A Touch
of Gold by Annie Sullivan
Publisher:
BLINK
Release
Date: August 14, 2018
Genres: Young Adult Fiction
-- Mythology, Retelling
SYNOPSIS:
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?
BOOK LINKS:
Amazon – https://amzn.to/2KS9xYY
MY REVIEW:
Okay, so this book is amazing! This may be one of my favorite review books of the year thus far. "A Touch of Gold" by Annie Sullivan is a delicious, rip-roaring retelling of the King Midas tale. This is a fast-paced adventure with so many wonderful lessons and themes woven seamlessly into the plot.
The main character, Princess Kora (King Midas’s daughter) experiences so much character growth over the course of the novel. She sets out to save her father, but along the way, she finds herself. Cue the song, “This is me” from The Greatest Showman (and if you haven’t seen that movie, who are you and what are you doing with your life?)! Kora has to learn to be comfortable with who she is and not hide herself. She starts to really live life and stops hiding, even though she is different. What a great reminder that our past, disabilities or differences should not hold us back from living life to the fullest and loving ourselves in the process!
The story itself is fantastic. It reminds me a bit of “Pirates of the Caribbean” mashed up with a gender bender retelling. I love all the mythology in the story and the world Ms. Sullivan creates. Ms. Sullivan often ends chapters with cliff hangers, making the reader not want to put the book down. And the twists in the plot are genius!
This is such a wonderful, encouraging and fun read! I would recommend it to teens and adults alike. I must give you fair warning that you might just lose sleep over this book!
Content: This is a clean read, especially for being a young adult novel. I give it a PG rating. Some examples of the content are: mention of alcohol; a person is accused of being a demon; a man kills himself; headless bodies; gore related to pirate lore; women showing skin, implying they are prostitutes.
Rating: I give this book 5 stars (or 5 touches of gold)!
I want to thank Annie Sullivan, BLINK YA books and The Fantastic Flying Book Club for the complimentary copy of this book for review. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I express in this review are my own. This is in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s CFR 16, Part 255.
AUTHOR INFO:
Annie
Sullivan is a Young Adult author from Indianapolis, Indiana. Her work has been
featured in Curly Red Stories and Punchnels. She loves fairytales, everything
Jane Austen, and traveling and exploring new cultures. When she’s not off on
her own adventures, she’s teaching classes at the Indiana Writers Center and
working as the Copy Specialist at John Wiley and Sons, Inc. publishing company,
having also worked there in Editorial and Publicity roles. You can follow her
adventures on Twitter and Instagram (@annsulliva).
Links:
TOUR-WIDE GIVEAWAY
Prize:
5 BLINK Summer Reading Tour Book Bundles (A Touch of Gold, Meet the Sky, No
Place Like Here, Pretty In Punxsutawney, and Swing by Kwame Alexander) (USA)
Starts: 7/22/19
Ends: 8/9/19
Direct Link:
http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/d9681b86375/?
