***Disclaimer: I received a copy of A Touch of Gold in exchange for a free honest review. All opinions are my own.

“The gold hummed a haunting lullaby as it pooled in her ears…”

– Annie Sullivan, A Touch of Gold

A Touch of Gold

By: Rae

With a griping pose, A Touch of Gold left me wishing *coughs* and hinting for a book two.

Meet Kora, the cursed princess who lives with her famous cursed father, King Midas, in a ravaged kingdom on the brink of poverty. Who would’ve thought the gift of Touch, aka the ability to turn things to gold, could be so horrible. The intro provides the backstory, setting the scene from the Greek myth, where King Midas first gets his rise to fame and a kingdom all his own with his brother at his side. The kingdom prospers until… well greed can get the best of anyone and King Midas ends up getting cursed after the “trickiest of gods” known as Dionysus grants him anything he desires. Long story, comprised for time sake, King Midas turns his daughter to gold, reverses the curse only to then forget a super critical part of the reverse, and ultimately the kingdom of Lagonia is still struggling with a ruler falling apart and a daughter who is stuck with golden skin and her own set of curse side effects. Enter in the rest of the story involving stolen gold, dying kings – Midas!-, shady characters, and more!

Phew! I got a little swept away by the wittiness of my summary of the book’s summary but I couldn’t help myself. A Touch of Gold tickled me with its characters and character growth. From side characters to villains to the main character, each one surprised me in some way. I have my favorites, *cough* Royce *cough, but I liked everyone – good and bad which is a new one for me. At first, I only felt sorry for Kora. She was hidden away by her family, suffers from speculation and rumors, and is naïve and frightened for most of the book. Also, among other characters, she had some clichés to her story. The good news is – she came into her own person and even admitted when she was wrong while trying to grow from said mistakes. Points to her. Then I first hated only to later accept her cousin Hettie, which tended to even outshine Kora at parts with her snark and sometimes whining. I have to nod to King Midas because he had a character saving moment near the end and his explanations for his actions were heartbreaking though predictable. Good ole’ Uncle Pheus has some issues to deal with and poor Hettie when they come to light! Ooops! I think that was a spoiler. Then there was Rhat… then there was Aris and Royce. I can’t really say much about Aris without spoilers, or even Royce for that matter, be both have their secrets and Royce was properly swoon-worthy! I could go on, obviously, but I suggest just reading A Touch of Gold for yourself.

I did have two issues with A Touch of Gold. One was a lack of fulfillment in terms of the curse and resolving it. While what Kora’s curse side effects from – spoiler alert! – visions to being able to track the stolen gold were intriguing and gripping, I wanted more of a resolution. Again, this has me wondering at a book two but I digress. Knowing this was a retelling of the King Midas tale, I almost expected a happier ending. Instead I got a realistic one, one I prefer and wanted, and yet I still struggle with putting to words the reason WHY I wasn’t thrilled with the overall conclusion. The second issue was my desire to see more of Kora’s world not just the known Lagonia from the Greek myth or what little was perceived by Kora who had been hidden for ten years. I got to see through her eyes her world but it felt stilled at points.

Overall if you want a story full of secrets, revelations, pirates, and curses I suggest grabbing a copy of A Touch of Gold.

My rating: 4/5