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jagodasbooks's review against another edition
dark
sad
tense
slow-paced
4.0
I am absolutely horrified
this book should come with at least 3 page long list of trigger warnings
this book should come with at least 3 page long list of trigger warnings
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Confinement, Drug abuse, Gore, Sexual violence, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Pedophilia, Abandonment, Murder, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Animal cruelty, Body horror, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Torture, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Ableism, Animal death, War, Death, Blood, Domestic abuse, Genocide, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Vomit, Child abuse, and Child death
nickoliver's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
I have been excited for this book ever since I first heard about it. Though admittedly, that had less to do with the plot - most fantasy books on my TBR are books whose synopsis I couldn't tell you even with a gun to my head -, and mostly to do with the cover. It's just so pretty ! Nevertheless, when I spied it at my local library, I was thrilled and picked it up rather quickly. Unfortunately, I found it a little bit disappointing.
I did like some things about the plot. The idea behind it was decent, and some of the concepts that showed up in the story were interesting as well. It was about a girl named Deka, who lived in a world where every sixteen-year-old girl had to partake in a blood ceremony. If her blood ran red, she was pure and could stay in her village. If it ran gold, she was impure and unnatural and had to undergo the so-called "Death Mandate" - a torturous practice where the gold-blooded girls, called alaki, were killed over and over again until their Final Death was found, for they were near immortal now with only one specific way to die.
Deka was terrified of that ceremony, because she was terrified of being impure. The world Forna built was also based on a misogynistic religion where girls had to wear masks, always had to have a male chaperone, and were pretty much forbidden to do anything but have babies and raise them. So Deka was deeply religious and had been fed all her life stories about what a "good woman" had to do and why.
When it turned out that Deka did, in fact, have golden blood, she was subjected to the Death Mandate, but they didn't find her Final Death and instead just kept killing her for months. Then one day, a mysterious woman showed up and offered her an alternative: come with her to be part of an army full of girls like her to ride into battle in the emperor's name and finally eradicate all deathshrieks - horrible monsters that have been plaguing the land. Obviously, Deka agreed, and so that's where the story finally took off.
Like I said, I liked this premise a lot. Admittedly, there were certain things about the plot that made no sense to me and that Forna didn't bother trying to explain. For example, it was said that girls weren't allowed near knives until their blood ceremony at sixteen because they didn't want them to find out the colour of their blood beforehand. But how do you stop a kid from hurting themself at all for sixteen years? What kid doesn't stumble and tear open their knee at some point? And it also wasn't properly explained how girls' periods worked. There were mentions of girls whose blood colour was found out because they'd gotten their period, but you'd think that happened a lot more. Did girls in this world normally get their period a lot later than sixteen? Because if it worked like in our world, most girls would find out what they were bleeding years before the actual ceremony. It was really bothersome that Forna just brushed over that.
However, I did really like the beginning of the story. Going into it, I already dreaded reading about the ceremony and Deka's village learning about her blood running golden, in part because there was a bully that got introduced and I wasn't really looking forward to reading about her reaction to it. But Forna turned my expectations on their heads and wrote it differently, and I quite liked the alternative! And while I admit that a lot of the actual plot happening wasn't that thrilling and rather slow-paced without gripping my interest, there were a few plot twists that happened later in the book that I genuinely didn't see coming (though there were hints, so I think that might've just been me being oblivious). And despite the ending being written like a true ending, knowing there was a sequel did make me suspicious of even the people I was supposed to root for, which made the story a bit more intriguing than it would've been otherwise.
Plus, there was a lot of unexpected gore in the story that started pretty much from the start, with characters being ripped apart and dismembered and beheaded. I think especially because the girls were near-immortal, Forna didn't hesitate to make a lot of their "deaths" brutal, which I'm definitely not used to in YA books like this. If you're squeamish, I'd recommend knowing that going into the novel.
What I disliked the most about the plot, though, was how a lot of development was either not there or happened off-page, especially in terms of relationships and friendships. The girls that Deka was on the training grounds with were just suddenly her bloodsisters without really letting me see them develop into being tight-knit. And then there was the topic of Deka's faith that just stopped being mentioned and stopped being a problem for her. Since she'd always been told that golden-blooded girls were demonic and impure and unnatural, she struggled a lot about being an alaki and she prayed a lot to Oyomo for guidance, but that just suddenly ceased happening, without the progression being visible on page. It could've been a strong moment for Deka if I'd been shown the development, but I wasn't, which made it quite unrealistic.
The writing in the book was sometimes a bit odd. There was sometimes a sentence or two that made me stop in my tracks. For example, eyebrows would "gather", or a grin would "slice lips". It's possible that this is just me not being aware of what words work well together - English isn't my first language -, but there were several moments when the choice of words just didn't make sense to me completely.
