thank you to netgalley, the publisher and the author for this arc.

3 stars.

i do love me a good fairytale retelling. this one was loosely based on rumpelstiltskin, and i enjoyed that part of it. the plot was good.

then why didn't i rate this higher? because it lacked in other parts. the worldbuilding, for example. we get to know two places: eleanor's village (very briefly), and the seelie castle and its surroundings. i would have loved to have seen more of everything else too!! but perhaps i would have to read book two for this. i'm still not sure about whether i will or not.

Such a good debut novel I loved it!

This book reminded me of A Court of Thorns and Roses in a way.

There wasn't too much world-building which made the book very easy to read, along with understanding just enough about where it is taking place. I loved the ending and I cannot wait for the next book!

I loved the elements of metal used in this book it was very easy to understand along with being very interesting.

I enjoyed seeing the progress of the friendships in this book.

Thank you, NetGalley for the ARC!

I loved this book and I can't wait for the next book to come out. This book gives some Rumpelstiltskin and beauty and the beast vibes. This dark fantasy romance will keep you guessing and have you rooting for the villain. This book has a sassy FMC and a stubborn, dominant MMC. As the book starts, the FMC has no choice but to make a deal with the fae prince. As the fae prince tries to save his people, the FMC tries to find ways to break their deal. If you like dark romance, touch her or die vibes, forced proximity , strong FMC, and an domineering villain , then this book is for you .

spice 3/5

I loved this story! The world reminds me of The Cruel Prince, but make it more adult and add a touch of ACOTAR. Eleanor succeeds in making gold using alchemy and is forced into a betrothal with the king when he discovers this. To get out of this betrothal, she makes a deal with a notorious fae, known for the tricky deals he makes with desperate humans. She is taken to the fairy realm and forced to work for him to gain her freedom. But there is something mysterious happening to the fairy lands and Eleanor is trying to figure out what it could be, while also trying to stay safe in the fairy realm. There is mystery, fairy magic, romance, and really good spice in this book.

This was such a a fun story and a quick read - I am so excited for more! I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys romantasy!

My only complaint is that there were some distracting spelling and grammatical errors throughout the book, but I am hoping those will be fixed in time.

Thank you to Relay Publishing and NetGalley for providing me with a free ARC of this book in exchange for my review.

The Court that Bleeds Gold ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you @netgallery and Relay Publishing for this ARC from Zara Storm!
This is book one in her series and it has the familiar world of Faerie we all know and love. This book is full of twists, secrets and betrayal. A must read if you love a Fae book with brutal kingdoms and secrets! Also, anyone else getting Tamlin vibes?? 🖤✨👑

❥sophias reading journal entry #3
❥arc #1
4/5 stars

𖦹𝗌𝗉𝗈𝗂𝗅𝖾𝗋 𝖺𝗅𝖾𝗋𝗍𖦹

↳ “𝐌𝐲 𝐛𝐫𝐚𝐯𝐞, 𝐛𝐫𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐆𝐨𝐥𝐝 𝐖𝐞𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐫,” 𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐲𝐬, 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐛𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐬 𝐤𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐬𝐲𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐲. “𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐈 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮?”


❥ 𝐏𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐬: 390
❥ 𝐆𝐞𝐧𝐫𝐞: Fantasy
❥ 𝐓𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐞: Enemies to lovers >>>
❥ 𝐓𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐠𝐞𝐫𝐬: Violence and sex
❥ 𝐑𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐝: 100%



⁀➷🕯️ 𝐏𝐥𝐨𝐭
A Court that Bleeds Gold is a rumpelstiltskin retelling. GIRL IK HOW THAT SOUNDS BUT I SWEAR ITS GOOD. Eleanor lives in a poor town on the border of fae lands, in order to make a living she has been using her mother’s healer notes on plants and other materials to try and make gold. When one of her friends gets taken in for a crime, they use her (not yet mastered) ability to make gold to try and be excused of all crimes. The king sees her ability and immediately plans to wed her, Eleanor, trapped in the castle makes a deal with Ruskin. Ruskin is a brutal fae prince that makes deals with humans in return for a steep price. Eleanor makes a deal that took more than she bargained for. 🤭🤭

⁀➷🕯️𝐖𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐒𝐭𝐲𝐥𝐞
MWAH THIS WRITING WAS SO GOOD. Not the best I have ever read but enough to keep me hooked for the WHOLE BOOK. I had a 7 minute speech today (😬) but I still stayed up until 2 am to finish this masterpiece.


