The Gilded Wolves by Roshani Chokshi is a fantasy set in the Victorian era of Paris in 1899. The author’s sumptuous writing style perfectly lends itself to this time period, as the plush and gilded world is built upon an interesting magic system and characters that will become one of your new favourite groups. I will say that there could be a lot of triggers in this book though for certain readers and I likely didn’t catch a number of them, but I noticed: mental abuse/torture, racism, death of a loved one, graphic violence and physical harm, neglect, pre-meditated murder, and discussion of suicide. It is definitely not a light book and readers should go in aware that they are in for strife, struggles, death, and violence.

I liked all of the characters on an individual basis, although I was quite distracted initially by the striking similarity that the Gilded Wolves crew bore to the Dregs from Six of Crows. Some felt like a rebranding of the same character, while others felt like they were a mash-up of two of the characters. I suspect that Chokshi was inspired by the fantastic banter, antics and the ability to play off one another that Bardugo captured with the Dregs, but I wish it was a little more unique. That being said, it didn’t negatively impact my enjoyment of the series – it just would have likely received a slightly higher rating if it hadn’t felt so much like Six of Crows.

Individually, the characters were incredibly unique and diverse without it feeling forced. Diversity in books means so much more when it just makes sense, rather than feeling like they threw in a token ethnic, religious, sexual orientation, etc character. Severin, the leader, is Algerian and French. Laila is Indian and it was nice to see her honour her culture in little ways throughout the book. Zofia is a Jewish, Polish girl on the spectrum and she felt so authentic (although I cannot truly speak to the rep as I am not on the spectrum, but it rang true to me as a casual reader). Enrique is Filipino, but due to his Spanish father is the personification of the struggle of being too ‘white’ to be one group and too ‘brown’ to be the other group. It is a struggle that people today still face and it was nice to see it make its way naturally into Gilded Wolves. Tristan is the slightly awkward, cinnamon-roll type character that Severin (and the reader) want to protect no matter what. Finally, Hypnos is not a regular crew member but he adds some hilarity, awkwardness, and genuine desire to belong into the group. Like come on guys, Hypnos just wants to be friends. Let him in the crew. Overall, it was her characters that shone for me with their flaws and struggles.

The plot was also incredibly reminiscent of Six of Crows, but that’s to be expected because it is a crime/heist plot involving a group of misfit characters. It was still incredibly engaging and entertaining, despite that similarity. I felt that it was significantly different in action and execution, even if the bones of the plot felt the same. There was intrigue and mystery, which kept me wanting more and needed to know what would happen next. There is a lot about colonialism in this book, which is heartbreaking but also incredibly necessary. It sets the stage for a lot of people’s stories and struggles, and unfortunately is glossed over in the real world – so it was nice that it was addressed in this book.

I loved the idea of the magic system, although sometimes I didn’t feel that it was well enough explained. There were little things that would pop up throughout the book that gave me pause. I hope that she is able to add a little more depth to the magic system in the second book to help cement the rules, limits, and possibilities of the magic.

The plot and storylines had me hooked so quickly. I couldn’t always predict where the story was going (unfortunately, sometimes that was because certain scenes/actions just didn’t make sense since there was not context for that being what would happen or how someone would act) but ultimately I was left with the need to read the next book as soon as I finished the Gilded Wolves, although unfortunately it hasn’t been finished yet. I adored the lush, vibrant world that Chokshi painted into existence with her words and cannot wait to see where she takes this story.

I've tried reading the book and listening to the audiobook. But both times I gave up in the first quarter of the book.

This just wasn't the book for me. I think part of the reason was just too much going on in the beginning and I couldn't keep track of who was doing what and who everyone was.

I haven't gravitated toward Chokshi's past work, but this one was lush and interesting enough to draw me in. The characters were interesting and sufficiently complex.

***Review not posted on blog***

I have thoroughly enjoyed many books by Roshani Chokshi. Her writing is simply gorgeous and her stories are so much fun. Unfortunately I am unable to post a review of this book on my blog at this time. I am excited to read more by Roshani Chokshi and this publishing imprint. Thank you so much for the opportunity.

The Eater of Books!

Love the writing style and the lush, atmospheric vibe of the entire novel. Would recommend to anyone who wants to get swept away in it's prose.

I was worried that this would be another YA book that blended in with so many I've read lately - they have magic, they have romance that is somehow thwarted, they have some kind of danger, and the characters seem to value their adolescent love over things like...you know...the fate of the world (I mean come on, focus on the task at hand, kids). However, The Vishakanya's Choice is one of my favorite short stories of all time. I loved how she was able to build this world and its customs and characters in such a short amount of time. The Gilded Wolves was a mix for me.
I love the magical aspects. I love world building. However, six characters is a lot to keep track of, and while she tries to make them as diverse as possible, it's not in ways that are overt, so things can get jumbled. Add in the alternate universe with its own customs and all the magical aspects, and it can be a lot.

However, her writing is always lyrical and her descriptions are amazing, and there wasn't the same old YA things I mentioned above, which was a huge relief. I'll be reading the sequel!

Roshani Chokshi's The Gilded Wolves was a great book with beautiful and lush storytelling. Loved the setting, characters, and overall story.

I really enjoyed this book. I thought the characters were really well developed and varied. It was a bit of a slow start but by the end I couldn’t put it down.

If you know me at all you know I’m a sucker for a heist in general. From ocean’s 8 and beyond I just LOVE them. So this was right up my alley and it did NOT disappoint. Gorgeous writing and amazing characters I can’t wait to read the next!

