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Gilded Scars #3
Radiant Trauma
Kenzie, Dren, and the rest of Fifth are returning to Cholyra’s Capital for another set of Trials. This time, they carry the burden of selecting their new Champion rather than leaving it all to chance. The stakes have been raised across the board and Morrow has made it very clear he intends to win–one way or another.
Kenzie quickly realizes she is tackling more than she can handle as she attempts to balance her difficult Champion, her extensive spy network, and Morrow’s not-so-subtle threats. To top it all off, she also finds herself doing what no human has done before: controlling an energy she shouldn’t even be able to feel.
Dren continues to struggle with his love for Kenzie and his urge to protect her at any cost, even as she battles to do the same for him. The political landscape of Cholyra is quickly changing and Dren is forced to adapt, or he risks losing Kenzie in the fray.
Cayla is fighting to find her place in this new, strange world while also redefining her relationship with a newer, more violent version of her sister. She can’t seem to stop herself from falling for the one person she should consider off-limits, even though it means she risks everyone and everything she’s gained so far.
Rheya has volunteered as the Tashyan Champion. Though she is confident she will win, she hasn’t come for glory. She’s stepped into the world of Cholyra for one reason only: to kill the person who caused her sister’s death two years prior.
Once more, the court of Fifth is swept up into something bigger than themselves. War is brewing and they face the very real threat that they might not all make it out alive.
Kenzie quickly realizes she is tackling more than she can handle as she attempts to balance her difficult Champion, her extensive spy network, and Morrow’s not-so-subtle threats. To top it all off, she also finds herself doing what no human has done before: controlling an energy she shouldn’t even be able to feel.
Dren continues to struggle with his love for Kenzie and his urge to protect her at any cost, even as she battles to do the same for him. The political landscape of Cholyra is quickly changing and Dren is forced to adapt, or he risks losing Kenzie in the fray.
Cayla is fighting to find her place in this new, strange world while also redefining her relationship with a newer, more violent version of her sister. She can’t seem to stop herself from falling for the one person she should consider off-limits, even though it means she risks everyone and everything she’s gained so far.
Rheya has volunteered as the Tashyan Champion. Though she is confident she will win, she hasn’t come for glory. She’s stepped into the world of Cholyra for one reason only: to kill the person who caused her sister’s death two years prior.
Once more, the court of Fifth is swept up into something bigger than themselves. War is brewing and they face the very real threat that they might not all make it out alive.
434 pages, Kindle Edition
Published June 15, 2022
1 person is currently reading
24 people want to read
About the author
M.S. Murphy
8 books40 followersM.S. Murphy hails from Montreal, Canada, though she claims many cities and countries as home thanks to her sateless wanderlust. She studied creative writing in university with the dream of becoming an editor or copywriter. While her 9-to-5 took her down a very different path, her 5-to-9 keeps her well immersed in numerous fantasy worlds—her own included.
M.S. Murphy was an avid reader through her pre-teen and teen years, and this only exploded into a full-blown fascination as she got older. Armed with the credit card of a working woman and a highly curated TikTok FYP, Murphy spends too many hours every year diving into beautiful, fantastical stories. While she is more than willing to dabble in other genres, Murphy’s preference remains fantasy-romance, and this thematic preference very clearly bleeds into her own written works. Well—that and a slew of very angry, very passionate women who are willing to do whatever it takes to rule the world.
