"The Guilded Ones' was such a unique and fascinating read! I saw another reviewer classify it as a 'feminist fantasy' and I can think of no better description! Deka is exactly the type of protagonist I'm always looking for, powerful, yet vulnerable, naive, yet not gullible. She knows she has to look out for herself but she also knows she can trust those around her. It's a wonderful balance that can be very hard to find, especially in YA novels. The friendships in this story are so great. Britta is the type of friend you truly love and one could only ever hope to find someone as loyal she is in their lives. I liked the kind of muted relationship of the story. Keita is one of my favorite characters of the story and a great 'book boyfriend.' I appreciated that the relationship wasn't front and center in the story and played more of a background role so the female friendships and relationships could really get the focus. This may have been a 'chosen one' trope story, but it does it in such a way that you are rooting for her despite it! This story has a lot of themes running throughout out, the most obvious one definitely being female empowerment, women overcoming the patriarchy. The theme does, at first, seem a bit 'shoved down your throat' at the beginning of the story, but by the end of it, your realize why the author was so in your face about it. All in all, this was a fantastic story in an immersive world with brilliant characters that I truly fell in love with. What an amazing debut!

The Gilded Ones was my most anticipated books of the year and since it wouldn’t be released until March 2021 I didn’t think I’d get to read it this year. But I did! Although I won’t be adding it to my best books of this year I am glad I got to read it. I loved that this novel discusses the oppression of women in such a new and unique way. It’s grade appropriate for middle and high school, and I’m sure my fantasy kiddos will be lined up to read this book.

The Gilded Ones is such an incredible and unique feminist fantasy. And look at that gorgeous cover!! The story includes an inspiring group of strong female characters, great representation, romance, and everything readers could ask for in an epic fantasy. The one downfall is the brutal sexual content. While it didn't bother me as an adult, I do see how this could be too much for some younger readers. Aside from that, this book is fantastic.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Random House Children's for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Oh. My. God. This book was amazing! As an avid reader of YA fantasy, this book is very refreshing and new! Perfect for the fans of Rebel of the Sands! I can't hardly wait for the next book in the series to be released! #TheGildedOnes #NetGalley

Thank you to Delacorte Press for a Netgalley copy of this upcoming title.

The Gilded Ones packs a lot of adventure, character growth, and plot all into one book. I assume there will be a follow-up because the ending left me with so many questions.

All Deka wants is to be welcomed by the village she has lived her whole life in. The Ritual Purity test will prove to the people she belongs, but when the results are not what she expects, she is cast out of town and disowned by her father.

She travels with a group of impure girls to a walled city. Inside they are trained to fight the Deathshrieks, monsters who attack the villages of their country, killing men and capturing women and girls. Deka has finally found a group of friends she trusts and a warrior who would give his very life for her.

Will it be enough to heal her past hurts, and will the secrets yet to be revealed cause her new life to crumble.

Forna creates a believable world and deep characters. Some of the characters are a little all or nothing, but it doesn't detract from the story. My only critique of the book is I wished the author had paced the ending differently. It felt like an all-out sprint with all that happened and all that was revealed.

Definitely added as one of my favorite books of the year. Fans of the Hunger Games series will appreciate the tough demeanor and friendship the warriors forge despite being pitted against each other. Readers of fantasy will enjoy the world-building, and Forna adds a much-needed voice to the YA fantasy genre.

Huge thanks to NetGalley, and the Delacorte for the chance to review this title.

At the start, this book goes the way of many popular YA books-a girl enters some sort of ceremony to adulthood and discovers she is not who she thinks she is. Boy howdy, this book took a brutal and unique turn. Enter the deathshrieks. Enter golden blood and gilded death and an army of girls. THE GILDED ONES does not let you take a breath. it assaults you in the face with fascinating writing and unbelievably story-telling. I am kicking myself for waiting so long to read this, but also happy that I am ending 2020 (almost) with such a book.

Deka enters her purity test for excitement. She will finally be recognized as part of society. But when monstrous creatures called death shrieks attack her people, she discovers that her blood does not run red, but gold. Now considered a demon, she's subjected to violent beatings, dismemberment, beheading, etc (most are off-page, but if you're easily triggered, you may want to skip chapter three and some of four.) in order to find her "true death". Finally, a woman she dubs White Hands comes and takes her away, promising life at the capital training with others like her. There, she meets Britta whom she befriends right away, and together they learn how to fight alongsde the other "alaki". But Deka's past creeps up on her, and she soon learns that being a GIlded One means something else entirely.

