Reviews with content warning for Racism - The Gilded Wolves

Okay, we need to talk for a second about the autistic character in this book. I . . . don't think the depiction of Zofia was intentionally offensive. I think the author was genuinely trying very hard to write autism authentically! It's just that her idea of what autism looks like seems to have been mined exclusively from The Big Bang Theory. Zofia is overly literal, speaks in a weirdly formal register, obsessed with counting things (did Chokshi mistake autism for OCD?), a genuis scientist/mathemetician, and cannot recognize or follow social cues. Look at these interactions:

Severin crossed his arms. "Zofia, tell him he's pretty."
Zofia didn't look up from her tea. "I am personally undecided, but if we're assessing based on objectivity, then according to the principles of the golden ratio, also known as phi, which is approximately 1.618, your facial beauty is mathematically pleasing."

"What on earth are you doing?"
"I am imitating patterns of flirtation."
"Wait. You're flirting . . . with me?"
Zofia frowned. Why would he think that? She just said she was imitating the general strategy of others.

"Great minds think alike."
Zofia frowned. "No they don't. Otherwise every idea would be uniform."

This would be cringeworthy even if Zofia was a well-rounded character outside of being on the spectrum (autistic people don't talk like this!) but the thing is, there's absolutely nothing going on with her apart from the things that make her identifiable Different. It's honestly really tiresome to read, and it's too bad, because Chokshi was clearly trying to write Zofia as an actual human being. She just . . . didn't do a very good job.

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starlessnights's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

3.75

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chaoticvirgo's review against another edition

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adventurous lighthearted 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? Yes

4.0

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phdpageturner's review against another edition

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adventurous dark funny tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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alouette's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

another complex book that it's hard to sort out my feelings for. time for a pros and cons list!

pros

the diversity!! most of the main cast was bipoc, some were also queer, and zofia (my beloved) was on the autism spectrum. that last one was really awesome to see because rarely have i come across books about characters with ASD in which their mental disability isn't the main focus but rather just a part of their character. loved it.
banter and character dynamics! their interactions were fun with also plenty of complexities and depth, and i was rooting for them the whole way.
the whimsy and the magic system! while it was confusing, it was also intriguing. the puzzles they solved + the magical inventions they used were fun to follow in each individual instance, and i liked the illustrations as they made new discoveries. it helped me visualize what was happening and get more immersed.

cons

confusing worldbuilding. the intertwining of actual history with heavy fantasy elements was interesting, but we were thrown into it with little preamble and even the baseline of the main plot got hard to follow at times. the flowery writing was lovely for my imagination but did not help when trying to understand what was actually going on.
a lack of character development. now, i don't mean that the characters weren't plenty rounded, just that they weren't dynamic. everything about them was pre-established (again, we're thrown right into this world abruptly) and they've all known each other for years. while this made for some fun dynamics, it meant that i sensed little change in any of them by the end.
the villian...
he really came out of nowhere and i didn't even understand what the heck his magical blood powers were. when they talked about the stealing of House Kore's ring being an inside job i was expecting some betrayals, not this weirdo...
the ending... quite rushed and disappointing.
tristan deserved so much better in terms of character development and time devoted to him, and then it felt like what happened to him was absolutely brushed past, both the trauma he suffered and then his actual demise. still don't know what the heck was up with the birds, the reveal that he was killing them was super rushed and not explored.

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brookey8888's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny lighthearted mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

4.5 I am so happy I loved this. Those last 40 pages killed me.

Reread
The ending just hurts my feelings.
The representation in this is *chefs kiss*.
Do I understand the world and magic when I’m reading this? Yes. Can I explain any of it? nope.
I honestly just love this for the characters and the relationships. The world is interesting and I love how the author incorporated some lesser know historical events in this(Human zoos tf is that???).

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mscalls's review against another edition

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adventurous funny mysterious tense fast-paced

Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

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