Will Etta save herself from the curse that binds her? Will this story shatter my heart? I will find out soon.
Customary warning: This is a reminder that these are my personal opinions. My thoughts and feelings are not your thoughts and feelings. I may not always be the target audience for a book; sometimes I am. If I do not like a book, that doesn’t mean you’ll dislike it. If I love a book or simply like a book, you may hate it. Take everything I say with this knowledge. If it sounds interesting to you despite what I’ve said, then go ahead and read it. You’ll only know you like something if you read it yourself.
That being said… Spoilers ahead.
Golden Chains by M. Lynn
Synopsis From The Book
Never fall in love with the enemy.
If only it were that simple.
Persinette Basile has always known the Durands, the ruling family of Gaule, were meant to be her enemy. With no other choice, she fought to join them anyway.
And they will break her now that they know her true name. As she sits in her prison cell, she wants one thing: for the Kingdom of Gaule to burn to the ground.
But they need her.
When the king is kidnapped, the kingdom turns to the only person who could possibly find him: the woman tied to him by magic. Etta.
Life-altering secrets. Magical duels. A love that could tear two kingdoms apart.
Short Synopsis By Me
Persinette sits in the confines of a cell knowing full well that the one person she is cursed to protect, and loves, placed her there. Alex sits on a throne for a country that hates that which he is slowly coming to realize is not all evil. When Alex begins to save the lives of magic folk, his people are not ready for the change. After saving Persinette from the very chains he placed her in, Alex is kidnapped by La Dame and Persinette finds she is the only one who can save him.
Initial Thoughts Before Reading:
I’m excited for this book. I will be reading, book 2 and 3 in pretty quick succession, after all I got them in the mail from the author. Shall we see if any of my predictions from book 1 were correct?
Initial Thoughts After Reading:
Well Persinette, you have irritated me and its not even your fault. It’s your magic… The book was a good sequel. Interestingly enough the major plot point of the book doesn’t show up until at least half way through. I am interested in how this will end. La Dame has sworn that Etta will go back to her, I wonder why that is. Is magic truly evil? Or is it both good and evil?
Plot Overview:
Persinette is in jail. Alex must decide what sort of king he wants to be. Alex starts freeing magic folk and persecutes those who are against his rule. He saves Persinette and then is kidnapped. Persinette comes to save Alex and fight La Dame. The truth of Rapunzel is given: she was La Dame’s daughter not a flower/weed.
What I Liked:
La Dame was evil. I almost thought she’d be good, from the last book but she was not. She was evil to her core and I adored it. I suppose her evil is justified, and it would have been an interesting twist, had she not been evil. I’m not sure how the story would have progressed that way, which is why I’m not complaining.
This is a complicated note, in truth, but what La Dame does to Alex. This is to say I don’t like what she did, nor do I like that it happened. It added depth to the villain, and that was important. It is degrading, horrifying, disgusting and utterly perfect for an evil villain to do. When La Dame said she would see Alex again, I had not expected this. Alex becomes the one who has to be saved, the one locked in the tower. I truly want to see how he changes from this interaction with La Dame. What did she do? In short humiliated him, and tortured him with magic, but you will have to read to find out more. I like weight in my stories, and this gave the story just that.
The Alex and Etta progression as a relationship, as well as the twist at the end when her magic was fully released. I have to say that this relationship has grown on me, and even with the instant love, I have a special place in my heart for it.
The basic truth behind the curse. I’m still not sure why Prince Phillip stole the daughter of La Dame, but I figure all will be revealed in the next book. I am a sucker for history being changed over the course of time. I can’t blame the people of Gaule and Bela for having changed the story in their isolation. I had an inkling that it was a girl even if they said it was for a weed or flower (depends on who told the story), but I am down for which ever telling this story wanted to go.
On that note, the fact that Persinette translated to Rapunzel for the language barrier is perhaps the only time that its mentioned and I like it. The idea of the countries having different languages is nice at least.
What I Would Have Liked or Changed:
The summary on the back to be a bit less misleading. This didn’t bother me much, but Alex being kidnapped did not happen until at least the middle. Fair warning.
For Persinette not to have broken my heart when she said she no longer loved Alex. It’s okay though, I accept it.
Why You Should Read:
Good sequel to the first book, and keeps a good solid pace on the progression of the world and the people in it.
Time Taken To Read
1hr 30min
Rating: 4/5
Notable Quotes:
“Good men aren’t meant to be king.” Bela expression about kings.
“I may never be queen, but I will be free.” Persinette to herself/ prayer to her father
Marlena Marie 
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