M.S. Murphy was an avid reader through her pre-teen and teen years, and this only exploded into a full-blown fascination as she got older. Armed with the credit card of a working woman and a highly curated TikTok FYP, Murphy spends too many hours every year diving into beautiful, fantastical stories. While she is more than willing to dabble in other genres, Murphy’s preference remains fantasy-romance, and this thematic preference very clearly bleeds into her own written works. Well—that and a slew of very angry, very passionate women who are willing to do whatever it takes to rule the world.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
May 30, 2022
So, I was given an arc copy because I literally am obsessed with this series. An interesting concept that was developed in this novel was POV’s from a lot of new characters, that allowed a lot of insight into the affects the trials had on every character. M.S Murphy understands why her readers continue in and go down the rabbit hole with Kenzie, and this novel explores just how twisted the path can get when emotions get involved. The cliff hanger at the end was steep, and seeing the planning Kenzie put into building contingencies even when we, the reader saw the drain plotting had on Kenzie was awe worthy. A lot of new players are introduced and even if I wasn’t the biggest fan of all, I love the strength of Kenzie found family. Kenzie understands those around her and supports them, and watching Kenzie be vulnerable and she the relationships grow deeper is incredible. If you want a continuation of the first two novels this book delivers that in spades. There’s plotting, murder, destruction of economical structures, family tension and support, and flashbacks to characters from the first book as Kenzie hides and tries to grow from the trauma of the first trials and now experiencing it as a trainer/ meddling observer.
June 18, 2022
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🌶🌶🌶🌶
*gasp* what the hell. What. The. Hell. The plot twists in this book outdid all the previous ones. I genuinely did not see most of them coming my way. I was in a painful suspense for way too long and am STILL in a pain suspense. The fact this series isn’t done yet I can’t immediately buy the rest is criminal.
“No one can protect me from what’s coming,” Kenzie said at last. There was a foreboding to her words.”
There was a lot of POV’s in this one, which I liked most of the time, and the placement of them kept us nice and educated on how Kenzie’s was perceived and affected others (which I found really interesting). I hated one particular character I’m not sure I was supposed to
BECAUSE of the POV, so that’s more of a personal opinion on them and not the writing choice lol.
“If you don’t back away from me right now, I am going to cut your dick off,” Kenzie warned.
“You’re not wearing any knives,” Dren pointed out, his words coming out in a sneer.
“I have teeth!”
I think my only complaint would be that the trials in this book were underwhelming compared to the last ones. They were less bloody and overall not quite as exciting at Kenzie’s. I kept waiting for the “I overcame the impossible” moment but it never really came from the new champion, and I was a little disappointed.
“You two make a great pair,” he said acidly. It was no doubt supposed to be an insult, but I smiled.
“I know,” I agreed. “We were made for each other.”
********SPOILER********
Am I the only one that hates the sister? I literally cannot get over it. Everytime her pov came up I was banging my head against a wall in frustration. The sheer lack of committed care that she was going behind her sisters back and being the worst while complaining about being left out had me reeling. I couldn’t even read her smut scene, I had to skip it.
🌶🌶🌶🌶
*gasp* what the hell. What. The. Hell. The plot twists in this book outdid all the previous ones. I genuinely did not see most of them coming my way. I was in a painful suspense for way too long and am STILL in a pain suspense. The fact this series isn’t done yet I can’t immediately buy the rest is criminal.
“No one can protect me from what’s coming,” Kenzie said at last. There was a foreboding to her words.”
There was a lot of POV’s in this one, which I liked most of the time, and the placement of them kept us nice and educated on how Kenzie’s was perceived and affected others (which I found really interesting). I hated one particular character I’m not sure I was supposed to
BECAUSE of the POV, so that’s more of a personal opinion on them and not the writing choice lol.
“If you don’t back away from me right now, I am going to cut your dick off,” Kenzie warned.
“You’re not wearing any knives,” Dren pointed out, his words coming out in a sneer.
“I have teeth!”
I think my only complaint would be that the trials in this book were underwhelming compared to the last ones. They were less bloody and overall not quite as exciting at Kenzie’s. I kept waiting for the “I overcame the impossible” moment but it never really came from the new champion, and I was a little disappointed.
“You two make a great pair,” he said acidly. It was no doubt supposed to be an insult, but I smiled.
“I know,” I agreed. “We were made for each other.”
********SPOILER********
Am I the only one that hates the sister? I literally cannot get over it. Everytime her pov came up I was banging my head against a wall in frustration. The sheer lack of committed care that she was going behind her sisters back and being the worst while complaining about being left out had me reeling. I couldn’t even read her smut scene, I had to skip it.
