I would categorize this novel under the growing umbrella of books I’ve read this year that I call quiet fantasy. Novels where, for the majority of the book, the plot events aren’t extremely intense. Or they are intense, but they’re spaced out in such a way that they don’t feel overwhelming. What often happens with quiet fantasy novels is that the end ramps up for that rollercoaster effect most other popular fantasy novels (I’m looking at you, BookTok) are putting you through the entire time.

This novel was beautifully written, and I particularly loved the relationships between Hellevir and the characters around her, because they were all incredibly flawed, and messy, and human. Her relationship to her family members, to Sullivain, to the Death-like character that waited for her on the other side. I couldn’t decide if I liked them, hated them, or was afraid of them—and I think that is actually a sign of great writing, that I couldn’t make a determination on each of these characters. In a few places, I felt like the author told more than showed, particularly in relation to how and why Hellevir chose to do what she did throughout the novel, but it took me out of the novel to feel this sense of distance between her and her mother, or even her and Sullivain, both of which were places where I should feel nothing but intimacy, whether positive or negative.

I found a few lulls in the middle of the book, but the last 10% of the novel was incredibly strong, and I was riveted to see where Hellevir’s loyalties would fall on the final page. The answer seems to be with herself, and I love that dearly. On the whole, I give this 3 ⭐

*Thank you again to NetGalley and the publishers for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.*

I struggled completing this book and ended up DNFing at about 35%.. I believe it's the pacing, it was a little slow for me. I would like to try again another time. Thank you Avon and Harper Voyager and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read this ARC.

Let me preface this review by saying: I read a lot of books. Most linger in my mind as vague recollections days, weeks, months after I read them, no matter whether I rated them five stars or one. When you read a lot, things tend to...blend. ESPECIALLY when you read a lot in the same genre like I do. Because of this, very, very few books sear themselves into my brain and refuse to let me go.

But, for a number of reasons, the Gilded Crown is one of those few.

I originally rated this 3 stars, but the longer I sat with it, the more I realized this is an amazing debut and an incredibly promising start to a trilogy. It just suffers from some misleading marketing. Do not go into The Gilded Crown thinking it's a sapphic YA romantasy. It's not that at all, despite the generic romantasy cover and the blurb on the back really overselling the love aspect of things. It's more in the vein of The Witch's Heart, One Dark Window, or For the Wolf. The writing is stunning, and Gordon absolutely nails the worldbuilding. But I think my favorite part of the book has to be Hellevir, our heroine who can commune with Death himself. I loved how Hellevir comes into her own throughout the novel, and I genuinely could not predict what her next use of her magic would be. I also love how Gordon centered Hellevir herself rather than the romance (which is a weak point if you're reading it as a romantasy, and a strength if you're reading it as a young woman trying to break free of everyone's expectations of her -- and grappling with the nature of power in the process).

If there was one weak point, besides the marketing, I would say it's the middle of the novel. For a number of reasons, the plot sort of stagnates in the middle, after a promising beginning and before an exciting ending. Still, I cannot stop thinking about Hellevir, the world Gordon's crafted, and where she may take the series next.

Many thanks to NetGalley, Harper Voyager, and Marianne Gordon for gifting me this e-ARC in exchange for my honest review! I am really looking forward to the next Raven's Trade novel!

Self-preservation was chasing her, but Hellevir was faster!

This story is about a young lady who discovered that she could communicate with death when she was a young girl. This gift or curse, depending on who's asking, grants her the ability to bring back persons who have passed on to the afterlife. But this talent comes with a cost. Every time she brings back someone from the dead, she loses a piece of herself. For anyone else, that would be too high a cost and risk, but not our heroine. She willingly dives into the deep end every chance she gets. No matter how many warnings she gets, Hellevir is convinced that she knows best and does it anyway.

There is a "love interest " in this story, but for the life of me, I couldn't understand why Hellevir continued to be so enamored. I honestly felt the potential for a better connection between Hellevir and Death, and I would have liked to see them explore the origins and why's or her ability. I think my favorite character was her bird lolol. Everyone else had me making notes and talking to the pages at various points throughout the story lolol.

All in all, if you're not bothered by frustrating characters, then give this book a shot. It is an interesting storyline from the very first page, and the characters feel like real people with depth. I am definitely interested in finding out where Hellevir's story goes next and to see if she'll continue living in delulu!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing a copy of this book.

I think I was a little confused with this book. I got as an arc so I had little to base off of. I thought it was a romantasy. Which I guess it could be since there is a love story. I just thought it was a competition to win or something. I feel like this is a mix of a retelling. She is a necromancer and has to save a princess.

I kept reading to see if the book would redeem itself but that never happened. The romance was terrible and forced, the world building was nonexistent and the plot was all over the place.
What did I just read?
Thank you to netgalley for the arc, all opinions are my own.

