Deka has been waiting for the ceremony to determine her purity her entire life. As the daughter of an outsider she has never been fully accepted. But when her blood runs gold and death shrieks attack the village on the day of the ceremony, she is instead taken to the capital to be a part of the emperor's new alaki army. An army that is being trained to hunt and kill the death shrieks. The more she trains, the less she knows, everyone is keeping secrets. Will she be able to figure everything out in time?

"Remember, this will be tough, but you will overcome it. May fortune guide you."

•First read of February?

The Gilded Ones

4.5 /5

Deka is a 16 year old, who lives in an orthodox village, where the teachings of Infinite Wisdoms is absolute, she awaits the blood ceremony where she will be tested for purity, if her blood runs red (pure) or gold (impure). On the day of the ceremony, the Deathshrieks (monsters who take away girls) attack and her blood runs gold, she is deemed impure, unnatural.

Seeking absolution from Oyomo, her God, she joins the elite training "Warthu Bera" in the service of the emperor of Hemaira. She discovers that she is an anamoly when it comes to the Deathshrieks and this is used as an advantage in her training skills.

I adored Deka and Britta's characters, Britta is just so warm a person, her trying to be friends with everyone, hugging them when they're sad, even when she was going through difficult time herself, speaks volume for her sympathetic character.

Deka being tested again and again like pure gold, only comes up brighter and powerful. I loved the growth in her character from a timid girl to a strong one.

I also liked White Hands's fierce character, and Katya and Keita.
I loved the world building in the book, the reference to Emeka's Tears, and the northern Lights. The pacing of the book was perfect according to me, quite fast as you fly through the book. There is action throughout the book.

Things I loved-
-The diversity of characters.
-the language; terms like Alaki, Durkas, Karmoko, Okai, The Nibari. It shows how well thought/researched the book is, not missing minute of details.
-How racism is discussed through the story.
-Women being fierce warriors, "Conquer or Die", standing up for themselves, and their rights.

This beautiful high fantasy "The Gilded Ones" by @namina.forna , has been one of my most anticipated reads for 2021, and it didn't disappoint, I was overjoyed when I found out, I have been accepted for the booktour by @tours.terminal and I got to read this through @netgalley
Thank you for this lovely opportunity.

Isn't this cover gorgeous?

The Gilded Ones is a feminist fantasy with West African flavor and it is fierce. The writing flows effortlessly. The pacing works perfectly. The characters are well developed. Their fears and flaws and strengths fit their experiences. I loved them all.

The book begins with Deka's purity ceremony, a ritual that tests the blood of 16 year old girls to see if it is purely human, or if the girls have instead matured as alaki - demonic, golden blooded, near-immortal beings that must be slaughtered according to the death mandate.

On the day of her ceremony, Deathshrieks attack Deka's village, and in desperation she screams at them to stop attacking those she loves.

They obey.

Her eyes flash golden.

A local man stabs her with a spear and after an initial river of red, Deka's blood runs gold. And she dies. Or, almost-dies.

Over the next few days Deka will almost-die nine times; stabbing, burning, dismemberment, the villagers try it all to find Deka's true death. Then a strange woman comes to the village, finds Deka, and offers her a choice: stay in the village and die as many times as it takes to finally stay dead, or leave and fight in the Emperor's army of alaki, girls just like her. It's not really a choice at all.

This is not your typical "kid with magic goes to a magical school" story, so don't be fooled. It is raw and emotional. You'll fall in love with Deka and her friends as they learn who they are, learn what is worth fighting and dying to protect.

This is definitely a five star read.

It was clear that "The Gilded Ones" was Forna's debut title. I did not enjoy how long it took to get into the action of this book. The entire first half felt like world-building with a small amount of plotline and I really badly wanted to get into the point of the story. Once the action started, I really enjoyed this book until the end. The end felt like closure and when I saw that this was book 1 of a trilogy, I was thoroughly confused. I'm unsure what might be in the next 2 books and I would be happy to never read them. I do think fans of fantasy would enjoy this book, and while I enjoyed it overall, I was disappointed in certain aspects.

What happens when your coming of age doesn't go as planned? All young women are required to bleed to show how pure their blood is. If your blood runs golden, you are put to death. When Deka's blood turns gold she is offered 2 choices, to be put to death or to be trained for an elite fighting squad and serve the king. This is the story of one girl's journey to discover the best of herself and others who were formally ostracized from their society. First in a series.

Thank you hearourvoicestours , penguinrandomhouse and namina.forna for the e-arc .

