Reviews

The Gilded Wolves by Roshani Chokshi

erinjpoulin's review against another edition

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I gave it 100 pages, but I was just way too bored to continue. I haven't DNFed a book in three years, so I'm pretty disappointed. 

elliesbookclub's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

labunnywtf's review against another edition

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2.0

If you get in the way of a woman’s battle, you’ll get in the way of her sword.

I want to make this a kind review. I genuinely do. I mean, look at that quote. I loved that quote so much, I social media'd it. It's a great quote.

This is a heist tale. This is a heist tale set in 1800's Paris, with a group of racially and sexually diverse teenagers fighting against The Man. The Man, in this scenario, being centuries old Magical Houses that Control Everything and Steal Inheritances. There's legitimate history woven throughout, including biblical references.

Doesn't. that. sound. awesome?

It. is. not.

In the back of my mind, I keep thinking, "Maybe she's waiting for book 2. Maybe this is laying the really confusing and badly explained groundwork here, and then in book 2, she actually explains how things work."

I mean, that's not unheard of. It's terrible storytelling, but it's not out of the question.

And I keep reminding myself that [b: Six of Crows|23437156|Six of Crows (Six of Crows, #1)|Leigh Bardugo|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1459349344s/23437156.jpg|42077459] left me textually frustrated, but once I read Crooked Kingdom, everything clicked into place and now it's a beloved duology to me.

Six of Crows, this is not.

We have Big Fat Magic in this book, all circling around the good ol' Tower of Babel. People have "affinities" and with those "affinities", they "forge" magical items that can be used for everything from coating your enemy in ink to making sure only the intended recipient of a letter can read it.

How do these affinities work, you might ask?

Yep, you might ask that.

You won't actually get an explanation, but it's really great that you thought to ask that.

How are magical items forged, you might ask? Are there certain items that work better than others?

Beats the shit out of me.

Hey, what about that zoo made up of actual human beings that became a tourist spot for rich white people?

Why would you want to know about that? We referenced it, didn't we? The author's note says that was the whole basis for the idea of this book, because INJUSTICE, but all we're going to do is mention it and move along. What a silly question.

How did Kaz Séverin meet this merry band of mischievous miscreants?

You ask excellent questions, and should be applauded for your efforts.

What the hell is wrong with this book how dare you give me such an amazing premise and not actually explain a goddamned thing that is the exact opposite of a good idea why would you do this why was this published why was someone not more heavy handed with the fucking editing of this.

And the biggest blue balls inducing aspect of this book is that the characters are FUN. The dialogue is fun. I laughed aloud several times while reading this, because the humor is on point. So, this is a book of characters with absolutely no pay out from the plot. That only works with contemporaries, and I HATE contemporaries.

I don't know who gave the finished product a green light, but I'd like a word.

joannestbr's review against another edition

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3.0

a 3.5 a well executed plot, except the ending was rushed a bit? the part where séverin says they fought the fallen house and won,,,, they just arrived and left, that’s all it felt like to me?!! other than that i absolutely love the characters and their chemistry,,,, really like the world build up as well. i also think if i’d taken lesser time to read i would’ve enjoyed it more

vishaakhan's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny mysterious fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

cbear_4942's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional inspiring mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Loveable characters? Yes

3.25

readerlatte's review against another edition

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2.0

My Review: I really wanted to love this one but I have to say that it was very confusing and at times very boring. I loved the characters but the way it was written I found myself tuning out a lot of the explanations that are given. It rambled on a lot about history and puzzles and that really made this one not very enjoyable. I have heard others say that this is very close to Six of Crows and I really hope that is not true as I love that author's stories and have yet to read those.

In the end this one was just to bogged down by the elements of the story to be really great. I also thought that the magical system needed to be way simpler explained.


Go Into This One Knowing: Light Romance, Confusing, Humor, Cliffhanger, LGBT

elisonga's review against another edition

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4.0

3.5

blackdamask's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

bookish_mrs_w's review against another edition

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5.0

Gah! I wish I would’ve read this so much sooner! It’s been calling me from my shelves since the day I got it, but I kept putting it off. I felt so immersed in this world. The characters were so rich and had so much depth. You just felt that there was an iceberg of backstory to each of these characters that you wanted to crash into! Can this be the next big YA book to screen adaptation?! I want to see this world come to life on screen.