Book Review: Gleam by Raven Kennedy

Title: Gleam (Plated Prisoner #3)
Author: Raven Kennedy
Publisher: Sourcebooks
Publication Date: May 28, 2024
ISBN: 9781464224492

Synopsis:

The thing about being confined is that you believe it’s to keep the bad out… Until you realize it’s about keeping you in. 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.

But the last thing I expected was for my anger to call out to him. King Ravinger. 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.

———————-

The FMC, Auren, is growing more confident with every passing book, so I’m starting to dislike her less. It’s her transformation that’s really keeping me on the hook, and we finally see her start to level up towards the end of the story. I’m excited to see where she’ll go in the series and if she’ll finally triumph over all of the terrible things that have been done to her in her lifetime. I want this girl to get something good in life! It’s long overdue. All that’s to say, she’s finally getting a little more interesting and I’m here for it. My main qualm is that she continues to be unreasonably kind to those who treat her like dirt, but with any luck, that kindness will pay off for her in the end. Auren has far more tolerance than I ever would have.

Auren and King Ravinger (aka Slade) run into one another again, but this time it’s within the walls of King Midas’s annexed castle. Slade is a reminder of the autonomy and the newfound freedom that Auren experienced outside of Midas’s grasp, and it fuels her fire, driving her to fight back, even in the smallest of ways. She wages her own rebellion, growing in strength and courage as the story progresses.

This book begins to introduce new perspectives, keeping the character voices fresh. With a series this long, it’s necessary to bring in other points of view to prevent the plot from getting stale. In contrast to Auren’s rise, the story also follows Queen’s Malina and her spiralling downfall. I truly hope this woman finds strength in future books because she, like Auren, is woefully wronged by the system that Midas created. His power and reach is unfathomable. Malina is a counterpart to Auren—two women held captive by the same man. While one is his wife, her power and position exploited for his gain and societal rise, the other is his concubine, kept close for the secret power she possesses that brings him unimaginable profit and wealth. Both of these woman may respond differently to the hurt wrought to them, but both of them deserve to rise.

The biggest drawback to this book is the overall writing. While the world building and character building is going okay as a whole, it often reads like a bad fan fiction. The language is terribly anachronistic so it’s very distracting and takes away from the plot. It’s hard to imagine this kind of medieval-esque fantasy setting with characters constantly using modern-day language. There’s very little effort into masking that this book is written in the present day, which stands in counter to the more typical fantasy setting. The writing further detracts from the plot through the weak dialogue. The characters have very surface-level conversations that often consist of stating the obvious, leaving both the characters—and the story as a whole—falling flat.

I gave this one 3 stars on Goodreads, though perhaps it’s a generous 2.5 stars and I’ve rounded up with the optimistic thought that perhaps the writing will see an improvement as these books progress.

Happy reading!