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A Heart Made of Gold
Her hands are blessed with the power to transform anything she touches into gold. A single mindless touch changes the course of her life forever.
After her husband’s sudden death, Queen Kalyca of Aristos must protect herself and the vacant throne from a tyrant hellbent on becoming king. With the help of newfound allies—a divine-borne, a flirtatious hero, a famous strongwoman, and a determined youth—she finds all the strength she needs to survive in a cruel world where gods are eager to play behind the scenes.
After her husband’s sudden death, Queen Kalyca of Aristos must protect herself and the vacant throne from a tyrant hellbent on becoming king. With the help of newfound allies—a divine-borne, a flirtatious hero, a famous strongwoman, and a determined youth—she finds all the strength she needs to survive in a cruel world where gods are eager to play behind the scenes.
- GenresAsexual
255 pages, Kindle Edition
Published March 19, 2021
11 people are currently reading
58 people want to read
About the author
Christina H. Childers
2 books34 followersDaydreams, nightmares, heroes, and charming villains.
Christina H. Childers enjoys imagining faraway kingdoms with noble princes, determined maidens, and everything else in between.
Christina H. Childers enjoys imagining faraway kingdoms with noble princes, determined maidens, and everything else in between.
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
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March 20, 2021This is my book. :3
September 29, 2023
The book that pulled me back into reading!
This book is a good psychological thriller. The description given for the book is quite apt and it directly plunged into action. There's a build up that goes along with the action which I liked.
I liked the dialogues which feels pulls you into the scenes (like stuff that the Queen says and the other people speak) - how they speak, what they speak.
We get a view into the inner workings of the Queen's mind and she does suffer from a lot of anxiety. It does remind me of social anxiety but I'm not sure whether she actually has that or is it just a situational thing. It does feel apt considering the setup.
The story progresses smoothly and I was looking forward to each page. Considering that this book gripped my attention to such an extent that I stopped my gaming addiction to focus on this book - I feel this is a phenomenal job by the author, especially more so because it is her first book.
I did have to stop at around ~50% mark because I got pulled into various tasks and then got severely distracted with many things. But would like to pick it up again in order to finish it and see how it turns out in the end.
Great job Christina! You should write again. Good luck!
This book is a good psychological thriller. The description given for the book is quite apt and it directly plunged into action. There's a build up that goes along with the action which I liked.
I liked the dialogues which feels pulls you into the scenes (like stuff that the Queen says and the other people speak) - how they speak, what they speak.
We get a view into the inner workings of the Queen's mind and she does suffer from a lot of anxiety. It does remind me of social anxiety but I'm not sure whether she actually has that or is it just a situational thing. It does feel apt considering the setup.
The story progresses smoothly and I was looking forward to each page. Considering that this book gripped my attention to such an extent that I stopped my gaming addiction to focus on this book - I feel this is a phenomenal job by the author, especially more so because it is her first book.
I did have to stop at around ~50% mark because I got pulled into various tasks and then got severely distracted with many things. But would like to pick it up again in order to finish it and see how it turns out in the end.
Great job Christina! You should write again. Good luck!
April 20, 2021
After finishing this book and looking at the title again, I can't help but smirk, because it may or may not be talking about what you think it's talking about. ;)
So anyways, I've got a lot to say, so let's get started.
I know you should start with the good things first, but I prefer to do stuff my way, so here's my critic:
This book's biggest flaw, was its lenght. If this were at least 250 pages, it would have absolutly solved all the problems I had with it. Why is that? Because there is a lot of amazing stuff in there, many amazing things actually, but we don't get to enjoy them all that much, because they have to compeat with each other for page time. And that is really sad.
I have been informed, that there is going to be a sequel - WHICH HELL YES :D - which does help, but is still not enough to solve some of the elements that were established in this one like for example: Why is the group helping the queen. They do become friends along the way, but what is everyones personal reason. We do get some insight, but considering what's at stake, it's not quiet enough. At least for me.
Another thing that I wished was given more time is: The build up, Titus's downfall, the angst.
The story is absolutly solid and it works the way it is, but it feels like it's over so fast, because it is. I would have enjoyed more plotting action. It WAS in there, but because of all the other stuff, that was happening, we didn't see enough of it.
I did enjoy the world. It was build up nicely through a lot of different characters, giving us an insight into aspects of the world we would otherwise not have gotten acces to.
I also enjyoed the characters. I think I fell in love with Gilon the second he opened his mouth. And I adored the hell out of his and Darius relationship. I shipped them so hard.
I liked our MC. I liked what she did and especially what she didn't do. When you have people like Gilon and Iris, who are good and willing fighters, it's nice to read about a person, who has the power to slaughter, but chooses not to. Could this conflict have been solved, if she were more murderous? Yes. But than she would have become her husband and I'm glad that's not what happend.
