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carysbeesbooks's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence and Death
Moderate: Child abuse, Death of parent, Racism, and Antisemitism
Minor: Homophobia
coolbeancat's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
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
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse and Death
Moderate: Blood, Violence, Racism, and Ableism
Minor: Animal cruelty, Biphobia, Homophobia, and Grief
literarypenguin's review
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
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
This book has been on my tbr for quite a while, so when I saw it and the beautiful cover I knew I had to get it and read it right away. I was very surprised how fast I fell in love with the characters and the setting, there were moments where I didnt even want to put it down or when I did I knew later on that I really wanted to read more. Now I am not saying this was perfect cause no book is perfect but it was perfect for me and what I love in my reading. It might not be that way for some but that's completely okay. Now onward to my fangirling!
The Characters:
Severin, The Leader-
”He was deception steeped in elegance, from his sharp smile to his unsettling eyes. Séverin’s eyes were the precise color of sleep – sable velvet with a violet sheen, promising either nightmare or dream.”
Roshani Chokshi has such a divine way with words. I could picture Severin so well in my mind. He has that elegant type of beauty, a type of handsome that other people could only dream of. He did have a very interesting habit of chewing on cloves, especially when he was deep in thought, I am a little more then curious to know how he picked up that habit. I can handle cloves in small doses but the way he was popping them into his mouth must have tasted intense. He wasnt just the leader of the group but also kind of like a father figure to the others. When I learned about Tristan and Severin's childhood with their many foster fathers and not all of them loving, it broke my heart. I came to understand how Severin became the way he is now and I loved that he chose to name his foster fathers after the seven deadly sins. I gave this alot of thought and I came up with the idea that they had real names but he called them by the names of the sins because that is how he chooses to remember them. Typical Severin move! From all the characters in the book he was the most driven and torn. To not only lose his parents in a tragic accident but to lose his legacy and be shunned by his family, the people who loved and took care of him since he was born, that wounded him so deeply and it would drive anyone to see vengeance and retribution. I have no idea what is going to happen in the next book but I have a strong feeling he is going to go dark.
”Séverin closed his eyes. It wasn’t about enough. Tristan would never understand. He had never felt the pulse of an entirely different future, only to see it ripped from his grasp and smothered in front of him. He didn’t understand that sometimes the only way to take down what had destroyed you was to disguise yourself as part of it.”
”Memories unsettled him. He hated the thought that he might have missed something, and he didn’t want time warping how he remembered things because he didn’t trust himself to remember without bias. And he needed to. Because only then, only with absolute impartiality, could he detect where he had gone wrong.”
Laila, L'Enigme-
”She hated seeing someone hold an empty plate and always thought everyone was hungry. She knew everyone’s secrets even without having to read their objects. At the Palais des Rêves, she turned that radiance into an allure that earned her star billing and the name, L’Énigme. The Mystery.”
Laila was such a intriguing character! She's a Indian women with the ability to read a objects history and has a maternal nature. She cares about everyone and treats the rest of the crew like her children. She bakes for them and listens to their troubles but when night falls she becomes L'Enigme and dazzles the crowd at Palais des Rêves! She is definitely a temptress who knows how ensnare her victims to get what she needs but her tempting seems to effect Severin more then anyone. Just like the other characters she has a darkness lurking in her past and I was so surprised to learn what it was. From what I understand she was a stillborn and was forged into living with the help of a cygnet and jungle cat fur? It explains why her hair is fur like and her eyes are black. The catch though is that beings who are forged like that dont live longer then 19 years old. That's the main reason why she stays away from Severin and desperately wants a cure. By the end of the book though I dont know if her and Severin will be able to recover the love they had for one another. I really hope so!
”She didn’t want to glide through life, unfeeling. She wanted to know everything while she could. She didn’t want the ghosts of thresholds not crossed hanging over her. She didn’t want one night. She wanted a chance.”
“Her mother's voice rang in her ears: 'Don't capture their hearts. Steal their imagination. It's far more useful.”
