I really enjoyed the story and the characters. Looks like I have to find the second book.

The narrator did an amazing work in this enjoyable book.

Thanks to NetGalley and Audio ARC provided by Victory Editing NetGalley Co-op for a great book.

Mixing elements of Rumpelstilskin and Beauty & the Beast, our fmc can blend metals into gold, which earns her the attention of not only the king of the human realm, but also prince regent of the fairy realm (mmc). Tied to him through a deal she can not leave the feary realm until she manages to un-make gold. But the reasons for doing so aren’t disclosed to her. So she sets out to not only free herself from the deal, but find out what is going on with this Prince, his kingdom and the need for un-making anything.

This book is written from the point of view of the fmc, who pulls us into her ways of thinking and her back and forth between reason and heart. It is what drives the plot forward and makes for the most interesting plot lines.

This personally found the back and forth a bit tiering and immature; it felt like the fmc kept changing her mind (although I think it was meant has listening to reason vs listening to her feelings/heart).
This was mainly evident in the romance. Trying to use the chemistry to get the mmc to do what she wants (mind), but after getting it on being super emotionally invested and telling herself he is the best and most handsome guy ever (heart).

The mmc was truly morally gray (which I appreciate). Until the end we don’t know what his motives are, how much of the truth he isn’t telling, if he is mainly using our fmc for his end goal… it worked well paired with the back and forth between heart and mind of our fmc.

The side characters though were well written and made the plot a lot more enjoyable. They made me laugh more than once.

The world building was a bit weak, maybe it will be explored more in the next book. I am hopeful, because the potential is great!

To sum it up:
I had a good time
I will read book 2
I would recommend, but add a warning about a frustratingly indecisive fmc
Review on Instagram has been uploaded on June 20th

This book was so great and fun!!

I love the Rumpelstiltskin meets Beauty and the Beast vibes. I was sucked in right away and can't wait to get to book 2.

If you like:
Alchemy / magic collide
Fae
Slow burn
Lies, deceptions, half truth

was given an advanced reader copy of this work in audio format from Netgalley in free of charge in return for an honest review.

The Narration is excellent and really brought the story and its characters to life. Very well done.
I was drawn to the book first by the cover art a black back ground , golden chains and the golden bloody heart it caught my eye and i just couldn't look away. i had to know what the story was and wow what a story it was!

Elenor Thorne has grown up knowing that the Fae are dangerous and not to be trusted. She deals with them on market day for the gold so she can obtaine the ore she needs for her alchimical experiments. She's so close to creating gold and improving the lives of herself and her family and those in her village she can feel it. And then it goes horribly wrong.

This story is a mix of Rumpelstiltskin and beauty and the beast. And it most certainly has spicy sceans that will keep you reading long past your bed time. I really loved this read and am so glad i picked it up.

if fairytales and sexy fae are your bag then this read is totally for you.

Fantasy
Romance
Retelling
Enemies to Lovers

An absolute joy to listen to.

I am not one for retellings but this was a lot of fun. The narrator did an absolutely splendid job with the audio and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Her voices were spot on and she really brought the story to life.
The book itself I would compare to a Holly Black book if she did retellings, it had a lot of the same characteristics and elements of her world which I enjoyed.
I can easily recommend this Audio book for everyone who love the Fae and their quirks as I do.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts are my own.
A huge thank you to Netgalley and Victory Editing for this Audio-arc.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and author for this audio ARC.

For something being described as a dark romantic fantasy, I expected something…darker.

I love how inquisitive the FMC was. In some fantasy books, I think the human character going into fae lands just accept the things they see rather than trying to figure them out.

As the book progresses, secrets are exposed that make the premise of the book increasingly more interesting. The more details that were revealed, the more I was enjoying reading it. I like that this had a combination of science and alchemy - the fmc uses her knowledge and abilities to help her family, her community, and later, the fae realm.

The narrator was great! I really enjoyed the accents she was able to do throughout the story to differentiate characters and their personalities.

Would love to know more about this world! Impatiently waiting for book #2.

I can’t tell you what it is about this book that had me so enraptured. Maybe there was crack laced in the story and it somehow managed to seep through my headphones? Whatever it was, I could not stop once I started and I’m fairly certain I’m about to binge the rest of the series.
I absolutely LOVE the Rumpelstiltskin aspect to this, and I like the added Beauty & the Beast twist.
I really enjoy Eleanor. She’s spunky and empathetic, without being some overly badass, somehow knows how to fight FMC. Basically, she’s real (for a fantasy protagonist). She works hard and she’s essentially a fantasy representation for STEM. I think it is so cool that she is part blacksmith part alchemist. Ruskin is a big broody ball of mysteries but with a soft side. He’s willing to do what he must for the good of his people but it doesn’t mean he doesn’t care. I like that about him. I can’t wait to crack him open as the series continues.
There weren’t any insane twists for me in the story and I was able to predict them for the most part. That said, I have some question and I’m super intrigued to see where this goes.
Ash Kingsley was great as the narrator. I really enjoyed her voice and accent(s). I think she did well portraying the different characters and the different moods.

