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A review by lilifane
The Gilded Wolves by Roshani Chokshi
adventurous
emotional
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
3.0
I don't know how to rate this. Because there were things about the book I absolutely loved. And then there were things I absolutely hated.
What shines the most are the characters. They were basically what kept me reading. The story lives with these characters, their friendship is just so special and wholesome. So, I hated what happened at the end because this is just cheap writing.
And as much as I loved the setting and atmosphere of the story and the adventure of it, the writing felt very rushed and convenient most of the time. There was A LOT of world building crammed into a very small book. I could hardly keep up with every new description and magical object or power. When nothing else was going on, it was easy to imagine the magic and the locations, for example the amazing hotel. But as soon as there was action involved, I couldn't picture anything at all. Which is a shame because I feel these places were really cool. But I liked that riddles were included into the book, even though they were either too easy or too vague. And for someone who is interested in a lot of cultures and myths and history, there were a lot of references too (Maybe a little too many even...).
I'm not particularly interested in the plot anymore, but I will probably continue the series for the characters, their diversity and the discussions about colonialism and theft of art/cultural artifacts from other cultures. It's really cool that this is part of a YA series these days.
What shines the most are the characters. They were basically what kept me reading. The story lives with these characters, their friendship is just so special and wholesome. So, I hated what happened at the end because this is just cheap writing.
And as much as I loved the setting and atmosphere of the story and the adventure of it, the writing felt very rushed and convenient most of the time. There was A LOT of world building crammed into a very small book. I could hardly keep up with every new description and magical object or power. When nothing else was going on, it was easy to imagine the magic and the locations, for example the amazing hotel. But as soon as there was action involved, I couldn't picture anything at all. Which is a shame because I feel these places were really cool. But I liked that riddles were included into the book, even though they were either too easy or too vague. And for someone who is interested in a lot of cultures and myths and history, there were a lot of references too (Maybe a little too many even...).
I'm not particularly interested in the plot anymore, but I will probably continue the series for the characters, their diversity and the discussions about colonialism and theft of art/cultural artifacts from other cultures. It's really cool that this is part of a YA series these days.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Grief, and Panic attacks/disorders
Moderate: Racism
Minor: Colonisation, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Torture, and Ableism