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A review by votesforwomen
The Gilded Wolves by Roshani Chokshi
3.0
Well. That may have been the most confusing book I've read in a long time.
*cracks knuckles* Who's ready for a long, detailed review?!
Okay, so I knew absolutely nothing going into this book. I'd seen it hyped and that was literally ALL. It's been compared to Six of Crows, which I can definitely see? But it feels almost like Six of Crows lite. Severin is Kaz-lite, the heist is SoC-lite, Laila is Inej-Lite in one personality and Nina-lite in the other, Enrique reminded me a lot of Jesper, Tristan was a lot like Wylan. Zofia was the most unique character--I personally didn't feel like she was similar to any of the SoC characters. But I digress.
I think I enjoyed this one better than Six of Crows! Because it wasn't GRATUITOUS in the way SoC was! There was no ridiculous level of violence--I mean, yeah, there was still violence, and there was sensual stuff and language and all that jazz. But it was definitely toned down from SoC, and I can appreciate that very much.
The characters are definitely my favorite thing here. Our cast consists of:
-Severin. Your average brooding male lead, with a plot that's ridiculously complicated, a desire that makes little sense, and a bad habit of chewing cloves. Half Algerian. Probably my least favorite.
-Laila. An Indian girl with a secret, an ability, AND a ridiculously strong baking talent. Dancer, sensuous, the Mom Friend, will kill you if you touch Her People. One of my favorites.
-Enrique. Half Filipino, sassy to the extreme, supposedly a historian but I didn't see that so much? I thought he seemed more like an archaeologist. *shrugs* Bisexual.
-Zofia. A Jewish engineer girl who miiiight be autistic? Idk really. But she's definitely the mathematician and the brains and they all love her even though her social awkward level outdoes even mine. It WAS lovely, I admit, to see someone with social anxiety! I appreciated that!
-Tristan. The innocent child of the gang. Has a giant pet tarantula, will drink all the cocoa, basically acted like he was five and not seventeen which is a trope I'm not terribly fond of? Severin's adopted little brother.
-Hypnos. FLAMBOYANT, CHARISMATIC, AMAZING. I laughed every time he was onscreen and his character arc was lovely. 10/10 enjoyed.
So while the characters were great--and characters make a book for me--we will now have to deal with a plot. Unfortunately, the plot is where the book was unmade for me.
First of all, there's the fact that the backstory here comes from the Bible. Now, that's fine--the Tower of Babel story is a weird passage, and it's interesting to see a world built around that story. BUT. This book does ADD a verse to the Tower of Babel passage, which does not sit well with me. It's inaccurate. It's sort of sacrilegious. So that right there docks a star in my esteem, because I can't support the misuse of God's word in that way, as a Christian. I'm not apologizing for that, either. That's one complaint I have right up front.
And then the rest of it is just downright confusing. We have a heist situation--but the locations never made sense to me? I'm not sure why, but it's all mathematical and not well-described and ugh I just didn't get it. The action sequences were well-written, but I had trouble immersing myself because I was never quite sure WHERE everyone was. *sigh*
Plus, what were they even going for? They had to get an Eye--so they could find a Ring--to stop the Doomsday clock--but WHY? I didn't UNDERSTAND what was happening. *cries*
Also, what was the magic system? It's like it could do almost anything. Laila's ability is cool, but never explained, and there's nothing like it in the rest of the story. The Forging makes sense--certain people are gifted in certain areas, okay--but what about the whole Blood thing at the end? What's the deal with that? Is it SO MUCH TO ASK to have a clear magic system? (says the girl who has no idea how to write a clear magic system lol.) So...more effort on that front wouldn't have been a bad idea by any means, since the magic dcould do pretty much anything with no explanation. Sigh.
Overall, 3 stars for an enjoyable ride and a great cast. There is some content--two guys kiss, and Laila is very, very into Severin, which leads to some awkward scenarios. On top of that, she's a dancer who does not always stay in...shall we say...PG dancing. At least I think that's the case. It's not written graphically. xD And some language, including at least one f-word. I only remember one.