Moreover, there was one character - a girl Deka befriended named Britta who came to the training grounds with her - who spoke with an accent, and it confused me a bit. Not only because she was written to have an accent - which could've been disregarded by pointing out that all the girls came from different regions, but then why did none of the other girls have some kind of accent? -, but also because Forna wasn't always entirely consistent with it.
Deka was a protagonist that I had some problems with. Throughout the entire book, she always needed answers to be practically spoonfed to her. Never did she come to conclusions on her own. That lead to situations that were supposed to be shocking for both her and the reader, but it had been easy to pinpoint those twists a lot earlier already; to be honest, a lot of the time I hadn't even been aware that Deka hadn't caught on yet. While it could've been refreshing to have a protagonist who wasn't the sharpest tool in the shed, it happened so many times that it just got annoying. Deka was the definition of "lights are on but nobody's home," and that made her a very frustrating main character at times.
Additionally, I really disliked the romance. On the training grounds, the girls were paired up each with a male partner in battle - so-called urunis. Deka's uruni was a boy named Keita, and the romance in this book was with him.
First of all, just like with the aforementioned friendships and Deka's faith, this relationship was barely built up properly. It seemed to be founded mostly on the fact that they had to work closely together and happened to be a boy and a girl who were both straight. At first, they were very chilly with each other, especially on Keita's end, so I would've preferred to see them as friends first and then proceed to being in love from there. Instead, they pretty much went straight to being in love, so when Forna spent a lot of time talking about how Keita meant to Deka, I didn't really care to read about that.
Secondly, Keita was a very underwhelming, boring love interest. He was what I assume watching paint dry would look like in a person. He could've just as well have been a cardboard cutout. My complete disinterest in him was obvious to me when another boy, who appeared in approximately two scenes in the whole book, had me more intrigued than the literal love interest . Reading about that other boy going home devastated me more than the idea of Keita dying or betraying Deka, and wasn't that just the oddest feeling.
Overall, I was a bit disappointed in the story. The characters were severely underdeveloped - or developed off-page -, and the romance was mostly just grating my nerves. But I did like some of the plot twists and the overall premise of the story. Plus, I haven't mentioned this yet, but Deka ended up getting an animal sidekick, which was definitely my absolute highlight. More books should have those, me thinks.
I did like some things about the plot. The idea behind it was decent, and some of the concepts that showed up in the story were interesting as well. It was about a girl named Deka, who lived in a world where every sixteen-year-old girl had to partake in a blood ceremony. If her blood ran red, she was pure and could stay in her village. If it ran gold, she was impure and unnatural and had to undergo the so-called "Death Mandate" - a torturous practice where the gold-blooded girls, called alaki, were killed over and over again until their Final Death was found, for they were near immortal now with only one specific way to die.
Deka was terrified of that ceremony, because she was terrified of being impure. The world Forna built was also based on a misogynistic religion where girls had to wear masks, always had to have a male chaperone, and were pretty much forbidden to do anything but have babies and raise them. So Deka was deeply religious and had been fed all her life stories about what a "good woman" had to do and why.
When it turned out that Deka did, in fact, have golden blood, she was subjected to the Death Mandate, but they didn't find her Final Death and instead just kept killing her for months. Then one day, a mysterious woman showed up and offered her an alternative: come with her to be part of an army full of girls like her to ride into battle in the emperor's name and finally eradicate all deathshrieks - horrible monsters that have been plaguing the land. Obviously, Deka agreed, and so that's where the story finally took off.
Like I said, I liked this premise a lot. Admittedly, there were certain things about the plot that made no sense to me and that Forna didn't bother trying to explain. For example, it was said that girls weren't allowed near knives until their blood ceremony at sixteen because they didn't want them to find out the colour of their blood beforehand. But how do you stop a kid from hurting themself at all for sixteen years? What kid doesn't stumble and tear open their knee at some point? And it also wasn't properly explained how girls' periods worked. There were mentions of girls whose blood colour was found out because they'd gotten their period, but you'd think that happened a lot more. Did girls in this world normally get their period a lot later than sixteen? Because if it worked like in our world, most girls would find out what they were bleeding years before the actual ceremony. It was really bothersome that Forna just brushed over that.
However, I did really like the beginning of the story. Going into it, I already dreaded reading about the ceremony and Deka's village learning about her blood running golden, in part because there was a bully that got introduced and I wasn't really looking forward to reading about her reaction to it. But Forna turned my expectations on their heads and wrote it differently, and I quite liked the alternative! And while I admit that a lot of the actual plot happening wasn't that thrilling and rather slow-paced without gripping my interest, there were a few plot twists that happened later in the book that I genuinely didn't see coming (though there were hints, so I think that might've just been me being oblivious). And despite the ending being written like a true ending, knowing there was a sequel did make me suspicious of even the people I was supposed to root for, which made the story a bit more intriguing than it would've been otherwise.
