A Curse of Gold by Annie Sullivan is an exciting and adventurous fantasy that kept me turning the pages. The story picks up with Kora, a strong and determined princess who’s on a mission to break a deadly curse that’s been placed on her family. To do this, she has to get her hands on a magical, cursed artifact, which leads her into a world of danger, betrayal, and secrets.

Kora is a really relatable heroine, she’s brave, but she also has moments of doubt and vulnerability, which made her feel real. The romance in the story is also well done, with a slow burn that doesn’t overwhelm the plot but adds some emotional depth to Kora’s journey.

The world-building is rich and immersive, with enough detail to make the fantasy world feel real without bogging down the story. The action scenes are fast-paced and thrilling, and the twists and turns in the plot kept me hooked. The way the curse and the artifact tie into Kora’s family history is clever and adds a lot of mystery to the book.

Overall, A Curse of Gold is a fun, fast-paced fantasy with a strong heroine, plenty of action, and an interesting magical world.

Make sure you read book 1! It's pretty good for a duology! This is a quick and fun read, perfect for fans of the legend of Midas and ancient Greek mythology. This is YA, so don't think you're getting something spicy!

This was an excellent sequel to A Touch of Gold! These books are such a fantastical adventure to whisk you away from your everyday life! If you love Fantasy you will love these books! Many thanks to NetGalley for providing me with an arc in exchange for my honest opinion.

Curses and queens. Pirates and kings. Gods and magic. The final saga of a princess cursed by Midas’s touch, a vengeful Greek god, and a dazzling kingdom in the balance.

After barely surviving thieving, bloodthirsty pirates and a harrowing quest at sea to retrieve her stolen treasure, Kora finds readjusting to palace life just as deadly. Her people openly turn against her, threatening to overthrow her as heir to the throne due to fear of her magical powers. When Dionysus puts out a challenge to kill the girl with the golden touch and burn down her kingdom, it’s not just her future on the throne in danger. Kora’s life and entire kingdom are now on contract.

With no other choice, Kora sets out to find Dionysus, journeying to the mysterious disappearing island of Jipper. If she wants to save her kingdom and have any chance at reversing her father’s curse, she will have to enter into a deadly game with Dionysus, the greatest trickster the world, or the underworld, has ever seen.

Easy, fun read. If you like Greek mythology you’ll enjoy this book.

A beautifully written story and a successful sequel! King Midas' golden touch is something we've all heard about but this is a unique twist on the legend! I LOVED Kora and her curse! I definitely will be rereading this!

Why is it that all the good books had to find me right when I struggled the most to read.
I had some very significant health problems that were up and down for. Acoupkw years. And this book just happen to find me while I was in a good place. Which sadly didn't last long.
I loved the world in this book though. It was so creative. So well written and created. And I was suxked in. I wanted to know these characters. Experience them as I went. And this fantastical world they survived in.

Anyone else totally reeling after finishing this one? A Touch of Gold was good but A Curse of Gold was fantastic. My heart was in my throat for the ​last half of the book and i shed quite a few tears at the end to. The first half of the book had me rolling and laughing as Kora trades barbs with Triton. Triton had some of the best lines he totally made this book so enjoyable. The fear I had for these characters as they battle it out with the Gods was so on point. This is a must read.

A fascinating and remarkable story with interesting characters that you want to root for. I thoroughly enjoyed this well-written, captivating read!

I'm a sucker for royalty based plots and this one is no exception! While I think this book may have been affected by second book syndrome, I still wanted to finish it and find out what happened to the characters. And look at that cover!!

This sequel to A Touch of Gold was a favorite of mine. The story was great fun to read, very page turning. Always in love with a good and different mythology retelling.

I am sorry for the inconvenience but I don’t have the time to read this anymore and have lost interest in the concept. I believe that it would benefit your book more if I did not skim your book and write a rushed review. Again, I am sorry for the inconvenience.

I received a free digital copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book had an amazing plot, but I wish the story had more meat to it.

Thank you kindly to the author, the publisher, and NetGalley for this review copy.

