The Gilded King by Josie Jaffrey

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Synopsis

Julia lives in the Blue. The world’s last city. She serves the nobility from a distance until she meets Lucas, a boy who believes in fairytales. But the Blue is her prison. Julia dreams of escaping into the Red but fears the contamination and death that might be awaiting her. 

Beyond the city walls of the Blue in the wild forests of the Red, Cameron has little humanity left to lose. As he searches for his long lost friend, he finds a long lost enemy instead; an impending threat to nobles and humans alike. An enemy they forgot how to fight. 

First of All

I want to thank Josie Jaffrey for gifting me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review! Really sweet of her!

For Starters

This book caught me by surprise so many times. It’s hard to find an author that isn’t predictable in their writing. I literally could NOT put this book down. I was even reading it at work… 

So many things were going on but it wasn’t overwhelming. Usually when authors try to put too many subplots in a story, it gets confusing and out of control. Jaffrey keeps the subplots and POV’s perfectly organized and towards the end they’re skillfully woven together and the reader is like: “Ahhhhh.” 

Writing/Storyline

Jaffrey really has a way with words. I know that sounds cliché, but I’ve only said that about 3 authors I swear. Some sentences were like poetry (and I’ll include quotes at the end). 

I was a little lost in the beginning. I sort of felt like from the jump we were thrown into this dystopian, post apocalyptic world without understanding how it got that way. I’m still a tad bit unclear about the whole contaminated blood noble thing. I think that could’ve been expanded on a little more. The origin of the weepers also confused me. 

I thought the storyline was well thought out. It bears some similarities to other books trending nowadays but it also has its own spin on things, which I found refreshing. 

The story kinda has this ancient feel to it, but its set in the future, which I really really loved. 

Characters

Cameron and Felix… what a twist!!! Did NOT see that coming. Their relationship was developed smoothly. I’m so glad Jaffrey didn’t rush it but she gave us something to look forward to. 

I know I’ll probably get judged for this, but I think Rufus was my favorite character. His disposition was captured perfectly and he was true to self the entire book. 

Each character was well developed and maintained their traits through and through. So many writers make the mistake of having their characters sound like one another. 

In conclusion

This book was non stop action, conspiracy, romance and suspense. I can’t wait to read the next installment. 

My Favorite Lines

“You’ll soon find they care about the wrapping as much as they do what’s inside. You can trust me on that.” 

“We’re Silver. so we’re metal, right? As a race, we’re strong, but we corrode. The humans, they’re glass. They’re so breakable. They shatter, but the thing is, even fractured, they’re the ones who’ll survive for millennia, not us." 

“They were a bunch of flowers rather than single blossoms, and together their scents were dulled into uniformity.” 

“I’d look at situations through the lens of one experience. When I’d lived five lifetimes, I had five experiences, and five lenses laid on top of one another through which to view the world. They distort each other, and so everything blurs. Eventually, there's no right or wrong anymore, only choices.”