❥𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐁𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐤𝐝𝐨𝐰𝐧❤︎︎

𐬽𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐧𝐨𝐫𐬽

↳ “𝐑𝐮𝐬𝐤𝐢𝐧 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐤 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐬 𝐈 𝐝𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐦𝐚𝐠𝐢𝐜, 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐈’𝐦 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐰 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐜𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞 𝐈 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐚𝐭 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐭𝐮𝐩𝐢𝐝, 𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐨𝐠𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤.“

↳ “’𝐁𝐲 𝐧𝐨𝐰, 𝐄𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐧𝐨𝐫, 𝐈’𝐯𝐞 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐥𝐞𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐛𝐞 𝐧𝐨𝐬𝐲. 𝐈𝐭’𝐬 𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐜𝐤𝐞𝐫.’“

👏👏👏 MOTHER FUCKING ELEANOR CARRIED THIS WHOLE BOOK. Honestly, I can only remember one time I got pissed off at her. She actually thought with her head and not her 🐱. SHE WAS SMART AND FUNNY. not me literally fangirling over her. Tbh probably one of my new favorite fmc🤷‍♀️.

𐬽𝐫𝐮𝐬𝐤𝐢𝐧𐬽

↳ “‘𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐝𝐨𝐞𝐬𝐧’𝐭 𝐦𝐞𝐚𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐦𝐞,’ 𝐈 𝐬𝐚𝐲, 𝐦𝐲 𝐯𝐨𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐞. ‘𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐦𝐞.’
𝐇𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐦𝐢𝐫𝐤 𝐛𝐫𝐨𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐬, 𝐞𝐲𝐞𝐬 𝐛𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭. ‘𝐎𝐡, 𝐆𝐨𝐥𝐝 𝐖𝐞𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐫, 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐞.’”

↳ “’𝐁𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭?’ 𝐈 𝐝𝐞𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐝. ’𝐁𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮’𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐨𝐨 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐭, 𝐄𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐧𝐨𝐫!’“

🫣🤭 those were my reactions the WHOLE TIME reading this book. Do not put Ruskin in front of me, trust me it’s for his safety not mine. He was really funny, like I was actually GIGGLING. AND THE WAY… JUST HIS RELATIONSHIP WITH ELLA IS I NEED IT. I VOLUNTEER AS TRIBUTE, I VOLUNTEER.

𐬽𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𐬽

↳ “‘𝐃𝐞𝐬, 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐩𝐚𝐣𝐚𝐦𝐚𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐟𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐦𝐲 𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝐰𝐞𝐚𝐫.’
‘𝐀𝐬 𝐈 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐭.’”

↳ “’𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐦𝐲 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐞𝐬?’ 𝐃𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧 𝐚𝐬𝐤𝐬, 𝐬𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐞𝐝𝐠𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐚𝐢𝐫.“

Okay, so I know he wasn’t one of the “main characters” but IM STILL IN LOVE W HIM. HE WAS SO FUCKING FUNNY. And he was in love with clothes (as he should be😘) but he dresses WAY better than me. i think we all should strive to be like destan🙏🙏🙏


𐬽𝐜𝐞𝐛𝐛𝐚𐬽

↳ “‘𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐭’𝐬 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭. 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐑𝐮𝐬𝐤𝐢𝐧’𝐬 𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐞 𝐧𝐚𝐦𝐞?’
‘𝐆𝐨 𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐥,’ 𝐈 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐭 𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤.”