I didn't even know I had been approved for this until right before the book came out. The author sent me a physical copy and I read it instantly. I truly wish I would have seen my approval for this because it was amazing and I'd love to have read it sooner. Everyone needs to check out Annie Sullivans books. She's a hidden gem!

Curses, Gods, and Pirates, oh my! The sequel to A Touch of Gold, A Curse of Gold was a lot slower and took me more time to complete the book. I felt that there were a lot of 'sticky parts' and it was directed to a younger audience, however, this Greek retelling would be perfect for the middle grade reader.

Thanks so much to NetGalley and Blink Publishing Co for letting me have a chance to read and review this fun book. This was a continuation and sequel to A Touch of Gold and it was a bit of a slow start, but then picked up and got into lots of fast-paced action and enjoyable storytelling.

I love this series. It is such a great retelling off the king midas story. Even better when the sequels are just as good as the first. You stay invested in the lives you are reading about and devour the pages as if you were starving.

Thank you Netgalley and Harper Collins for the chance to read and review A Curse of Gold.

I have always been fascinated by Greek myths and legends, especially the tale of King Midas whose greed caused his daughter to become cursed. I love the twist on this classic Grecian story, however while reading the book itself, I did wish that the story wasn't so predictable. Princess Kora has been locked away all her life every since her father's curse became hers. Now at the age to marry, Kora is bombarded with numerous suitors vying for her father's crown while attempting to avoid the cursed princess they see as a monster. At first I felt Kora's struggle, to be looked at like an outsider in her own home while having done nothing wrong makes her come across as a character to easily sympathize with. However as the story continues and she is thrust on a quest to reclaim the kingdom's cursed gold to save her father's life, readers get to see a bit more of Kora outside her element. She quick to judge others and believe the worst in people she barely knows, I found this quality to be a bit ironic sense she claimed that exactly how people treat her.

The journey itself to find the gold, while dangerous doesn't give a dire enough or high stakes situation. I soon felt bored of the quest and wanted something a bit more exciting to happen that would jump Kora's character development. Even though there is a change to her, its a slow change with still a naïve child-like trust in others she should be weary of. I do however think that the plot itself ended on a good note for the follow up in book two which continues Kora's journey and has her facing new challenges. Hopefully book two gives more of a challenge and intrigue than book one, but overall not a bad story.

I found the first book in the series to be very creative and imaginative! However, this novel dragged. I found there were loose ends. Still, I found the ending to be very solid and I like the world-building! The author made Ancient Greece come alive! I recommend this for fans of Daughter of Sparta, Nobody’s Princess, and Persephone!

This story based on the tale of King Midas and his golden touch was a phenomenal adventure that dragged me through the mind of a girl turned to gold by her father and his curse.  The characters pranced through my mind and the world building painted a vivid story that left me wondering what happens next.

The main character, Kora struggles to find her place in a world that is disgusted by her mere presence due to the golden hue of her skin.  In this story we see her go beyond the girl who is afraid and resigned to the hatred that surrounds her to one finding her acceptance and way in the world. She begins to realize that her curse does not shape her and that she can be free and in control.  It was phenomenal as a reader to watch Kora's growth and I loved her character even if I was at times annoyed by the fear that seemed to consume her.

The other side characters added a vivid array of emotions and flaws that made a complete cast.  I will state now that I knew immediately who the love interest would be and that the Duke (slight spoiler here) was not all that he appeared to be.  In the romance aspect, the tale was predictable but besides that, I loved pirates and their effect on the tale.

Besides the characters, the world building was gorgeous.  We see pirates, a lawless island, and sea creatures which all added to this stunning book.  Not to mention, the evil pirate of this tale who's obsession with skulls was fascinating.  I will say that this book did not do a good job of sticking to Greek culture or history but if one simply takes the tale out of Greek context and sees it as a separate world it is perfect.

So, in the end, despite its flaws, I loved the tale of King Midas' touch and the resulting consequences of the golden touch.

Truthfully, I found the writing to be a bit unpolished. Lots of adverbs and telling instead of showing, and at times the dialogue was stilted. I loved the premise of the story, but found it hard to really get into because of the writing style. Others may enjoy it more than I did, it just was not my cup of tea.