**Thank you to NetGalley and Victory Editing NetGalley Co-Op for this audio ARC**

I am not normally a re-tellings reader so I took a chance on this audiobook. After completing it, I will say that I enjoyed the character interactions and found the love between the FMC and MMC to be sweet. My only qualm was that the plot pacing was not consistent, with there being moments of intense action and moments of slow interaction. I would still recommend this book to someone who is trying to get into re-tellings. This story would be a good entry point!

I read this book as an audiobook The narrator was pleasant and I enjoyed her way of presenting The book itself? Kinda amazing It had a slow start for me but once in the meat of it I couldn’t stop listening. I could see the similarities of the retelling but the story unique. I found myself a few time itching to throw my headphones in and just listen to what happened next.
I will be starting the next one because I enjoyed the story and I’m interested to see what Elenor does and how her and Ruskin end up. I think the cliffhanger was done well. Not crazy like how some authors do it. I do think the FMC a little juvenile/ annoying at times but not so much so that I wanted to DNF. Spice is light with 2-3 scenes and not incredibly graphic.
A intriguing quick and light read.

This book is a mixed bag. On one hand, the writing feels fresh for a romantasy. Drawing on fairy tales like Rumpelstiltskin and Beauty and the Beast, the book finds Ella trapped in the fae realm by a bargain made with their morally grey prince. She's just about learned to use alchemy to turn things into gold, but here? She's tasked with turning gold BACK into what it should be, something she's not sure is possible.

It was a quick, rushed jump from Ella hating Ruskin to loving him. For a FMC whose main drive was getting back to her father, all her character-driving motivation was lost with a swift jump to 'the other side'. The characters have barely met after their rocky, kidnapping start before they fall in love. It just felt off. This swift drop in morals is a key factor in my inability to connect with the characters.

I've seen a few people comparing the book to Sarah J Maas, and I disagree. The storytelling is much better than that. This said, it's easy to see why this comparison has been made. The author appears to have lifted all of her favourite bits from other popular romantasy books and added them here. This is okay if you take an idea and run in a completely different direction. After all, some of the best stories are made this way. Whilst Zara Storm manages to do this to an extent, it's unfortunate that the book is too similar to these books in a rather big way. The obvious one is Callie Hart's Quicksilver, another fae meets alchemy romantasy. Unlike Quicksilver, this book felt more predictable, despite the characters' motivations being explained poorly. Unfortunately, this book will always be heavily compared, especially when it doesn't exceed those before.

However, as I've mentioned, this was an easy listen. I'm sure the next book will develop the main characters further. The narrator did a good job of making the character voices unique. Some of the minor characters, like Destan, were very enjoyable. It's not a dark romance or particularly smutty. It felt like something that would have made a better Young Adult book with less smut included. I wish I had more good to say. It's not a bad book, it just gets easily lost in the sea of similar romantasy titles.

Where the story may go next is intriguing. That said, though this book ends on a cliffhanger and I'm a sucker for reading second books, I can't see myself picking up anymore of this series unless I was given a very good reason. This doesn't use the ideas of others well enough to be lacking in originality.

Thank you to Zara Storm, Victory Editing NetGallery Co-op and NetGallery for the opportunity to leave an honest review.

This is such an original story, a true enemies to lovers tale. It is fantastical with beautiful descriptions of the worlds and beasts and characters. The cliffhanger ending is torturous and I cannot wait for the next book! The narrator has done a great job voicing multiple characters and emotions.

Wow—what a standout debut! I’ve read plenty of romantasy, so I usually go in knowing the genre’s rhythm: sometimes the plot shines, sometimes the romance takes over, and often one gets sacrificed for the other. Not here. This story balances both beautifully—an immersive, high-stakes plot paired with a flawed, compelling FMC and a magnetic, broody MMC who are drawn together despite every reason not to be. The worldbuilding is rich and original, with just enough familiar elements to ground you, while still offering fresh magic and lore that make it stand out.

If you’re into the moody atmosphere of To Bleed a Crystal Bloom or the romantic tension of The Bridge Kingdom, this book will be right up your alley. Think: enemies-to-lovers, forced proximity, a morally gray love interest, emotional slow burn, and a heroine who grows into her power. The audiobook is also so well done—great pacing, distinct voices, and emotional delivery that made it easy to stay locked in. I’d give the audio a solid 4/5 for performance!

