The Golden Touch and the Silver Note

by Ashley Mendoza

He has a secret. She has a magical gift. Can they save each other in time?King Matthias is everything he touches turns to gold. Closely guarding this secret, he searches for the one who cursed him and for any means to break it. His efforts only result in an added time limit because he apparently was supposed to learn a lesson. Now he has until the first bud blooms or he will turn into a golden statue himself.

Publicly, Nadia is a famous singer known as The Nightingale. In truth, she is nothing but a slave, forced to travel and sing for nobles until she’s bought by King Matthias. She learns the King’s secret and-more importantly- her singing has an effect, but it is not enough.

What they don’t expect is to fall for each other. Can they break the curse in time, or will they be separated forever?


The Intertwined Tales is a multi-author series of clean fairytale retellings. Each novella entwines a famous fairytale with a lesser-known story to create one happily ever after. These standalone stories can be enjoyed in any order.

Genres: Fantasy, Romance, Fairy Tales, Retellings

200 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 8, 2024

Reviews

[Sara · Rating 3 out of 5]

I feel like there's a certain threshold that authors must write their "morally gray" characters in before the character becomes irredeemable. I feel like this book crossed that threshold.

Some things I really liked about this book were the writing style and the creativity. The King Midas premise was really cool. The writing was vibrant and descriptive. The characters were dynamic, and EVEN THOUGH the MMC was a little too morally gray, that doesn't mean he wasn't well written.

I will say that something that caught me off guard about this book is its content. This book is part of a multi-author series. Literally like two books ago, the FMC was 14 and lowkey kinda naive. In this book, the FMC's age is never specified, but there is an attempted SA scene AND multiple mentions of abuse and torture. So like...I feel like the authors should have collaborated and agreed what their target demographic with this series is.

What we need to talk about is Matthias. Like I said, I think he crosses that line of "what type and how many bad things can the character do before they lose all viability as a healthy and good love interest?" Matthias literally spends MOST of the book stuck in his little "mine mine everything is mine heheheh i'm a little goblin" mindset. HE BUYS THE FMC AND CONTINUES TO THINK OF HER AS HIS PROPERTY FOR MOST OF THE BOOK. I KNOW there's supposed to be "character development" and whatever but like by the time it happens, I have already spent most of the book actively thinking, "There's no way this is the love interest guy." HE KILLS PEOPLE BECAUSE THEY DISAGREE WITH HIM. HE LOCKS NADIA IN HER ROOM, and the author has the GALL to have other characters say, "He's been through a lot, he doesn't know how to love, give him a chance."????? LIKE I'M SORRY, ARE WE ACTUALLY DEFENDING THIS???? This book is (not) subtly Christian, and I'm like, "My sister in Christ, God does not want us to marry an abusive guy." "People change" okay and???? "Mommy how did you meet Daddy?" "Oh you see, he bought me as a slave to perform for him" LIKE WHAT??????
(also, the whole thing with Vinson is CHEAP. "Here's a nice guy that Nadia befriends, isn't he so much better than Matthias? SIKE, HE'S ALREADY ENGAGED TO SOMEONE WHO WE HAVEN'T MENTIONED AT ALL AND ALSO SHE'S A BITCH. GUESS NADIA HAS NO ONE ELSE TO TURN TO BESIDES MATTHIAS")

Also, we need to talk about the Enchanter. As I mentioned earlier, this book is heavily Christian, which isn't inherently a bad thing but you do get reminded of it every three pages. In this world, God is called Edni. The Enchanter says he is one and the same as Edni, doing Edni's work on earth. The idea of this is hilarious because he's literally Vendetta Jesus. Imagine you sinned, and instead of going to confession, Jesus shows up and curses you T-T like what i'm crying

Also also, small thing that bugged me was the formatting. The quotation marks around dialogue were incorrect. "What do you mean?" a character stood" The dialogue is right here!"
And this consistently happened throughout the book.

