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sbdelopez's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
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
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Blood, Death, and Sexism
Moderate: Sexual harassment, Cursing, Death of parent, Vomit, War, Violence, Abandonment, Blood, Grief, Rape, and Sexual assault
booksanna's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
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
5.0
Ok. This was amazing. The details and world building, character relationships, the moral impact, and depth of the plot are outstandingly glorious. If you love Greek Mythology, then you will love this. Very powerful and legend like story with a very interesting world. The content is a little dark, but not depressingly dark(has some triggers). Awesome writing style, and I love Britta and Ixa. Has the Chosen One trope, so if you are not a fan of that then I would watch out. Overall has very fantastical but still relatable universe. Looking forward to reading the 2nd book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Blood, Murder, Genocide, Emotional abuse, Torture, Suicidal thoughts, Hate crime, Gore, War, Child abuse, Confinement, Toxic friendship, and Religious bigotry
Minor: Bullying, Rape, Slavery, Abandonment, Violence, and Injury/Injury detail
moni_m's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
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? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, and Misogyny
Moderate: Abandonment
sauvageloup's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
A difficult book to rate because the start felt so different to the end
Pros:
- it really picked up by the end, I was fully gripped and just finished it now after hours of reading. The story and the action is definitely there, and really gets going.
- the worldbuilding and the fantasy were interesting and I appreciated the map in the front. I liked the side-characters too, Britta, Keita and the others, and whilst Deka didn't grab me, I did like her. The plot twists were such that I definitely didn't expect the reveal of White Hands being a Firstborn. I thought she was gonna turn out to be evil, working for the emperor .
- Ixu was very cute
Cons:
- Deka is very passive and seems to get pushed around by whoever is the first to tell her anything. She makes no steps to seek information for herself, but only when others are willing to tell her or allow her access (like to the heraldry). I thought she was a bit dim telling the other alaki all about her special abilities (she's pretty overpowered) from the off, but that worked out I guess. She also trusts White Hands way more than I thought she ought, considering the woman had some mysterious big plan and wouldn't tell Deka anything. I fully expected her to screw Deka over and was a bit underwhelmed when that didn't happen.
- the start felt very amateurishly written, with very typical YA tropes used in an unoriginal way, and way, way too much exposition. The author introduces far too many characters who barely have a role and there was way too much telling. Every other paragraph had several sentences just narrating about the world.
- I hear what Forna is trying to say about feminism but it didn't carry off for me. The comments on the real world were too heavy-handed
- the trauma throughout didn't feel realistically handled. There's moments of dwelling on it, but it felt shallow and didn't affect Deka nearly as much as could have been expected. The ongoing impact of trauma was much better shown in The Coldest Girl in Coldtown, imo.
- Deka's character also seems to change in the space between one chapter and the next. In the previous ones, she prays to Okoyo, she wants to be pure, she hates being a demon. And then suddenly she's having all these rebellious thoughts and calling all the other girls to face their natures. That character development felt totally rushed and provoked by nothing at all.
This one definitely improved and I don't know whether I'll check out no.2 when it's out or not. It felt like a book with a lot of potential, but it fell short, feeling too shallow and awkward to be really brilliant. There was also not really enough angst for me - a lot of torture and pain but very little of the actual struggling to deal and heal with it.
Pros:
- it really picked up by the end, I was fully gripped and just finished it now after hours of reading. The story and the action is definitely there, and really gets going.
- the worldbuilding and the fantasy were interesting and I appreciated the map in the front. I liked the side-characters too, Britta, Keita and the others, and whilst Deka didn't grab me, I did like her. The plot twists were such that I definitely didn't expect the reveal of
- Ixu was very cute
Cons:
- Deka is very passive and seems to get pushed around by whoever is the first to tell her anything. She makes no steps to seek information for herself, but only when others are willing to tell her or allow her access (like to the heraldry). I thought she was a bit dim telling the other alaki all about her special abilities (she's pretty overpowered) from the off, but that worked out I guess.
- the start felt very amateurishly written, with very typical YA tropes used in an unoriginal way, and way, way too much exposition. The author introduces far too many characters who barely have a role and there was way too much telling. Every other paragraph had several sentences just narrating about the world.