I received a copy of this title via NetGalley and NetGalley Audiobooks in exchange for an honest review!

Zara Storm delivers a rich Fae world and a masked, morally gray prince straight out of a dark fairytale. The Beauty and the Beast inspiration is clear, and the atmosphere is gorgeously savage.

That said, the romance felt a bit forced—more told than earned—and I struggled to fully connect with the emotional beats. Still, fans of enemies-to-lovers with spice and danger might enjoy the ride.

Thank you to the publisher for the ALC (Audio Listening Copy)!

i really enjoyed this! i love a good romantasy audiobook and this hit all of the marks for me!! the narrator for this also was amazing!

I enjoyed Court that Bleeds Gold, the plot and world building were intriguing. Ella, the FMC is a gold weaver that gets into trouble and makes a bargain with Ruskin, a fae prince that becomes the love interest. Ruskin and his magical kingdom are plagued by a curse and he needs Ella's skills to help lift it.

The main characters, side characters and surprise villain were interesting but I wished they would have been more well-rounded and we got more insight in their motivations. I assume we'll get more in the next books, as some characters were mentioned often but were not participating in the events in the book.

Tropes: enemies to lovers, STEM-coded FMC, fae bargains, forced proximity, mysterious curse
Spice: 2/5
Narration: single narration (the FMC's POV)

Overall, a good read that ends with a cliffhanger, so I'll be picking up the next one for sure!

I decided to check this book out because it was available now. I did not expect to love it. However, it is awesome! I absolutely adore the characters. Even the "brutal Fae prince" grows on you. The story is very well written. The pace is steady throughout and gets very exciting near the end. Also, the end leaves you wanting more. I definitely want to read the next installment to see what happens next.

The RayView: ✨✨✨✨
The HeatRay:
How It Be Spicin’?:🌶️🌶️🌶️
.
W.H.A.T.?! I mean that in the NICEST way possible WHAAAAT?! Omg I can’t. This story was fascinating! I literally could not put it down. The twists were twisting. Rudd had me wanting to pull my hair out in frustration. I was thrilled to see that the FMC was the alchemist. I love a smart badass woman. And the ending?! My flabbers are ghasted.

I received an advance listener’s copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Love this take on the classic story of spinning straw into gold (with a different kind of twist). Great FMC and Swoonworthy MMC ❤️ The narrator is also great and paces the story well. Definitely recommend! (And looking forward to the next book)

I was hooked on this book pretty much as soon as I started it. I’ve already added book 2 to my July TBR. I went into this book blind and assumed it was maybe a Midas retelling. I was pleasantly surprised to find out that it wasn’t! It is actually a Rumpelstiltskin retelling…which doesn’t sound like it would be hott, but it is. I promise! I absolutely love the alchemy aspect to this story line and that Eleanor can turn other metal into gold! If you love enemies to lovers, then this is a book for you! Eleanor and Ruskin are 🥵🥵🥵🥵 it’s an easy read that goes by very quickly…especially the second half of the book. The ending has me craving more 😩The narrators are also great! I received this audiobook as an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion. 😊

I really enjoyed this one! The world building was rich and immersive—full of courtly intrigue, deadly beauty, and enough magic to keep things interesting. While it’s been labeled as a dark romance in some places, I wouldn’t quite call it that. The romance is definitely there, but it didn’t feel dark in the way I expected. Still, the story held my attention, and I’m definitely curious to see where it goes next.

The first half of this book was interesting, the story felt familiar but different enough that it kept my attention.
The metallurgy was a great concept and while it was heading in an obvious direction, it still felt like it was going to become an interesting storyline.
Unfortunately the pace of this book quickly slowed to a pace where my interest in the characters disappeared. I feel as if nothing happens, the book ends on a kind of cliffhanger but I don't feel it needed to continue on to another book. Most of the filler chapters being taken out and more being explained about backstory and history would have made it far more exciting to read.
Unfortunately I don't feel invested in the story enough to want to continue the series.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review this ARC.

This was a compelling audiobook with a fleshed out and interesting world. Putting a twist on Rumplestiltskin, this novel was fresh and intriguing, I couldn't wait to hear what happened next every time I picked it up.

