Title: A Touch of Gold

Author: Annie Sullivan

Publisher: Blink YA Books

My Rating: 4/5 stars

“Gold is wealth. Wealth is power. Power is a curse. Midas learned his lesson at a price, but what will Kora’s journey cost?” –official summary

Summary

Ten years after her father King Midas gave up the gift that almost killed her, Princess Kora’s skin still carries a golden tint, rumors follow her almost as closely as her skin, and her powers are becoming difficult to hide. She spends her days hidden in the palace, an object of fear and pity.

A handsome young duke arrives and teaches Kora that not everyone fears her and her curse, but their relationship is interrupted when Kora must use her ability to sense gold to track down a thief who stole from the kingdom’s treasury.  Not everyone is what they seem, and gold and the power it brings is even more dangerous than she could have ever anticipated. Her journey is filled with pirates, thieves, danger, and new ideas.

Review

A Touch of Gold by Annie Sullivan was an adventurous, beautiful, and unique story. I’ve never read a King Midas retelling before and was excited to find one. A Touch of Gold is a good story in many ways. Annie Sullivan’s pacing is masterful, and the plot was interesting and not too predictable. She has a gift for beautiful writing that stands out among the serious, dark tones that populate YA fiction.

I liked the main character, Kora. She was interesting, clever, and energetic. I liked that she wanted to prove herself, because I think that is a basic fairy-tale element and played into the overall story. However, I wasn’t a big fan of the rather clichéd romance. There was a sort-of love triangle, and Kora seemed too naïve in matters of judging others’ characters. I would have like to see more compelling relationships.

 I also would have liked to see more time devoted to Kora’s world. Annie Sullivan seems to have a gift for making her story come to life, and I would have liked to see this applied to her world. From what I could tell, the characters lived in a slightly medieval world, where magic and mythical creatures abounded, but we didn’t really get to see much more than that.

Overall, A Touch of Gold was a fun, beautiful story and one I’m glad I read. I think the author has a lot of talent, and will definitely be keeping an eye out for her books in the future.

-Grace

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Have you read A Touch of Gold? Do you like retellings?