Thank you to the author for the ALC!

I went into this audiobook with no expectations and ended up finding it a light, enjoyable listen. The story doesn’t go deep into complex world-building or crazy plots, it was just what I needed between heavier reads.

It’s mildly spicy (2–3 scenes), a bit predictable, and finishes without a massive cliffhanger.. though it did leave me curious enough to want to continue the series. Strangely, my favourite character ended up being Destan, a side character! 😆

I wasn’t completely sold on the FMC, but I’m hopeful she’ll grow in book two. The MMC felt a bit forgettable to be honest. I’m not super attached to either of the main characters yet.

As for the narration, Ash Kingsley has a pleasant tone, but her delivery felt a bit repetitive. There wasn’t much vocal variation, and I found myself wishing for more emotional range to help bring the story to life.

This is perfect if you’re after a lighter dark fantasy romance with fae, gold-spinning, and a mysterious prince, this could be a fun one to try!

This is my second Zara Storm novel and another fae prince-based romance, but honestly? I’ll take all the fae romances I can get my greedy little hands on.

Ms. Storm has a talent for creating rich worlds, engaging, heart-palpitating storylines, and intriguingly questionable, sometimes irritating, but always lovable characters. I think her writing style, however, just doesn’t resonate with me. That’s purely a personal preference, in no way a reflection of her skill as a writer, and the primary reason I’ve rated this book three stars.

In The Court That Bleeds Gold, Eleanor Thorn tells a desperate lie to escape a forced marriage, claiming she can spin gold. When the lie becomes truth, she finds herself imprisoned and sold to the last person she ever expected: Ruskin, a powerful and dangerous fae prince with his own secrets and scars. Dragged into the politics and power games of the fae realm, Eleanor must navigate a brutal world of betrayal, magic, and enemies-to-lovers tension that crackles off the page.

It’s dark, it’s romantic, it’s brutal. It should be added to your TBR immediately.

Ash Kingsley does a fine job narrating. I always admire a narrator’s ability to bring fantasy to life, and Ash handles the characters’ intonations and accents with skill.

Thank you to NetGalley, Relay Publishing, Victory Editing NetGalley Co-op, and Zara Storm for this ALC in exchange for my honest opinion.

Loved loved loved this ALC ! It was just SO MUCH FUN , it was gripping, the banter kept me entertained
The story plot and spicy was just brilliant. Everything i want in a book
4.5 stars

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of the audiobook for my honest opinion.

I was instantly hooked with this book. It's a retelling of Beauty and the Beast meets ACOTAR.

Eleanor is a human who strikes a deal with the Fae Prince in order to free herself from the human King. It's obvious what happens with the Fae Prince and Eleanor but the story getting there was oh so good!!!

The cliffhanger at the end has me running for book two!

The narrator did a fantastic job. She was so so good!!

Beauty and the Beast meets A Curse So Dark and Lonely. I could almost compare it to ACOTAR, but I'm really hoping our MMC's character arc here is different (IYKYK).

'Then a voice soft as velvet, dark as the night, speaks behind me. "You called?"'

The selection of Ash Kingsley as narrator for this book was perfect! She did an amazing job, and her voice would have been my headcanon for this story without knowing it. I could not stop listening, and I've already got the next two books pre-ordered.

The writing felt a little imperfect, and some parts of the story could have used a bit more detail - but like I said, I've already pre-ordered the next two books!

Thank you to Victory Editing NetGalley Co-op for the Audio ARC!

I was pulled into this story's world almost instantly. I couldn't stop listening! Eleanor is like my spirit animal. I love a girly who is both strong and determined. The dynamic with her and Ruskin kept me on the edge of my seat. I love a good enemies to lovers. The world building and type of magic for the ghost of a story I had heard before was what really drew me in. The ending definitely made me want to pick up book two!

An easy to follow romantasy with fun vibes of Ruplestilskin and Beauty and the Beast. Eleanor is a woman who hates the unfairness of the world she had been born into. She is resourceful and driven to better not only her life but that of those around her, even those she doesnt particularly like. Eleanor is not content to keep quiet and do as she is told. She truly believes in justice and honesty. Ruskin is a morally gray MMC, need I say more? 🥰 I really enjoyed this book and im definitely going to try the rest of the series. Netgalley was kind enough to let me borrow the audiobook and the narration was great!

**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)!