Glow (The Plated Prisoner, 4)

If you’re wary of the idea of another series and having 5+ books to read, know that this series is worth the read. The books are more enthralling as you go. New character perspectives were introduced in book 4 and I loved them all which I can’t say I felt for previous books.

The action and adventure is exciting with a few interesting unexpected background details about the MMC and FMC. While I’ll say there weren’t many unexpected twists I still loved the pacing of the book and how the author introduced new action and emotions for each character.

Book 1: 2/5 - the plot didn’t develop as well as I would have liked but it gave background for future books Book 2: 4/5 - character development was good but it was still slow. However great overall plot line with opening to book 3 Book 3: 5/5 EVERYTHING I needed in a series! Action, romance, betrayal, and new character introductions. The other perspectives were finally something I didn’t feel the need to skim and actually was invested in. Book 4: 5/5 Character development continued with new POV introductions. Would’ve loved to see a bit more from Os. Romance, spice, action were all there. While I wouldn’t say the twists were unexpected, but the pace of them was captivating and exciting. I could not put down this book!

“𝐖𝐞’𝐯𝐞 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐠𝐨𝐭 𝐚 𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐫𝐨𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐧 𝐢𝐧 𝐮𝐬, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐈 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝𝐧’𝐭 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐲𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠. 𝐈𝐭’𝐬 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐰𝐞’𝐯𝐞 𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐯𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐝.”

“𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐝𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐜𝐫𝐮𝐞𝐥 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐠. 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐝𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐦𝐞𝐚𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐞𝐞𝐦 𝐛𝐫𝐚𝐯𝐞. 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐝𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐝𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐥. 𝐇𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐝𝐨𝐞𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐦𝐞𝐚𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮’𝐫𝐞 𝐰𝐞𝐚𝐤. 𝐈𝐭 𝐦𝐞𝐚𝐧𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮’𝐫𝐞 𝐬𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐞𝐧𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐭𝐨 𝐥𝐞𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐥.”

𝐌𝐚𝐲𝐛𝐞 𝐧𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐮𝐬 𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐥𝐲 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐭𝐡. 𝐍𝐨𝐭 𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐡𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐰𝐚𝐲 𝐚𝐭 𝐮𝐬. 𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐭 𝐢𝐬, 𝐰𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐧’𝐭 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐮𝐦𝐚. 𝐖𝐞 𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐥𝐰𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐧 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡. 𝐖𝐞 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐟𝐢𝐠𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐭 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐯𝐞𝐬.

“𝐍𝐨 𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫 𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐮𝐜𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠. 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐦𝐚𝐲 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐤𝐢𝐜𝐤 𝐚𝐧𝐲𝐨𝐧𝐞’𝐬 𝐚𝐬𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐮𝐫𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧.”

“𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐛𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐚𝐧𝐲𝐨𝐧𝐞, 𝐆𝐨𝐥𝐝𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐡, 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐦𝐞…𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬. 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐡 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐠𝐨𝐥𝐝. 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝 𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐬𝐨 𝐦𝐮𝐜𝐡 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮’𝐯𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐠𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐧.”

“𝐈 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐮𝐜𝐤 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐝𝐢𝐜𝐤𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐚 𝐬𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐫𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲. 𝐋𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐚 𝐰𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧.”

“𝐎𝐧𝐞 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧’𝐬 𝐩𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐝𝐨𝐞𝐬𝐧’𝐭 𝐧𝐞𝐠𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫’𝐬. 𝐎𝐮𝐫 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐫𝐢𝐝𝐠𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐞𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐲. 𝐒𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐚𝐭 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐨𝐧 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐥𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐥, 𝐰𝐞 𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐝. 𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐭’𝐬 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐟𝐮𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐠𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐟, 𝐈 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤. 𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐬, 𝐰𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐚𝐭 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐫𝐢𝐝𝐠𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐚𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐞.”

“𝐈 𝐦𝐞𝐚𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮’𝐫𝐞 𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞. 𝐓𝐨 𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞…𝐘𝐨𝐮’𝐫𝐞 𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐭. 𝐓𝐨 𝐚𝐝𝐨𝐫𝐞. 𝐓𝐨 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫. 𝐓𝐨 𝐬𝐞𝐞. 𝐓𝐨 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞. 𝐓𝐨 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞.” 𝐀 𝐩𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐥𝐮𝐦𝐩 𝐛𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐦𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐚𝐭. “𝐘𝐨𝐮’𝐫𝐞 𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐞, 𝐀𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐧. 𝐀𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐚𝐬 𝐈 𝐚𝐦 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬. 𝐈𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞’𝐬 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐫𝐚𝐯𝐞, 𝐢𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞’𝐬 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐟𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐝𝐨𝐦 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐫𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞 𝐨𝐟, 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐝𝐨 𝐢𝐭, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐈 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐛𝐞 𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐲𝐨𝐮. 𝐖𝐚𝐭𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐝𝐞𝐯𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐬. 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐈 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐝𝐞𝐯𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐲𝐨𝐮.”