I also have to mention how diverse this book is, because I was not expecting it to be this queer boy was I smiling while finding out about it. Especially when the MC turned out to be ace. Surprise ace rep makes me so happy, you don't understand! Thank you for that!
I don't wanna list everything that I found, so I'll just mention: Nonbinary rep :3
(And a positive mention of polyamory from a character with a wife & husband)
Like I said, I liked the promise, I liked the story & characters, but I also believe that this book could have been better. It had the potential to be more.
So anyways, I've got a lot to say, so let's get started.
I know you should start with the good things first, but I prefer to do stuff my way, so here's my critic:
This book's biggest flaw, was its lenght. If this were at least 250 pages, it would have absolutly solved all the problems I had with it. Why is that? Because there is a lot of amazing stuff in there, many amazing things actually, but we don't get to enjoy them all that much, because they have to compeat with each other for page time. And that is really sad.
I have been informed, that there is going to be a sequel - WHICH HELL YES :D - which does help, but is still not enough to solve some of the elements that were established in this one like for example: Why is the group helping the queen. They do become friends along the way, but what is everyones personal reason. We do get some insight, but considering what's at stake, it's not quiet enough. At least for me.
Another thing that I wished was given more time is: The build up, Titus's downfall, the angst.
The story is absolutly solid and it works the way it is, but it feels like it's over so fast, because it is. I would have enjoyed more plotting action. It WAS in there, but because of all the other stuff, that was happening, we didn't see enough of it.
I did enjoy the world. It was build up nicely through a lot of different characters, giving us an insight into aspects of the world we would otherwise not have gotten acces to.
I also enjyoed the characters. I think I fell in love with Gilon the second he opened his mouth. And I adored the hell out of his and Darius relationship. I shipped them so hard.
I liked our MC. I liked what she did and especially what she didn't do. When you have people like Gilon and Iris, who are good and willing fighters, it's nice to read about a person, who has the power to slaughter, but chooses not to. Could this conflict have been solved, if she were more murderous? Yes. But than she would have become her husband and I'm glad that's not what happend.
I also have to mention how diverse this book is, because I was not expecting it to be this queer boy was I smiling while finding out about it. Especially when the MC turned out to be ace. Surprise ace rep makes me so happy, you don't understand! Thank you for that!
I don't wanna list everything that I found, so I'll just mention: Nonbinary rep :3
(And a positive mention of polyamory from a character with a wife & husband)
Like I said, I liked the promise, I liked the story & characters, but I also believe that this book could have been better. It had the potential to be more.
December 5, 2021
In a manner reminiscent of Brandon Sanderson's "Stormlight Archive" series, the author skillfully weaves a tale of gods and humans and everything in between. A woman with a god-gifted magical ability, tries to defend her throne against accusations that she was the one who killed her husband, the king. With a diverse cast and well-entwined sub-plots, this book is a progressive work which manages to intermingle modern sensibilities with a wonderfully detailed world.
While I greatly enjoyed the book and read it in a few days, the author has a bit of a heavy hand with her LGBTQ+ cast and relationships and it comes across as saccharine and contrived at parts. It's easy to skim past the few scenes that do this, but it does detract somewhat from what is otherwise an excellent books. That being said, I look forward to reading any other fantasy works she writes.
While I greatly enjoyed the book and read it in a few days, the author has a bit of a heavy hand with her LGBTQ+ cast and relationships and it comes across as saccharine and contrived at parts. It's easy to skim past the few scenes that do this, but it does detract somewhat from what is otherwise an excellent books. That being said, I look forward to reading any other fantasy works she writes.
December 4, 2021
I did enjoy this book. The writer told a solid fairy tale type story that would appeal to a person in mid to late teen years. The female characters had so much strength in different ways which appealed to me as a woman. I appreciated the way this author represented a diversity of sexual orientations seamlessly into her story. I would only wish that the book had been longer with more detail on the back stories.
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March 21, 2021Trigger & Content Warnings:
Suicidal ideation
Anxiety
Panic attacks
Trauma
Suicidal ideation
Anxiety
Panic attacks
Trauma
June 20, 2021
This brilliant book tells the story of a recently widowed queen as she fights to keep the throne for her nephew - the rightful heir. Full of treachery, demi gods and unexpected twists
October 29, 2022
A very interesting retelling of the Golden Touch myth.
October 29, 2022
One of the few books that I can say that I DNF at 25%. It just wasn't compatible with my preferred style.
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March 31, 2024https://www.tumblr.com/aspeccharacter...
Queen Kalyca from A Heart Made of Gold is asexual!
Queen Kalyca from A Heart Made of Gold is asexual!
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews