Book: Gold by Raven Kennedy
Reviewed by plotdrunk
This is 2.5 stars rounded up to 3. This was a VERY long book where Auren and Slade are separated the ENTIRE time. For a series that is built heavily on their relationship, that made this book feel frustrating and dragged out, especially in the second-to-last book in the series.
There's also a lot of new plot being introduced this late in the series. We suddenly have a fae invasion, more political conflict in Orea, and more new POVs being layered in. It made the story feel overcrowded rather than adding in new layers that made sense. On top of that, there were several new plot points that were never explained. Slade's heart decaying/rotting never really made sense but resolved when their paired bond snapped into place, and then never got any further explanation. The same is true for his sudden inability to make rips anymore or why Auren got her ribbons back after travelling through the rip to Annwyn. It all just kind of... happened.
Auren's constant travel and predictable capture were frustrating as well, and the big twist of Slade's father being the owner of the estate was totally foreseeable. I really, really don't like amnesia tropes, so it was really frustrating that they wiped her memory once she was captured.
There were still some fun moments though. Slade's revenge tour through Orea was fun to watch, and I like Osrik and Rissa's budding relationship, even if his POV dragged while waiting for her to heal and wake up. Malina has also really grown on me, which I did not expect after the early books of the series.
Overall, this kind of felt like a filler book. Pieces are clearly being set up for the finale, but as an individual book in a long series, it didn't really deliver the plot movement or payoff that I was looking for.