{Tour: Review + Giveaway} of Gilded by Christina L. Farley

Gilded by Christina L. Farley
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

GENRE: Young Adult / MG
THEME: Korean Mythology and Romance
RECEIVED: Review for Tour

BLURB:

A Korean god. An ancient curse. Can she escape becoming GILDED?

A girl with a black belt and a deadly proclivity with steel-tipped arrows discovers an ancient Korean god has been kidnapping the first-born daughters of her family for generations. And she’s next.
Sixteen-year-old Jae Hwa Lee is a Korean-American girl with a black belt, a deadly proclivity with steel-tipped arrows, and a chip on her shoulder the size of Korea itself. When her widowed dad uproots her to Seoul from her home in L.A., Jae thinks her biggest challenges will be fitting in to a new school and dealing with her dismissive Korean grandfather. Then she discovers that a Korean demi-god has been stealing the soul of the oldest daughter of each generation in her family for centuries. And she's next.
But that’s not Jae’s only problem.

There's also Marc. Irresistible and charming, Marc threatens to break the barriers around Jae's heart. As the two grow closer, Jae must decide if she can trust him. But Marc has a secret of his own -- one that could help Jae overturn the curse on her family for good. It turns out that Jae's been wrong about a lot of things: her grandfather is her greatest ally, even the tough girl can fall in love, and Korea might just be the home she's always been looking for.

REVIEW:

I was super excited to read Gilded as I’m a huge fan of Korean mythology and with my husband being Korean I have learned to love the culture and couldn’t wait to see what author Farley created.

Gilded follows sixteen year old Jae Hwa who has to move from LA. to Seoul after the loss of her mother. Once there she discovers that the women in her family are related to a princess. But that isn’t all; there is a demigod after her, who wants to take her prisoner in his realm.

Jae is a tough and extremely smart American Korean girl, who is also archery champion and has a black belt in Tae Kwan Do. What!? Now that is one kick butt female lead that seriously any girl would want to look up too. She also can transform into animals and seems to be able to take on the world. Even though I loved how strong and independent she was, I felt she was characterized too strong; I wanted her to have a bit more flaws. She does make some mistakes and really needed to learn to listen but I wanted more where she would learn and use her smarts to get her through tough situations. The best part was her family; I love when authors focus on more than just romance but the family and the history that goes along with the overall plot. Her father did bother me at times, but I liked their moments when they bonded.

Marc is the male protagonist and of course Jae’s love interest. He was always there for her and does save her, but I wanted more. The romance is cute and I do mean cute, it was very middle grade to me and I didn’t feel that bam! There is some awesome chemistry but it was more of a growing bond and childish blowing kisses.

Overall the best tidbit was the fantastic mythology and since I know some Korean I was able to follow the language (when used) without any issues of getting lost. The pace had some highs and lows where I would be hooked and then lost interest. But the ending was great and not a cliffhanger, which is how I like my series; this was more of a new beginning for the next chapter. I will be continuing this series as I can see a lot of potential with the magic and Jae’s character has a lot to grow on after everything she has gone through.

RECOMMENDATION:

This is a young adult novel with some great insight into the Korean culture. Fans of The Weight of Souls by Bryony Pearce and Jennifer Esteps mythos series will enjoy Gilded by debut author Christina Farley.

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CHRISTINA FARLEY, author of Gilded was born and raised in upstate New York. As a child, she loved to explore, which later inspired her to jump on a plane and travel the world. She taught at international schools in Asia for ten years, eight of which were in the mysterious and beautiful city of Seoul, Korea that became the setting of Gilded. Currently she lives in Clermont, FL with her husband and two sons—that is until the travel itch whisks her off to a new unknown. Gilded is her first novel. For more details, check out her website at www.christinafarley.com. Christina holds a master’s degree in education and has taught for eighteen years. She is represented by Jeff Ourvan of Jennifer Lyons Literary.

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