BTW Cebba was the one asking for the name bc she was like tourturing ella😊. basically i hate this back stabbing wanna be bitch. fuck cebba🖕🖕


⁀➷🕯️𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐲𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭

❥ “𝖣𝗈 𝖨 𝖶𝖺𝗇𝗇𝖺 𝖪𝗇𝗈𝗐？“ 𝖠𝗋𝖼𝗍𝗂𝖼 𝖬𝗈𝗇𝗄𝖾𝗒𝗌
♪ “𝖣𝗈 𝖨 𝗐𝖺𝗇𝗇𝖺 𝗄𝗇𝗈𝗐．𝖨𝖿 𝗍𝗁𝗂𝗌 𝖿𝖾𝖾𝗅𝗂𝗇𝗀 𝖿𝗅𝗈𝗐𝗌 𝖻𝗈𝗍𝗁 𝗐𝖺𝗒𝗌.“

❥ “𝖬𝗂𝗅𝗅𝗂𝗈𝗇 𝖣𝗈𝗅𝗅𝖺𝗋 𝖬𝖺𝗇“ 𝖫𝖺𝗇𝖺 𝖣𝖾𝗅 𝖱𝖾𝗒
♪ “𝖸𝗈𝗎 𝗅𝗈𝗈𝗄 𝗅𝗂𝗄𝖾 𝖺 𝗆𝗂𝗅𝗅𝗂𝗈𝗇 𝖽𝗈𝗅𝗅𝖺𝗋 𝗆𝖺𝗇，𝗌𝗈 𝗐𝗁𝗒 𝗂𝗌 𝗆𝗒 𝗁𝖾𝖺𝗋𝗍 𝖻𝗋𝗈𝗄𝖾？“

❥ “𝖧𝗂𝗆 𝖺𝗇𝖽 𝖨“ 𝖦－𝖤𝖺𝗌𝗒
♪ “𝖳𝗈 𝗆𝗒 𝗅𝗈𝗏𝖾𝗋 𝖨’𝖽 𝗇𝖾𝗏𝖾𝗋 𝗅𝗂𝖾“😏



⁀➷🕯️𝐐𝐮𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐬♡︎

↳ “‘“𝐎𝐡, 𝐆𝐨𝐥𝐝 𝐖𝐞𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐫, 𝐢𝐭’𝐬 𝐚𝐥𝐦𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐬𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐭, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐲 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐚 𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐢𝐜𝐞.’”

↳ “’𝐈 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐦𝐲 𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐤𝐬, 𝐄𝐥𝐥𝐚.’“

↳ “’𝐃𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐦𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮’𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐟 𝐠𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝?’“

↳ “’𝐈’𝐥𝐥 𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐲 𝐲𝐨𝐮.’“

↳ “‘𝐈 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮,’ 𝐈 𝐬𝐚𝐲 𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧, 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐭 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐬 𝐢𝐭 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐥 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐦𝐲 𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐬𝐩𝐥𝐢𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐰𝐨.
𝐑𝐮𝐬𝐤𝐢𝐧 𝐬𝐰𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐬. ‘𝐈 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐨𝐨, 𝐆𝐨𝐥𝐝 𝐖𝐞𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐫.’”

↳ “’𝐌𝐲 𝐛𝐫𝐚𝐯𝐞, 𝐛𝐫𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐆𝐨𝐥𝐝 𝐖𝐞𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐫,’ 𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐲𝐬, 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐛𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐬 𝐤𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐬𝐲𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐲. ’𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐈 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮?’“


⁀➷🕯️𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐜𝐥𝐮𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐓𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬
Thank you to Netgalley for the arc🙏. So happy I read it, it’s actually a national crime some of you guys haven’t read it yet so go read it :). OH AND BTW PLOT TWIST??

A dark romance set in a Seelie Kingdom. Eleanor finds herself on the run and makes a deal with a Fae Prince. In return for being rescued, she promises to help him with a seemingly impossible task. The story was fast paced & entertaining. I enjoyed the Rumpelstiltskin and Beauty and the Beast underlying themes and was rooting for Eleanor to land on top. I love a worlding building book and could have used a smidge more in this one. Would definitely read part 2 to see how the characters storyline continues.