Plus, there was a lot of unexpected gore in the story that started pretty much from the start, with characters being ripped apart and dismembered and beheaded. I think especially because the girls were near-immortal, Forna didn't hesitate to make a lot of their "deaths" brutal, which I'm definitely not used to in YA books like this. If you're squeamish, I'd recommend knowing that going into the novel.
What I disliked the most about the plot, though, was how a lot of development was either not there or happened off-page, especially in terms of relationships and friendships. The girls that Deka was on the training grounds with were just suddenly her bloodsisters without really letting me see them develop into being tight-knit. And then there was the topic of Deka's faith that just stopped being mentioned and stopped being a problem for her. Since she'd always been told that golden-blooded girls were demonic and impure and unnatural, she struggled a lot about being an alaki and she prayed a lot to Oyomo for guidance, but that just suddenly ceased happening, without the progression being visible on page. It could've been a strong moment for Deka if I'd been shown the development, but I wasn't, which made it quite unrealistic.
The writing in the book was sometimes a bit odd. There was sometimes a sentence or two that made me stop in my tracks. For example, eyebrows would "gather", or a grin would "slice lips". It's possible that this is just me not being aware of what words work well together - English isn't my first language -, but there were several moments when the choice of words just didn't make sense to me completely.
Moreover, there was one character - a girl Deka befriended named Britta who came to the training grounds with her - who spoke with an accent, and it confused me a bit. Not only because she was written to have an accent - which could've been disregarded by pointing out that all the girls came from different regions, but then why did none of the other girls have some kind of accent? -, but also because Forna wasn't always entirely consistent with it.
Deka was a protagonist that I had some problems with. Throughout the entire book, she always needed answers to be practically spoonfed to her. Never did she come to conclusions on her own. That lead to situations that were supposed to be shocking for both her and the reader, but it had been easy to pinpoint those twists a lot earlier already; to be honest, a lot of the time I hadn't even been aware that Deka hadn't caught on yet. While it could've been refreshing to have a protagonist who wasn't the sharpest tool in the shed, it happened so many times that it just got annoying. Deka was the definition of "lights are on but nobody's home," and that made her a very frustrating main character at times.
Additionally, I really disliked the romance. On the training grounds, the girls were paired up each with a male partner in battle - so-called urunis. Deka's uruni was a boy named Keita, and the romance in this book was with him.
First of all, just like with the aforementioned friendships and Deka's faith, this relationship was barely built up properly. It seemed to be founded mostly on the fact that they had to work closely together and happened to be a boy and a girl who were both straight. At first, they were very chilly with each other, especially on Keita's end, so I would've preferred to see them as friends first and then proceed to being in love from there. Instead, they pretty much went straight to being in love, so when Forna spent a lot of time talking about how Keita meant to Deka, I didn't really care to read about that.
Secondly, Keita was a very underwhelming, boring love interest. He was what I assume watching paint dry would look like in a person. He could've just as well have been a cardboard cutout. My complete disinterest in him was obvious to me when another boy, who appeared in approximately two scenes in the whole book, had me more intrigued than the literal love interest . Reading about that other boy going home devastated me more than the idea of Keita dying or betraying Deka, and wasn't that just the oddest feeling.
Overall, I was a bit disappointed in the story. The characters were severely underdeveloped - or developed off-page -, and the romance was mostly just grating my nerves. But I did like some of the plot twists and the overall premise of the story. Plus, I haven't mentioned this yet, but Deka ended up getting an animal sidekick, which was definitely my absolute highlight. More books should have those, me thinks.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Physical abuse, Religious bigotry, Sexism, War, Blood, Racism, Death, Misogyny, and Violence
Moderate: Child abuse
Minor: Drug use, Rape, Sexual assault, Death of parent, and Sexual violence
chellcake's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
inspiring
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
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexism, Body horror, Gore, Blood, Torture, Religious bigotry, Child death, War, Misogyny, and Violence
Moderate: Racism, Physical abuse, Grief, Vomit, Self harm, Bullying, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, Gaslighting, Death of parent, Cursing, Colonisation, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Kidnapping, Panic attacks/disorders, Alcohol, Grief, Pedophilia, Rape, Confinement, Drug use, and Trafficking
decembermagpie's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Genocide, Hate crime, Self harm, Vomit, War, Murder, Physical abuse, Torture, Blood, Death, Domestic abuse, and Violence
Moderate: Bullying, Sexism, Racial slurs, Confinement, Kidnapping, and Racism
Minor: Animal cruelty, Body shaming, and Drug use
jeanniea's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Slow for the first half of the book. Then starts to pick up and get more interesting. I appreciate the bonds and loyalty built and treasured between friends. Writing style was on the simpler side. May be more interesting if presented as a movie.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Misogyny, Sexism, and Violence
Moderate: Body horror, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Blood, Confinement, Cursing, Drug use, and Racism
plumpaperbacks's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
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? It's complicated
5.0
I went into The Gilded Ones expecting a fun fantasy story, and was surprised not only by its heavier themes but also by just how good it was from the very beginning.