First off, this book has some violent imagary that should come with a content warning. I did not have a problem with it, but others might so here's your warning. I think NetGalley actually updated the synpopsis with a trigger warning. for violence and mentions of sexual abuse. I think that's the reason for most of the lower ratings I'm seeing, and maybe a reason for my higher rating.

I believe this book took a huge risk with the content it contained, and I for one am here for it. Deka's world is not cupcakes and rainbows. It's cruel, and brutal (I'm using that word a lot, I know. It's the only word that comes to mind), and she must claw her way out of it if she wants to protect her sisters.

The author's goal in writing THE GILDED ONES was to examine the patriachry and how girls cannot thrive under it. The book covered a ton of themes, but it wasn't overwhelming or preachy. One theme that always gets me into a book is the bond of sisterhood. It's refreshing to see a group of girls rising each other up instead of breaking each other down.

Minor issues which did not affect my rating: The romance was meh, and I think the story could have done without it. And the ending felt rushed. I get the word count deal and having it end at the right place to set itself up for a sequel, but I felt like I needed more. I mean, I'll get more with the second and third book so here's hoping the story keeps up momentum.

Overall, this was a solid debut, and I think it's going to throw me into a book hangover. It was that good, you guys. I can't wait for you all to get a chance to read it next year.

I didn’t know much about THE GILDED ONES before requesting it, but I’m glad I did so anyways.
THE GILDED ONES is the feminist fantasy tale of Deka, who discovers that she has the “impure” demon blood of the alaki, a species (of a sort) of girls who are faster and stronger than regular humans and can only be killed in one way, their “final death”. Unlike those before her, Deka and other alaki discovered are taken to be trained as (almost) immortal warriors for the emperor and used to kill deathshrieks, deadly beings that feed on those fearful of them.
This story was so incredible and unique. There was an amazing group of strong female characters, great representation, romance, and everything you want in a fantasy novel.
Despite a lot of the focus being on Deka learning more about herself and her family, there’s still action, and the story is filled with unpredictable twists and turns.
Above all, I appreciated that there was a HEALTHY romance that wasn’t too rushed, and the loyalty between Deka and the other alaki despite Deka being an unknown even among the others.
Seriously, put this on your 2021 TBR.

“No matter my origins, there is worth in what I am.”

When Deka’s blood runs an impure gold rather than virtuous red at her coming of age ceremony she knows that a fate worse than death is awaiting her. Then Deka is given the first real choice of her life: stay to face the wrath of her village or leave with a strange woman to train to fight monsters that will likely kill her anyway. When Deka chooses the path to survival, she unknowingly sets the whole world on a new journey.


Y’all this book is an absolute must read. This book is feminist fury in a fantasy setting. It’s gorgeous, it’s heartfelt, and it’s surprising! Go in as blind as you can because you will not regret it. The Gilded Ones gets five big gold stars from me!

Book Review for The Gilded Ones by Namina Forna
Full review for this title can be found at: @fyebooks on Instagram!

Just... wow. I can't explain how much I love this book, with its female empowerment, its fight to make the world better, its coming-into-oneself story. I absolutely loved this book and cannot wait for the next one

Thank you so much for the opportunity to read this book. I'll be posting my review on Goodreads and Amazon

I can’t believe I finished this! I did NOT expect to with the slump and all...but anyways let’s move on to the review. EXPECT POSSIBLE SPOILERS BELOW!!!!

The Gilded Ones was a rather quick, light read that took me by surprise. I didn’t expect to enjoy it as much as I did. But I think it was exactly what I needed despite the fact that I took 2 breaks from it 😭.

Deka is a wonderful protagonist. She questions literally everything instead of being a gullible child who takes everyone’s word for it. She’s strong, but emotional and even vulnerable at times, and she’s so caring. It was easy to root for her 🖤.

As for the rest of the cast, I liked them a lot. Britta and Belcalis being my favorites because of how much they stood out to me . Britta because of her fun, wary personality and Belcalis for her strength. Whitehands was enjoyable too, but I was quite watchful of her because I didn’t trust her one bit.

The plot was quite intriguing and refreshing. I dare say unique. Some elements of it reminded me of Shadow and Bone, with the whole “Nuri” prophecy situation, but besides that The Gilded Ones felt quite original.

The romance was the one thing lacking to me, as someone who wants as much romance as I do plot, Keita and Deka weren’t as well flushed out as I had hoped. There were plenty of time skips in this novel, and I just wished Namina would have touched on more moments during those time skips to give us a better sense of relationship developments of the coarse of ten months. Especially with the romance.

