The Gilded

by Whitney D. Grandison

Scandal tore them apart, circumstance brought them back together, but only hope can redeem them.


She was the girl from the wrong side of town, and he was the boy destined to take the throne. But when they were younger, that didn’t matter. Once, Marlon King and Maia Lawson were inseparable—until one fleeting moment ruined everything and proved maybe they don’t belong in the same world. She was forced to leave town and he was left picking up the pieces.

Now almost five years later, Maia is back home. But she isn’t welcome.

At the prestigious Remington South Prep, Marlon is king—devastatingly handsome, heir to a major conglomerate, a football god, and smart—there’s no wonder he’s the envy of his peers. But beware. Marlon is a rich boy with an attitude. Cross him and it’s the guillotine.

When a brutal blast from his past arrives at Remington South, the very reason for his cruel core, the claws come out and Marlon will stop at nothing to even the score.

What starts off as bitter resentment and a need to send Maia back to wherever she disappeared to, turns into something more as neither can deny their mutual attraction. Only, before they can rekindle any simmering flames, fate steps in, threatening to tear them apart once and for all.

Genres: Romance, Enemies To Lovers, Second Chance, Friends To Lovers, Young Adult, Second Chance Romance, African American Romance

567 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 28, 2024

About the author

A lover of words, Whitney D. Grandison has been writing since as far back as she can remember. Outside of writing, she is a lover of Asian dramas, all things John Hughes, and horror films. Whitney currently lives in Akron, Ohio with her cats.

Visit Whitney’s website, www.whitneydgrandison.com, and follow her on Instagram, @wheadee.

Reviews

[Avery Holman · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book started out very strong and I enjoyed it but it just felt like it was drawn out at the end.

[readwithtrinnn · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 ⭐️

a second chance romance will do it for me every time! especially if its friends-to-strangers-to-enemies-to-lovers 🤣😩😍❤️‍🩹


now idk if it’s just me, but this book gave me boys over flowers/meteor garden vibes 💌🌸💞🪐 from the “tagging”, to the rich boy x poor girl storyline, I absolutely loved it all! (plus meteor garden/boys over flowers are some of my favourite Asian dramas, so it was cool to see the loose similarities!)

[Kimberly Nicole · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read this mainly for the cover.

This could have been 200 pages less. Solid premise, but way to many of the same conversations and information over and over. It’s just kept going on. Huan was the most interesting and engaging part of the story. Everyone deserves a Huan in their life!

[Agneta Chelsea · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have so much to say about this one but i’ll just use one word - twitter -

[Audrey · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved the growth Marlon had but it’s was unnecessarily long, also his mum left for 5 years and didn’t speak to her kids cause Doug cheated on her? Has this b never heard of a divorce? Fudge did the kids do?! Then Doug basically kidnapped a 17 year old girl and threatened her💀apart from that I LOVED the black representation 😚🫶🏽

[Scarlet Hoodi · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars
Making the decision to read a book that was not my style was a very interesting experience. Anyways the characters were alright but this book was too damn long.

[Musonda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute read to pass by time before bed!

[Kelss ✨ · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.7 this was honestly way better than i expected. she should make this a series and give us legend barry and aaron's books with a prequel of huan and keaton bc i really liked those characters

[Kili Abby · Rating 2 out of 5]

too damn long

[TK · Rating 1 out of 5]

Could have been a 250 pages book. I was bored most of the time and the plot was just meh. The mother disappeared for 5years without checking up on her kids?? No reason stated! I struggled to complete the book

[Zozo · Rating 2 out of 5]

Had no idea this was a bully romance but I finished it. Wish I hadn’t. Two stars for rich black boys who have hearts.

[Supermorgo · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book reminds me so much of black elitism . Barry was my fave character like I need a book about that. It’s interesting seeing the kids navigate the parents mistakes . Loved that human ended up saving the day.

[Arri Hunte · Rating 4 out of 5]

Idk the long lost love was cute but Barry deserves a chance fr

[Sarah]

Got bored with it honestly, couldnt take it any longer sorry 🫠

[Joya Nelson · Rating 5 out of 5]

loved it!

I love when an author can redeem an irredeemable character. I’d lost hope for Marlon a second there lol. I think I’m ready for a second read with this one. Would recommend for those interested in stories placed in high school!

[SL Wilson · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a story!

This book! I don’t know where to start. It was fabulous and I did not want it to end. Maia and Marlon meet when they are kids and become teens when they are ripped apart through no part of their own. Maia moves away and Marlon is left behind. Maia moves back but Marlon is different and it takes a while for them to find their way back to each other. The side storylines and characters were just as interesting as the main characters. I would love to even see the story of his sister with Huan. Very well written and I could not put this book down. It deserves many, many more than 5 stars.

[Ashley Thomas · Rating 3 out of 5]

A little too long for my liking but an okay book I guess.

[F · Rating 5 out of 5]

Honestly it was really good it was just missing something. I really enjoyed it though.

