Review: The Gilded King

Here is my review of The Gilded King by Josie Jaffrey. I hope you enjoy it!

Title: The Gilded King
Author: Josie Jaffrey
Rating: 5 Stars
Format: Paperback
Publisher: Self-published
Date Published: 25 June 2018
Goodreads Description: In the Blue, the world’s last city, all is not well.

Julia is stuck within its walls. She serves the nobility from a distance until she meets Lucas, a boy who believes in fairytales that Julia’s world can’t accommodate. The Blue is her prison, not her castle, and she’d escape into the trees if she didn’t know that contamination and death awaited humanity outside.

But not everyone in the Blue is human, and not everyone can be contained.

Beyond the city’s boundaries, in the wild forests of the Red, Cameron has precious little humanity left to lose. As he searches for a lost queen, he finds an enemy rising that he thought long dead. An enemy that the humans have forgotten how to fight.

One way or another, the walls of the Blue are coming down. The only question is what side you’ll be on when they do.

Spoiler Free

This book just hit me out of nowhere. I was not expecting it to be as good as it was. Vampires and zombies are back in fashion in a totally new and unique way. Jaffrey knows how to write. She puts you right in the middle of the action, there’s no lengthy exposition and no unnecessary information dumps. You have to slowly piece together the puzzle of what happened to the world yourself.

I love the concept as well. Vampires and zombies in a post-apocalyptic world? Sign me right up for that. I can’t stop gushing about how rich her writing is, how it completely pulls you into the story. I forgot I was reading a book, I was so invested it felt like I was living right alongside the characters. This book is brilliant. The story was told from two very different points of view, but it was done exceptionally well. Cam and Julia both have unique stories that only overlap slightly at the end. I would like to see them team up in the future, but I was totally invested in both of their stories.

The worldbuilding was beautiful and fascinating, and I just want to know more. I can’t wait for the second book, and I’m definitely going to read her Solis Invicti series. Jaffrey definitely has me hooked.

Characters

Cameron was definitely my favourite character between the two protagonists. He’s a vampire, but definitely not the Edward Cullen type. I just loved everything about him. He’s stubbornly loyal and you can literally feel the weight of all the lives that he has lived. I loved the slow building relationship between him and Felix, although I did not see the twist at the end coming. I’m interested in seeing how his path will cross with Julia’s. They offer two very different perspectives on the world they live in.

Julia was a strong character with solid motivations. She wants to leave the Blue, and when she meets Lucas and falls in love with him, that becomes a reality. I feel like she got lost in Lucas a bit. She was very keen to leave the Blue, but after falling for Lucas she loses that dream a bit. I’m interested in seeing her character grow more over the series, and I’m wondering how her relationship with Lucas will grow.

Spoilers

The only big twist in the book was the fact that Felix is working against Cam. Cam desperately wants to find their lost queen, but some of his brothers and sisters are against him. Cam and Felix slowly fall for each other over the course of the book, and at the end, it is revealed that Felix is working for those who betrayed Cam. I’m not sure how I feel about it yet, but it can only cause drama. I’m here for it.

Story and Plot

The plot is solid, the pacing is good. I really have no complaints. It slowly builds toward the end, like a pot boiling over. I’m very excited about the rest of the series.

General Thoughts

Have you read any of Jaffrey’s books? What did you think? Also keep an eye on my blog for the cover reveal of the second book, The Silver Queen. Read more of my reviews here.

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