Gleam (The Plated Prisoner Series Book 3)

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Because the world will keep on trying to leash me, men will continue trying to steer me in their grips of control. i shouldve known better. i shouldve anticipated this. after the ending of book 3, i got too excited; hence i expected too much of this installment. this book is all about healing & world building, which makes so much sense considering the events in the past three books. however, it all just felt sooooo boring😩 Oh, and then there was the one chapter from Rissa's point of view, in which she simply states how much of an oaf Osrik is, how much she despises him and oops, goes up to kiss him. Sounds irrelevant? You get the drift.

Listen, don't gild me but I didn't like this installment as much as I wanted to. So, before I'm cast out let me explain: If you love Slade, well … this is Slade’s book. He owns it. We learn so much about him, past and present. Just when I thought I couldn’t love him more, too. I was very happy and completely enthralled with every piece we learn about him. I think everyone will be very happy. Raven Kennedy is a tea and dark chocolate kind of girl and can often be found binge-watching The Office or The Great British Baking Show. I had no idea that I’d be so invested in this series when I started and I wouldn’t have it any other way. It’s just amazing and these books have me in a chokehold. The sun,” Auren answers quietly, tone filled with a tentative, innocent joy. One that you’re afraid of saying too loud in case it breaks. “She’s singing to me.”Everything is reaching its crescendo. I cannot wait for the fifth book. I need someone to put me into sleep paralysis until the next book is released because how am I supposed to move on.. I'm glad you're choosing you," he says quietly, and my lips part, like I want to swallow the rumble of his cadence.

Gold floors, gold walls, gold furniture, gold clothes. In Highbell, in the castle built into the frozen mountains, everything is made of gold.

I am not one of the many that seemed to love this book. In fact, it may have ruined the series for me. While I appreciated seeing Auren become more independent, I had some major problems with the romance. So there could be 100 more lines in which is claimed that there is power or calm in submission - if the other part of that encounter doesn't understand consent, it's nothing but garbage recounted over and over again to make it seem okay. It's not. It's harmful and disgusting. And it's an offence to all those other authors managing to actually pull powerful submission off. End of story. There is romance in this book, of course, and it's a delicious mix of sweet moments, dirty talk, smut, and also serious conversations, and some clashing between Auren and Slade. On a little side note, while I have nothing against dirty talk in books, I struggled to get on board with it a few times during this book... I can't really explain why, because I don't mind graphic details or very spicy smut, but the dirty talk kinda clashed with the intense moments at times... Let me start by saying that I love a good romance (especially fantasy) and I'm familiar with the great stories and the overused tropes. I try not to judge authors that use those tropes - they're tropes for a reason - but this series was one that strayed from many of the normal formulas in the first two. Auren's story was one of abuse and loss of individualism because of a manipulative relationship, the series was about greed and how it taints people in the worst ways, and I wanted to explore how she would overcome this world and her experiences and heal - but what I got was one big romance trope.

Second, I wasn't feeling Slade's character, here. Something was off as his character started to develop into a gaslighting love interest and I really did not like that. Several times in this book Auren voices her confusion at her life in general and how she desires to not be lead by or be dependent on a man - Slade's response was to tell her that she was his, he was hers and not to worry her pretty head and then he seduced her. Multiple times. Where is the line between romance and not listening to Auren's needs that she was clearly voicing? I'm really confused as to why his character developed in this way and it ruined the second half of the book for me, a bit. In the last book, Auren was just starting to realize who she was and that she deserved better, and she had started to develop budding feelings for the man who made her realize that worth. Those feelings were delicate, and so the sense of deep betrayal she felt (though overblown) was completely understandable when she discovered he'd withheld information and she found herself in the web of another king. You can say something until you’re blue in the face, and it won’t do any good. People rarely change their opinions when they’re argued with. They only tend to listen to the voices of those they already agree with.” Book Genre: Adult, Fae, Fairies, Fantasy, Fantasy Romance, Fiction, Magic, Mythology, New Adult, Retellings, Romance

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If you thought you loved Slade before, I will tell you now, you were wrong. You will come out of this not remembering any of your other book boyfriend’s names. Do you ever just get that heavy feeling in your chest? Like you've just read one of the best books ever and now that new love has been placed into your heart? no? just me💀 GLOW resumes right from the explosive ending of Gleam and begins in a shroud of extreme dread within the first quarter of the book that will keep a tight hold on your heart. I have to admit, this series is one of the best series I found this year. So far, I like the progression of the story, despite the slow slows burn of the first two books. But don't worry guys, this book got you.

holy GREAT DIVINE, this book CONSUMED me. so far, the H is all bark and no bite, bUT damn THAT WAS ONE OF THE BEST DISPLAYS OF ✨CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT✨ I HAVE EVER SEEN IN A HEROINE. it was badass & powerful ( im referring to the WHOLE journey, not just the epic showdown at the end of the book). whats more satisfying is the fact that SHE DID IT ALL ON HER OWN. thats right, girl! Slade who? knight in shining, spiky armor?? WE DONT NEED HIM!!! this is THE AUREN SHOW, and no one outshines her💅😌I am actually in awe of the amazing-ness of this book. And of course, now I have to wait so long for Glow to come out! I pause, ears straining, but all I hear are faint sounds from the city below and the constant draw of the waterfall at the base of the mountain. The romance peaks but there are things that must be dealt with. There is tenderness, there is passion, there is clashing, there is love, there is wildness, and of course... it gets deliciously filthy. The blindfold has been ripped from my sight. Now, my heart doesn’t squeeze. My stomach doesn’t flutter. He broke something inside of me far more than just my heart. He broke my will. My drive. My voice. He broke down my very spirit, and I let him."