- I hear what Forna is trying to say about feminism but it didn't carry off for me. The comments on the real world were too heavy-handed
- the trauma throughout didn't feel realistically handled. There's moments of dwelling on it, but it felt shallow and didn't affect Deka nearly as much as could have been expected. The ongoing impact of trauma was much better shown in The Coldest Girl in Coldtown, imo.
- Deka's character also seems to change in the space between one chapter and the next. In the previous ones, she prays to Okoyo, she wants to be pure, she hates being a demon. And then suddenly she's having all these rebellious thoughts and calling all the other girls to face their natures. That character development felt totally rushed and provoked by nothing at all.
This one definitely improved and I don't know whether I'll check out no.2 when it's out or not. It felt like a book with a lot of potential, but it fell short, feeling too shallow and awkward to be really brilliant. There was also not really enough angst for me - a lot of torture and pain but very little of the actual struggling to deal and heal with it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Religious bigotry, Violence, Genocide, Gore, War, Abandonment, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Torture, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Sexism, Sexual harassment, and Suicidal thoughts
Moderate: Rape, Sexual assault, Confinement, and Sexual violence
hanarama's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
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? No
3.0
Book at a Glance:
• Sierra Leon-inspired fantasy
• Intense patriarchy and gender inequality
• Diverse characters
• Uncovering the truth
• Seizing power
• CW: body horror, death, blood dismemberment, child abuse, violence, child soldiers
Deka has newly turned 16, and is preparing for the Purity Ritual, a ritual that all girls must undergo to test if they are human or demon. Where humans bleed red, demons bleed gold, and when a demon is found they are killed.
Deka bleeds gold, but is saved when an emissary of the emporer recruits her into a secret army. Within her cohort, Deka finds a family unlike any she could have imagined. In the face of a brutal patriarchy, the cohort of young demon girls uplift and support one another. And together, they uncover a secret that could unravel society.
Overall, The Gilded Ones is a solid debut novel. Despite the predictable plot and YA cliches, the characters are likeable and the story is engaging overall.
Though there are loads and loads of characters, it feels like Forna has made an effort to give spotlight scenes to many of the supporting cast. It can still be hard to remember who is who at times, but Forna does a great job at making the cohort of girls feel like a found family. I hope that future installments provide more opportunities for these characters to be developed.
The mythology of the setting is interesting, and it made me want to learn more. With the characters uncovering information at the same time the reader does, there is a nice sense of discovery. Though a lot of information is revealed to the readers, it does feel like there is still a lot left to learn about this setting and its mythology.
That said, I had some issues with the pacing of this story. There is a significant middle part that follows the girls as they begin seeing battle. At this point, Forna falls into a lot of repetitive scenes. It feels like the story is dragging along. Many of the battles feel the same as one another, so it pushes the reader to skim through. Furthermore, many of the battle scenes feel relatively lowstakes, which contributes to the monotony. Forna's repetitive tendencies appear throughout the book, but are most egregious at this point in the story.
The end, I felt, tied things up a bit too nicely, with Deka succeeding at many of her goals. It makes me curious how things will unfold in the second installment.
• Sierra Leon-inspired fantasy
• Intense patriarchy and gender inequality
• Diverse characters
• Uncovering the truth
• Seizing power
• CW: body horror, death, blood dismemberment, child abuse, violence, child soldiers
Deka has newly turned 16, and is preparing for the Purity Ritual, a ritual that all girls must undergo to test if they are human or demon. Where humans bleed red, demons bleed gold, and when a demon is found they are killed.
Deka bleeds gold, but is saved when an emissary of the emporer recruits her into a secret army. Within her cohort, Deka finds a family unlike any she could have imagined. In the face of a brutal patriarchy, the cohort of young demon girls uplift and support one another. And together, they uncover a secret that could unravel society.
Overall, The Gilded Ones is a solid debut novel. Despite the predictable plot and YA cliches, the characters are likeable and the story is engaging overall.
Though there are loads and loads of characters, it feels like Forna has made an effort to give spotlight scenes to many of the supporting cast. It can still be hard to remember who is who at times, but Forna does a great job at making the cohort of girls feel like a found family. I hope that future installments provide more opportunities for these characters to be developed.
The mythology of the setting is interesting, and it made me want to learn more. With the characters uncovering information at the same time the reader does, there is a nice sense of discovery. Though a lot of information is revealed to the readers, it does feel like there is still a lot left to learn about this setting and its mythology.