⭐️⭐️⭐️.75 stars
🌶️🌶️ spice

What to Expect:
🥀Beauty & the Beast meets Rumplestiltskin retelling
🥀Fae Prince x Metallurgist human FMC
🥀Enemies to lovers
🥀Forced proximity
🥀Only One Horse
🥀Portal between worlds

Damn near killed me with that cliffhanger. What?! Now I have to wait to find out and we were basically half way through a revelation. UGH

I would say the world building wasn't overly complex, but it was similar to other faerie realm imaginings you'd be familiar with from other series. The vibe was giving me ACOTAR meets The Cruel Prince, complete with badass human FMC trapped in Faerie. I don't know if I would equate Eleanor with an FMC like Jude (I mean, who could ever compare?), but she definitely gave me glimpses of the potential to grow into a character like that with a little more development.

This was a fun twist on your usual Beauty and the Beast retelling. It was well written, the plot was fast paced to keep you interested, and had great side characters and twists - although some of them were more obvious than others (saw the last one coming). I would have given it a higher rating if the there had been deeper character development and a more authentic slow burn romance. For me, it kind of just flicked a switch and suddenly she was attracted to him - came out of nowhere, with hardly any build up or flirtation to speak of beforehand.

That being said, I'll absolutely continue the series in the hopes we get those missing elements later down the track. Plus, I just have to know what happens now!

This was an easy to read page turner and I read it in one sitting. I enjoyed the whole faerie plotline as well as the villains plan and motivations. Although there was one scene towards in the end of the book which was pretty dark on the whole it wasn't that dark a story; I was expecting more of that kind of tension but it didn't lessen my engagement. There were a lot of elements I liked but it felt a little rushed in parts such as the pre-deal part of the book which was over really quickly. I thought there would be more from Thatch (the Gaston type character) and even King Albrecht but neither of them felt particularly threatening largely due to their interactions on page being pretty limited in the first few chapters. As this is a trilogy though I would be interested to see if they appear in later books as both have potential to be some kind of villain towards Eleanor.

I liked Eleanor as a character with her curious and tenacious nature. Her gift for alchemy was more interesting than the standard out and out ability to do magic or her being a chosen/ prophesized one to fix the Kingdoms problems. Ruskin was fine; I liked his character but I just felt he never really lived up to that dangerous fae who made the deal with Eleanor at the beginning. Destan however was who leapt off the page and I really liked him as well as Halima. Although it is book one of a series it is pretty self contained. The cliffhanger isn't too brutal but there will definitely be some major fallout; I'll be looking out for The Kingdom Cursed by Iron later this year to see how it pans out.

In an age where romantasy books with a hot fae MMC are all the rage, I think Zara Storm does a great job setting herself apart from the rest. In The Court that Bleeds Gold, Storm dips her toes into the intricate worlds of the Seelie and Unseelie courts and delivers an authentic version of fae that I feel the majority of recently published romantasy books have been missing. Storm has definitely done her research and presents to her readers a version of the fae that is the perfect blend of ACOTAR and The Cruel Prince.

Storm creates a world that is easy to sink your teeth into...once you get about 50% of the way through.

I had some problems with the beginning. There was a lot of set up to the story, especially when trying to blend big ideas like Beauty and the Beast, Rumpelstiltskin, and the Wild Hunt, while establishing a well-detailed fae world. Things seemed a bit rushed during the beginning and I had a hard time believing some of Eleanor's decisions that allowed her to be put in the position to need to call upon Ruskin's aid. It wasn't until about halfway through that I found the plot to start running a bit more smoothly and that was when I started getting invested in the story.

And, unfortunately, because of this, I think that the romance between Eleanor and Ruskin lacked the appropriate build up, which resulted in their chemistry feeling a bit mechanical.

In terms of the actual storyline, there were a lot of things I liked. I loved the premise of an alchemist being tasked with breaking a magical curse. The side characters, Destan and Halima, were excellent. The plot twists were well developed, with hints carefully laid out throughout the story in a way that the reader could start to form ideas as to what was going on without being too obvious. I think that there were a lot of good ideas in here that created an interesting story, interesting enough for me to keep going because I had to know what happened in the end, even though the romance didn't quite hit for me.

Thank you Netgalley for this early read!

This epic fantasy romance was a 10/10 for me! The world building the Rumpelstiltskin retelling was everything I wanted it to be. The magic system, the saving, the nicknames, the romance. It was everything!

The Court That Bleeds Gold by Zara Storm is a fantasy retelling of an old tale. These can be a hit or miss BUT this is definitely a hit in my opinion. Zara Storm did an excellent job of revamping the folklore and making it her own. I was definitely engaged in the characters lives by the end of the first chapter. The world she created in her book was imaginative and somewhere I could definitely see as I read through the pages.
Eleanor is a human trapped marrying a terrible king. When she wants out she somehow makes a deal with Ruskin a fae Prince. Anyone reading fantasy novels knows making deals with fae is dangerous. This is their story.
I will say I can not wait for book two. Zara Storm has really written a wonderful debut novel and I am glad I read it. I definitely recommend it to all who enjoy fairy tales, folklore and fantasy novels.

I loved the synopsis it looks so promising & the story does some justice to it to some extinct.
This was a good take on Rumpelstiltskin × beauty & the beast retelling.
Although I've guessed the last plot twist about the history of Ruskin & Leah, but I couldn't guess the Plot twist before that & it was a major one. That hit me right at my face.

There is something with Ruskin & Eleanor 's chemistry that feels off to me, don't get me wrong, I like the characters individually & did enjoy their time together, but something feels off. Like I don't know one second, they didn't like and the next second there is attraction between them. Maybe it's just me.

Apart from that, the cliffhanger still gets me hooked to wait for next book and to continue the story.

This book was just... Amazing!!
Definitely up there with ACOTAR (for me)

✨️Enemies to Lovers
✨️One Horse
✨️Slow Burn
✨️Cursed Prince
✨️Evil Sister
✨️Magic
✨️Wild Hunt
✨️Seelie/Unseelie

✨️Desperate to escape marrying a brutal king, I make a deal with a Fae Prince and find myself his captive.

We follow Eleanor, an alchemist who is on the brink of creating gold through metallurgy, on her journey into Faerie. She must overcome challenges, discover secrets and do the impossible to return Faerie back to its former glory.✨️

This book was incredible! I got major Rumplestiltskin vibes from Ruskin!
This book was brimming with suspense, adventure and amazingly flawed characters that developed and grew as the story went on, the romance that was sprinkled in only added to the experience! The world-building was fun and immersive. We didn't get too in-depth about the magic system, but this is only book one!

As a new reader of Zara Storm, this book put them on my auto-buy list!
Seriously, it's so good!!! GO READ IT!

Thank you to Netgalley and Zara Storm for giving me the opportunity to read this book and give an honest review!

3.75⭐️/5 (rounded up to 4)

I would recommend this book if you enjoy:
- Fantasy romance
- Slow burn
- Enemies-to-lovers
- Fun side characters
- A STEM FMC
- Rooting for the villain

I wasn't expecting to like this book because I've never read Rumpelstiltskin and I don't remember much of Beauty and the Beast except in the literal sense.

The story follows Eleanor and Ruskin who meet when she calls on him after trying to escape the king of Styrland that she was arranged to marry. Ruskin agrees to help her in exchange for her help in metallics and whisks her away to the faerie realm.

It was a bit difficult to get into at first but once the FMC was in the faerie realm, it definitely held my attention. The cast of characters were written well and I especially enjoyed the side characters Desten and Halima.