I had fun reading this fantasy. It was a pretty easy and comfortable read— the world building wasn’t too complicated and the fae premise was pretty familiar (maybe think Cruel Prince). I read some reviews saying the start of the book felt pretty fast, and I will agree with that sentiment. Actually, the whole book felt pretty fast and kind of surface-level. I’m kind of holding out hope that the next two books will delve us deeper into the world, characters, and story in general. I will plan to continue the series, but I’m not rushing to pick up book 2.

The audiobook narration was well-done, but a little slow for my taste (and I usually like a leisurely paced narration). I sped it up to 1.75x and it honestly seemed like regular speed 😆 Other than that, the performance was nice.

The blurb for this book was way more interesting than the actual book. I would have loved to see more character development and overall intrigue. I had high hopes for this one and ultimately it fell short of the bar. The audiobook narrator did a good performance though I was not a huge fan on her "Ruskin" voice. It was a decent read but overall didn't get too interesting until right when it ended. Not sure I'm invested enough to continue the series. We will see...

Thank you Netgalley for this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Despite being comped to SJM, personally I found this read more as The Cruel Prince fae storytelling then it is A Court of Thorns and Roses fae storytelling [for clarity - compliment.]

Eleanor and Ruskin definitely had the undertones of Jude and Carden which I really enjoyed. Eleanor reads as intelligent, independent and had moments of genuine emotion and humour that made this book especially digestible. While Ruskin does tend to fall into the tropes typical to the genre [mostly touch her, go on try it] I enjoyed Storm's take on that. I especially found it refreshing that not only does this book centre on the male love interest's problem, the FMC is central to fixing that problem. Never did Eleanor feel passive while the plot happened around her rather constantly felt like she was actively moving it on, solving, exploring, etc, and I really enjoyed that.

I'm a big fan of the close friend who turns out to be a back-stabber, and this book has a fabulous example of that, which Storm does a really good job of foreshadowing throughout the plot.

While the core couple and to an extent the villain were standouts, unfortunately I found the supporting cast to be largely lacklustre. Archetypes to the genre that felt like they were paused at the last point we saw them, and only ever acted in the confines of the plot. They didn't feel flushed out.

The writing style was largely enjoyable, a bit sparse but easy to read. However, Storm does have a tendency to spoon-feed the reader exactly what they mean. Little is left to the imagination and a good portion of the wordcount is swallowed by language like, He was soaked... which meant it must be raining... because he was wet to the bone.

The magic-system isn't extensive, but it had some really imaginative aspects to it especially the central concept of gold-weaving and its implications. I'll always be a sucker for books where the fae are portrayed as being evil little sh*ts, which they do spectacularly well here.

A personal standout was the cliffhanger Storm left us on, and will definitely keep an eye out for the follow-up book despite some criticisms of the book.

this was entertaining and I do want to continue the story but it wasn't incredibly strong for a romantasy. Not a full three star, probably a 3.5 but what happens in the next book will really determine how good this all turns out or if it falls flat.

The fairytale retelling elements were good and I liked the subtle twist at the end. I'm very intrigued to see what the backstory to this whole relationship is.

Thank you to Netgalley for the opportunity to review this title. I attest I am leaving my review voluntarily and honestly.

Eleanor, a human alchemist, is highly sought after for her ability to create gold through metallurgy. Through a series of unexpected events, she catches the eye of the King and is soon to be his bride. In an effort to escape her unwanted engagement to the King, Eleanor makes a deal with a brutal Fae prince. However, the longer she spends with the Fae prince, Eleanor quickly learns that not everything is what it seems.

This was my first book by Zara Storm and it was a fun ride! Sometimes with fantasy books, readers get overwhelmed with world building at the start but I felt that Storm did a great job of pacing and balancing the world building and plot. I appreciated Eleanor’s wit and confidence in her knowledge and skills. Ruskin, our brutal Fae prince, kept us on our toes on his motives and goals.

I think this story is a good introduction to the world of Romantasy. As described, the story has shades of Rumpelstiltskin and Beauty and the Beast. There are also themes that have appeared in other fantasy books but Storm managed to make them her own with many unexpected twists, especially THAT ENDING! Lastly, I enjoyed the narration of this story by Ash Kingsley.