𝐒𝐨 𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐬 𝐰𝐞’𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐨𝐠𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫, 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐬 𝐨𝐤𝐚𝐲. 𝐁𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐈 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐟𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐡𝐢𝐦, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐤𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐦𝐞, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐟 𝐰𝐞 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐯𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐬, 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐬𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐢𝐭.

𝐅𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐦𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞. 𝐅𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐦𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦 𝐚𝐥𝐥.

I’m sitting here. Staring at this. Trying to figure out how to put into words everything this book was to me. All I’ve got is masterpiece. This will be a SPOILER FREE review but WILL contain large plot spoilers for the previous 3 books so proceed with caution if you’re not caught up with the series.

Ok. Whew. First off this book was heavy. You knew coming off of the end of Gleam that this was not going to be a light and breezy book, even on top of Auren still working through a decade of grooming and abuse. You knew her recovery was going to be painful and that this combined with everything else would take time. Every step of her journey, loss, and healing in this book is slow, delicate, careful, heartbreakingly realistic, perfectly depicted, and beautifully handled. There wasn’t a single question, discussion, thought process, or scenario in my mind that the author did not explore which I, as an abuse survivor on the “other side” of life in a healthy and loving relationship, both loved and appreciated SO MUCH.

What I was NOT prepared for was being emotionally ravaged by the childhood and past of King Ravinger himself. All I’ll say is Slade being a mama’s boy is everything I never knew my heart needed!!!

We get a LOT of Slade content in this book which to me was so needed both to better understand the Fae male who has fallen so hard for our golden girl, and to better understand how on earth they as two Fae managed to find each other in this world forever separated from the Fae world. And if you thought you loved Slade before this book, you have NO IDEA how much you’re going to truly be obsessed with him by the end of this book. He is multifaceted, complex, and deep…SO DEEP. He is every ounce the villain king, he has the filthiest mouth, good LORD he can steam up a page, and he loves Auren unapologetically with every single ounce of his being. These two have my heart forever and officially OWN carriages henceforth from this day forward, from now through the end of all of eternity🥵🔥

Everything is amplified in this book. The spice is OFF the charts, we gain far more POV chapters (some of which are VERY exciting), we get WAY more Wrath interaction, we get a new budding couple who I absolutely adore, we finally connect the dots to all of the questions we have about Auren’s past after her time with Zakir, we get the true fleshing out of a relationship between Auren and Slade, we get 110% more brother content between Slade and Fake Rip (his brother, Ryatt), we get 210% more emotions, we travel to the very ends of Orea (literally), and encounter far more…interesting characters, there is just SO much MORE in this book.

I will admit there were parts of this book that did feel super repetitive and just longggg, however every time I found myself thinking “didn’t I already read something exactly like this” it led to a new point of healing or vital conversation for Auren. You cannot rush healing and oftentimes through healing repetition is how you’re able to find the safe place and the courage needed to process through certain feelings/memories. So I think that’s important to remember as you’re going through this book, especially if you feel it’s beginning to get slightly long winded.

The end was an absolute roller coaster. I will say it didn’t entirely break me like the end of Gleam did, but it had my heart in my throat and screaming and I had to remind myself to breathe WAY more times than once. This cliffhanger is painful and did manage to make me cry like a baby, but with so much left up in the air knowing we’re going into the final chapter and seeing every stage set for that has me CHOMPING AT THE BIT to get my hands on book 5!!!

There just are no words for how much I love this series, and how solidly Auren has gilded herself and Slade into my heart. Every book just gets better and better and while I’m nowhere near close to being ready for it to end I cannot wait to see what is sure to be one heck of an explosive ending. My hat is perpetually off to Raven Kennedy…absolutely one of the best books of 2022!!

Glow by Raven Kennedy continues the spellbinding journey begun in Gleam, diving deeper into the world of magic, danger, and romance. In this sequel, Kennedy masterfully expands upon the characters and lore introduced in the first book, while introducing new twists and turns that will leave readers breathless. The stakes are higher, the emotions are more intense, and the magic is more enthralling than ever before. With its seamless blend of action, romance, and intrigue, Glow is a captivating read that will leave fans eagerly awaiting the next installment in the series.

Is Slade the best book boyfriend? Quite possibly. ❤️🔥 love him, and love Auren’s growth in this book. This book is long AF and impossible to put down. This is my 2nd read and I love it just as much as the first time around. The cliffhanger was painful the first time I read it but the next book is out and the final is about to be released this month so it’s safe to read now, if you’re someone who can’t handle cliffhangers.

