Lost in Pages

Because sometimes all it takes is knowing you’re not in it alone, that you have a crew who’s got your back.

I got the chance to meet Annie Sullivan at BookExpo this past May, and she is a delight. In just the short 45 seconds or so that I had to chat with her while she signed an ARC of A Touch of Gold for me, I could tell she really loves what she does — she’s super personable and extremely excited for this book! I was really excited, too, to get my hands on an early copy of Gold after reading the synopsis for it months prior. It sounded like an adventurous pirate tale, and I was here for it.

A Touch of Gold is a new take on the King Midas myth, one of which I’m not that familiar with. I knew the basics of the story going in, so I can’t be a great judge on whether anything in this book is very accurate or not. Regardless, this story is about Kora, Midas’s daughter, and her struggle with the aftermath of her father’s curse. Her father’s gold is stolen, and she teams up with some pirates to help get it back. I liked the aspect of her being able to “track” the stolen gold through her connections with it and the curse, it made the story more unique.

I’m happy to say that overall the book was quite enjoyable! I liked the twists and turns the plot took, even when some of it was slightly predictable. Some characters come across as being too good to be true right from the start, so it wasn’t a surprise to me at all when their true colors were shown. Despite that, I appreciated Kora’s growth throughout the story. She starts as a timid recluse, scared to show her true self and her potential risk to others. By the end of the story, she’s come into her own and accepted her powers, and it was great to see her with confidence. I also enjoyed Royce and his journey. He seemed standoffish at first, but it was with good reason. I’m hoping there will be more to this world and Kora’s story because I feel like I’ve barely dipped my toes in — which leads me to why I docked off a bit from the rating.

I felt like everything was super rushed. As much as I was engaged throughout the story — which Sullivan’s writing is good at doing — I felt like everything happened so quickly. Character relationships seemed to blossom from pure convenience, and plot twists were thrown at me so quickly, at times I had to reread parts to really understand what was happening. The ending wrapped up incredibly fast with a pretty drastic reveal occurring within the last 10 pages. Like I said before, I really hope there’s a sequel or even a novella to continue this story because I do like the characters and the world, and I’d love to see more.

This is Annie’s debut, so I definitely feel like she’s got more coming for us! Overall, the adventure and obstacles Kora and her crew face in this story are entertaining, and I’d definitely recommend A Touch of Gold for anyone who’s looking for a quick, swashbuckling adventure!

Until next time,

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Will you be picking up a copy of A Touch of Gold? Let me know down below!