[A'Reayon Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm rating this a 4.8/5 simply because I really wish we could've seen more of Maia's artistic side. It was hinted at a couple of times, but I feel like it learning about it, but not seeing alot of it really made me sad. BUT OVERALL!! This book was phenomenal. I could relate to so many characters on so many different levels and having POC as the MC really made everything better to me personally. I felt deeply connected not just because of their skin tone, but because I could see them as people deeper than characters on a page. I laughed (cackled really), screamed, was shocked, felt sad, was happy, all of the things. I felt like I was right in school with them as a part of the student body. I could not get enough of this book it was honestly one of my favorite reads for this month so far. I will probably never shut up about this book, because I thought it was amazing. Growing up on "the wrong side of the tracks" but having a mom who did everything that she could for me and my siblings I could empathize with Maia a lot. Feeling out of place is nothing new but seeing how she persevered and, in the end, made it out made me smile. Hands down such a great read.

[Aaliyah Sims · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was truly wonderful. I usually do not like books where the characters are still in school and are minors, but this was such a beautiful story. I love how you see the character development. I also love how everyone is a person of color. I also love that when it comes to the scenes where they’re doing adult activities, it doesn’t go into detail about anything. It completely skips over it and goes back into the story. I personally love that and it’s very tasteful since the story is including minors, and I love that the author didn’t go into any type of detail because of that.
I hated that the FMC had to go through so much in the story, but I can very much appreciate that she had her own mind and determination not to back down when a lot of people would have. I love it. I love her writing style and I hope she has other books to go into the other characters.

[ejbooks25 · Rating 5 out of 5]

5⭐️

I enjoyed this book a lot!!! The book gravitated to me, and it didn't disappoint.

My baby Marlon was an absolute dick in the beginning, but you truly got to understand his harder exterior throughout the book.

Maia had endured more than she should have in this book. She handled way better than I could have.

Huan and Barry were the most solid and level-headed characters!! Without them. Maia and Marlon would be at each other's throats.

DOUGLAS CAN CHOKE ON A BAG OF THUMBTACKS!!!!

Katherine and Douglas dropped the ball as parents. They should have never had any. Grown adults making dumb decisions. At least Dina put in effort. Leaving your kids for 5 years in inexcusable!

The adults need to go to therapy as well.

[Ali Aishat · Rating 2 out of 5]

Okay so round up off this draw out storyline.
Rich boy meets poor girl, they fall in love, she moves away, then comes back—cue unnecessary drama. He spends most of the book being bitter, bullying her while secretly in love, and dealing with being a nepo baby who has everything handed to him .

His mom is MIA for 95% of the story (and seriously you ghosted your children because your husband cheated then you come back and you’re saying he’s your friend?).

Also he finally gets the girl, his grand plan is… moving out? The plot makes no sense, but hey, at least it’s entertaining in a what did I just read? kind of way.

[Candy Nicholas · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's been awhile since I've read a young adult book so it took some getting used to. I kept having to remind myself that they were in their last year of high school. All characters were likeable but I couldn't put my finger on what I didn't like about the book. It's not a bad book but I felt like something was missing. And there were times that I started skimming or skipping paragraphs when the author described the places the characters were. The MMC got on my nerves. His moody ass needed therapy so bad. And his dad was a jackass. It was an OK read.

[HeyitsNae · Rating 5 out of 5]

HEA

I loved this one here. I really like the growth and the pain Marlon was feeling. Having you’re life ripped about and put together by someone other than you , the feels I was feeling! At first I did not like him treating Maia that way, but man did I understand the concept of “ hurt people, hurt people” in the end, with friendship, love, HELla therapy, and over coming the dark voids of pain and confusion we got a HEA.

[Fran “Chas” ter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Emotional

This young adult novel was a compelling read, effectively capturing my attention and evoking a range of emotions, from smiles to anger and near-tears. While I personally found the portrayals of teen sexuality and drug use challenging, which are common themes in this genre, the author's ability to create an engaging narrative was undeniable. The story's emotional depth and relatable characters made it a memorable experience.

[Rad · Rating 4 out of 5]

Maia and Marlon stressed me tf out, okay? Marlon’s anger towards Maia in the beginning of the book was so misplaced, like why are we blaming her for the adults actions??? She’s not responsible for that, sir! Douglas King is a top tier A-hole and deserves nothing good. Katherine trifling for leaving her son. Dina needed to do better all around. Like these adults are failing them.

I’m happy that M&M got it together though.

[Shakira · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read two books back to back that focused on teenagers. Man…you couldn’t pay me enough money to go back to my teen days. These kids, whew. I liked this story overall. The elements brought into it, side characters, all got wrapped up with a nice HEA. Marlon and Maia, I can easily picture them in my own high school.

Good book.

[Zeppernese · Rating 5 out of 5]

10/10 recommend

This book was captivating from the opening lines to the ending! It definitely was a whirlwind of emotions and the drama kept me on my toes! If you love a good teenage love affair book this is a must read!

[nylawhitehead98 · Rating 5 out of 5]

OMGGGGGGG FAV BOOK EVER❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

I absolutely ADORED this book. The characters were so well written and relatable. The plot was TEA😏 My only complaint is that it ended. I want more😔 1000/10 will definitely re-read!

[DeUnlimited · Rating 4 out of 5]

l loved this book. It was a bit long but honestly it didn't feel it. Nothing felt unnecessary to the story, like other books this length. The characters are very thought out and relatable. I enjoyed the growth we saw throughout the story of everyone involved.