I love retellings and believe that this had potential to be a really cool story, but I thought the execution wasn't well done.
The world building is not great, like there's no real sense of like time and place, and it feels like its missing quite a few details. None of the characters are well developed, even the main characters just feel like your basic cookie cutter YA protagonists. The book was just kind confusing general from the very start ( like what was the point of the amnesia, its not explained and it doesn't make sense). And so it was difficult to care for the characters and their story.

Thank you to NetGalley and Snowy Wings Publishing for the ARC!

this was an original and interesting idea for a goldilocks retelling, however i wasn't convinced by the amnesia plot device at the beginning and i didn't really see the point of it (view spoiler). i also thought it was pretty predictable and a typical YA dystopian, and the worldbuilding was lacking and seemed only to be a very vague backdrop to the narrative.

i might have liked this more if it was one of the first YA dystopians i'd read, but i'm used to the genre by now and there was nothing particularly new or original about it save the goldilocks retelling aspect, which was not enough to make the mediocre plot and characters engaging.

however, i wouldn't say it was a bad book and it was very action-filled, i'm just getting pickier and pickier (i guess that's one of the hazards of being a voracious reader; you're used to cliches and tropes of genres and unless something is really different and original i'll probably be underwhelmed)

The story itself was very interesting. The characters were believable and engaging. I found that the main character, Aurluria, was brainwashed into believing what her cousin said was true and never questioned him about his motives. Since he took care of her from a young age she was more susceptible to do his bidding until she met the Baer family. The emotions were deeply felt even her conflicting emotions. I did think that her amnesia could have last a bit longer than what it did, but it gave a chance for readers to understand what was going on.

This book was good but nothing stuck out to me particularly. I didn't bond with the characters as a reader, and the plot was okay,. it was a good retelling but not an amazing one.

First, I want to thank you for the opportunity reading this book. I have so much expectation, so here is my personal review.

First Impression
The book cover was appealing, it got me at first sight. I am not very familiar with Goldilock story as I am born in others country with different folklore, and when I read the summary it was about dystopian world which was the sub genre that I've been craving so much lately (after reading Flawed by CA).

So, I expect so much from this book.

Only to turn out disappointed. :(

The only thing that I know about this book is Auluria love story and her struggle to escape her own cousin. I meant the environment does not been tell so much. What are the society afraid of? And auluria background was kinda blurred.

I want to feel more, I want to feel the character inner obligation. What frighten them etc. The dialog also seem a bit messy, I dont know whos talking at the moment, its kind of scrambling each other up. Describing other violence character as 'boys' instead of men really confuse me, because most of the 'boys' in the book actually playing with knife and trying to rape someone. :3 I've been thinking if the book state it was a boy I was actually imagine an eleven to 15 years old boys, not 'man'.

Im sorry to say that there is nothing happening in this book except the love story of Lur and Dov.

I'll be appreciate if the author can add more emotions, rearrange the words for easy understanding and also elaborate more of the characters physically.

In example; 'The old man looks older than Gritz'. I understand that Lur never actually met Gritz so how she can possibly know how old is Gritz look like? Some old people maybe look more younger and healthier and fitter than we ever know.

The dystopian thingy was not there. I hope that someday I can read more enhance materials from the author as this one does not bring the hype.

I forgot I had auto approval for this publisher on NetGalley, so when I was curious about the description for this book I actually ended up downloading this to my kindle app. I thought I might as well read some of it, and I must say what I read was very easy to read. It didn't hook me, so I put it down in favour of something else and realise I have thought of it for weeks. I gave up at 18%. Thanks to NetGalley and Red Adept for my digital copy.

What I feel this book really could have benefitted from (and it still could benefit from) a prequel. Auluria was a pretty cool character and she had so much development that had happened before the start of the book with all the combat training etc. I for one love a combat training section to a book and I think it would have helped me, the reader, to better understand her motivations.

