The Gilded Ones

The idea of this book is amazing, brilliant and I wanted to love it.
But, I have so many problems with this book.

The writing style was bland. There was no emotion from the MC, and I wanted to DNF at page 100, but as this was a buddy read, I pushed through.

Never can I regain those moments back in my life.

First we have the Akeli, who can't die but can only if they receive a true death. Akeli are always women and they have to do a ritual of purity, when they reach 16, they cut themselves with a knife to see if their blood runs gold.

The theme of this book is pretty dark, I'd call it Grimdark and yet the characters, bar one, are happy and jolly naïve girls. It doesn't add up with the original theme. And, the author decides to tell us these bad things that have happened, with an empty attempt at trauma afterwards, instead of show. I understand it's a YA, but unless it's a MG book, which you wouldn't put these themes in anyway, it doesn't add up.


The pacing is so rushed I was left feeling like I've been in a bouncy castle and thrown around. It's jarring, not the smooth fast paced it was meant to be.

Characters.

The story is told from Deka's POV and the author made a terrible choice. It should have been told from Belcalis POV as she has the trauma, the motivation to go through with this revolution. Deka is doing as she's told and downright a BORING piece of fish.
I HATED Britta. The way she wrote her speech, as the only one with a farmgirl's tone, was jarring. I don't need you to remind me every damned time that she speaks that it's in an accent. Plus her personality is being loyal. That's it.
The side characters were there simply to get Deka out of trouble and I hated it.
Belcalis is the only character that held my interest but we don't see much of her.

Deka, boring, bland, but also her personality is all over the place. One moment she is piously religious, the next she renounces but then she's back to being religious again. She says things and is told things but later she conveniently forgets because of PLOT!

Honestly, I felt like I was being treated like a dump little kid who couldn't add up 1+2.

PLOT:

The whole POINT of this plot was to for White Hands, (the fuck is that name? ) to keep a secret from the other Aleki when she COULD HAVE TOLD THEM FROM THE BEGINNING!

‘I can't tell you now, you aren't ready'

BULLSHIT!

There was absolutely no reason for that to be kept a secret as, from their vantage point in the desert, where they are being looked after by a band of boy warriors they are training with, and a bunch of Shadow assassins (which are women and in this society the women can't have any say so that's contradicting) it's a far better position for the revolution instead of killing their own kind to have this big battle/showdown with the Emperor.

Talking of the Emperor. He let White Hands out of her prison to use her, was foolish and stupid and only served the plot.

Honestly, White Hands shouldn't have been needed in this story.

WORLDBUILDING;

It was bland and I wanted more. Not to mention the animals were weird and we're given no explanation. If Deka knew of this stuff, I understand and we still need an explanation, but if she didn't we still need an explanation and her curiosity.

This book would have served better in 3rd POV

SubPlot;s. The author set up a subplot with the Deathshrieks and I expected more from that, but it was just left to the wind.

Some of the scenes were pointless, if not downright stupid and only to serve an emotional connect which I never felt as it was done so poorly. Like Kieta was sent away only to be caught by the Emperor. STUPID!

And the Love Interest. She tells us they hang out, ‘embraced' is used way too much but she never meant she kissed him. Then the kiss scene arrives and she has a severed head and the way it's described...
‘Sparks fly across my skin'

Fucking WERID. Who does that?

And the Love interest was forced. Kieta was there to serve plot, there was no connection because we weren't shown. One moment he hated all Aleki, as everyone does, the next it's just gone? There is no explanation for it.

I could have looked past the Chosen One Trope if for the fact that she didn't put in a resurrection trope, and Britta just comes back alive because she commanded it? I hate it soooooo much!

THE ENDING;

What the hell was the ending? The character's captured for ‘emotional connecting and conflict' were swept away almost instantly so what was the point in that? And the battle. Apparently the emperor can now move really fast? And he beat Deka, but then she rose up and just killed him? WTF? It was over so quickly. And everyone just stood by and watched? I expected much more.

But again, THIS WOULDN'T HAVE BEEN NESACARY IF WHITE HANDS HAD TOLD THE FUCKING TRUTH IN THE FIRST PLACE.


There are so many problems with this book. The themes handles, like sexisms', torture, rape were done so poorly and brushed to the side, I can't imagine what people who have suffered through that would feel.

I really do not recommend, and if I could give it minus stars, I would.

This needs a whole new round of edits to make it even flow nicely.