This is one of the most unique, immersive stories I’ve read in some time. Forna created a brilliantly intricate world that, despite a few basic similarities to other fictional worlds, is overall unlike any I’ve read about before. The mythology is so vivid it nearly seems real, the creatures and setting so impressively creative, yet none of it is confusing or difficult to understand.
Forna outdid herself writing a complex, diverse and lovable cast of characters. Deka is a protagonist I rooted for as soon as I met her, and it took very little time for me to be equally charmed by her friends, Britta, Belcalis, and Adwapa. These girls have endured so many hardships and gotten stronger because of them, without losing their vulnerability or the best parts of their personalities. Not only were they all great on their own, but their friendship was phenomenal and so heartwarming. One of the best girl squads I’ve ever read about, undeniably.
I would say the romance was one of the best parts, but honestly, every part of this book could be described the same way. The romance is subtle until the final third of the book, when it becomes clear that Deka and Keita have feelings for each other that go beyond friendship. Their slow-burn romance is memorable because it’s written differently than those in so many other books. It’s focused not on passion and lust but a deep connection between two people, a tender, unwavering affection. I love them so much, more than I can express.
Although the ending was emotional in numerous ways, it wasn’t a cliffhanger, and I appreciate that very much. Even without one, I’m extremely eager for the second book. I’ll be eagerly awaiting any scrap of news I can find.
All in all, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It’s spectacular in every aspect, and the fact that it’s Forna’s debut novel is mind-blowing. I can definitely see the Deathless trilogy becoming an all-time favorite, since the first book is already there. Highly, highly recommended for those who can handle the content.
Representation
This is one of the most unique, immersive stories I’ve read in some time. Forna created a brilliantly intricate world that, despite a few basic similarities to other fictional worlds, is overall unlike any I’ve read about before. The mythology is so vivid it nearly seems real, the creatures and setting so impressively creative, yet none of it is confusing or difficult to understand.
Forna outdid herself writing a complex, diverse and lovable cast of characters. Deka is a protagonist I rooted for as soon as I met her, and it took very little time for me to be equally charmed by her friends, Britta, Belcalis, and Adwapa. These girls have endured so many hardships and gotten stronger because of them, without losing their vulnerability or the best parts of their personalities. Not only were they all great on their own, but their friendship was phenomenal and so heartwarming. One of the best girl squads I’ve ever read about, undeniably.
I would say the romance was one of the best parts, but honestly, every part of this book could be described the same way. The romance is subtle until the final third of the book, when it becomes clear that Deka and Keita have feelings for each other that go beyond friendship. Their slow-burn romance is memorable because it’s written differently than those in so many other books. It’s focused not on passion and lust but a deep connection between two people, a tender, unwavering affection. I love them so much, more than I can express.
Although the ending was emotional in numerous ways, it wasn’t a cliffhanger, and I appreciate that very much. Even without one, I’m extremely eager for the second book. I’ll be eagerly awaiting any scrap of news I can find.
All in all, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It’s spectacular in every aspect, and the fact that it’s Forna’s debut novel is mind-blowing. I can definitely see the Deathless trilogy becoming an all-time favorite, since the first book is already there. Highly, highly recommended for those who can handle the content.
Representation
- Black protagonist
- side characters of color (includes Black rep)
- sapphic side characters
- minor sapphic side romance (f/f)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Murder, Gore, Death, Blood, Body horror, Torture, Misogyny, Sexism, Physical abuse, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Emotional abuse, Religious bigotry, Racism, Racial slurs, Self harm, Xenophobia, Body shaming, and Panic attacks/disorders
Moderate: Drug use, Drug abuse, Genocide, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, and Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Homophobia, Pregnancy, Trafficking, Vomit, Death of parent, and Alcoholism
It can be very grotesque at times, so be careful if you’re squeamish.dhwani's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Confinement, Death, Gore, Grief, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Violence, and Torture
Moderate: Cursing, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Drug use, Excrement, Hate crime, Murder, Rape, Sexism, Torture, and Vomit
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