SYNOPSIS:
Welcome to Irfut, where , every year, girls reaching 16 years of age should undergo a blood ceremony ; wherein they have to bleed red to prove their purity .
Deka, now 16 years old, has abided by the Infinite wisdoms all her life , to avoid the wrath of Oyomo. But on the fateful day of the Ritual of Purity; she bleeds gold- the color of the demons!!
Now, she has to face consequences worse than death.

During the period of her punishments , a mysterious lady whom Deka calls WHITE HANDS , offers her 2 choices- either to become a part of the ALAKI army of the emperor (near immortals like her) to fight to the deadly DEATHSHRIEKS or to get punished until her final death. She opts for the first choice and what awaits her both surprises and moulds her.

Why should you read this?
1. It's an African dystopian fantasy set in a highly patriarchal society. Aren't women always told to abide by rules set by men for generations? Shouldn't we be setting things right?

2. The world building is fantastic and there are so many elements women can relate.

3. The characters are fierce; yet vulnerable. You are bound to see yourselves or people around you in them. Be it Deka- strong yet vulnerable; Britta- funny and warm ; Belcalis- fierce and no- nonsense girl; Adwapa and Asha- the resolute twins; you' ll love them all!!

4. The authors writing style is so beautiful; that you feel the characters' emotions.

5. Representation: African fantasy in mainstream literature is quite an achievement and utter delight to read. The author has showcased LGBTQ representation too.

The only bad thing I felt about this was that I've to wait for the next installment.

Trigger warning: Gore, sexual abuse, violence, death, graphic content.

Rating: 5/5

Thank you Netgalley for the opportunity for access to the advance copy of The Gilded Ones. The review below was part of a Book Tour & Author Review, now featured on my blog.

Author Namina Forna captivated me with a riveting story filled with fantasy inspired West African folklore, messages of equality, defining feminism and purity. When I first opened the novel, I immediately noticed a lack of in-depth background into Deka’s life. The first few pages were of her telling us, the readers, what the village was about instead of showing through explicit action or dialogue. I can see not wanting to dive too deep into the village where Deka is from, because her story truly begins when her blood runs gold. However, I did feel as though it needs at least a hint into how she was different for other girls in her village (we don’t get to this point until a few chapters later). Yet, even without thee overuse of description and imagery, I could envision Deka as a young timid girl whose only focus on being pure is riddled with anxiety and fear.

The world building on the other hand is amazing, Forna presents a culture, mirrored to several of past and present, that focus solely on a woman’s purity and ability to be subservient. For instance the woman in Deka’s village must not be seen with a man unchaperoned or once deemed pure, wear face masks in public. To Deka, being pure would mean regardless of her dark skin, contrast to her father’s, she does belong. The world itself is surged with demonic attacks from beings known as Deathstrikes; large creatures that erupt in deadly shrieks with razor claws, and gray leathery skin.

To plunge into a world already at the forefront of battle and death caterpultes the story along and Deka’s own realization that perhaps the villagers were lying to her. After being wounded on the day of the ritual, Deka comes face to face with the seedy and dark truth, that her village doesn’t just kill impure, they torture them. Reading through the next two chapters is gruesome, Forna doesn’t hold back when is comes to subjecting her main character to pain and heartache. In fact I would say the amount of violence surprisingly balances out and gives Deka a direct character development path from weak to a strong and powerful warrior. I found the struggles she had to face well developed and thought provoking, opening up several avenues to plot twists and truths I could only guess might be right (the amount of plot twists in this is amazing!).

I love The Gilded Ones for all the simple yet profound truths that many women and young girls in society today may overlook—that they all have power and can triumph over hardships. The saying “it takes a village” is certainly true in this fantastical novel; Deka goes from barely knowing who she is and no support, to a full circle of friends, sisters vowing to watch each other’s backs. While there have been some misconception about the plot failing to grasps readers’ attention towards the climx, I think Forna did an excellent job displaying Deka’s waves of emotions. From fear to anger, to absolution and love, Deka is full character with vast levels on what it means to truly find your power and inner peace within yourself.

If you haven’t read The Gilded Ones yet, please make sure its at least on you TBR because you do not want to miss out on this wonderful and thought provoking novel! Huge thank you to Netgally, Penguin Random House and of course Namina Forna for the chance to read this ARC.

RATING: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Be sure to check out the Author Q&A on my blog at:
https://fallbetweenthepages.com/advanced-books/2021/2/5/the-gilded-ones-blog-tour-and-author-qampa

I really enjoyed the non-stop action and pacing of this story! I was intrigued by the death shrieks and Deka’s connection to them & was pleased by how it unfolded...although the basics of the connection weren’t a shock. I think it will be well liked by teen readers. My knocks against it: the underlying feminist tones were a little too overt for me, the narrator voices sounded younger than teens, and the character relationships were not as developed as I would have liked. Still a solid 4 stars & very enjoyable!

