when i die i must be buried with this book or i will be a very angry ghost!!1! (The Gilded Wolves Book Review)

Title: The Gilded Wolves
Author: Roshani Chokshi
Blurb (GR): No one believes in them. But soon no one will forget them.

It’s 1889. The city is on the cusp of industry and power, and the Exposition Universelle has breathed new life into the streets and dredged up ancient secrets. Here, no one keeps tabs on dark truths better than treasure-hunter and wealthy hotelier Séverin Montagnet-Alarie. When the elite, ever-powerful Order of Babel coerces him to help them on a mission, Séverin is offered a treasure that he never imagined: his true inheritance.

To hunt down the ancient artifact the Order seeks, Séverin calls upon a band of unlikely experts: An engineer with a debt to pay. A historian banished from his home. A dancer with a sinister past. And a brother in arms if not blood.

Together, they will join Séverin as he explores the dark, glittering heart of Paris. What they find might change the course of history–but only if they can stay alive. 

plot

pro’s

• world-building was PHENOMENAL – Sometimes I’m a bit wary of fantasy books with complicated magic systems because chances are, I probably would get very lost. But everything about the magic system was explained so clearly and I was blown away by how freaking creative and well planned the whole world is. If you’re into steampunk, sci-fi, and magic then this is for you!!
• twisty & fact paced! – Seriously there is nothing that will bore you in this book. There’s secret heirs, big party bashes, one giant heists, a skeleton aRMY!! There was a pretty big plot twist in the end that left me sobbing because of how great it was as well as another reason but if you read the book you’ll see. 😉
• everything fit so well together – I just loved how Chokshi planned out everything too the littlest detail. You would expect that in a fantasy with such intricate magic systems something would go amiss, but, nope! I loved everything down to the littlest details. One of my favorite little detail was that House Kore (Persephone’s other name) had four rivers named after the river in the Underworld (aka Hades kingdom). It seems a little obvious but I was just really amazed at Chokshi’s planning
• found family trope (aka my absolute fave) – I loved the main characters (which I get onto later), but I loved their bond. I’m a sucker for found family, group of outcasts coming together etc.. and Chokshi has written out the groups dynamics so beautifully. The main cast was bounded together not just because of their jobs, but their care for one another as well.
• loved the little sprinkle of math, science, and history – Once again MISS CHOKSHI HAS DAZZLED ME WITH HER SMARTNESS. The inclusion of phi (which I never heard of before, but now that I did I can flex on all my classmates), history behind symbols, and religous systems like WOOH I took in so much information and managed to retain it as well because it was so intresting. And this is coming from a girl who barely manages to read textbook without falling asleep.
• people of color rep – I saved the best for last because this is kind of going to be an all out rant. Anyways, I LOVE THE REPRESENTATION IN THIS BOOK. We have Severin who is half french and Algerian (which is located in North Africa and a very Muslim populated area which led to me thinking that maybe he has some Muslim ancestors??? ok i know that’s a big reach). Laila is Indian, Enrique is half Spanish and Half Filipino, Zofia is Jewish and I’m pretty sure she has OCD (it never has been explictilty confrimed but she shows reallly obvious signs). And Hypnos who is half black and half french.
• but what I loved most was that Chokshi didn’t just include POC and just leave it there, she added their expereinces as well. Despite Enrique and Hypnos both be biracial, they had different perspectives on their mixed heritage. It just goes to show that you can’t generalize what a person of color goes through.

cons

• surprisingly I didn’t find anything wrong plot-wise!! I literally loved everything.

characters

Let me just sum up how I feel towards all the characters in just three (3) pictures.

I LOVE THEM OKAY I LOVE THEM SO MUCH!

Literally the whole cast is diverse and all had different personalities and little quirks that really cemented them as a person. My favorite is Hypnos because he just wants friends okay. And also he’s absolutely fabulous.

Once again, I like the character dynamics and how everyone interacted with each other. I admired how Laila was so motherly towards everyone, and Zofia was like the little sister of the group. But most importantly they were respected and their talents were acknowledged. Severin and Tristan brotherly relationship was sweet and even reminded me a little bit of me and my own sister. Except you know the super abusive parents and traumatizing childhood.

writing style

I always enjoyed Chokshi’s writing, but I really applaud her this time! This was told in different p.o.v and each character was different from the rest. I loved all the funny banter she included! But sometimes it was a bit too flowery?? Like she would go into detail A LOT and sometimes it made things a bit confusing. It was very minimal though and it didn’t affect my understanding of the novel at all.

rating

Five stars! I really, really enjoyed everything about this book, and I highly recommend reading it!

That’s it for my review of The Gilded Wolves and now I am currently waiting for the sequel (10 MORE DAYS HOLY COW). The ending will leave you SHOOK. Anyways, have you read this book? Who is your favorite character (Hypnos is the only correct character)? Did you like it or dislike it?