Enrique, The Historian-
”When he realized he didn’t have the talent, he chose to study the subjects that felt closest to Forging: history and language. He could still change the world… maybe not with something as dramatic or grand as Forging, but in more intimate ways. Writing. Speaking. Human connection.”
I admired his character so much! He is a bisexual Spanish-Filipino man with a love for history. I loved that mixture! He wasnt to good at socializing but he had a great sense of humor and a brilliant mind. Unlike the others, he didnt have a forging ability but he makes up for it with his resourcefulness and wit. The one thing I loved was seeing him struggling with not only his racial identity but his sexual identity as well. He struggled with trying to fit in to both sides of his heritage but would always feel like a outsider. I would have loved to learn more about him but hopefully in the second book I will. I do want to know what happens to him, Hypnos and Zofia because leaving us in the dark at the end not cool!
”There were Forged dragons out of myths from the Orient, Sirenas with heavy-lidded eyes, bhuts with backwards feet. And though they were not all his tales, he saw himself in them: pushed to the corners of the dark. He was just like them. As solid as smoke and just as powerless.”
”Nothing but a symbol?” repeated Enrique quietly. “People die for symbols. People have hope because of symbols. They’re not just lines. They’re histories, cultures, traditions, given shape.”
Zofia, The Phoenix-
”A month later, ten students locked themselves in the lab with her. Again came the sounds, smells, laughing. The other students didn’t grab her. They knew the barest touch – like a feather trailed down skin – hurt her more. Calm slipped out of reach no matter how many times she counted backward, or begged to be let go, or asked what she had done wrong.”
Zofia is so precious to me! She is a socially awkward Jewish- Polish woman who loves math and gets completely absorbed into her work. It is implied that she has some type of autism and gets very nervous in social situations and has her little quirks that help her cope. I despised the students that mobbed her at university and used her insecurities and her aversion to touch to torment and abuse her. Enrique and her made such a great team and played off of each other perfectly. I do wonder what happened to her after Tristan's death and how it effected her. I felt so bad for her after she saw Hypnos and Enrique kiss, she was just starting to come out of her shell and now she is withdrawing herself again. I dont want her to be alone!
”What it could do did not seem within human grasp, but that was the thing about numbers. They weren’t like people, who could say one thing and do another. They weren’t like riddles of social mannerisms or conversations. Numbers never lied.”
”She was reminded of all that she could not detect. All that she could not do. She could storm into a room, but she could not command its attention through charm. She could face herself in the mirror, but she could not spark imaginations with her face. Zofia stepped back. She should stay in the world she knew. And not reach for one she did not.”
Tristan, The Botanist-
”His love and his fear and his own cracked mind made it easy to convince him that betraying you was saving you.”
Tristan was such a surprise! He was the youngest of this motley crew with a love for his pet tarantula Goliath. He loved building little terrariums before he would make them a real thing. Even though he shared a painful childhood with Severin it seemed like he got out of it unscathed. Boy was I proven wrong. I was troubled by the words that Joux-Roubert said but I never thought Tristan would do something as cruel as this. The birds that disappeared from the garden I knew something was wrong with that! Tristan no !!! I would love to find out why he did that hopefully in the second book we will. I should have known that not getting his POV was a red flag that something bad was going to happen. He didn't deserve to die that way!
”What? I’m hungry. What about you, Tristan? What do you want?”
“This,” Tristan said quietly. “Just this.”
Hypnos, The Patriarch-
”He knew the other boy’s skin, a deep umber like the rain-soaked bark of an oak tree. He knew the textured hair cropped close to his head. Even knew his strangely colored eyes, a blue so pale they looked like panes of frost.”
At first Hypnos wasnt a part of them but I adored him so much! I loved his flair and his dramatic attitude but he had a source of innocence about him. Hopefully in the next book we got his POV and we get to see more from him. I loved his need to want to fit in with the crew and it seemed to me like all he wants is to have friends and people to treat him like a normal person. That he is unapologetically into men and doesn't hide it or apologize for it makes him that more of a interesting character. I really need more of him!