That said, I had some issues with the pacing of this story. There is a significant middle part that follows the girls as they begin seeing battle. At this point, Forna falls into a lot of repetitive scenes. It feels like the story is dragging along. Many of the battles feel the same as one another, so it pushes the reader to skim through. Furthermore, many of the battle scenes feel relatively lowstakes, which contributes to the monotony. Forna's repetitive tendencies appear throughout the book, but are most egregious at this point in the story.
The end, I felt, tied things up a bit too nicely, with Deka succeeding at many of her goals. It makes me curious how things will unfold in the second installment.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Genocide, Misogyny, Blood, Abandonment, Body horror, Child death, Confinement, Sexism, War, Death, and Violence
katsbooks's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
“No matter my origins, there is worth in what I am.”
“The physical body—it heals. The scars fade. But the memories are forever. Even when you forget, they remain inside, taunting you, resurfacing when you least expect.”
“They might need us now because we're valuable, might pretend to accept us, to reward us - but never forget what they did to us first.”
I'll be real. I put this book down about halfway through and almost didn't pick it back up. But I'm really glad I did. Other than the dip in the middle, the world-building was solid and intriguing. The patriarchy that Forna depicted was hard to read at times but I couldn't help drawing parallels to the real world.
I really enjoyed the found family trope. The secondary characters were so lovely and I ended up really liking how the author seemed to hold up the platonic relationships to the same level as the romantic one. It made the romantic relationship feel healthy and grounded while also not letting it take over the rest of the narrative.
I am interested to see how the second book progresses given that this one seemed to wrap up pretty nicely. It's almost like the author wasn't sure she if she would get to publish the second one so left enough loose ends, just in case, while tying up the big, important ones.
I also want to give some pretty major trigger warnings for death, torture and violence. This is marketed as Young Adult but I would definitely push this towards older teen readers for those scenes alone. The main character and her friends can heal from almost any injury so there are multiple scenes of torture including a pretty prominent scene of dismemberment.
“The physical body—it heals. The scars fade. But the memories are forever. Even when you forget, they remain inside, taunting you, resurfacing when you least expect.”
“They might need us now because we're valuable, might pretend to accept us, to reward us - but never forget what they did to us first.”
I'll be real. I put this book down about halfway through and almost didn't pick it back up. But I'm really glad I did. Other than the dip in the middle, the world-building was solid and intriguing. The patriarchy that Forna depicted was hard to read at times but I couldn't help drawing parallels to the real world.
I really enjoyed the found family trope. The secondary characters were so lovely and I ended up really liking how the author seemed to hold up the platonic relationships to the same level as the romantic one. It made the romantic relationship feel healthy and grounded while also not letting it take over the rest of the narrative.
I am interested to see how the second book progresses given that this one seemed to wrap up pretty nicely. It's almost like the author wasn't sure she if she would get to publish the second one so left enough loose ends, just in case, while tying up the big, important ones.
I also want to give some pretty major trigger warnings for death, torture and violence. This is marketed as Young Adult but I would definitely push this towards older teen readers for those scenes alone. The main character and her friends can heal from almost any injury so there are multiple scenes of torture including a pretty prominent scene of dismemberment.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Genocide, Gaslighting, Grief, Blood, Confinement, Death, Child abuse, Body horror, Child death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Murder, Physical abuse, Sexism, Slavery, Torture, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Violence, and War
Moderate: Abandonment and Animal cruelty
Minor: Sexual assault, Trafficking, Death of parent, Rape, and Sexual violence
estelagois's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood and Death
Moderate: Child abuse, Confinement, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Abandonment, Vomit, and Violence
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Pregnancy, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, and Slavery
h_reads98's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Torture, Murder, War, Violence, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Religious bigotry, and Misogyny
Moderate: Abandonment, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, Animal death, Child death, Death, Rape, Medical content, and Medical trauma
Minor: Body shaming, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Grief, and Hate crime
haylin66's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
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
I could not put this book down
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment and Blood
Moderate: Death and Violence
Minor: Confinement and Rape
canascorner's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
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? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Gore, Physical abuse, and Torture
Moderate: War, Torture, and Physical abuse