The Plated Prisoner series order is simple once you know which books belong to Auren’s main story. Raven Kennedy’s dark romantasy series starts with King Midas and a woman trapped inside his golden palace, then widens into fae politics, war, magic, and a lot of ugly truths.
I’d treat this as fantasy first, romance second. The romance matters, especially as the series goes on, but this isn’t a straight romance series where every book resets with a new couple. It’s Auren’s story from beginning to end.
For her full bibliography beyond Auren’s story, see my Raven Kennedy books in order guide.
Here’s the order to read the Plated Prisoner books, plus the few things I’d want to know before starting Gild.
Jump to:
- Plated Prisoner Series
- Do You Need to Read the Plated Prisoner Series in Order?
- What to Know Before Starting Gild
- Is the Plated Prisoner Series Complete?
- About the Plated Prisoner Series
- How Dark Is the Plated Prisoner Series?
Plated Prisoner Series in Publication Order
The Plated Prisoner books should be read in publication order. There’s no separate chronological order to sort through, and there aren’t any English novellas you need to tuck between the main books.
That’s the full main series. You may see boxed sets and special editions, but those don’t change the order. Start with Gild and keep going from there.
Do You Need to Read the Plated Prisoner Series in Order?
Yes. Read the Plated Prisoner books in order.
This is one continuous story about Auren. Each book builds on what happened before, and the later books spoil major turns from the earlier books.
I also wouldn’t skip Gild, even if you’ve heard the series opens up more later. It does. But Gild is where you see Midas, the palace, and Auren’s life before everything starts to crack.
What to Know Before Starting Gild
Gild is more contained than some readers expect. If you’re coming in because you heard about the fae, the romance, and the larger fantasy world, just know that book one starts much smaller.
That’s not a mistake. Auren’s world is small because Midas has kept it small. The first book spends a lot of time showing what her life looks like inside that palace, how she explains it to herself, and why leaving isn’t as simple as walking through a door.
The series gets bigger after that. The world opens up, the magic becomes more important, and the romance takes on a much larger role. But I think Gild works best when you know it’s setting the trap before the story starts pulling it apart.
Is the Plated Prisoner Series Complete?
Yes. Auren’s main story is complete.
Goldfinch is the finale of the Plated Prisoner series. So if you’ve been waiting until the story was finished before starting, you don’t have to worry about being left mid-series.
Raven Kennedy has other books, but they’re separate from Plated Prisoner. You don’t need to read Heart Hassle, Played by the Piper, or any of her other series to understand Auren’s story.
About the Plated Prisoner Series
The Plated Prisoner series is adult romantasy that leans fantasy first. It’s inspired by King Midas, but it’s really about Auren, the gold-touched woman he keeps hidden away as his prized possession.
At the start, Auren believes Midas saved her. He gave her safety, comfort, and status. But the longer the story goes, the harder it gets to ignore the truth. Safety can be control. Love can be ownership. A gilded cage is still a cage.
That’s where the series works best. Auren isn’t instantly fierce. She has to question what she’s been told, what she’s accepted, and what it costs her to stay loyal to someone who benefits from keeping her trapped.
The first book stays close to Midas and the palace. After that, the story expands into Orea, the fae, other kingdoms, political schemes, war, and a romance that becomes a major part of the series.
How Dark Is the Plated Prisoner Series?
The Plated Prisoner series is adult dark romantasy. It is not YA, and it is not a soft fantasy romance.
The books include explicit romance, violence, emotional abuse, manipulation, trauma, death, and sexual violence. Gild includes non-consensual sex and Stockholm Syndrome elements, so this is a series where the content warnings matter.
I wouldn’t go into this expecting something light just because it gets grouped with other popular romantasy books. Auren’s story begins in a very dark place. If captivity, abuse, gore, grief, sexual violence, or on-page trauma are hard limits for you, check the content warnings before starting.
Looking for more books in order?
If you want more fantasy authors and reading-order guides like this one, start with my Fantasy Books in Order index.