”What’s going on here” – said Hypnos, his voice rising as a bizarre grin spread across his face, - “is that you care for me. We’re all friends. We’re friends going to save another friend! This is… this is amazing!”
”I had to choose, and perhaps the Order forced my hand in this. But what no one tells you is that even when you decide which world you will live in, the world may not always see you as you would wish. Sometimes it demands that you be so outrageous as to transcend your very skin. You can change your name. Your eye color. Make yourself a myth and live within it, so that you belong to no one but yourself.”
The Setting-
I loved the world! The beauty of Paris, from the streets at night to the wonder of the Effiel Tower was simply breathtaking. Having the catacombs beneath Paris be the setting of a battle was a perfect choice and it was such a unsettling feeling to know the bones of the innocent were being used to destroy the world. This world was so beautiful and I loved exploring it all! I hope the same beauty will be in the second book!
The Writing/Plot-
The writing was very engaging and action packed. There definitely wasnt a dull moment. The differing Povs was a good choice because we get a sense of what's happening during a certain situation that can connect to another. I loved the mystery and the riddles and puzzles added just the right touch to the experience. I need to know more about this Fallen House and what they are going to do now that they have risen again.
The Romance-
The romance was so so good! Laila and Severin had such a strong bond but they both felt like they couldn't act on it because of different reasons. They had a magical moment one time but promised to never have a moment like that ever again. It is very obvious they both care deeply about each other and want to be with each other but they both can't. I really hope that they can pursue that relationship in the second one but I dont know! What Severin said was such a horrible thing to say to someone regardless if your grieving or not! Enrique, Zofia and Hypnos there relationship and friendship was so cool. I was heartbroken in the end when Zofia saw the kiss between them but I hope that doesn't change anything between them.
Conclusion-
The Gilded Wolves was everything that I needed and craved in a book! I loved watching this story unfold and can not wait to read the second one! I can not reccomend this book enough!
The Characters:
Severin, The Leader-
”He was deception steeped in elegance, from his sharp smile to his unsettling eyes. Séverin’s eyes were the precise color of sleep – sable velvet with a violet sheen, promising either nightmare or dream.”
Roshani Chokshi has such a divine way with words. I could picture Severin so well in my mind. He has that elegant type of beauty, a type of handsome that other people could only dream of. He did have a very interesting habit of chewing on cloves, especially when he was deep in thought, I am a little more then curious to know how he picked up that habit. I can handle cloves in small doses but the way he was popping them into his mouth must have tasted intense. He wasnt just the leader of the group but also kind of like a father figure to the others. When I learned about Tristan and Severin's childhood with their many foster fathers and not all of them loving, it broke my heart. I came to understand how Severin became the way he is now and I loved that he chose to name his foster fathers after the seven deadly sins. I gave this alot of thought and I came up with the idea that they had real names but he called them by the names of the sins because that is how he chooses to remember them. Typical Severin move! From all the characters in the book he was the most driven and torn. To not only lose his parents in a tragic accident but to lose his legacy and be shunned by his family, the people who loved and took care of him since he was born, that wounded him so deeply and it would drive anyone to see vengeance and retribution. I have no idea what is going to happen in the next book but I have a strong feeling he is going to go dark.
”Séverin closed his eyes. It wasn’t about enough. Tristan would never understand. He had never felt the pulse of an entirely different future, only to see it ripped from his grasp and smothered in front of him. He didn’t understand that sometimes the only way to take down what had destroyed you was to disguise yourself as part of it.”
”Memories unsettled him. He hated the thought that he might have missed something, and he didn’t want time warping how he remembered things because he didn’t trust himself to remember without bias. And he needed to. Because only then, only with absolute impartiality, could he detect where he had gone wrong.”
Laila, L'Enigme-
”She hated seeing someone hold an empty plate and always thought everyone was hungry. She knew everyone’s secrets even without having to read their objects. At the Palais des Rêves, she turned that radiance into an allure that earned her star billing and the name, L’Énigme. The Mystery.”