Needless to say it was still great and I cannot wait for the sequel 🖤

First of all, thank you NetGalley for allowing me the opportunity to read and honestly review this book.

Actual star rating: 3.75
Here we have 15 year old Deka around the time of her Purity Ritual which will determine if she is a pure human or a cursed one. The Ritual finds her as a cursed being and is sentenced to die by the Death Mandate of her village. She is eventually rescued and swiftly taken to a place that recruits cursed beings lile her called Alaki. It is here Deka begins her journey to discover who she is as a woman and her place in the coming war.

While the story's premise concerning the deathshrieks and the Gilded Ones being perceived as demons, the story passed too quickly to fully grasp proper character development and decision making on behalf of the characters. For most of the story, as Deka begins to discover her powers, she spends most of the time passing out and then we immediately jump back to her consciousness a few days later instead of gradually grasping what exactly she goes through from her perspective. It seems more distant than personal, like someone else is telling her story through her voice. I would've liked to have read more on her progress with her training with the other girls instead of skimming past it to move on with the story's main plot

Deka is likable, very driven. There's immense growth (a little too much growth) to her by the end of the novel compared to the mousy and deeply reverent person that she is at the beginning, so focused on feminine roles and habits, which is an added bonus to this story is the focus of feminine culture and that being different doesnt equate to evil. If there is one thing that I disliked about her is the fact that her growth happens too swiftly. Not just in personality, but in the rendition of her powers. I would have liked to see this progress maybe even within the span of two books, as impressive as she turns out to be, just to make it come about a little at a time. It's much easier to digest than have her power growth thrown out quickly then a rushed explanation afterwards.

The addition of Ixa was cute, the line about a girl needing a pet rings true and adds to Deka having more support and the emphasis on her divine blood.

The aforementioned rings true throughout the story, however. The Gilded Ones is very easy to read, it goes by so fast, and it's very enjoyable. But there are times when decisions, and the beliefs/thoughts/alliances of characters changed far too easily. It takes away sometimes from the struggle of the moment and the steady—and much more believable—pace that could be set. I truly would have also liked for the alaki training to last more than it does in as far as us, the reader, witnessing it. Seeing a character's struggle and grapple with their weaknesses really makes the story that much more impactful. It doesn't help if the main character is automatically or magically well gifted at controlling their powers with little effort. It's just not realistic enough. This book could have benefited from more school time and even to help forge the bonds between Deka and the other alaki, not just with Britta.

Thank you to netgalley for a free copy of the book, all options are my own.

This was such an interesting story, I loved the mythology behind it, the world building is so detailed and I loved it! At the age of 16 everyone goes through this ceremony that will show if you're a human (if you have red blood) or a demon (if your blood runs good) and our main character discovers that she is not human and things go to hell from there. Warning! This book is really really violent and it was honestly really hard to read some parts because of all the gore.

My only issue was the romance part, as all ya novels it's very rushed and unrealistic but other than that I'm really intrigued by the world and Deka's story

An utterly beautiful and gut-wrenching story about a Black girl reclaiming her magic. Saturated with lush worldbuilding and a gripping twisty plot, fantasy fans are sure to DEVOUR this one!

The Gilded Ones by Namina Forna is the next great fantasy novel. It's a fierce feminist take on the fantasy novel where women are able to subvert the blood-letting ceremony and join an army of fierce female warriors - overcoming the death sentence or stigma of being deemed impure.

It's a story of resilience, and protagonist Deka is a fierce lead. This is definitely going to be one to watch for in 2021.

Many thanks to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for providing me with a copy of this book. All thoughts are my own.

What a captivating book! Right from the start I was drawn in to Deka's story, curious to see how her ideas of her self, her family, and her country would change over the course of her experiences. And I was not let down! I loved the way Deka's beliefs were challenged as her world expanded, and the ways in which she adapted to the new information she gained. I especially appreciated the way she questioned authority figures and that those in power (like White Hands) were not universally portrayed as good/bad but rather as having nuance. I am never a fan of the idea that if a character just SEEMS good or helpful, then they ARE good/helpful. I also really enjoyed the value placed on the idea of found family and platonic/familial love, and appreciated that it was held as equal to (or even above) romantic love. The end was chock full of plot twists and new information, and though I found it almost overwhelming at times I'm still very much looking forward to whatever comes next!