Did I hate this book? No. Like I said, I thought the prose was very nice. But you CANNOT convince me that this is supposed to be a healthy and swoony relationship because it is not T-T

[Kez Marie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this fairytale retelling. It was a mix of King Midas and Beauty and the Beast, where the king is cursed and can turn items and people to gold, but has to learn a lesson to change and be cured.
It was a slow burn romance between the king and his nightingale, a slave he buys to sing for him that has magic in her voice. She helps him to learn compassion for his kingdom and people, and starts to see there is more to him than the arrogant persona.

[✧*̥˚ Jordyn *˚✧ · Rating 4 out of 5]

❝𝕬 𝕶𝖎𝖓𝖌 𝖎𝖘 𝖙𝖍𝖊 𝖌𝖗𝖊𝖆𝖙𝖊𝖘𝖙 𝖘𝖊𝖗𝖛𝖆𝖓𝖙 𝖔𝖋 𝖆𝖑𝖑...❞

𝘙𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨: 3.5, 𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘶𝘱

After reading two other books in this series I had decided to jump straight into the book and guess which fairytales it was based on and boy was I wrong on my guesses 😂
This book is detailed and immersive, I found myself roaming the halls of a castle with a young maiden named Nadia, and exploring my way through each shelf of a royal library (which was amazing by the way). I was intrigued by the action, and curious of the outcome of a man cursed to learn a lesson, or die without this wisdom he lacks. But like the content of this book, not everything was what I assumed it to be.

What I liked:
⚜️ The Beauty & The Beast vibes (apparently this wasn't a beauty in the beast retelling but it just fit so incredibly well so idk)
⚜️ The action
⚜️ Nadia and Mattias' romance
⚜️ The plot that kept me guessing
⚜️ Nadia's feistiness
⚜️ The writing style
⚜️ The elements of gold, and singing
⚜️ The ending 1/4
⚜️ Nadia and Matthias' quarrels
⚜️ The clear Biblical allegory (Edni being God)
⚜️ All of the quotes I have saved :)

What I didn't love:
🎶 The content (an attempted rape scene [not rly detailed, but still narrated through semi detailed but not graphic. Nothing goes too far or detailed])
🎶 The last seven pages felt very rushed
🎶 Personally, and this is probably just a me thing, the magic was kind of hard to follow

Overall, it was a good continuation of the intertwined tales series. So far it seems to be a theme that they all feel shorter so I'm not letting that affect my thoughts too much. As I mentioned, the Beauty and the Beast elements were strong in my opinion, which is funny as a non-b&b Retelling but I don't mind :)
If you're looking for a book with a strong female main character who isn't stereotypical, a fun retelling, or a book with a royal library that will give you serious fomo- this is the book :)

TWs: attempted rape
Note: The author reached out and was so kind as to let me know she added a trigger warning for this in the beginning of the book :)

Thank you to the author/publisher for my ARC copy of this book, I was not required to leave a positive review. All thoughts are happily my own :)

[Tracy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a story about what happens when a person doesn't have love in their heart and is only self focused. King Matthias is cursed due to his own fault for being selfish. Nadia, a singer with a beautiful voice, comes into the king's life by chance. Throughout the story, the characters grow in their care for each other. King Matthias and Nadia start to experience life in a way they did not experience it before. It was a cute story.

[Reading in the Heartland (Michaela) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is my first book by this author. When I read her initial note in the front of the book and found her to be a Christian, I was even more excited for it. This is a sweet romantasy fairy tale retelling.

Immediately I was a little disillusioned with our hero. But I was also very much drawn into the story. King Midas. And an enslaved singer. She drew me in instantly. Our cursed king hero is definitely morally gray and a bit beastly.

There was a great storyline here and I definitely enjoyed the story and characters and couldn’t predict the twists and turns. Our hero went too far at times and I wasn’t sure how redemption would come and if it would be enough. Our heroine had a strong faith and a kind and sweet heart.

