Hi Bookish Friends! My apologies for being MIA these past few days. It’s been pretty busy at work and at home, so I haven’t had time for blogging. Anyway, today I’m sharing my review for The Gilded King by Josie Jaffrey, the first book in the Sovereign series, and  some of my favorite quotes from the story. If you enjoy paranormal/vampire and dystopian stories with a hint of romance, then I high recommend you check this series out. 

THE GILDED KING

Publication Date: June 25th 2018

Publisher: Josie Jaffrey

Genre(s): Young Adult, Fantasy, Paranormal, Dystopian, Romance

Pages: Paperback 292

AMAZON UK – AMAZON US – B&N –  KOBO 

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.

Excitingly Mysterious, Dangerously Thrilling, & Magically Captivating

Take my blood, my heart, my everything! This book was amazing and Lucas is my new book boyfriend and oh my I cannot wait for more of you!

Twilight sparked my love for reading, so I’ll always have a weakness for anything paranormal and vampires. I actually just finished an adult vampire romance during summer, which I loved, and I’m still thirsty for more. I’m also very fascinated with dystopian stories (I blame Hunger Games for that), so when the author contacted me to review the first book in her new paranormal dystopian fantasy series, I just couldn’t resist. And you know what!? This book reminded me why I cannot get enough of this genre. The Gilded King by Josie Jaffrey was an excitingly mysterious, dangerously thrilling, and magically captivating read that will have you hooked until the end.

I went into this book without reading the prequel series and that sort of affected my reading experience. Not a lot, but there were a few parts that were kind of confusing that I felt like I needed to know some background information to fully understand what was being talked about. It didn’t bother me that much, but I think reading the Solis Invicti series first would have given me a better concept of everything. But, like I said, it wasn’t that big of a deal…I guess it’s more like a personal preference. I just wanted to know more about the history of the Weepers, the Silvers, the Fall, the Invicti and everything else in between cause the world building was just so creatively fascinating. I did get the information I wanted as the story progressed so by the end, I had a better idea. I definitely thought it was unique from the other vampire stories I’ve read and I couldn’t get enough. Without a doubt, this deliciously dark and terrifyingly intriguing world completely sucked me in.

The writing was superb. I thought it was easy to read, well-paced, and engaging. Even when things were a bit slow, I never lost interest in the storyline and wanted to know what would happen next. That’s why I was a little annoyed that I wasn’t able to fully immerse myself into this book and just get lost in the story without any distractions. With the holidays coming up and work and other personal matters, it took me longer than I expected to finish. I really disliked having interruptions and stopping cause I was having so much fun. The plot, the writing, the characters, the intrigue, secrets, betrayals, mystery… all of it was utterly enthralling.

I also really enjoyed both Cameron and Julia’s POVs and getting to know their stories. But, I do have to admit… Julia’s parts were definitely my favorite to read. Not that Cameron’s was uninteresting to me. Actually, both POVs were wonderfully written and uniquely amazing in their own ways. I just really love the drama, the romance, and the feels and there were more of that in Julia’s story. I don’t want to reveal too much, but if you enjoy stories that have twists and turns that bite, action and drama that satisfy, lies and betrayals that sting, and complex but fascinating characters that will steal your hearts, then this is the book for you. Oh and be prepared for one crazy ending. The betrayal in the end was totally unexpected. Never saw that one coming. Not even a little bit.

Overall, this book was a fangtastically awesome read from start to finish. You get vampires, action, intrigue, mystery, suspense, drama, twists, and a little taste of romance. I triple dare you not to get sucked in! Cause I sure did and cannot wait to find out what happens next.

I received a physical copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest and fair review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

At the very furthest point of the temple, at the end of the double row of pillars that processed towards it, there was a pedestal mounted on a stepped dais. A figure was laid out on top of it. For a moment, Julia froze, thinking it was a real person lying there, slumbering in the temple, but something didn’t fit.

The figure wasn’t breathing. It wasn’t moving at all.

‘Come on,’ Lucas said, leading her down the aisle towards it.

‘Is it a statue?’ she asked.

‘A tomb, really.’

As they walked, he snuffed out the lamps that lined the walls, until finally the only illumination came from the rounded alcove into which the dais rose. It was a bright island in the centre of the darkness, and in the middle of it the statue shone: a man, wearing fine clothing in an unfamiliar style, with a blanket of stone covering his body. His exposed skin was tinged with a sheen of gold that glowed like the walls of the temple.

‘He looks so real,’ she said, reaching out to touch the golden curls that crowned his head. They were slick under her fingers, so intricate they might have been moulded from a real person.

‘They say he was.’

‘You mean this is his coffin?’ The pedestal certainly looked like a tomb. It was wide and deep enough to accommodate a body.

‘No,’ Lucas said, ‘I mean that this is him, that this statue was once alive.’

Julia’s hand had been tracing the lines of the face, but now she snatched it away. ‘You’re not serious.’

‘I am.’

‘This is why you brought me here,’ she said.

‘Of course. You want to hear the fairytale, don’t you?’

Spoiler Alert: May give clues on how the story plays out so read at your own risk! 

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 millenia, not us.

The word was a breath, a prayer, and an invitation, and it drew his lips to hers. It was nothing like the kisses they had shared on that night when he had first taken her blood. This time it was magnetic, neither leading the other, but each of them pulled closer by a force simpler and yet more complex than that initial chemistry.

In that respect, the evening felt no different from any other they had spent together, quietly existing in restful ocmpany, surrounded by fantasies, but at the same time it was like no other night of Julia’s life. She’d never felt this elation, so potent that it was almost as though she could finally breathe for the first time.

It was the tiniest taste of what he craved, the barest whisper of a promise of what Cam had tried to deny he wanted.

You can be loyal to someone without believing everything they say.

 

Josie lives in Oxford, England, with her husband and two cats. When she’s not writing, she works as a lawyer, specialising in intellectual property and commercial law. She also runs a video book review club, The Gin Book Club, through her website.

The Solis Invicti series (a prequel series to the Sovereign series) is available now.

For additional information, contact: josiejaffrey@gmail.com

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I hope you enjoyed reading my review. Don’t forget to add this book on your TBR!

Have you read this book? Let me know in the comments below.