(Although if it were just for the banter I'd give this 5 stars. The banter is impeccable.)
*cracks knuckles* Who's ready for a long, detailed review?!
Okay, so I knew absolutely nothing going into this book. I'd seen it hyped and that was literally ALL. It's been compared to Six of Crows, which I can definitely see? But it feels almost like Six of Crows lite. Severin is Kaz-lite, the heist is SoC-lite, Laila is Inej-Lite in one personality and Nina-lite in the other, Enrique reminded me a lot of Jesper, Tristan was a lot like Wylan. Zofia was the most unique character--I personally didn't feel like she was similar to any of the SoC characters. But I digress.
I think I enjoyed this one better than Six of Crows! Because it wasn't GRATUITOUS in the way SoC was! There was no ridiculous level of violence--I mean, yeah, there was still violence, and there was sensual stuff and language and all that jazz. But it was definitely toned down from SoC, and I can appreciate that very much.
The characters are definitely my favorite thing here. Our cast consists of:
-Severin. Your average brooding male lead, with a plot that's ridiculously complicated, a desire that makes little sense, and a bad habit of chewing cloves. Half Algerian. Probably my least favorite.
-Laila. An Indian girl with a secret, an ability, AND a ridiculously strong baking talent. Dancer, sensuous, the Mom Friend, will kill you if you touch Her People. One of my favorites.
-Enrique. Half Filipino, sassy to the extreme, supposedly a historian but I didn't see that so much? I thought he seemed more like an archaeologist. *shrugs* Bisexual.
-Zofia. A Jewish engineer girl who miiiight be autistic? Idk really. But she's definitely the mathematician and the brains and they all love her even though her social awkward level outdoes even mine. It WAS lovely, I admit, to see someone with social anxiety! I appreciated that!
-Tristan. The innocent child of the gang. Has a giant pet tarantula, will drink all the cocoa, basically acted like he was five and not seventeen which is a trope I'm not terribly fond of? Severin's adopted little brother.
-Hypnos. FLAMBOYANT, CHARISMATIC, AMAZING. I laughed every time he was onscreen and his character arc was lovely. 10/10 enjoyed.
So while the characters were great--and characters make a book for me--we will now have to deal with a plot. Unfortunately, the plot is where the book was unmade for me.
First of all, there's the fact that the backstory here comes from the Bible. Now, that's fine--the Tower of Babel story is a weird passage, and it's interesting to see a world built around that story. BUT. This book does ADD a verse to the Tower of Babel passage, which does not sit well with me. It's inaccurate. It's sort of sacrilegious. So that right there docks a star in my esteem, because I can't support the misuse of God's word in that way, as a Christian. I'm not apologizing for that, either. That's one complaint I have right up front.
And then the rest of it is just downright confusing. We have a heist situation--but the locations never made sense to me? I'm not sure why, but it's all mathematical and not well-described and ugh I just didn't get it. The action sequences were well-written, but I had trouble immersing myself because I was never quite sure WHERE everyone was. *sigh*
Plus, what were they even going for? They had to get an Eye--so they could find a Ring--to stop the Doomsday clock--but WHY? I didn't UNDERSTAND what was happening. *cries*
Also, what was the magic system? It's like it could do almost anything. Laila's ability is cool, but never explained, and there's nothing like it in the rest of the story. The Forging makes sense--certain people are gifted in certain areas, okay--but what about the whole Blood thing at the end? What's the deal with that? Is it SO MUCH TO ASK to have a clear magic system? (says the girl who has no idea how to write a clear magic system lol.) So...more effort on that front wouldn't have been a bad idea by any means, since the magic dcould do pretty much anything with no explanation. Sigh.
Overall, 3 stars for an enjoyable ride and a great cast. There is some content--two guys kiss, and Laila is very, very into Severin, which leads to some awkward scenarios. On top of that, she's a dancer who does not always stay in...shall we say...PG dancing. At least I think that's the case. It's not written graphically. xD And some language, including at least one f-word. I only remember one.
(Although if it were just for the banter I'd give this 5 stars. The banter is impeccable.)