Friday, August 31, 2018

Book Review: The Gilded King by Josie Jaffrey

Purchase the book
Book Title: The Gilded King
Author: Josie Jaffrey
Format: Paperback
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

From the very beginning of the book to the end, I was captivating by the world that Josie Jaffrey creates in The Gilded King, which happens to be Book I in the Sovereign Series. I am not sure exactly what I was expecting from reading this novel, but I was not disappointed. Initially, the plot reminded me of the movie, “I Am Legend.”  

In this book, there are two distinct worlds: Blue and Red. Blue is where Julia resides, but Red is where she desires to go. However, Julia is paralyzed by fear of the unknown beyond the border that separated the Blue and Red worlds. Because of Jaffrey’s writing style, I was extremely curious about what was in the Red. As I read the book, I quickly understood.

The Blue is the remaining city after catastrophic destruction within the world. This city is guarded by a wall that separates it from The Red, where sudden death is imminent. Two young girls, Claudia and Julia, are servants within the Blue, and they are being groomed to provide the necessary nutrients of blood to their assigned superiors, The Noble. Jaffrey made it easy for the reader to understand the apparent caste system that was created when the world was transformed into what controlled the lives of Claudia and Julia. I admired the character, Julia. I loved how she does not fit into the sterotypical female role of submission. Even though she is a servant, she is very much aware of her thoughts and intuition. I love that about her character. 

I won’t give away the plot or provide any spoilers. Let’s just say that if you love books that transport you into another world then this is the book for you. I must admit that I was captivated by the way that Jaffrey allows the plot to unfold. Even though I was in the comfort of my bedroom as I read the book, I felt like I was right there with Julia when she first met Lucas for the first time. I could see Felix and Cam climbing the trees. Every scene that I read felt so real to me.

About the book

In the Blue, the world’s last city, all is not well.
Purchase the Book
Julia is stuck within its walls. She serves the nobility from a distance until she meets Lucas, a boy who believes in fairytales that Julia’s world can’t accommodate. The Blue is her prison, not her castle, and she’d escape into the trees if she didn’t know that contamination and death awaited humanity outside.
But not everyone in the Blue is human, and not everyone can be contained.
Beyond the city’s boundaries, in the wild forests of the Red, Cameron has precious little humanity left to lose. As he searches for a lost queen, he finds an enemy rising that he thought long dead. An enemy that the humans have forgotten how to fight.
One way or another, the walls of the Blue are going to come down. The only question is what side you’ll be on when they do.

About the Author


Josie lives in Oxford, England, with her husband and two cats. When she’s not writing, she works as a lawyer, specialising in intellectual property and commercial law. She also runs a video book review club, The Gin Book Club, through her website. The Solis Invicti series (a prequel series to the Sovereign series) is available now. For additional information, contact: josiejaffrey@gmail.com

No comments:

Post a Comment

Discovering the Joys of Being in a Book Club

Heaven and Earth Grocery Store Reading has been a sanctuary for me for as long as I can remember. Being surrounded by books provides unimagi...