July 13, 2024
hey, this actually ripped out my heart so if everything isn’t fixed at the end of book four i’m going to cry for a year, thanks 🥹🫶🏻
May 31, 2022
Amazing. The characters are so well written, makes you feel like you really know them, Kenzie's and Dren's relationship shone and made my heart flutter on so many occasions and were written so beautifully. The battle scenes and even arguments are incredibly intense and totally sucks you into the book, couldn't bring myself to put it down. Kenzie's talents shone while still addressing her past and ongoing trauma was a perfect addition to her character. Already ready for the next one while sad to see it end, a book to truly fall in love with.
June 17, 2022
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🌶🌶🌶🌶
*gasp* what the hell. What. The. Hell. The plot twists in this book outdid all the previous ones. I genuinely did not see most of them coming my way. I was in a painful suspense for way too long and am STILL in a pain suspense. The fact this series isn’t done yet I can’t immediately buy the rest is criminal.
“No one can protect me from what’s coming,” Kenzie said at last. There was a foreboding to her words.”
There was a lot of POV’s in this one, which I liked most of the time, and the placement of them kept us nice and educated on how Kenzie’s was perceived and affected others (which I found really interesting). I hated one particular character I’m not sure I was supposed to
BECAUSE of the POV, so that’s more of a personal opinion on them and not the writing choice lol.
“If you don’t back away from me right now, I am going to cut your dick off,” Kenzie warned.
“You’re not wearing any knives,” Dren pointed out, his words coming out in a sneer.
“I have teeth!”
I think my only complaint would be that the trials in this book were underwhelming compared to the last ones. They were less bloody and overall not quite as exciting at Kenzie’s. I kept waiting for the “I overcame the impossible” moment but it never really came from the new champion, and I was a little disappointed.
“You two make a great pair,” he said acidly. It was no doubt supposed to be an insult, but I smiled.
“I know,” I agreed. “We were made for each other.”
********SPOILER********
Am I the only one that hates the sister? I literally cannot get over it. Everytime her pov came up I was banging my head against a wall in frustration. The sheer lack of committed care that she was going behind her sisters back and being the worst while complaining about being left out had me reeling. I couldn’t even read her smut scene, I had to skip it.
🌶🌶🌶🌶
*gasp* what the hell. What. The. Hell. The plot twists in this book outdid all the previous ones. I genuinely did not see most of them coming my way. I was in a painful suspense for way too long and am STILL in a pain suspense. The fact this series isn’t done yet I can’t immediately buy the rest is criminal.
“No one can protect me from what’s coming,” Kenzie said at last. There was a foreboding to her words.”
There was a lot of POV’s in this one, which I liked most of the time, and the placement of them kept us nice and educated on how Kenzie’s was perceived and affected others (which I found really interesting). I hated one particular character I’m not sure I was supposed to
BECAUSE of the POV, so that’s more of a personal opinion on them and not the writing choice lol.
“If you don’t back away from me right now, I am going to cut your dick off,” Kenzie warned.
“You’re not wearing any knives,” Dren pointed out, his words coming out in a sneer.
“I have teeth!”
I think my only complaint would be that the trials in this book were underwhelming compared to the last ones. They were less bloody and overall not quite as exciting at Kenzie’s. I kept waiting for the “I overcame the impossible” moment but it never really came from the new champion, and I was a little disappointed.
“You two make a great pair,” he said acidly. It was no doubt supposed to be an insult, but I smiled.
“I know,” I agreed. “We were made for each other.”
********SPOILER********
Am I the only one that hates the sister? I literally cannot get over it. Everytime her pov came up I was banging my head against a wall in frustration. The sheer lack of committed care that she was going behind her sisters back and being the worst while complaining about being left out had me reeling. I couldn’t even read her smut scene, I had to skip it.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews