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3.99 AVERAGE
3.99 AVERAGE
adventurous
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:
No
WOW! Impressive to say the least, that Forna could pack a YA version of The Handmaid's Tale meets Ender's Game meets Black Panther into a completely new and diverse fantastical setting with gods/goddesses, priests, assassins, warriors, creatures, and plain old humanity AND the inclusion of a chaste romantic venture. I mean these girls are 16 years old when they discover their inherent impurity which comes with a death mandate ....
There are some serious issues in here for those sensitive to certain content, a lot of f*** the patriarchy vibes, but when the dust settles I hope you find it as entertaining as I did. I don't know what direction the next installment will go, as it could easily stop here - but with the interesting characters I'm sure there's a side quest or two.
There are some serious issues in here for those sensitive to certain content, a lot of f*** the patriarchy vibes, but when the dust settles I hope you find it as entertaining as I did. I don't know what direction the next installment will go, as it could easily stop here - but with the interesting characters I'm sure there's a side quest or two.
A story about young women growing up to be submissive to men and learn if they bleed gold, they are impure and considered demons. They have been subjected to what's called the Death Mandate, where they look for their final death as they are close to impossible to kill. Deka becomes a soldier to be used for the emperor's army to defeat deathshriekers. She learns more about her strength and power and becomes a beacon of hope when she learns more about deathshriekers and the true history of Otera. In a society where women are considered less than men and their only value is to be pure, bleeding red, to be married and have a family. I loved the world building and really enjoyed the story and writing. I'm looking forward to the next book!
I really REALLY wanted to like this book.
But there was too much going against it. The whole spectacle on purity was quite frankly disturbing. I'm aware that's the point of it, but it was so prevalent and it took up so much of Deka's brain space that it was hard to get through when she's going on and on and on about how pure she wants to be and how pure other people are.
I also didn't like any of the characters other than Deka. The love interest was flat and fell in love.... for some reason. We get scenes here and there were the author tells us that Deka and he-whose-name-I-forgot talk sometimes, but there's no chemistry. The side characters are bland and one note. Without the names next to their dialogue, I'd have no idea who's talking and why.
And the Lady White Hands was just a shitty person who somehow becomes not shitty because So you know, that totally excuses the abuse and shitty actions.
This is the first in either a duology or trilogy, I can't remember. I doubt I'll read the next book. This one ended well enough.
But there was too much going against it. The whole spectacle on purity was quite frankly disturbing. I'm aware that's the point of it, but it was so prevalent and it took up so much of Deka's brain space that it was hard to get through when she's going on and on and on about how pure she wants to be and how pure other people are.
I also didn't like any of the characters other than Deka. The love interest was flat and fell in love.... for some reason. We get scenes here and there were the author tells us that Deka and he-whose-name-I-forgot talk sometimes, but there's no chemistry. The side characters are bland and one note. Without the names next to their dialogue, I'd have no idea who's talking and why.
And the Lady White Hands was just a shitty person who somehow becomes not shitty because
Spoiler
Deka finds out they're related?This is the first in either a duology or trilogy, I can't remember. I doubt I'll read the next book. This one ended well enough.
adventurous
challenging
funny
lighthearted
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:
Complicated
The Gilded Ones is the first book in the Deathless trilogy. It follows a girl named Deka and her friends throughout their lives and adventures.
The book started off really strong; I was in awe of the beautiful storytelling and descriptions. I felt like this book was not entirely like a classic young adult novel; it did not seem as childish (character- and dialogue-wise), and I loved how everything was explained. I´d say it was quite detailed and easily understandable—Deka´s abilities and skills were developed over time and with training. There were some short time skips that helped the story move along a little faster, and they gave Deka time to master her skills.
I was genuinely surprised by how much I loved Deka—the young adult heroines are usually very insufferable, and I do not like them.
This novel also deals with some extremely heavy topics (like rape, assault, misogyny, murder, torture, etc.) and contains graphic descriptions (mostly of murder). I think the author described and talked about these topics on a very appropriate level, and I truly appreciate it. I felt the same about the way sex was discussed, but I would have appreciated it more if that topic was avoided entirely.
I had so many theories about Deka and White Hands throughout the book. I have to say that I was genuinely surprised with where the story was going and how the events played out on multiple occasions. Unfortunately, though, some of these “big reveals” lacked—they seemed quite out of place and did not fit with the story entirely.
Another thing I was not really on board with was the relationship between Deka and Keita turning romantic towards the end of the book. I do not like romance in young adult books and series, as they tend to take up too much space, and they are almost never done well. The authors tend to completely switch the characters´ personalities once they're in love, and I find that incredibly annoying. Hopefully it will not be the case in Deathless.
All that being said, I think this was a very promising beginning of a trilogy. I honestly can't wait to read the rest!
I quite enjoyed this one! YA fantasy that takes place in another ~world~ and I thought the author did a really excellent job with the world-building and seamlessly integrating the information into the narrative in a way that didn't feel clunky and never left me feeling super confused. The plot/concept was really interesting, and I loved the characters and the female friendships. The first half or so was great, but I did feel like the pacing in the second half wasn't quite as perfect, and the conclusion felt a bit rushed for me and a little too neat. I get that this is supposedly a trilogy and I'm curious to see where it goes as I feel this worked fine as a standalone novel--most trilogies in my experience have a very clear arc that isn't finished at the end of the first book, but that wasn't the case here, and while there are certainly things to explore in the aftermath of "winning", it's not generally something we see, so I'm really interested to see what happens next.
My other main critique was the romance aspect, which I was really unimpressed with. It felt VERY forced and like a last-minute addition, as if the publishers told the author there needed to be a romance so she added a plot line that was insanely bland and underdeveloped and not at all interesting or particularly believable. It just felt so very unnecessary and ultimately was a pretty big disappointment for me. Kaita is fine, I just didn't think there was enough screen time for me to buy their deep feelings for one another.
Still very much enjoyed overall and I'm looking forward to the next installments!
My other main critique was the romance aspect, which I was really unimpressed with. It felt VERY forced and like a last-minute addition, as if the publishers told the author there needed to be a romance so she added a plot line that was insanely bland and underdeveloped and not at all interesting or particularly believable. It just felt so very unnecessary and ultimately was a pretty big disappointment for me. Kaita is fine, I just didn't think there was enough screen time for me to buy their deep feelings for one another.
Still very much enjoyed overall and I'm looking forward to the next installments!
EDIT: I changed my rating, despite the fact that I read this two months ago. I just felt like 2 stars was a little harsh. But maybe my mind is fuzzy.
I'd seen a lot of good things about this one. People loved the feminism element, they just loved a lot of things about this book. (though, they didn't look the romance and as someone who doesn't much like romance at all...)
I mean, it was a good book overall. It was a cool concept and there was some cool world building and there were good characters, etc. I did like the book. But it also just wasn't what I was expecting, there was a lot of parts that weren't interesting and also...yeah. The romance.
Was the romance necessary? No.
Did it impact the plot in any way? No.
Was it developed at all? No.
Okay, maybe I'm being a bit harsh here. I know that romance doesn't have to impact a plot. I mean, it's just something that happens. People fall in love. I'm fine if there's just a little side romance (though authors quite often EXTREMELY underestimate the fact that friends exist...especially friends who are male if you are female and vice versa...not any guy your female main character gets close to has to be a love interest...).
Also, I still cannot help but wonder how they didn't find out they were impure when they got their periods...they basically were never allowed to have knives because if they ever cut themselves they'd find out before their ceremony? So how on earth did their periods not give it right away? Did they just not get their periods before they turned 16? I'm so caught up on this...
I'd seen a lot of good things about this one. People loved the feminism element, they just loved a lot of things about this book. (though, they didn't look the romance and as someone who doesn't much like romance at all...)
I mean, it was a good book overall. It was a cool concept and there was some cool world building and there were good characters, etc. I did like the book. But it also just wasn't what I was expecting, there was a lot of parts that weren't interesting and also...yeah. The romance.
Was the romance necessary? No.
Did it impact the plot in any way? No.
Was it developed at all? No.
Okay, maybe I'm being a bit harsh here. I know that romance doesn't have to impact a plot. I mean, it's just something that happens. People fall in love. I'm fine if there's just a little side romance (though authors quite often EXTREMELY underestimate the fact that friends exist...especially friends who are male if you are female and vice versa...not any guy your female main character gets close to has to be a love interest...).
Also, I still cannot help but wonder how they didn't find out they were impure when they got their periods...they basically were never allowed to have knives because if they ever cut themselves they'd find out before their ceremony? So how on earth did their periods not give it right away? Did they just not get their periods before they turned 16? I'm so caught up on this...
This is one of my if not my favourite books ever, it has amazing strong women, problems and sterotypes, magic, battles and a side of romance. The main character is black, so it allows me to be able to put myslef into the shoes of this character and allows me to further understand adn relate to the character. The writing is easy to get through and still has descriptive aspects, the characters are lovable and the plot keeps you on your toes. There are scenes were you are happy, sad, laughing and shoked. I will forver recommend this book.
Please visit sltrbooks.home.blog/2021/02/06/the-gilded-ones-by-namina-forna-arc for a full view!
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Thank you so much to the publisher and Terminal Tours for the eARC in exchange for an honest review and participation on the publicity tour!
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Thank you so much to the publisher and Terminal Tours for the eARC in exchange for an honest review and participation on the publicity tour!