A majority of my August was spent finishing a duology by Marissa Meyer that consists of the books Gilded and Cursed–a duology I started in January and finally got the gall to finish. This is my review, which is really more of a reaction, and there are spoilers.
"'Nonsense with sauce.'"
The Facts
Author: Marissa Meyer
Release Dates: November 2021 (Gilded) and November 2022 (Cursed)
Genre: Young adult, fantasy
Main Characters: Serilda, Gild, & The Erlking
Number of Pages: 512 (Gilded) and 496 (Cursed)
Rating: 3.75 out of 5
Gilded
This book is the perfect read for the beginning of a new calendar year because the book starts on New Year’s Day.
Page seventy-two introduces the reader to wyvern, and my brain immediately went to Fourth Wing. All focus switched to thoughts of Andarna. I locked back in when Serilda started having forced nightmares, though, because they kept stressing me out.
The intimacy and vulnerability shared between Gild and Serilda in chapter twenty-four melted my heart.
Something to piss me off: What do you mean we get 2/3 of the way through the book and Serilda still hasn’t caught on to the fact that Gild requires precious payment to work his magic?
Cursed
In my opinion, Cursed is better than Gilded, even though it also had scenes that dragged.
The fact that Serilda repeatedly stabbed the Erlking, and he did nothing, was absolutely wild. If she wasn’t in the predicament she’s in, Serilda would’ve been dead before the first knife could touch his side.
Also, Leyna showing up to the castle was BONKERS. Immediate fear. Immediate stress. Something else that stressed me out? Serilda leading the Erlking to Shrub Grandmother (who is also a unicron… mind blown), which is exactly what Shrub Grandmother said NOT to do.
This book made me love Gild more. His devotion to Serilda? To protecting and loving her? So freaking heartwarming.
On the other hand, Serilda’s stupidity made us mortals/humans look really bad. Also, her continuing to wear that red cloak from the Erlking was pissing me off.
A gay couple blessed by Hulda starting the lineage that eventually leads to Gild is kind of iconic.
You know what else is iconic? That plot twist… I was not ready.
Both books showcase the font change for the story Serilda is telling, and I love it. The perfect font was chosen. Fragments of the story were perfectly placed, and the transitions into the story were incredibly smooth and not questionable. It is a fantastic example of a well-written story within a story.
Final Thoughts
This Rumpelstiltskin retelling duology is incredibly dark and kind of gruesome, especially with the kids being found on the side of the road with their hearts ripped out of their chests. I understand why this is deemed Young Adult, but also… are we sure?
If you take the time to dissect and think about all 900+ pages of the book, there are a couple of themes present:
There is power in the tongue.
There’s truth to the stories we tell.
If I have everything mentally calculated correctly, all of this happened in a year. Wild. I knew there would be a happily ever after, but I wish it was written differently. Give me the pen; I would love to rewrite the ending.
"'You wield laughter like a weapon, a protection against your awful circumstances. I think you're trying to create lightness where there is so much dark.'"
