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bergha1998's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
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
3.75
If you liked Six of Crows I would wager you would enjoy this book. I did, though Séverin pissed me the fuck off in the end. I loved the diversity of this book, plus all the LGBTQIA+ characters. A book where everyone felt bisexual.
Found Family, LGBTQIA+, Romance Subplots
“He wished he didn’t know what he had lost. Maybe then every day wouldn’t feel like this. As if he had once known how to fly, but the skies had shaken him loose and left him with nothing but the memory of wings.”
“Fear grew in places unlit by knowledge.”
Found Family, LGBTQIA+, Romance Subplots
“He wished he didn’t know what he had lost. Maybe then every day wouldn’t feel like this. As if he had once known how to fly, but the skies had shaken him loose and left him with nothing but the memory of wings.”
“Fear grew in places unlit by knowledge.”
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Abandonment, Alcohol, Child abuse, Classism, Colonisation, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Murder, Physical abuse, Torture, and Violence
barda's review
adventurous
mysterious
fast-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? It's complicated
2.75
This book was a frustrating read.
It had all of the elements of a great read - a unique setting (19th Century alternative history Paris), cool magic system, intricate heists, and a likeable cast of characters. It was very much like Six of Crows, which I adore, in spirit. But in the end it just couldn't come together in a cohesive way.
The author clearly put a lot of thought into the puzzles and heist elements, as well as the world-building; however, much of it was written in a confusing way, such that I couldn't really picture in my head what was happening in a scene. The characters were broadly likeable and very diverse (Hypnos in particular was hilarious), but much of the characterisation was done by telling the audience what they were supposed to be like (such as it being banged over your head repeatedly that Severin and Laila slept together once and had residual feelings) rather than letting the backstories and personalities of their individual characters be revealed gradually through the text.
One element in particular knocked back my rating quite a bit, and that was the ending. Without spoilers, what I thought was the ending was a pretty good cliffhanger, and had huge emotional ramifications for the characters which could be explored in the next book. But then...there's more pages. And any emotional impact of the ending is completely wiped away as the characters deal with them over the space of a single chapter. This all leads up to a second cliffhanger, which in itself was fine and could have easily stood on its own, but it felt like the author had two ideas for how their book should end and just took the worst of both worlds and put them together in the same book.
I can appreciate what the author tried to do with this book, with the richly detailed setting and magic system, and I really liked the inclusion of neurodiversity among the main characters and the critiques of colonialism in the context of the setting. However, it was let down by confusing writing, the lack of "show not tell", and the ending.
It had all of the elements of a great read - a unique setting (19th Century alternative history Paris), cool magic system, intricate heists, and a likeable cast of characters. It was very much like Six of Crows, which I adore, in spirit. But in the end it just couldn't come together in a cohesive way.
The author clearly put a lot of thought into the puzzles and heist elements, as well as the world-building; however, much of it was written in a confusing way, such that I couldn't really picture in my head what was happening in a scene. The characters were broadly likeable and very diverse (Hypnos in particular was hilarious), but much of the characterisation was done by telling the audience what they were supposed to be like (such as it being banged over your head repeatedly that Severin and Laila slept together once and had residual feelings) rather than letting the backstories and personalities of their individual characters be revealed gradually through the text.
One element in particular knocked back my rating quite a bit, and that was the ending. Without spoilers, what I thought was the ending was a pretty good cliffhanger, and had huge emotional ramifications for the characters which could be explored in the next book. But then...there's more pages. And any emotional impact of the ending is completely wiped away as the characters deal with them over the space of a single chapter. This all leads up to a second cliffhanger, which in itself was fine and could have easily stood on its own, but it felt like the author had two ideas for how their book should end and just took the worst of both worlds and put them together in the same book.