Wow, the HANGOVER from this book is legit! I still can't shake it, and my thoughts keeps changing accordingly! <b>3.5 - 4 Stars for me. </b>

<b> She’s basking in the sun, and it looks as if that’s all the daylight was ever created for. She’s so breathtaking up here in only my shirt, that I have half a mind to drag the guards back and demand they pluck out their own eyes for seeing what’s mine. </b>

Glow reads like a (slightly, long winded) love letter, from Raven Kennedy to fans of the series. It is essentially a character study, not a major plot advancer. Was it the most dynamic storyline? Certainly not. But if you truly love AURIP, have wanted to know every last detail about these chars and honestly just crave basking in the moments of their glory, then this book is immensely satisfying.

The quote I led with is a prime example of issues; depicting a tender, heartwarming moment, on the one hand these glimpses into Rip and Auren's daily life are sweet and rewarding, but they do very little to advance the greater storyline. Now don't get me wrong, I really did enjoy this one (I'm sticking with my 4 stars). However, there are some pretty major issues that I have difficulty reconciling:

[light spoiler warning] The Character dev is off the charts in this book! Slade is the main focus and we pretty much get it all (I also really enjoyed learning about Ryatt and their family dynamic). Additionally we get new POV chapters from Queen Kaila, Osrik and Rissa. However, these chapters end up being very few and far between. Especially with Kaila, my gripe is that we didn’t get enough! She ends up with maybe three chapters total I think? All at the beginning of the book, which seems like such a missed opportunity. I just needed more. And the way in which her chapters so abruptly come to an end makes it feel like Kaila was an ultimately forgotten, afterthought.

As previously mentioned, this isn't the most action packed story. In the beginning I didn't mind so much but eventually I did find myself anxious to get somewhere! There are MAJOR events happening beyond the bubble of our two MC's reprieve, yet they completely and utterly ignore them for about 3/4 of the book. Even when you think the story is finally going to pick up, it still takes about 10 more chapters to actually get to that moment. This is where the lack of Queen Kaila's POV becomes a real travesty; I would have loved to see the correspondence between her bother Manu and herself, to see how 6th Kingdom responds to her and to get a closer peek into the inner workings of her mind. This story spans several kingdoms, and gives such a better understanding of the terrain, layout and political goals of the greater kingdoms of Orea. There’s also new, unique magics involved. Again, I would have loved to read about Kaila swaying these other rulers to her cause.

I think Raven may honestly be my favorite Spice writer, and Slade has just about the dirtiest mouth ever! IDK what this says about me exactly...lol. But I found the romance to be creative yet still realistic and never overly gratuitous- the 2 MC's spend 90% of the book together, so the opportunity is there, but Raven has the sensibility to hold back. For me it was a perfect balance. Now my problem with the Spice is the way it is used towards the end of the book as a catalyst for the big events to finally start taking place. The books spends all this time building up Slade's character, placing so much emphasis on his views and treatment of Auren, only to have him completely and utterly flip the switch at this pinnacle moment. The entire plot literally hinges on a scene where he ends up behaving exactly like Midas would...WTF!? This moment is so jarring, so far beyond the realm of Slade's personality, that I can't stop coming back to it. I don't understand the motivation here at all (pure convenience?), and I want to ask Raven, "How could you do my bb Slade this way!?" If you think Rhysand from ACOTAR series deserves a bad name for his "morally grey" moves, this scene that Raven has written completely shatters any moral high ground Slade previously stood upon.

When the action does start to take place, it is handled so oddly, I'm still having difficulty processing it. I get that Auren has always needed to hide her powers, but one would think the Conflux (Trial) would at least be an opportunity for her to finally tell her story to the world. She's never been given a voice before and it just feels so wrong to me that neither she nor Slade nor ANYONE ELSE in their inner circle will even acknowledge this fact!?!? It boggles the mind actually. Off the top of my head, I can think of so many other ways this issue could have been resolved while still getting us to the end conflict. One of the most glaringly obvious being the lack of any sort of marriage discussion. Normally, I not a huge fan of the Marriage trope, but this seems like such an easy way to extend Slade's protection to Auren. The other Monarchs couldn't possibly touch her if she is a Queen as well right? But this idea is never conceived. There's not even an inkling of this thought from any one in the entire book, no talk of "wife" or "queen" at all. I'm assuming this was an intentional choice, but I don't yet fully understand why.

At the end of the day, if you already LOVE this series and this Ship, then you will probably love this book as well. However if you're looking for major plot advancement, maybe wait until the final book is published?