Glow (The Plated Prisoner Series Book 4)

Product Information

That’s the thing with trauma to the body—it shows up instantly. In breaks and bruises, in burns and in blood. But the trauma on the inside, that’s harder to see. It creeps around your mind, poisons you with disquiet. It can hit you out of nowhere, debilitating and ruinous. There are no marks visible for those. None, save the shadows in your eyes."

I will admit there were parts of this book that did feel super repetitive and just longggg, however every time I found myself thinking “didn’t I already read something exactly like this” it led to a new point of healing or vital conversation for Auren. You cannot rush healing and oftentimes through healing repetition is how you’re able to find the safe place and the courage needed to process through certain feelings/memories. So I think that’s important to remember as you’re going through this book, especially if you feel it’s beginning to get slightly long winded. The betrayers. The murderers. The ones who nearly destroyed Orea, and wiped out Seventh Kingdom in the process. He has power sizzling beneath this skin and glinting spikes down his spine. But his eyes—his eyes are the most compelling of all. I’m now in a strange kingdom surrounded by liars, with no allies of my own, but I won’t sit idly by and let myself wither. No, there’s something that’s bloomed from the pit of my repression. Something dark. Something angry. So I will fight for him and he will kill for me, and if we need to become the villains, then so be it. I was nothing but a road to Midas. A means to get to where he wanted to go, and I paved that path in gold."Because these bars I’m kept in, no matter how gilded, are still just a cage. But the monsters on the other side might make me wish I’d never left. He’s sinister and powerful and entirely too seductive. I’ve learned my lesson with trusting manipulative kings, so why does my chest constrict every time he’s near? I need to tread carefully, or I’m at risk of losing much more than just my freedom. We are finally leaving the fifth kingdom and going into the fourth so we get a whole new aspect of world building in this book. The world is beautiful and Raven does a fantastic job of describing each of the different settings. She really brings this world to life in ways that make you feel like you are there. Star Rating

I’ve raved over this series for a while now. This is one of those series that I didn’t really care for early on but it grew on me. The character development and the world building in this series is amazing. I especially love the twists you never see coming. but i’m left with another cliffhanger and i have so many questions. it hurts in the best way and i’m so excited for gold. i already know it’s going to be everything i need and more. But what I loved most was Auren dealing with her grief and trauma. (Which may be due in part to our family saying goodbye to our dear kitty. Funny how our experience with books can be affected by what’s happening in our real lives.)A spectacularly written, engaging, imaginative retelling of the ancient myth of King Midas' 5***** Reader Review The chemistry between Slade and Auren is, as expected, simply delicious. We also have another two side characters in an unexpected ship that I loveeee.

Ok. Whew. First off this book was heavy. You knew coming off of the end of Gleam that this was not going to be a light and breezy book, even on top of Auren still working through a decade of grooming and abuse. You knew her recovery was going to be painful and that this combined with everything else would take time. Every step of her journey, loss, and healing in this book is slow, delicate, careful, heartbreakingly realistic, perfectly depicted, and beautifully handled. There wasn’t a single question, discussion, thought process, or scenario in my mind that the author did not explore which I, as an abuse survivor on the “other side” of life in a healthy and loving relationship, both loved and appreciated SO MUCH.Like a phoenix caught fire, I will need to rise from the ashes and learn to wield my own power. Because my wings may have been clipped, but I am not in a cage, and I'm finally free to fly from the frozen kingdoms I've been kept in.