Gild

Gild is the first book in Raven Kennedy's wildly popular Plated Prisoner series, a dark, adult reimagining of the King Midas myth told from the perspective of the woman he turned to gold. Auren lives in Highbell, a castle carved into frozen mountains where everything -- floors, walls, and Auren herself -- gleams gold. King Midas found her in the slums, gilded her with his cursed touch, and set her on a pedestal as his most treasured possession.

Kept in a literal gilded cage, Auren has told herself she is safe and cherished, protected from a harsh world by the king she loves. But when war reaches Highbell and Midas strikes a bargain, the story she's believed about her life begins to crack. Torn from the palace and thrown among ruthless armies, rival kings, and monstrous soldiers, Auren is forced to confront how much of her devotion was love and how much was captivity -- and to reckon with the far more dangerous world beyond her bars.

Sensual, morally shadowed, and propelled by a slow reckoning with power and self-worth, Gild became a runaway TikTok sensation and launched a six-book saga. It is aimed squarely at adult readers, with mature content and a heroine whose journey from possession to person is the true engine of the series.