The Gilded Crown was an amazing and fast read! Marianne Gordon has such an amazing writing style. I love the whole concept of the FMC being about to bring back the dead and be able to talk to death himself.

📔: The Gilded Crown-The Raven's Trade Book #1

✍️ By: Marianne Gordon-debut author

📃 Page Count: 380

🗓️ Publication Date: 7-2-24 | Read: 9-14-24

🙏🏾Thanks to NetGalley and Avon and Harper Voyager| Harper Voyager for this ARC 💛! I voluntarily give my honest review, and all opinions expressed are my own.

Genre: Adult Fic, Dark Fantasy, Sci Fi

🌏Setting: Rochidain

Tropes:

🧙🏽‍♀️healer/necromancer h
🧙🏽‍♀️slow burn
🧙🏽‍♀️politics/court intrigue
🧙🏽‍♀️LGBTQIA+ rep
🧙🏽‍♀️religious zealots
🧙🏽‍♀️no spice/sex
🧙🏽‍♀️murder mystery
🧙🏽‍♀️forced proximity

⚠️ TW: murder, death, resurrection

POV: single, 3rd person

💭 Summary 💭 Hellevir is tasked by the Queen to protect Sullivain from assassination attempts and bring her back to life if she dies. Death makes deals with her that every life requires a sacrifice in blood and objects. Bit by Bit Hellevir loses part of herself every time she resurrects someone. Sullivain is led by the Queen in cruelty and is careless with her life. Hellevir and Sullivain make a connection, but death keeps them apart.


Heroine: Hellevir Andottir-a healer and necromancer

Heroine: Princess Sullivain De Neid-last heir to throne

Side cast:
The Queen-Sullivain's grandmother
Piper and Pa-Hellevir's parents.
Farvor- Hellevir's older brother.
Elsevir- Hellevir's raven.
Milandre-Hellevir's guardian/mentor.
Lord Calgir Redeion-Farvor's love interest and knight
The Antler King/Death

My Thoughts: This has little to no romance between Hellevir and Sullivain. They were at odds most of the time because of the Queen and Death, but every now and then they stepped up for each other. There were plenty of deaths which made the story depressing at times. It spoke to Hellevir's gift and curse. Her and her mother Piper were constantly at odds about her "heathenistic" activities against the religious Onaistians. Farvor and Calgir were a tragic story of love and betrayal while Hellevir and Sullivain were what could have been. I look forward to the follow up.

Range of emotions: 😬🤔🙄
🌶️: Spice 0/5-1 kiss in last chapter
😭: Emotion 4/5
❤️: Couple 2/5
⭐️: Rating 4/5

The Gilded Crown, was a uniquely written dark fantasy that has a lot of promise for the next book. The pacing for this book was a bit slow for my taste, but I feel like we are building a base for the overall series. Overall, I'm really looking forward to seeing what happens next in this series. A big heads up for readers though: don't go into this one expecting a romantasy. The focus in this book is not necessarily on the romance.

Hellevir is only ten years old when she crosses into Death the first time, bringing back a fox caught in one of her brother's traps. Her journey is a transition that happens in the natural accident of a child's need, but the second time is intentional and begins her life's path down a liminal and lonely road. Years later, after a decade of estrangement from her family, Hellevir is summoned by the crown princess, Sullivain, to use her powers to bring the princess back from the dead whenever necessary, even though every time she does it costs a piece of herself. Hellevir is trapped between a bargain she with Death and her deal with Sullivain.

The Gilded Crown, by Marianne Gordon, is a richly woven fantasy novel with phenomenal worldbuilding. The way Hellevir's powers are treated, both the mechanics of how it works and the social aspects of how she's treated for having the abilities, reminded me of the way sin eaters were treated by the villagers and the Church in Medieval Europe. Gordon does an excellent job balancing fanaticism, superstitious fear, and legend all colliding in the capital city as Hellevir's old world beliefs and abilities come up against an insidious force taking over the country.

I love that all the characters have their own machinations, often at odds with Hellevir's goals. I got frustrated with Hellevir's refusal to recognize that humans don't always have her best interests at heart. If I have a single complaint about this book it's this: for a woman who's seen literally more death and sorrow than most, she seems incapable of seeing past anyone's surface or question motivations, especially Sullivain's, and it continuously bites her in the ass. Her persistent naivete became distracting. Ultimately, the end was very satisfying and impossible to put down, so I both love and hate Gordon just a little bit for the last few chapters of this book. Argh.

The Gilded Crown is out now and is first in a series. I'm looking forward to the second book when it's available. If you like rich, complex fantasy with a healthy dash of the otherworldly, twists, betrayals, and romantic tension, you'll like The Gilded Crown. Plus there's a pet crow, and who doesn't love that?

I really enjoyed this book. I can’t wait to read more by this author. Thank you to the publisher for allowing me the chance to read.

