Book Review: Touch of Gold, by Annie Sullivan

Guest review by: Becki Bayley

Royce takes his seat in the boat opposite me.

“Did you get everything we needed?” he asks Phipps as though he hasn’t just left a man behind to die.

“Aye, Captain,” Phipps says. He pats the massive amount of sail filling up the majority of the longboat. If he finds it odd Aris isn’t with us, he doesn’t mention it.

None of them do.

“Where’s Thipps?” Phipps asks.

There’s frantic movement in the boat followed by a gasp when his eyes land on his brother’s body, laid out on another new sail folded in the front of the boat. I look away.

“He saved the princess,” Royce says quietly.

“No,” Phipps whispers. He falls to his knees next to his brother’s form. “Thipps. Come on, Thipps.” He pulls on the collar of his shirt, yanking him up. Thipps’s head rolls backward.

“He’s gone,” Royce says in a gentle tone I’ve never heard from him before.

Kora doesn’t go outside the palace anymore, as she’s been convinced that her father’s curse will ruin everyone’s life the way it has ruined hers.

Official synopsis:

After King Midas’s gift—or curse—almost killed his daughter, he 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 concealed behind gloves and veils. It isn’t until a charming duke arrives that Kora believes she could indeed be loved. But their courtship is disrupted when a thief steals treasures her father needs to survive. Thanks to Kora’s unique ability to sense gold, she sails off on her quest to find the missing items.

While Kora never expected to leave the palace, when her father’s life is at stake, she’s the only one who can find the missing gold and save his life. While she initially expects everyone to fear her or exploit her, she finds out that the small circle of people who have populated her life may not be exactly who she thought. And perhaps there are some truly good people out in the world who she would benefit from and enjoy knowing.

Kora and her cousin Hettie go off on the adventure of their lives and learn more about themselves and each other than they thought possible. Their first instinct, of course, is to only trust each other, but circumstances will force them to re-evaluate where their loyalties should lie. Peoples’ response to The Midas Touch may sometimes tell them all they need to know.

This book earned 4 out of 5 stars and is a great middle-grade retelling of a classic fairy tale from a unique perspective. King Midas’s golden touch has also changed every aspect of his daughter Kora’s life, and she’ll never forget that a gift from Dionysus is never as it seems. This book would be recommended for those who like classic stories from different viewpoints and sharing different emphasis.

{click here to purchase using my Amazon Affiliate link - Touch of Gold is part of a two-book series}

Becki Bayley is a wife, mother, and aunt who enjoys relaxing with a book and learning about what everyone else likes to read. Check out other book and life reviews on her blog, SweetlyBSquared.com.