This story wasn’t as polished as some that I’ve read but it was a nice read to snuggle up with. I’d try more from this author.

I received an ARC of this book from the author and am voluntarily leaving an honest review.

[Chantel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved how this story took Midas' touch, and the curse of greed and gave it a beautiful and touching redemption. Well done!!

[Lj · Rating 4 out of 5]

A retelling of the Greek myth of King Midas (the more famous 'golden touch' not the one where he gets donkey ears) and also a fairy tale. Honestly, I had to use Google to figure out which fairy tale as it was previously unkown to me, but I'm guessing it's "the Nightingale". As it features a cursed king who needs to learn to be a better person, a pretty girl forced to remain in his castle, and roses, one could argue it also has a few "Beauty and the Beast" vibes as well. The mash up was cleverly done and blended well to create a delightful story that explored themes such as the perils of greed and the basic human need for freedom and friendship. The romance element was sweet and clean, but it does take a while before you have any real reason to feel sympathetically towards the king and have any real desire to root for him to get a happily-ever-after.

I read an ARC copy, and the book will hopefully undergo another round of editing/proofreading before publication as there were a few typos and mistakes throughout and every now and then a sentence that gave the impression the book had initially been written in the present tense before the author changed her mind and re-wrote it in the more normal past tense but that particular sentence missed the re-write. If that is the case, all I can say is thank goodness as present tense and my brain just do not mix.

Overall, it's a clever, sweet re-telling that is suitable for almost any reader (although there is one non-graphic attempted rape that may make it unsuitable for the very young or sensitive reader). Part of a multi-author series (which let's be honest again, somehow always makes a book more fun for no tangible reason) it is a stand alone story that is a complete and satisfying read on it's own.

I received an ARC and leave an honest review.

[Rosalyn Nightshade · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have read so many fairy tale retellings, and yet I have never come across a retelling of the Nightingale. I love the original Nightingale fairytale - it was one of my favourite fairy tales when growing up. I really enjoyed this twist on one of my favourite fairy tales and I love how it is combined with King Midas, another of my favourite fairy tales. I really liked that King Matthias was really cruel, selfish and unkind; not just someone who is misunderstood as is the case in a lot of books. I really enjoyed watchin Matthias learn from his mistakes and understand that whatever he went through in the past is not an excuse to treat other people cruelly. Nadia was such an amazing character. Even though she was a slave and forced to perform, she never lost her faith in Edni, even if she didn't really know that much about Him. And then, when she was sold to King Matthias, she thought that she would finally be free but it just turned out that she was now King Matthias's slave and was forced to perform for him so often that she lost her voice, she was still kind and tried to reach out to Matthias through acts of kindness. I really enjoyed Ashley's take on both King Midas and the Nightingale. I love the lesson the story gave. Most books nowadays don't have these kinds of lessons such as "don't be greedy" and "be kind", and I love how Ashley sent that message through her story. The worldbuilding was also amazing and so was the plot. This is the first book of Ashley Mendoza's that I've read and I hope to see more of Princess Fiona (I don't know whether she has a story yet or not). All in all, this was a great book, and while I feel like there could have been more descriptions and gone more into depth of the characters' feelings, it was such a great story and I would definitely recommend it to others. I can't wait to read the rest of the Intertwined Tales!

[Charissa James · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an excellent retelling of a couple lesser known fairytales/myths. It is based on the stories of King Midas and the Nightingale.

In this tale, King Matthias is cursed with the golden touch. He is pretty unlikable for most of the story, but once he learns not to be greedy and selfish, you feel like you can finally root for him. Nadia, the Nightingale, has been a slave in a traveling group since her father sold her. All she wants is her freedom, and when Matthias uses his vast wealth to purchase her in the hopes her magical singing will break his curse, she thinks the long awaited freedom is finally upon her. However, Matthias will not let her go because of his selfishness.