4 stars

First thing, can we talk about how beautiful this cover is? The gold, the teal, the perfect art on the cover, all just stunning.

Now before reading this one, please check out the trigger warnings for this one. It is a bit darker than more YA fantasy books.

The GIlded Ones has been on my radar for quite some time now. The synopsis immediately grabbed my attention! But also, many friends have read this and loved it. So going into this book, I had very high hopes that I would love it too.

It took me a while to get to the love part. I wasn't feeling the story at first, as it felt like a typical YA fantasy book. But I admit it, I was wrong. The more I read, the more I loved this book. I even had to switch from the audio to the physical book so I could read faster. I literally could not get enough.

The characters are diverse and badass. Deka, our sixteen-year-old protagonist really shined in this book. Her character development throughout the book was amazing to see. Now I don't want to spoil anything, so I will just say that there were a few more amazing characters.

My biggest and only issue was the time jumps. It didn't flow as nicely as I would have liked, and I admit I got a bit confused here and there. It felt like a lot of things happened off-page and I wish I could have seen more.

If you enjoy fantasy and female empowerment, then definitely grab this one. It's not one to skip.

Namina Forna's The Gilded Ones was just as good as I hoped it would be. It is the story of Deka, a sixteen year old, who must take part in a blood ceremony to determine if she is pure enough to become a full-fledged member of the village she grew up in or if she will be found as impure and suffer a fate worse than death itself. Deka has always known she is a bit different and not just because of her darker skin color, never feeling like she quite belonged. But if she is found pure, she knows that will ensure her a place in the village--marriage and children and respect.

On the day of the ceremony, however, her blood runs gold marking her as impure. Subjugated to unimaginable torture and abuse, Deka is saved when a mysterious woman comes to the village and offers her a choice. To stay and suffer her current fate or join the emperor's army of impure girls like herself, the alaki, near immortals. The idea of being able to find a place where she will be accepted and actually belong and to stop the cycle of death she's suffered at the hands of the village priests, Deka agrees. As Deka learns more about her special abilities and about her roots, she's also learning how to be an unbeatable soldier. The more she learns, the more her eyes are opened--and she begins to question all she's been taught to believe.

The world in which Deka lives is extremely patriarchal. Women are treated poorly and those who are deemed impure, whose gold blood and has special healing abilities, are enslaved, tortured and killed over and over. The world building in this novel is intricate and well thought out, from the various regions, native and magical creatures, and history of the land and its people. It is all so richly drawn.

Deka is just one of many characters in this novel who have been oppressed and treated terribly. I enjoyed reading about how their relationships evolved over time. There is some romance but even more so the strong bonds of friendship. Deka grows significantly over the course of the novel. Seeing her and the other young alaki come into their power and be empowered was thrilling to read, especially given where many of them came from and how they were treated.

I loved every minute of this West-African inspired fantasy novel. I can see this novel making a great book club pick. There are plenty of themes that would make for an interesting discussion. While the first half was a bit slower than the second, it was no less interesting. I heard a rumor The Gilded Ones will be made into a movie. I sure hope they do it justice. I cannot wait to see what Namina Forna brings us next.

First off let me just say, I’m a sucker for a beautiful cover. And the cover of this book isn’t the only thing that is beautiful.

This is the debut novel of Namina Forna, and the emotional rollercoaster ride it takes you on is astronomical. It’s a book about self discovery, betrayal, love, friendship, heart-ache of all types, and the willingness to never let up and to never back down no matter the opponent.

It’s the best coming of age novel I’ve read in a very long time. It hit on some very heavy subjects to say it was a YA book, but that’s what makes it so phenomenal. The book wasn’t dragged down by the heaviness, it grabbed the reigns and went along for the ride. 1000/10 would recommend this book to everyone who asks about it.

I was given a free advanced copy of this book, and am writing this review freely.

The Gilded Ones is such a well-written, compelling YA fantasy. Deka's voice leaps off the page, and even though I had heard other reviewers mention the dark places this book goes, I was not fully prepared. But I fell in love with Deka from page one, so I was completely committed to seeing where her story would go.

Deka lives in a patriarchal society where girls are bled on their sixteenth birthday to determine the color of their blood. Red blood is considered pure, whereas girls with golden blood are believed to have demons inside of them. Unsurprisingly, on the day of the ceremony, it is revealed that Deka has golden blood. Once this happens, the pacing of the book sweeps the reader up and does not relent until the very end. I loved it!