The book also feels at times as though it just needs a little bit of reworking. For instance, the book opens and Auluria is suffering from Amnesia and can’t remember how she came to be in the Baer household. I thought this was going to be a really cool plot device and that we’d spend the first half of the book discovering what the Baer’s were like and then suddenly she’d realise she was meant to betray them! Wouldn’t that have been epic? Instead, around two pages later her memory just restores itself. As I say this isn’t an utterly terrible opening, it just felt like a missed opportunity to me.

Now let’s talk about the romance. Dov was a pretty cool romantic interest, not particularly novel in any way. But what really struck me about this was the predictability of it all. By about twenty pages in I could work out exactly what was going to happen. There were also some wonderfully awkward romantic lines:

‘I couldn’t bear to see him shirtless again without staring’
-I hope to high heaven that this was a deliberate pun.

or the impeccable:

‘”Why do you care?” I asked softly, needing to know. “Because you are worth it,” he whispered’
-Is this a YA novel or a Loreal Advert?

As much as I could disparage this I will admit that it was an interesting take on the Goldilocks story. I think it could definitely become something interesting in the future, but perhaps needs a bit more editing to make it feel a bit more realistic (other than the fantasy elements) but particularly the romantic dialogue.

If you’re looking for a cosy young adult fantasy novel to read mindlessly while you’re falling asleep in the bath then you’ll probably enjoy Golden. I wasn’t planning on waiting for the second one and then Robinson left the juicy teaser that they’re going to explain how Auluria gets the nickname ‘Goldilocks’ in the next book which actually got me pretty interested again. Although if it transpires it’s just because she has gold hair I will be unsurprised but still disappointed.

My Rating:

I desperately wanted to like this more than I did. It just about scraped 3/5 stars. Enjoyable but not desperately noteworthy.

By the way: I received a digital review copy of Golden from the publisher (Snowy Wings Publishing) via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review, all my opinions are my own.

I really like the style this book was written by. It was written very well and i liked the way the character actions were written.

I really enjoyed this book. I couldn't put it down as soon as I started reading it. This is what really happened to Goldie Locks and the 3 bears but in a real world scenario not actual bears. Everyone is trying to live as of course the Government is not making that easy at all. Baers and Auluria are both considered outsiders to the Government. They try and help other people like them. The bock was fast-passed. I was disappointed at the end ONLY because it was left with a cliff hanger. I look forward to the other 3 books in this series.

Having trouble keeping my attention. I usually love fairy tale retellings but this one has not been able to keep me going.

The storyline was intriguing and I liked the way the characters were introduced. A few places were a little too detailed for my taste. But what really brought it down to only three stars was the ending. The story went at a calm steady pace all the way through, until the end. It felt as if the end was in day forward but cut off before the end. I had to read it twice to try to understand where everyone stood. Perhaps my review would improve after reading the sequel but I didn't feel it had a conclusion that it should have.

This book was full of cliches and really excessive graphic detail. It was extremely off-putting and it didn't add anything to the story. Very disappointing.

I LOVED THE STORY! AND OF COURSE I LOVED . . . SILAS. How could I not? he is honestly the best character in the ENTIRE story. Sorry Auluria and Dov! <3

Some books begin in the middle of an action scene and then elaborate on characters and circumstances as they go. Others begin in the middle of an under-cover operation and the narrating character explains to the reader their motivations and circumstances, and the book can still be enjoyable. Sadly, Golden failed to adequately draw me in, as readers are not given enough details of the circumstances, and we do not come to know the characters all that well.

Who knew that a great classic could be turned into a high stakes adventure. Take Goldilocks and the Three Bears, put it in a jar, shake briskly, and you have the story Golden.
In this clever adaptation, Goldilocks is not innocently drawn to the Three bears cottage looking for good and rest. No she is much more. She has been sent in under cover to discover all the secrets of the, you guessed it, Baer family.
After discovering things aren't really as she has been taught to believe, she finds herself having to chose which side of the "fight" she will play in. Playing both sides of the game, may not end up how she planned. In a story such as this, you have to read to know how it ends. No spoiler alerts here. Howeve, I can say, this is very cleverly, and imaginatively written.
Definitely, 5 Stars!