Reading Time: 4 minutes

Spoiler-Free Review

The Plated Prisoner seems to be a hit or miss for many, and while I sort of liked the first few books, my interest eventually waned and I decided to put the series down.

Click here for content warnings.

What’s The Plated Prisoner series about?

In this King Midas retelling, we follow Auren, the “gold-touched favored” who serves as Midas’ concubine. Auren happily lives behind the bars of her gilded cage until a series of events force her to confront an awful truth: everything she knows about Midas is wrong.

Book 1: Gild

This book is hard to rate, to be honest. On the one hand, I read it in about 3 days flat; it was so easy to consume. But that’s mostly because the writing style is a little over-simplified. There was a lot the narrator outright explained to the reader (sometimes repeatedly). It also had some choppy pacing around the middle. The plot kept me hooked for the most part, though, so combined with the straightforward writing style, it was easy to binge.

The end took a turn, and it feels like it’s treading into more familiar territory for the genre. This could be a good thing if you’re into recent romantasy trends; it might be a bad thing if you’re looking for something new.

As far as the main character goes, I feel like I have a decent grasp on Auren’s personality, and her growth is imminent. In this first installment, she definitely has some protective delusions she clings to which likely help her survive mentally. So I’m interested to see where her arc goes. She has a lot of other redeeming qualities; though, I will say she feels a bit like a stock main character.

Book 2: Glint

Like book 1, this was about how Auren grows as a person, with little external plot. That’s not to say it wasn’t entertaining, because it was. It was satisfying to watch another character finally wedge doubt into Auren’s logic. It was also satisfying to see her start coming to terms with aspects of her past that she’d been keeping secret or suppressed. That said, there were quite a few flashbacks and these segments often lost my attention.

Like book 1, it was easy to fly through. I could read 60-100 pages in a single sitting, so it was giving me those instant dopamine hits. And the twist at the end got me.

Book 3: Gleam

Book 3 continues the thread of book 2, with Auren’s character growth at the forefront. Relationships had a chance to grow, and there was plenty of angst and tension. I did find large chunks to be on the slower side, but no more so than the previous books. The end was satisfying, and I could tell this is meant to be a turning point for the series.

Book 4: Glow

This one was very A Court of Mist and Fury, but with less compelling character dynamics and arcs. There were no surprises from chapter to chapter, and it felt very much like something I’ve read a bunch of times already. Also, I found the smutty scenes ridiculous.

On the whole, I skimmed a lot. I actually found the other POVs more interesting in general than our main character’s, and yet many of those didn’t go anywhere (as in, they didn’t have time to go anywhere, because they got a grand total 1-3 chapters each, so what was the point?). Also, I’m no prude when it comes to language, but this had so many f-bombs in every conversation that it made the dialogue weak. It also seemed like a bad representation of how men speak – like throwing in the word “fucking” is what makes their speech “manly” or something.

The characters also felt much more immature, self-loathing, and whiny, to the point of neglecting the other really important things happening in their world.

This installment had few redeeming qualities, and I stopped reading about 60% of the way in. I’m calling it here.

Book 5: Gold

Book 6: Goldfinch

Final Thoughts

While there were things I can critique about the first three books, I liked them in general. They were easy to binge and had some interesting plot points. So when I didn’t like book 4, it was easy to just call it quits. There wasn’t enough to compel me forward, and I was honestly content to read some online spoilers to know how the story concludes.

In reading other reviews, it seems that many readers agreed with me that books 1-3 and books 4-6 feel very different. Many of the reviews used the word “filler” when describing the latter half of The Plated Prisoner. Someone suggested that with the amount of plot stagnation in 4-6, the three books likely could’ve been a single book with better editing. Considering how I felt about book 4, I can believe it. And I feel validated in my decision to DNF.

Should you read The Plated Prisoner series?

I think this series is good for when you just want quick, easy, and dramatic, with themes of empowerment. But this is not light and fluffy, let me be clear. This series comes with the asterisks of: read the content warnings if you think you should. This won’t be for everyone.

The plot is primarily internal, meaning it’s mostly about how Auren grows and changes in response to new challenges. Which means there is very little in the way of an external plot overall. So if character-focused storytelling with a bit of romantic tension is your jam, you might like this. Especially if character growth is at the top of your list. That said, if external plot is your preference, you likely will be bored with this series.

I also want to say that the writing is more telling than showing. It’s practically pure exposition. That’s part of what made it fast to read, because I could easily skim. So that’s worth noting before diving in. If prose is important to you, skip this series.

I would also skip this series if you’re wanting something new and fresh – there was quite a lot that felt like repackaged versions of today’s popular fae romantasy clichés.