I’ve become obsessed with Marissa Meyer since my lovely Canadian bestie screamed at me until I read Heartless, but I fear Gilded may have topped that and the Lunar Chronicles in all the best ways. Gilded is Meyer’s retelling of Rumpelstiltskin and follows Serilda Mollar, who is known by her home town as a liar by the adults and a storyteller by the children. After tricking the Erlking to rescue two Moss Maidens, Serilda finds herself swept away to a haunted castle, who’s history is a mystery, where she’s ordered to spin straw into gold or be killed for lying. In her despair she summons a mysterious young man who can in fact aid her, for a price. Serilda is the sort of female lead that I crave. Someone who may not always be right, but she’s trying her best. She feels grounded and reminds me a lot of myself as a teenager, wanting to use stories as a way to make the world brighter, rather than give up childhood fantasies. It’s her determination that comes from her belief that drives her. She finds a way out of every situation using stories, and lies, and is a fascinating female lead. Gild, her romantic counterpart, is equally compelling. We get to know this boy, who cannot remember who he was before the Erlking and this Castle, who’s cheeky but kind and craves human contact. Gild’s relationship with Serilda grows quickly, but it doesn’t feel unnatural, as there is instant chemistry that only makes you root for them more. The Erlking is the sort of villain I wish I could reach through the pages and give a piece of my mind. He justifies everything he does, and openly accepts that he is the villain of the stories, and takes pleasure in watching his prey squirm. When Serilda manages to outwit him, he doesn’t take it lightly, and he has great plans for the gold he asks her to spin. I’ll discuss him more in the spoilers below. For those not wanting spoilers, Gilded is a rich romantasy that draws you in and keeps you hooked. With Meyer’s writing, I often find that she hooks me at the tenth chapter and once you get there, there’s no stopping. I highly recommend Gilded, and would say it’s one of my favourite reads of all time! SPOILERS BELOW As for Spoilers. Serilda is blessed by the Wyrdith, God of Stories Fortune, a wish granted to her father when he rescued the God from the Erlking. As such, she is often seen as the root cause of any problems in her town. When she meets the Erlking, she lies that she is blessed by Hulda, the God of Labour, and tells him she can spin straw into gold. As Serila’s blessing of stories helps her unravel what happened in the haunted castle, we learn why the Erlking wants so much gold. He plans to capture the God of Death, Velos, who holds his wife, The Huntress Pertcha, in the afterlife, to claim her back. Gold blessed by a God can be used to hold even the most powerful beings, in this world. Gild, secretly a prince, was the one to kill Pertcha, which led to the Erlking imprisoning him and stealing his memory. The Erlking never realised that Gild was the child blessed by Hulda. Meyer manages to weave this story in a way that makes it compelling, without simply spilling it all to you at once. Serilda even asks for other characters to not spoil the ending at points, which feels like a very warm wink and nudge to the reader. We still don’t know the full story by the end of Gilded, where Serilda too has been cursed to be stuck in the castle, now made to marry the Erlking while he prepares to free his love, and the cliffhanger of “curses can be broken” has me eager to start Cursed. Truly a wonderful read, I plan on devouring Cursed within the next few days.

Serilda has been mistrusted and ostracised all her life because of the golden wheels in her irises—a mark of the god of lies. But she can’t resist telling extravagant stories and when she comes face to face with Erlking, the Lord of the Wild Hunt, she weaves him a tale that she can spin straw into gold. When he throws her into a dungeon to prove her claim she is saved by a mysterious boy who is also trapped in the Erlking’s castle, but he doesn’t know who he is or how he got there. ‘Gilded’ is the first book in a new series, based on Rumpelstiltskin, but wrought into something thrillingly new in Marissa Meyer’s trademark style. I was thoroughly captivated by this story…

I am on the fence with fairy tale retellings some I love and a lot are boring or worse badly done. Let me tell you this one did not disappoint and is definitely in the love category! This was a long book at 500 pages , but it never felt overly long if that makes any sense, it’s a well written and magical retelling of Rumplestiltskin , but this isn’t your light fairytale this is dark and macabre. It’s impossible to put down The fast-pace draws you through each page as you find yourself desperate for more, Meyer is a wonderful writer and I have enjoyed all her previous books, but this for me far surpasses any of her previous works. Overall, this is a compelling twist on the original with a cliffhanger of an ending. I mean if there’s not a sequel that’s just plain evil !

Fancy a curl up, snuggle down read as Autumn descends, hot chocolate optional?! Then this book may fit the bill! This is a magical and enchanting retelling of the story of Rumpelstiltskin and has all the elements of the Grimm original. Here we have goblins, Moss maidens, Witches, fairies, stolen princesses, stolen children, monsters, ruined castles, dungeons and high towers. There are ghosts, ghouls, phantoms, spirits, spells, curses and enchantments and lording it over all is the cruel, vengeful Erlking, King Grim, whose hounds and hunts prowl the forests with ravens tracking moves. Has he met his match in millers daughter Serilda? Serilda, cursed by the God of Lies and possessor of spinning eyes of golden wheels, is a weaver of fairy tales but is she capable of spinning something out of nothing as Erlking demands? A desperate Serilda appeals for help, enter Gild, the ‘Gilded Ghost’ who demands payment for his magical talents. This is a marvellously written story which keeps you spellbound from beginning to end. It’s a captivating, dark tale full of fear, creepiness, deception (for good and ill), vengeance, hatred and terror. Let’s add in a bit of romance as literally ‘[they] found love in a hopeless place’ but are they doomed star crossed lovers? The characters are brilliantly crafted and spring to life before your eyes with all the various full moons shining brightly on them. Overall, this is a compelling twist on the original with a cliffhanger of an ending. There’s got to be a sequel surely, if not, you are as cruel as the Erlking Marissa Meyer!!! This is marketed at YA and I’m not telling how many years I’m beyond that category and I loved it, so its one for every lover of a fantasy novel!

It's been a while since I've read a fairytale retelling seeing as though you basically already know how the story is going to end up. However this was a fantastically dark mismash of tales all wrapped up into one great story and I'm glad I read it.