While the romance from Nadia's side is pretty much nonexistent until the last couple pages, the way Matthias slowly grows to cherish her for who she is instead of what she can do was very sweet. I would say the main focus of the story was not on the romance but on the life lessons the two characters learned.

I feel like the writing could use a little polish as there were several parts where all the tenses were mixed up and a few sentences that just seemed to be worded wierdly. However, I did read this as an ARC, so those issues could have been smoothed out already.

Overall, it was an enjoyable read. I liked learning about the stories of King Midas and the Nightingale as I have never really heard much about them before. I also appreciated that the author kept things clean and even included a bit of allegory.

[Allison · Rating 2 out of 5]

A lot of interesting ideas, but very poorly executed. Definitely needed better editing. The author doesn't seem to understand the difference between past, present, and future tenses, using them interchangeably within paragraphs--a mark of a novice writer still learning their craft, or one who hasn't bothered to learn conventions and thinks their writing is "good enough." A lot of structural errors within the text abound, again the mark of a novice (i.e. "dialogue." He said, rather than the correct "dialogue," he said.) The characters are flat, underdeveloped, and not particularly likeable, particularly our male lead, King Matthias. He's pretty despicable at the start and his complete 180 in personality isn't very believable.
If I were the author, I'd have asked a few more people to read this and give notes, before putting it out into the world. The seeds of some good ideas are here but it needs serious workshopping.

[Theplacesihavebeen · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Golden Touch and the Silver Note by Ashley Mendoza retells King Midas and the Nightengale. I am not super familiar with those tales, so I am not sure how the smaller elements line up but I enjoyed the way the story was written and the characters. I was getting some beauty and the beast vibes, but that may have been just elements of the other tales I did not know. There are some more adult themes in this book, such as references to slavery, sexual harassment, and murder. However, none of this was detailed and nothing went too far. Nadia, in my opinion, was a little too quick to forgive and trust after being betrayed but I did understand the theme of forgiveness and kindness that the author was portraying. Overall, it was enjoyable to read and is one I would read again. Check out this next book in the Intertwined series!

[Kessa Turnbull · Rating 5 out of 5]

LOVE the unlabeled dual perspective

Ok, look, in all honesty, the plot itself probably deserves 4 stars. But I adore dual perspective stories yet it is a MAJOR pet peeve that authors feel the need to label them when 98% of the chapters start with Nadia was up with the sun or Matthias did some other verb. Mendoza just trusted us to be able to figure out whose head we were in without feeling compelled to spoon feed us like we're idiots and I appreciated it SO much. So I'm giving an extra star for that consideration and trust. That said, the plot was still plenty enjoyable. A bit religious for my taste, but at least not blatant like some. Although I would have liked to see Matthias spread his growth across the book more evenly instead of growing up a whole bunch all at once.

[Kimthebookishbaker · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a fitting couple of fairytales to intertwine with King Midas being the Beast from Beauty and the Beast! From my understanding, it was also supposed to include the Nightingale fairytale, which I am not familiar with so I cannot speak for that. I loved watching Matthias grow and change, as well as Nadia. I loved that the main characters especially both grew, neither was perfect the way they were but they grew together, making the ending more believable. I also thought it was fun that some stereotypical tropes were not the solutions to the curse. There was also a fun nod to Robin Hood and his merry men in this story, which was quite fun.
This story was a bit slower moving than I typically like but I did feel like all bases were covered and answers were given, which I really appreciated.

[Tiffany · Rating 3 out of 5]

Contains: (TW at beginning) attempted SA, forceful (unwanted) kisses, murder, mentions of war, human enslavement.

This is probably a 2.5. I didn’t hate it but I didn’t love it either. The king was HORRIBLE! I get it that it’s needed to set things up for his redemption arc but it went a little far for me to believe that he’d have a change of heart so thoroughly and quickly. He is totally fine purchasing a human, locking her up, treating her like property, killing people who disagree with him, taking food from his needy citizens, burning down plague victims, and wrongfully imprisoning people. Nadia (the FMC) forgives him way too easily. All in all their “relationship” is not based on anything other than her trying to be kind to him. I didn’t really buy it.

