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A review by 4erepawko
The Gilded Wolves by Roshani Chokshi
adventurous
dark
informative
mysterious
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
4.0
Worldbuilding / Characters & their individual arcs: ★★★★★
Plot / The 'heist' parts: ★★★
Overall rating: ★★★★
Roshani Chokshi created an amazing world for this story and introduced a set of extremely lovable characters. The lore and the mysteries of this alternative universe kept me very invested, and I loved how desceiptive and beautiful the prose was - I felt really transported into this magical world of the 19th century France. It also helped that i was buddy reading the book with a friend on Twitter and we continuously discussed all of the clues and our theories. (I can highly recommend TGW as a buddy read by the way — it is extremely discussable)
My only gripe with this book was the amount of various plot holes and questionable plot points. From introducing many clues and hinting at things that didn't end up paying off to some dubious conflict set ups that felt a bit naive and didn't match the emotional stakes, the plotting fell a little flat for me. And some of the 'heist' bits read more like middle grade adventures than a YA/new adult set up that the rest up of the book reads like.
But still, the characters and the world carried this story for me and got me hooked enough for TGW to be an extremely enjoyable read & to make me want to finish this trilogy now. I need to know how things end and if each character finds what they're looking for, so I will keep reading.
Overall, highly recommend, especially if you can find someone to read & discuss the book (and fanperson over Hypnos) with.
Plot / The 'heist' parts: ★★★
Overall rating: ★★★★
Roshani Chokshi created an amazing world for this story and introduced a set of extremely lovable characters. The lore and the mysteries of this alternative universe kept me very invested, and I loved how desceiptive and beautiful the prose was - I felt really transported into this magical world of the 19th century France. It also helped that i was buddy reading the book with a friend on Twitter and we continuously discussed all of the clues and our theories. (I can highly recommend TGW as a buddy read by the way — it is extremely discussable)
My only gripe with this book was the amount of various plot holes and questionable plot points. From introducing many clues and hinting at things that didn't end up paying off to some dubious conflict set ups that felt a bit naive and didn't match the emotional stakes, the plotting fell a little flat for me. And some of the 'heist' bits read more like middle grade adventures than a YA/new adult set up that the rest up of the book reads like.
But still, the characters and the world carried this story for me and got me hooked enough for TGW to be an extremely enjoyable read & to make me want to finish this trilogy now. I need to know how things end and if each character finds what they're looking for, so I will keep reading.
Overall, highly recommend, especially if you can find someone to read & discuss the book (and fanperson over Hypnos) with.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death