Tuesday, June 26, 2018

Book Review: A Touch of Gold

YOU GUYS. Drop everything and buy this book. It's been five days since I read/finished it (in one sitting) and I'm still thinking about it!

A Touch of Gold - Annie Sullivan

Gold is wealth. Wealth is power. Power is a curse.

King Midas once had the ability to turn all he touched into gold. But after his gift—or curse—almost killed his daughter, Midas relinquished The Touch forever. Ten years later, Princess Kora still bears the consequences of her father’s wish: her skin shines golden, rumors follow her everywhere she goes, and she harbors secret powers that are getting harder to hide.

Kora spends her days locked in the palace, concealed behind gloves and veils, trying to ignore the stares and gossip of courtiers. It isn’t until a charming young duke arrives that Kora realizes there may be someone out there who doesn’t fear her or her curse. But their courtship is disrupted when a thief steals precious items from the kingdom, leaving the treasury depleted and King Midas vulnerable. Thanks to her unique ability to sense gold, Kora is the only one who can track the thief down. As she sails off on her quest, Kora learns that not everything is what it seems—not thieves, not pirates, and not even curses. She quickly discovers that gold—and the power it brings—is more dangerous than she’d ever believed.

Midas learned his lesson at a price. What will Kora’s journey cost?

I'll start by telling you I'm giving this one FIVE gold stars because any book that has me wishing for more five days later is worth every star I can give it. If you're familiar with the story of King Midas and his golden touch, then you'll love this part two almost. We know he turns his daughter gold but what happens after that is where this book comes in. Kora is still golden, but she hasn't ever left the palace but she has to now because only she can track down her father's stolen gold before he's too weak to survive. So off Kora goes, aboard a ship with her stowaway cousin Hettie, and the suitor who has come to court her but also offers his assistant, Aris. But it's not all smooth sailing because soon enough she realizes the danger she's in from the crew members but also the realization she will eventually have to face off with a pirate named Captain Skulls. 

There are SO MANY plot twists in this one that more than once I found myself saying, "SHUT THE FRONT DOOR" and I couldn't stop reading it. I finished all 300some pages in one sitting because I couldn't put it down. It's a YA book so it's got a little romance but nothing extends past kissing so this is perfectly OK for a kid to read it. In fact, my almost 13 year old has stolen it from my desk already. I am so impressed with this author and her writing style, it's just a smoothly written novel with a twist on a classic. Absolutely loved it.
   

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