In life we have hard choices to make. None more pressing then choosing what directly impacts our life. From a young age Hellevir has made selfless choices but at what cost. When you have the power to help others in some ways it always comes at a cost. One such cost ties Hellevir and inadvertently her family to the crown. The book kept a slow pace. Not awful but at times I expected a bit more of a Rollercoaster when it sort of tempered out. I enjoyed how it ended, and I appreciate the climax prior to the ending. Things seemed to come full circle to a certain extent. I'm curious about book 2

hellevir is gifted—or cursed—with the ability to visit death and bring souls back to life. when she resurrects the murdered heir to the throne, she is inevitably and irreversibly drawn into the tangled politics of the kingdom. princess sullivain’s death would mean civil war, so she is summoned to the capital city in case another attempt on the princess’s life is successful—but each resurrection costs hellevir, and death has his own demands.

the gilded crown is a dark, slow-paced political fantasy centered around a young necromancer. it’s marketed as an adult fantasy (despite the very YA cover, title, and blurb), but the writing falls more into the NA category. it is absolutely not a romantasy—hellevir and sullivain’s relationship is central to the plot, their dynamic full of yearning and inexplicable attraction, but it isn’t the focus of the novel. (i don’t think they spent quite enough time together, honestly.) while the plot is fairly predictable and a lot of its elements are very popular in fantasy right now, gordon’s execution stands out for me. it won’t suit everyone, but if you enjoy court intrigue, exploration of morality and religion, flawed (like… very, very flawed—possibly just bad people) queer characters, and gothic fairytale undertones, i would recommend picking this one up.

I enjoyed this book so much and cannot wait for the next one! My only issue honestly with the whole thing had to do with the audiobook narration and its not even a bad thing, its just that the story is already somewhat similar to Belladonna in that a young girl talks with death and goes into his realm etc, so to have the same narrator do the same voice was a bit distracting and it made me want some type of romance to spring up between them. That is the only negative I have to say about this book

The writing style is different, but I like it.. The book intrigued me, and the concept is fantastic. Having a gift to bring people back to life is interesting, but at what cost. The writing is creative, and immaginative, with great world building, but slow in parts. Would I recommend this book? Absolutely.
The cover is very good.

Rating 4.5 ⭐️

I really enjoyed this. It took me a couple chapters to adjust to the writing style, but overall I ended up really loving the writing.
The story was different from anything I've read before, the exchanges Hellevir makes to bring people back from death were my favorite part.
I will say that Sullivain never grew on me...it was the exact opposite. I can tell as the reader we are supposed to care for her as hellevir does, but it was a NO for me! I found her to be too enraging and arrogant to like, her and her grandmother just urked me the whole book 😅 I understand they are royalty and that they want people to fear them and all that, but they treated hellevir so cruelly when she was so willing to help already? Not to mention going back on their word multiple times...anywho...their will have to be a significant character arc for my opinion of Sullivain to change.

All that aside I really did eat this book up, it felt so rich! There was backstory, and lore, different religions, Diverse characters & relationships. So much happened in the span of the book, and I never felt bored. I was happy with the ending and excited to see how Hellevir's story continues in book 2!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for my honest review 🥰

This story was a lot of world building and very little romance which I didn't mind. The FMC can communicate with spirits and raise the dead, I found that aspect f the story more interesting than the back and forth love dynamic between Helliver and the princess. I enjoyed Helliver but Sullivan was rough around the edges and unlikable most of the novel.

Oh boy do I have thoughts. The beginning of The Gilded Crown was fantastic! I was immediately engrossed and absolutely loved the vibes and potential story that was to unfold. Unfortunately, everything started to fizzle out and my expectations were never met. I think this story had insane potential and this could’ve been everything I adore in a darker fantasy. However, I was super let down by the forced romance between Hellevir and Sullivan. Sullivan was a trash can of a human being who manipulated and treated Hellevir cruelly, much like most people Hellevir interacted with. I saw more of a romantic connection between Hellevir and Death, so I was extremely disappointed nothing went that direction. The plot started to stagnate around the middle point and never picked back up, leaving me bored and not excited for the next installment. The bare bones of this story and Hellevir as a character were definitely the bright spots and I think this author will advance her writing and storytelling as she creates more. Essentially, The Gilded Crown had a very strong start, but couldn’t keep the momentum going, thus falling flat and not being very memorable.

Thank you to NetGalley, Harper Voyager, and the author for sending me an early copy!

I genuinely enjoyed the narration of this book, as it felt incredibly genuine and realistic coming from Hellevir's thoughts and words. I also had a lot of fun with the world-building, which was very immersive and entertaining. The characterization was complex, especially of Hellevir's mother, which made the experience a lot more interesting. The way the ostracization of Hellevir's powers was represented was cleverly done, and the romance was a very enjoyable plot line. It did not feel unnecessary to the book, which often occurs in fantasy books.

DNF! The advertising and the cover of this book led me to believe that it would be a romantasy book, however, it is not and not what I was wanting out of the book. Maybe we will return to it down the line.