I wasn't expecting some of the twists that happened (like why Ruskin needed her in the first place) which is why it was feeling like a 5 star read for me alongside Ruskin (hello!), but my feelings towards it changed after the constant waffle of Eleanor's thoughts as they became repetitive. I think if we had gotten Ruskin's POV at literally any point other than the beginning, it would have stayed above a 4 star.

Additionally, it slowed down considerably in the latter half which made it and the ending (I didn't like it and hope it gets better) feel rushed in the way that the author did it so that there would be other books in the series. I will probably read the sequel when it releases to see what happens but if we're in Eleanor's POV for the entire book again, I probably won't enjoy it as much.

This book has the slow burn enemies-to-lovers trope which I enjoyed but it felt more like a subplot which I didn't want it to be. I liked the scenes where they interacted and the spice was written well, in addition to the author's actual writing style, but I wanted more.

⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
🌶

A Court That Bleeds Gold is a fast paced, dark fantasy that follows a young woman who learns how to create gold from useless metals. After getting in a sticky situation, she makes a deal with the fae prince, and finds out that not all is as it seems.

I enjoyed this book, it was a quick and easy read. I loved the world building, especially when it came to the Seelie world, as well as the Faerie Farye being surrounded by mushrooms. I also enjoyed the use of traditional fae mythology, where they are tricksters, unable to lie and use the Seelie/Unseelie traits.

The story mixed natural elements and alchemy with magic to create a fun and refreshing take.

Unfortunately, the story wasn't as dark as I was expecting, and only really showed dark themes at the end. I also found Ellanor to be rather pushy and didn't have any character development.

Overall, I enjoyed the story and would recommend it to anyone who wants something easy and fast paced.

While this book didn't blow me away, it was still an intresting read. I personally haven't come across any rumpelstiltskin retellings, so the idea was fresh for me. The characters follow the typical fantasy format but are still relatively lovable. The only thing I didn't really enjoy about this book was that there was really no build up for the romance. There was smut but the lack of romantic tension made it somewhat bland to me. I will probably be picking up the second book when it comes out just to see where the story goes.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this debut by Zara Storm.
If you are a sucker for a fast-paced story, slowburn romantasy, forced proximity, enemies to lovers, fae and human romance/spiceeeee ... then this is the book to read.

If there is one thing i love, it is a broody fae male becoming unbroken because of girl. This book got me wanting to scream out the rhyme three times so Mr Ruskinnnnn can say, "You called."

ANDDDD the library scene got me giggling like a little girl and putting my brightness down on my tablet.

Needless to say, I'm excited for the next book in the series.

Disclaimer: I obtained the arc from netgalley

A start to what looks to be a fantastic series. Perfect for romantasy and fantasy lovers, as well as those who like to read about fae or fairies. Although I could see some of the twists and turns that were coming that only made me want to read on and get to that point! There appears to be lots of drama to come from this series and I look forward to more books to come!

4.5 ⭐️ | 3 🌶️

Eleanor lost her mother at a young age and has spent all her time trying to pick up where her mom left off. Her mother was a healer and dabbling alchemist, and in an attempt to save her village from the blight, Eleanor is working on turning lead to gold. When the king discovers what she can do, he forces her to stay in his castle and tells her she is to marry him. As their wedding day approaches, Eleanor builds her escape plan, but when the time comes to make a run for it, she finds herself cornered with nowhere to run. In an act of desperation she recites a riddle to summon the nightmare fae known as Ruskin and makes a deal to secure her freedom. However, a loophole means Rus transports her back to the seelie court and tells her to get to work undoing the curse that has struck his land. As it happens, he’s actually Prince Ruskin, the crown regent and he wants “the Gold Weaver” to reverse gold into plain metal. Can Eleanor alchemise her way through this and get back to the human lands to see her father? *law and order gavel sound*

This was a really enjoyable read, especially for a debut novel. The plot to romance to spice ratio was perfect.

Thanks to @netgalley and @zarastormauthor for a chance to read and review this arc! I look forward to reading the sequel.