Woven by Gold

Woven by Gold, first self-published in 2023, is the second book in the Beasts of the Briar romantasy series by Elizabeth Helen, the pen name for Canadian sister-duo Elizabeth and Helen. Following the events of Bonded by Thorns, the novel continues the story of Rosalina O’Connell who’s been banished from the fae realm by her fated mate, the cursed High Prince of Winter, Keldarion. Desperate to return to him and the other three princes who have become her chosen family, Rosalina’s quest embroils her in a burgeoning war between the fae realms and forces her to confront her own mysterious heritage. Part of a 2020s wave of reverse harem fantasy romances—in which a central female protagonist is surrounded by three or more romantic partners, who are all devoted to her—that gained popularity through social media, the series was originally self-published before being acquired for re-release by Bloom Books.

The novel explores the ways genuine connection can be a revolutionary force in a world teetering on the brink of collapse. Thematically, Woven by Gold explores Courage Found Through Chosen Family, as Rosalina and the princes consistently find strength in their unwavering loyalty to one another. The narrative also examines Building an Identity Through the Shadow Self as the princes’ beastly curses are literal manifestations of their inner traumas. Similarly, Rosalina must embrace her own feared, hidden fae nature to unlock her true potential. Ultimately, the story frames Love as a Political Act, where the awakening of mate bonds and the characters’ unconventional relationships have direct, realm-altering consequences, emphasizing the power of trusted, personal allegiances in world where ancient laws or political treaties are repeatedly manipulated and broken.

This guide refers to the 2026 Bloom Books edition.

Content Warning: The source text and this guide feature depictions of graphic violence, sexual content, cursing, illness, death, animal death, substance use, physical abuse, and emotional abuse.

Plot Summary

Four months after being banished from the fae realm of the Enchanted Vale, Rosalina lives in despair in her human hometown of Orca Cove. Her fated mate, Keldarion, the High Prince of Winter, sent her away after she saved his life and awakened their mate bond. She and her estranged father, George O’Connell, a longtime fae realm researcher, try various folkloric rituals to reopen the portal through the frozen rosebush, but none work. Rosalina is also plagued by her abusive ex-fiancé, Lucas Poussin, who relentlessly pressures her to accept his marriage proposal. 

Rosalina’s hope is renewed when they discover a moonstone rose locket that belonged to her mother, Anya. The locket opens a magical window to the Vale, allowing Rosalina to speak with Ezryn, the High Prince of Spring, who is shocked to learn Keldarion banished her, as Keldarion had told his brothers—Ezryn, Dayton (High Prince of Summer), and Farron (High Prince of Autumn)—that Rosalina chose to leave. Enraged by the deception, Ezryn confronts Keldarion, leading to a violent fight. The three princes defy Keldarion and use a magical mirror in Castletree to travel to Orca Cove and retrieve Rosalina.

The princes arrive just as Lucas threatens to assault Rosalina’s father if she doesn’t marry him. Farron, whose curse transforms him into an uncontrollable wolf beast at night, loses control and viciously mauls Lucas. To save Farron from the guilt of murder, the princes bring the dying Lucas back to Castletree for Ezryn to heal. Rosalina confronts Keldarion, who transforms back into a fae man in her presence. She tells the others that Keldarion is her mate. He confirms it but rejects their bond, insisting that he “could not have asked for a crueler fate in all the stars. The Enchantress’s curse is nothing compared to the utter torment of being mated to [Rosalina]” (71). Ezryn heals Lucas and confines him to the dungeon to recover.

Shortly after Rosalina’s return, Farron’s younger twin brothers, Dominic and Billagin, arrive from the Autumn Realm, infiltrate the castle, and attempt to assassinate Keldarion. A mysterious, deadly frost is consuming the Autumn Realm, and their mother, acting steward Princess Niamh, believes Keldarion is responsible and is preparing to go to war with Winter. To aid his realm, Farron makes a desperate bargain with Caspian, the sinister Prince of Thorns, whose briars are choking Castletree. Caspian casts a spell that binds and controls Farron’s wolf form with a thorn choker, in exchange for all four princes and Rosalina attending his birthday party in the Below, the underworld realm.

The group travels to the Autumn Realm, where they are immediately arrested by Princess Niamh’s forces. Niamh accuses them of treason but agrees to give them two months to find the true source of the frost before she declares war. While investigating, the princes and Rosalina encounter a “winter wraith,” a skeletal creature of ice and bone, and realize it is the source of the blighted frost. They are horrified to discover an entire army of these wraiths marching toward Coppershire, the Autumn capital. 

Caspian’s birthday party in the Below—full of alcohol and debauchery—exacerbates the tensions among the group. Caspian taunts Keldarion by having sex with a fae woman on his throne, hoping to reveal the nature of their bargain to Rosalina. When Farron destroys the journal Rosalina made for Caspian as a gift, Caspian traps Farron in his feral wolf form and compels him to destroy the Autumn Realm’s library. Shamed by his mother and the Autumn court, Farron fleas into the forest. 

Rosalina tracks Farron in the wilderness, still trapped in his beast form, which has grown larger and more monstrous. Facing him with love and acceptance instead of fear, she awakens their own fated mate bond. The awakening breaks Farron’s curse, allowing him to control his transformations and restoring his magic. Returning to Coppershire, they discover that Keldarion’s vizier, Perth Quellos, is compelling his own soldiers to die by ritual suicide and then resurrecting them with a crown imbued with dark magic to create the winter wraiths. He’s also raised the skeletal remains of soldiers who died in the historic War of Thorns, amassing a massive undead army to conquer Autumn.

The battle for Coppershire begins. Farron leads the Autumn army, with Dayton and Princess Niamh at his side. The wraith army proves overwhelming, as Quellos can endlessly resurrect his fallen soldiers. Desperate, Farron uses a powerful death spell from a recovered grimoire (a book of dark magic) to send the undead to their final rest, temporarily turning the tide. However, Quellos counters by raising Autumn’s own fallen soldiers to fight against their comrades. Just as all seems lost, Keldarion returns, having sought out and rallied the Kryodian Riders, Winter’s elite cavalry who had been unjustly banished by Quellos. As the battle reaches its peak, Quellos kills Princess Niamh. To grant Farron the power needed to stop the undead, Dayton makes a magical bargain, offering his own magic reserves to Farron. Farron successfully casts the death spell a second time, vanquishing the army. But Quellos has one last gambit: a more powerful wraith, revealed to be a resurrected and mutated Lucas Poussin, who wears a second dark crown. Lucas uses his enhanced powers to encase Farron, Keldarion, Ezryn, and Dayton in ice.

Trapped and facing a monstrous Lucas, Rosalina’s terror and desperation triggers a dormant power. A wave of white-gold fire and thorns erupts from her body, shattering the ice around the princes and impaling Lucas, killing him for good. In the aftermath, Rosalina finds that her ears are pointed and realizes the truth: She is half-fae. With the battle won and Quellos imprisoned, they hold a funeral for Princess Niamh. Farron, now free from his curse and recognized as the true High Prince of Autumn, accepts his crown and vows to lead his people. Rosalina, now a Princess of Autumn, stays by his side. As they prepare to return to Castletree, Rosalina’s father, George, departs with Farron’s brothers to search for her fae mother, Anya. 

The book ends with an ominous scene in the Spring Realm. Caspian meets with his mother, Sira, the Queen of the Below. They have overthrown Ezryn’s father and installed Ezryn’s estranged, violent brother, Kairyn, as a puppet ruler, with Caspian’s sister, the Nightingale, overseeing him. Their conquest of the realms is just beginning.