I can appreciate what the author tried to do with this book, with the richly detailed setting and magic system, and I really liked the inclusion of neurodiversity among the main characters and the critiques of colonialism in the context of the setting. However, it was let down by confusing writing, the lack of "show not tell", and the ending.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse and Blood
Moderate: Grief, Classism, Colonisation, Death, Injury/Injury detail, and Violence
Minor: Physical abuse, Sexual content, and Torture
deerlybeloved's review
adventurous
mysterious
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
A thrilling and perfectly set-up heist movie in a book format, with more likeable characters and a plot that goes beyond, 'watch people go through lasers'. The cast is beautiful and interesting, the magic system is something to behold, and from the beginning you find yourself desperately hoping the best for the characters you meet.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Murder, Xenophobia, Violence, Gun violence, Death of parent, Classism, Animal cruelty, Racism, Colonisation, Child abuse, Torture, Cultural appropriation, Animal death, and Misogyny
friendly_neighborhood_grandma's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
The vibes. I loved reading it and wanted to come back every time. It isnt 5/5 just because I didnt understand where we were in the space sometimes and I did not understand their age. When I started the book i thout that they were adults but they're like 18. Overall love love highly reccomand will definitly be continuing.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Blood, Classism, Colonisation, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Kidnapping, Violence, Antisemitism, Body horror, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Physical abuse, Racism, and Sexual content
Moderate: Racism, Gaslighting, Gore, Sexual content, Torture, and Xenophobia
Minor: Self harm and Suicide
quillify_'s review
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
0.5
Everything in this book is designed to appeal to a Western audience, make it easy for their comprehension: the barest exploration and impact of colonialism, easy to pronounce names, cookie cutter characters that fit your favorite tropes, a romance built purely on sexual attraction that an allosexual audience can consume without much critical thinking. And most of all, erasure of a significant chunk of history.
In Ms. Chokshi's own hypocritical words: "When we revise the horror and sanitize the grotesque, we risk erasing the paths that led us here."
No offence, but that is what this community does every day by promoting and recommending this book.
In Ms. Chokshi's own hypocritical words: "When we revise the horror and sanitize the grotesque, we risk erasing the paths that led us here."
No offence, but that is what this community does every day by promoting and recommending this book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Self harm, Kidnapping, Grief, Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, Death of parent, Cursing, Misogyny, Colonisation, Classism, Racism, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, and Sexism
Minor: Sexual content
maar_ve's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-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
4.25
... if this was a place where stars could be unmade...
The Gilded Wolves is the first book of a fantasy trilogy that lays its foundation on the concept of found family, history woven in magical elements and secret societies.
To be completely honest, I'm having some difficulties in writing this review, so I'll keep this short and simple.
The plot was compelling and so were the characters, each a defined and detailed person of their own. The worldbuilding was also extremely interesting and clearly the result of an in-depth research, the way it applied to history captivating and mysterious.
But I'm not gonna lie, the lot of it was too much. It was too complex to the point it was hard to follow through the events and fully comprehend what was happening. Most of the time I simply had to skip parts because they didn't make sense to what I was reading, and occasionally it felt more like a history text rather than a fantasy book. Pieces of information were too technical and irrelevant to the plot or to the development of the characters, halting the narration with long and artificial clarifications that could have been avoided or simplified, leaving more room to justify the plot and actually narrate what was happening without rushing it.
It was an overall good book, and I will be continuing the series because I feel like it will get a lot more simple and enjoyable now that the worldbuilding has been established.
To be completely honest, I'm having some difficulties in writing this review, so I'll keep this short and simple.
The plot was compelling and so were the characters, each a defined and detailed person of their own. The worldbuilding was also extremely interesting and clearly the result of an in-depth research, the way it applied to history captivating and mysterious.
But I'm not gonna lie, the lot of it was too much. It was too complex to the point it was hard to follow through the events and fully comprehend what was happening. Most of the time I simply had to skip parts because they didn't make sense to what I was reading, and occasionally it felt more like a history text rather than a fantasy book. Pieces of information were too technical and irrelevant to the plot or to the development of the characters, halting the narration with long and artificial clarifications that could have been avoided or simplified, leaving more room to justify the plot and actually narrate what was happening without rushing it.
It was an overall good book, and I will be continuing the series because I feel like it will get a lot more simple and enjoyable now that the worldbuilding has been established.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Antisemitism, Classism, Confinement, Racism, Xenophobia, Bullying, and Colonisation
brookey8888's review
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???).
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???).
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment, Classism, Death, Blood, Child death, Bullying, Sexism, Gaslighting, Grief, Antisemitism, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Kidnapping, Murder, Racism, Religious bigotry, Colonisation, Panic attacks/disorders, Torture, and Violence
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