of Waterstones, although those editions have yellow sprayed edges (don’t be fooled when you see them on a picture, the edges are not gold). The Waterstones‘ editions also come signed and their edition of Glow has a bonus chapter from Slade’s POV. You can now pre-order their signed edition of Gold as well, which matches the earlier books. I like the fact that these are signed and that one of them contains bonus content, but I have to admit I am not at all impressed by the quality of these special editions. Not only do I believe that it would have made way more sense to make the edges gilded, the papers were still connected to each other on several pages in my Glow edition, and it turned out to be impossible to separate them without damaging the top sprayed edges. Furthermore, the paper quality is clearly inferior to those of the normal editions. Really a shame. I haven’t seen these editions around much on the second hand market, but personally I wouldn’t recommend to spend more than € 30 on the first three and € 40 on the fourth. The difference between them and the normal new editions is simply not big enough to spend more.

Recently Fairyloot has also announced that they will be doing a special edition box containing the three first books (the other two would follow later). These editions will have an exclusive cover, illustrated endpapers, foiling on the naked cover, stenciled edges, and they will be signed. I for one am really looking forward to these. They will be sold for about € 86, but they haven’t been put available yet.

Similar to this

The first series that comes to mind is obviously A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas. There are so many similarities that I would dare to state that the author was clearly influenced by this series. Which is not a bad thing, because now we have two amazing series (which are still more than different enough)! My spoiler-free review of the A Court of Thorns and Roses Series can be found here.

Another series that came to mind is the Captive Prince Series by C.S. Pacat. The story is very different, and it’s another genre too (historical romance), but there are similar themes of slavery throughout the story. Furthermore, it has similar reasons for being a bit notorious. I absolutely loved this series, so check out my review if you want to know more.

Next to the Plated Prisoner Series, Raven Kennedy also wrote the Heart Hassle Series which starts off with Signs of Cupidity. This is a reverse-harem paranormal romance story about a cupid exiled from the human realm. I am definitely putting this one on my TBR!