I’ll be perfectly honest, before I picked up this novel, my only exposure to the classic tale of King Midas was what I had heard in fairy tales as a child: that his greed consequently caused everything he touched, including his family, to turn to gold, and providing the hard lesson that what initially appears to be a blessing may, in fact, be a curse. Therefore, I was not entirely certain of what to expect when I settled in to read.
Annie Sullivan’s A Touch of Gold could be seen as a retelling of the famous tale and the aftereffects of The Touch, yet it adds the original twist of focusing on Princess Kora, Midas’ daughter, after she was nearly killed by the curse her father brought forth. A Touch of Gold takes place ten years after the original tale’s events, and Kora is still dealing with the repercussions of her father’s actions, such as adorning a golden shine to her skin, as well as possessing strange powers pertaining to gold that Kora is struggling to hide every passing day. However, these powers come in handy when treasures linked to King Midas’ Touch are stolen from her kingdom, leaving Midas in a coma and forcing Kora to go on a quest to retrieve the treasure.
Sullivan grips at a new opportunity for this modern retelling of the famed Midas tale by placing Kora as the protagonist, and she did a wonderful job digging into Kora’s psychology; having been a victim of her father’s foolish actions, it was thoroughly intriguing to read Kora’s innermost thoughts and the turmoil she faces, harboring the consequences of a crime she did not commit.
Right from the first page, Sullivan’s narrative enraptured me, and I was hard-pressed to put the book down once I began to read. The imagery was no less engaging, and you’re left envisioning the surroundings, emotions, and senses of Kora’s adventure, almost as if you were mentally dropped right into the setting. There were several plot twists that surprised me and took me off guard, as well as certain plot points that were predictable that, in my opinion, could have been inevitable given the unspoken rules of the genre; however, this did not squander my enjoyment of the book, and I was left in satisfaction of completing a fun journey.
If you’re a contemporary young adult reader, and a fan of Greek mythology in relation to Midas, fantasy, or riveting tales of love, betrayal, adventure, and pirates, I highly recommend Annie Sullivan’s A Touch of Gold as a must-read this summer!
Annie Sullivan’s A Touch of Gold is now available for purchase.
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