A review by olivyre
The Gilded Ones by Namina Forna

adventurous lighthearted fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.0

Spoilers!

Nope. I gave it a chance and I read 400+ pages of ugh. There was a basic outline, and it was followed in a linear progression with zero extra threads and no suspense or tension.

I get the author was trying to be feminist, but she kept talking about the inequality despite the reader being given no actual experience of the difference other than Deka just repeatedly expressing that she couldn’t imagine women being capable of such things.

Deka also randomly said halfway through the book that she was killed nine times over when her blood ran gold and it was a terrible trauma, but the time she speaks about was glossed over completely. When she was discovered, her dad killed her and then she woke up because apparently demons are immortal, then there is no mention of anything else until she is taken to a school. No ‘nine killings’ referenced at all. How does Forna expect me to be empathetic if I didn’t even know it happened? It just made me vaguely confused. 

And there was no relationship building at all. There was some poor little romance between Deka and Keita but they barely even talked to each other they were suddenly both into each other with no warning. And the relationships between her classmates and her consisted of her giving a weird motivational togetherness talk and suddenly they were all best buddies. No strife anywhere in any relationships but no growth either. 

And all her own character growth was was her realising that she could actually do stuff herself. Like that hasn’t been done a thousand times before a thousand times better.

I picked it up for its cover - don’t judge this book by its cover.

‘‘We who are dead salute you!’’