Laila was such a intriguing character! She's a Indian women with the ability to read a objects history and has a maternal nature. She cares about everyone and treats the rest of the crew like her children. She bakes for them and listens to their troubles but when night falls she becomes L'Enigme and dazzles the crowd at Palais des Rêves! She is definitely a temptress who knows how ensnare her victims to get what she needs but her tempting seems to effect Severin more then anyone. Just like the other characters she has a darkness lurking in her past and I was so surprised to learn what it was. From what I understand she was a stillborn and was forged into living with the help of a cygnet and jungle cat fur? It explains why her hair is fur like and her eyes are black. The catch though is that beings who are forged like that dont live longer then 19 years old. That's the main reason why she stays away from Severin and desperately wants a cure. By the end of the book though I dont know if her and Severin will be able to recover the love they had for one another. I really hope so!
”She didn’t want to glide through life, unfeeling. She wanted to know everything while she could. She didn’t want the ghosts of thresholds not crossed hanging over her. She didn’t want one night. She wanted a chance.”
“Her mother's voice rang in her ears: 'Don't capture their hearts. Steal their imagination. It's far more useful.”
Enrique, The Historian-
”When he realized he didn’t have the talent, he chose to study the subjects that felt closest to Forging: history and language. He could still change the world… maybe not with something as dramatic or grand as Forging, but in more intimate ways. Writing. Speaking. Human connection.”
I admired his character so much! He is a bisexual Spanish-Filipino man with a love for history. I loved that mixture! He wasnt to good at socializing but he had a great sense of humor and a brilliant mind. Unlike the others, he didnt have a forging ability but he makes up for it with his resourcefulness and wit. The one thing I loved was seeing him struggling with not only his racial identity but his sexual identity as well. He struggled with trying to fit in to both sides of his heritage but would always feel like a outsider. I would have loved to learn more about him but hopefully in the second book I will. I do want to know what happens to him, Hypnos and Zofia because leaving us in the dark at the end not cool!
”There were Forged dragons out of myths from the Orient, Sirenas with heavy-lidded eyes, bhuts with backwards feet. And though they were not all his tales, he saw himself in them: pushed to the corners of the dark. He was just like them. As solid as smoke and just as powerless.”
”Nothing but a symbol?” repeated Enrique quietly. “People die for symbols. People have hope because of symbols. They’re not just lines. They’re histories, cultures, traditions, given shape.”
Zofia, The Phoenix-
”A month later, ten students locked themselves in the lab with her. Again came the sounds, smells, laughing. The other students didn’t grab her. They knew the barest touch – like a feather trailed down skin – hurt her more. Calm slipped out of reach no matter how many times she counted backward, or begged to be let go, or asked what she had done wrong.”
Zofia is so precious to me! She is a socially awkward Jewish- Polish woman who loves math and gets completely absorbed into her work. It is implied that she has some type of autism and gets very nervous in social situations and has her little quirks that help her cope. I despised the students that mobbed her at university and used her insecurities and her aversion to touch to torment and abuse her. Enrique and her made such a great team and played off of each other perfectly. I do wonder what happened to her after Tristan's death and how it effected her. I felt so bad for her after she saw Hypnos and Enrique kiss, she was just starting to come out of her shell and now she is withdrawing herself again. I dont want her to be alone!
”What it could do did not seem within human grasp, but that was the thing about numbers. They weren’t like people, who could say one thing and do another. They weren’t like riddles of social mannerisms or conversations. Numbers never lied.”
”She was reminded of all that she could not detect. All that she could not do. She could storm into a room, but she could not command its attention through charm. She could face herself in the mirror, but she could not spark imaginations with her face. Zofia stepped back. She should stay in the world she knew. And not reach for one she did not.”
Tristan, The Botanist-
”His love and his fear and his own cracked mind made it easy to convince him that betraying you was saving you.”