“Immortal like warriors, demonic monsters, and a patriarch to burn, Namina Forna’s The Gilded Ones is a story unlike any other.” Cecelia Beckman, Sheaf & Ink

Can we first take a moment to talk about the cover of The Gilded Ones.

It is simply stunning!

A female warrior, outfitted in golden armor and tribe like accessories, Deka’s ethereal beauty is captivating. It will definitely draw readers in with its vibrant colors (the turquoise and gold palette is such a great color combination) and eye popping lettering.

A definite cover buy!

The Gilded Ones is a harrowing story. Deka is faced with continued discrimination by society and even the war band she joins to protect the Empire. It is constant: the derogatory language and the harsh treatment is like being barraged by unrelenting colossal waves whose sheer force and purpose is to cause pain. There are often brutal scenes, violent depictions of how Deka and her fellow warriors are treated in ways you wonder if they’ll survive.

Even though Farna’s novel is a harrowing testament to the treatment of women in a patriarchal society, there were some concerns. The pacing of the novel felt stagnant. In the beginning it starts off with anticipation and action. But that quick pace pewters out after the purity ritual, with very little happening until closer to the end. Much of the dialogue doesn’t move the story along and the writing feels mechanical and halting rather than vivid and lush. I wanted more descriptive world building that would have added to and made The Gilded Ones more memorable.

As for the characters, from the beginning, we know Deka is different. She stands out amongst her peers (both in her village and war band), like a rare jewel in a sea of counterfeits. However, after Deka is deemed impure her character progression is similar to the pacing. And rather than embracing a more fierce warrior like demeanor she often resorts back to being helpless, confused, and unsure of who she is and the decisions she makes.

Replete with traditional customs and monsters made from nightmares, Namina Forna created an interesting world and story. One that explores a patriarchal society with its extremist views and how women ultimately had enough.

Happy Reading ̴ Cece

this was a really enjoyable read, the characters were great and I really enjoyed getting to know the settings. I look forward to more from the author and hopefully will see more in this world.

Honestly, if you are looking for a book to add to you “most anticipated books of 2021” please add this one! Why, you ask? Well, first off the characters in this book are so diverse! If you have been following my blog you know that this is something that excites me! Secondly, you have a group of young women, destined for death, who become powerful warriors! Seriously, because of being different the tribes of this world were supposed to murder them, but I will get into that later. Lastly, the world creation done by Forna was…how do I say it? Chef’s Kiss!!! Seriously, I was pulled right in from page one and just did not want to put this book down.

So now begins my task of telling you about this book without giving you any spoilers what so ever. Let’s begin with the lead character, Deka. She is a sixteen year old young woman who is terrified that something would go wrong at the blood ceremony and she wouldn’t be allowed to become part of the village. You see, her family was already seen as an outsider for marrying someone with questionable lineage. So this blood ceremony was incredibly important to her. She just needed to bleed red and her and her father would finally be considered members of their village. Unfortunately, the blood ceremony did not go as planned and Deka’s life changed. She went from being on outsider, to being called a demon, to becoming an incredible warrior (known as alaki).

Namina was masterful in her creation of this world. You could feel the oppression the women and girls were forced to live under. They had to be subservient to men to the extent that they weren’t even allowed to run father than their male counterparts. There was actually an amazing part in the book where Deka realized that all of the girls were purposely running painfully slow to avoid shaming the boys and she called them out on it! One of my favorite lines in the book came from this scene…”are you girls, or are you demons?” This was a major plot point of this book. A female could either bow down to the men of the world or be strong, there was no middle ground. Let me just say, I loved reading about how these young women found their own voice and strength. It is such a fantastic message for YA readers. Seriously, these young girls go from being abused to being warriors, this was so freaking fantastic.

Namina was masterful in the way she covered so many topics including racism, sexism, and rape. Yes this was brought up as one of the horrors that these young women had to face. But these topics were faced in a way that it added to the story and not just as an side like in other books. This grounded the story in some reality and also showed just how low women were treated in this world. But there was also beauty to be seen once the girls were allowed to be who they were meant to be. This book was so good that I just could not put it down. This book gave it all to the reader!

Overall, this is a must read! You were given a diverse cast of character from all over their world and lgbt characters as well. You followed Deka and her friends as they trained to become warriors. You were along side them as they battled these creatures that killed tribes and captured children. And you were there along Deka as she found out who she truly was and what made her special even amongst alaki. So, were the alaki evil like the men in the book or were they something more? Well, guess you are going to have no choice but to read the book to find out! If you are looking for a fantastic YA novel with diverse characters and strong female characters you need to put this on your to be read list for 2021!