[Sara · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Golden Touch and the Silver Note by Ashley Mendoza
What I liked about this book:
📝 King Midas/Nightingale retelling
📝 A deadly secret
📝 A magical voice
📝 A race against time
📝 Sweet romance, a kiss or two
I did enjoy seeing a Nightingale retelling as I haven't read one before. I just wish the main male character had been more likeable. I know this is a redemption story but he felt weak and selfish and I'm not sure he truly earned his redemption. There was also a brief mention of infidelity which I wasn't expecting from this series. This one also felt like it needed a bit more editing but I was an ARC reader so I assume those wrinkles got smoothed out.
Favorite scene: the Winter Ball
Favorite character: Nadia (the Nightingale)

[Cass · Rating 2 out of 5]

The writing style seemed overly simplistic or targeted for younger readers; however, some content seemed to contradict that style. There is a content warning for assault at the beginning, and Nadia faces harassment and threats right from the start.

The male lead was worse than expected, though I didn't get far. so far, he demanded extra work and return from farmers, displaced a population, and ordered the burning of a plagued village. The writing style killed this for me, but one of the leads being that off putting (without being a dark romance) did not bode well for my enjoyment. DNF

[whimsical reader · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was pretty bored until page 119 kindle version. The storyline was unique but i felt like both main characters didn’t have a personality. He was broody and greedy which was portrayed well. Nadia was portrayed as weak and needy. I am not sure the attempted rapes were even necessary it didn’t really add that much to the story.

[Ami Jacobs · Rating 4 out of 5]

There was a lot of tension in this clean retelling of King Midas with a hint of Beauty and the Beast! I loved how all of the main characters grew and became better people throughout the story, and how the curse was finally ended! What a wonderful happy ending to this story!

[FROSTB1T3 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Go on an adventure of the Nightingale who only knows being captive and seeking that freedom. Follow the cursed king on finding what it means to truly be a king.

Me and my daughter have enjoyed reading this tale and are excited to read more books by the author.

[Katherine Weda · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have a lot of thoughts on this one…

[LaRae · Rating 5 out of 5]

I liked this fairytale retelling. It was like the grown up version and the story was well done and interesting. I would recommend reading this.

[Mildly Mad Hatter(Semi Hiatus)]

Thank you to the author for putting in the warning about the content in the book. I am going to be skipping this book because of the content, it's just not something I'm comfortable with reading.

[Nicole · Rating 4 out of 5]

Now that was a wild ride!

I haven't read a lot of King Midas's retellings but I really enjoyed this retelling. It flowed well and I enjoyed the conflict created throughout the kingdom and characters. Has a darker edge that made King Matthias a morally grey character.

Detailing to certain surroundings/scenes were beautiful. I also liked the depth given to secondary characters too. Especially Philip, Gladys and Vinson. Makes me interested in their stories. Princess Fiona and her merry men were doubly intriguing. I see great potential in this world.

I’m not familiar with The Nightingale story, however this combination seemed to work well since her gift countered his curse. The relationship between these two was extremely complicated and not without its challenges but I liked watching Nadia ‘educate’ Matthias on his selfish ways and him trying to become a better person and king.

A m/f fantasy romance with darker themes, curses, magic and redemption. Lots of secondary characters.

Dual povs told in third person

Main couple -
King Matthias - the Midas of the story
Nadia - aka the famous singer Nightingale

[Esther Wallace · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good mashup of myths/tales. Imaginative and overall well played.

Some mixes of tenses that can make spots hard to read and a few rough scenes with one actual rape scene, not too detailed, but still in there.

Overall, I enjoyed reading this book and am glad I did!