Tristan was such a surprise! He was the youngest of this motley crew with a love for his pet tarantula Goliath. He loved building little terrariums before he would make them a real thing. Even though he shared a painful childhood with Severin it seemed like he got out of it unscathed. Boy was I proven wrong. I was troubled by the words that Joux-Roubert said but I never thought Tristan would do something as cruel as this. The birds that disappeared from the garden I knew something was wrong with that! Tristan no !!! I would love to find out why he did that hopefully in the second book we will. I should have known that not getting his POV was a red flag that something bad was going to happen. He didn't deserve to die that way!
”What? I’m hungry. What about you, Tristan? What do you want?”
“This,” Tristan said quietly. “Just this.”
Hypnos, The Patriarch-
”He knew the other boy’s skin, a deep umber like the rain-soaked bark of an oak tree. He knew the textured hair cropped close to his head. Even knew his strangely colored eyes, a blue so pale they looked like panes of frost.”
At first Hypnos wasnt a part of them but I adored him so much! I loved his flair and his dramatic attitude but he had a source of innocence about him. Hopefully in the next book we got his POV and we get to see more from him. I loved his need to want to fit in with the crew and it seemed to me like all he wants is to have friends and people to treat him like a normal person. That he is unapologetically into men and doesn't hide it or apologize for it makes him that more of a interesting character. I really need more of him!
”What’s going on here” – said Hypnos, his voice rising as a bizarre grin spread across his face, - “is that you care for me. We’re all friends. We’re friends going to save another friend! This is… this is amazing!”
”I had to choose, and perhaps the Order forced my hand in this. But what no one tells you is that even when you decide which world you will live in, the world may not always see you as you would wish. Sometimes it demands that you be so outrageous as to transcend your very skin. You can change your name. Your eye color. Make yourself a myth and live within it, so that you belong to no one but yourself.”
The Setting-
I loved the world! The beauty of Paris, from the streets at night to the wonder of the Effiel Tower was simply breathtaking. Having the catacombs beneath Paris be the setting of a battle was a perfect choice and it was such a unsettling feeling to know the bones of the innocent were being used to destroy the world. This world was so beautiful and I loved exploring it all! I hope the same beauty will be in the second book!
The Writing/Plot-
The writing was very engaging and action packed. There definitely wasnt a dull moment. The differing Povs was a good choice because we get a sense of what's happening during a certain situation that can connect to another. I loved the mystery and the riddles and puzzles added just the right touch to the experience. I need to know more about this Fallen House and what they are going to do now that they have risen again.
The Romance-
The romance was so so good! Laila and Severin had such a strong bond but they both felt like they couldn't act on it because of different reasons. They had a magical moment one time but promised to never have a moment like that ever again. It is very obvious they both care deeply about each other and want to be with each other but they both can't. I really hope that they can pursue that relationship in the second one but I dont know! What Severin said was such a horrible thing to say to someone regardless if your grieving or not! Enrique, Zofia and Hypnos there relationship and friendship was so cool. I was heartbroken in the end when Zofia saw the kiss between them but I hope that doesn't change anything between them.
Conclusion-
The Gilded Wolves was everything that I needed and craved in a book! I loved watching this story unfold and can not wait to read the second one! I can not reccomend this book enough!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Death, and Child abuse
Moderate: Ableism and Blood
Minor: Biphobia and Homophobia
thecourtofreading's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
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
4.75
"you can change your name, your eye colour. make yourself a myth and live within it, so that you belong to no one but yourself."
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Child abuse, and Death
Moderate: Racism and Ableism
Minor: Bullying, Biphobia, Animal cruelty, and Homophobia
diifacto's review
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-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: Child abuse, Death, and Violence
Moderate: Ableism, Biphobia, Homophobia, and Racism
chaoticvirgo's review
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
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racism and Biphobia
Minor: Homophobia
Found Familybrookey8888'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
alainaev's review
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Bullying, Violence, Torture, Racism, Child death, Child abuse, Ableism, and Animal death
Minor: Biphobia and Homophobia
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