Some characters need a little character development. Auren needed an entire six-book journey of the Plated Prisoner series to discover that she was never meant to live inside someone else’s cage. Written by Raven Kennedy, it is a story of a girl reclaiming her rightful place and burning her enemies to the ground, a girl who was stolen from her home and sold as a slave. But she was a Goldfinch, and she was meant to fly high.
Genre
Romantasy \ Fantasy Romance
Character
- Auren (my baby)
- King Rot
- King Midas (what a tool)
- Rissa (she went from a bitch to a really powerful ally of Auren)
- Digby the bodyguard (the one who never spoke and then became the fierce protector of Auren. he is ❤️)
- The Wrath (Inner Circle of King Ravinger: Judd, Lu, Osrik
- Queen Malina ( what a laughing stock)
Tropes
- Retelling
- Female Rage (in later books)
- Found Family
- Trauma and Healing
- Hidden Identities
- Powerful FMC
- Feminine Rage
- Slow Burn
- Touch her and die
- Protective, fiercely devoted love interest
My Review
Raven Kennedy’s Plaed Prisoner Series is a retelling of Midas’s Golden Touch, but with a very different story to tell. At first, I found myself wondering whether Midas was supposed to be the love interest, but something about him felt off, and then another king entered the picture. Let’s just say my loyalties shifted rather quickly.
But the real reason I loved this series is Auren. Watching a girl who has spent so much of her life being sold, abused, controlled, diminished, and confined gradually discover who she is beyond the life imposed on her was extraordinary. Add a fiercely loyal bodyguard, a wonderfully chaotic found family, and a love interest who can be surprisingly tender, and I was completely invested.
What makes The Plated Prisoner series special to me is Auren’s transformation. I watched her go from someone who had been made to believe she belonged in a cage and is safe in there to a character whose journey became impossible not to root for. The loyal friendships, the found family, and the tenderness she was so deprived of only to find it later, made me love it even more.
If you have read this series, which character surprised you the most as you moved through the series? For me, it was Queen Malina. I dislike her with passion, but she still surprised me in the end.
My Rating
- Overall: ★★★★★ | 5 Stars
- Plot: ★★★★★| 5 Stars
- Romance: ★★★★★| 5 Stars
- Characters:★★★★★ | 5 Stars
- Pacing: ★★★★★| 5 Stars
- Ending: ★★★★★| 5 Stars
- Spice Level: 🌶🌶| Level 2
- Book Cover:★★★★★| 5 Stars ( Perfection)
The Best Part
- Auren finding her found family
- Auren and Digby
- Whatever happens with Queen Malina
The Epic Part
- When Auren finally takes her revenge on King Midas
My Fav Words
“You’re not the villain in my story.” “I am,” he says without remorse, his sharp jaw tight with tension. “But I’ll be the villain for you. Not to you.”
“A cage is a cage, no matter how gilded.”
“Find me in another life. Find me in them all.”
“You can’t cut off the strings of your puppet and still expect it to move for you.”
“He may wear the crown, but I was the one who made it gold.”
“But that’s the curse of the survivors. We have to live with our dead.”