A fantastic novel with a combination of magic and con artistry, with well developed characters and delicious settings. Can't wait for the next volume!

I loved this book and I'm sorry it took me so long to write this review. This was exactly the type of YA fantasy book I was craving! It is set in Paris in 1889 and really reflects the that time period even if this is a fantasy novel. The world that the author has created in complex and layered and the characters compliment this world well. Their stories pull you in and you want to know what is going to happen next to each and every one of them. Bonus points for the diversity of the characters in the book as well. I liked that this book is full of political scheming and is more complex (and lighter on the romance) than other YA that is out there. The challenge of this book is that it is complex and full of puzzles which at times can make it challenging to follow but it is absolutely worth working through. I cannot wait for the sequel!

This is difficult. I was really looking forward to this one and I'm actually mildly disappointed. There was just something that was missing this whole time. I was still gonna give it 3,5 stars and round it up to 4 but then the ending happened and that did it for me tbh. I thought the death at the end was so unnecessary? Or at least so anticlimactic after everything they went through. I was more looking forward to them working through their trauma together than just having him be killed off. It felt like it was done for shock value and I hate that. Also, what happened to the killer? They were never mentioned again. And then one of my trope pet peeves is when someone tries to distance themselves from someone who so Obviously has the same romantic feelings as they have simply “to protect them” like I never get that logic and I always thought of it as completely unnecessary conflict. So i was majorly disappointed with the ending.

And on top of that the narrators of the audiobook annoyed the crap out of me. The woman was okay but the man narrated it like a documentary he has absolutely no interest in but the money is good.. And the french accent was so bad. I mean I'm not a native but I did have french in school for like 7-8 years and I'm pretty sure the “e” at the end of Enrique is silent. Anyway, I'm just really disappointed because I loved the premise of this book so much. I'm really hoping that the sequel will clean up the messy parts of this first book.

"The Gilded Wolves", while an interesting story with interesting characters, just seems like it tries to do too much at once. It's a well written story but the characters and the writing style just fell flat for me. It's not as enjoyable to read as I wish it was. Hopefully the sequel will be better.

Very slow paced but beautiful writing. I did not like this book as much as her first series, though as this book has henceforth been released, I know that several patrons at my current library has very much enjoyed it. The world, however, was where this book stood out for me: lush, well-written, and engaging. Very much as "it's not you, it's me" book.

Although I haven’t been the biggest fan of Roshani Chokshi’s writing in the past, I had hoped that the setting and plot this time around — an AU version of fin-de-siecle Paris, with magic and heists and a diverse cast! — would present a new and exciting point of entry.

Unfortunately, it still didn’t work for me. In fact, I tried to read this book several times over the course of several months, and just kept having to start over again and again. The writing is just all over the place, the characters, for all their alleged diversity (i.e., we’re told of it but not really shown it because they largely have interchangeable personalities when they “banter”), do not connect for me, and the setting and magic system come off like fantasy for people who don’t read fantasy.
Because it lacks the right atmosphere (which is extra odd considering that Chokshi’s other books were more or less reliant on nothing BUT atmosphere!), it seems less like an AU 19th century Paris and more like a new place and time vaguely inspired by France but spun from whole cloth... and spun rather badly, via constant and annoying info dumps that disrupt the story more than adding to it. There is just way too much going on; the author seems unable to balance it all in an organic and compelling way.
I finally made it about 1/3 into the book before giving up for good.

This one just wasn't for me, I have read the previous books by this author and loved Crown of Wishes. This book shift perspectives multiple times between about 5 or 6 characters all with their own unique powers and backgrounds, so it took some time to understands each of the characters and orientate myself with the book. Even after that I wasn't fully invested and was leery of how the Biblical Babel was twisted into a fantasy story, as well as other elements.

I wanted to love this one, but unfortunately I was not in the right headspace to read it and had a lot of trouble connecting to the characters. YA fantasy isn't my go-to, I struggle with the immense world building. I'm hoping to try this one again later, but for now it's a DNF at 26%

This book was so fantastic to read! I loved this world with the Babel fragments, that allow some people the ability to forge, it was so interesting! And then there was the Order, who protected the fragments. It was just such an interesting world and I can't wait to learn more about it!

We were in most of the gang's head for this book, and that was really great, I really enjoyed seeing things from their different perspectives! They all had their reasons for working for Séverin, what they wanted, what they needed. They were all such interesting and real characters!

Given that this is a heist novel, basically, with a few other elements thrown in, well, yeah, it had a lot going for it! There's the magic of the world, and the politics of the Order. I also really enjoyed seeing their interactions with Hypnos, he was kinda blackmailing them, but he also was pretty lonely and wanted friends. Really enjoyed that bit of the story!

That ending, oh! That was such a bombshell, and I have no idea of how it's going to play out in the future. And if there's a deeper secret there, well, that would be so interesting to read, I have ideas, and if they're right, there's some implications! I need to know more!

Loved this book, and I'm so excited to read more!

Unfortunately this was a DNF. Honestly, it was hard to even make it to 20% because I couldn't seem to engage with the story or characters. The world is pretty complex, the characters are many and again, complex. The writing was incredibly wordy. I was bored and it felt heavy.. Gorgeous cover.

This book is the beginning of what I can only hope will be a multi-book series. Here is the thing. I love Chokshi's writing style. No matter what story she is telling, there is a lyrical quality to it that lulls me into the worlds she creates. I am always deeply affected by her characters and invest in them. THE GILDED WOLVES opened yet another new land I get to visit and I am here for it.