I would recommend The Gilded Ones to any fans of YA fantasy, so long as they are prepared for a bit of a darker read. Thank you to the publisher and to Netgalley for providing me with an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

You know a book is good when you fall asleep thinking about it and it's the first thing on your mind the next day. The Gilded Ones immediately immerses you in a world of patriarchy and religion - one that feels startlingly familiar in so many ways. There's SO MUCH world-building and I appreciate how the author reminds us constantly what the unfamiliar terms mean and even how to pronounce some of the character's names. It made me really want to get them right. I loved how the world's complex history and religion are woven into the story in a way that brings the world to life and makes you understand these people and their views.
Deka's journey from devoted daughter to soldier (to maybe even something more) is believable and clearly charted. There's a reason for everything she goes through, for every twist and turn of the story. I appreciated the high stakes and the stark reality of the situations of these girls but I also appreciated that the violence wasn't gratuitous or drawn out. This book is bloody and violent, but written in a way that you understand without having to know every gory detail.
I loved the female friendships, the story of overcoming and reclaiming your story and your history. But mostly I loved how powerful this book was. It's full of righteous anger, rage at the injustice of the world, and women and girls who have to overcome and endure incredible hardships.
The Gilded Ones could easily work as a standalone novel so I am interested to see where the next book goes. I hope we get to hear from some of the other characters because I would love to know more of their stories.

I DNF this book at 30%. I wasn't enjoying the writing style of the book. I found myself having to reread things multiple times and wasn't enjoying my experience of reading the book. I thought the plot and the characters were interesting enough. Hopefully I will be able to pick this up at a later date and enjoy it more.

A fear of impurity keeps sixteen-year-old Deka on edge facing her blood ceremony. She already doesn't fit in, but if her blood is found to be gold rather than red, she'll become worse than an outcast.

The Gilded Ones depicts a harrowing tale of pain and oppression not often found in other works of its age range. While I respect and admire books that aim to tell a story beyond just the fantastical, the sorrowful nature of the story felt strange alongside some of the more lighthearted, almost juvenile tropes we see throughout. It's a balance I'm very picky with, and is certainly a personal factor that is not necessarily a fault of the book.

I could likely have accepted the balance being different from what I typically crave, but some of the pacing elements and quick resolution is what kept the story from being a new favorite. Still highly recommend to anyone who thinks the plot sounds interesting.

Outcasts by blood, warriors by choice. Deka is ready to be tested in a purity ritual so she can begin her life. Everything changes when she is found to be impure due to her blood running gold. She was deemed a monster in the eyes of everyone she grew up with, including her family. She is sent off to be trained to kill death shrieks that are terrorizing the world. Girls are the only ones tested for purity and have little to no options for their lives besides marriage and children, and those are the ones with non-magical blood. The alkali (or those with gold blood) are forced by the empire who mandated the ceremony and the death mandate to be an army against the death shrieks. A debut novel that tackles serious issues but is so original in the plot twist that I was blown away. I was not sure quite what to expect from this novel, but I was thoroughly impressed. I gave it a four-star rating primarily due to the level of gore that I was not expecting to encounter.

I genuinely enjoyed this. I found the characters to be incredibly compelling, the plot had a nice pacing that kept my interest all the way through, and I especially like the development of a fantasy world in a non-Eurocentric location. There was a twist ending that I didn’t see coming, which is always nice, and I feel like it wraps up the plot while also leaving room for expansion into another book. I think the most important thing about this book is how it dealt with feminization and the changing perspectives on women in Africa, and indeed the rest of the world. We are blessed to be in a time when women are slowly gaining the equality that our ancestors fought for, and while I don’t see it all being perfect in my lifetime, it’s nice to see progress anywhere we can get it.

I went into this without knowing much about it and was definitely shocked by the darkness of it. Definitely an amazing read though!

*Thanks to NetGalley for an eARC of this title in exchange for an honest review.*

Deka lived her whole life as a good, devoted girl in her small village. She never did anything that was improper, be it running, being too loud, or showing up the boys at anything. She was excited for the ceremony that would prove her pure enough to be accepted as a woman in her town -- except, it didn't go as planned. Turns out, she's not pure. Her blood runs gold instead of red, marking her as part demon.

Now, the people in her town - including her own father - have turned their backs on her, and are trying desperately to kill her. (They keep trying. She keeps coming back to life.) Deka has a choice: stay in her town until they finally succeed in killing her, or join an elite group of warriors and eventually earn her purity. It's not really a choice, is it? It's also not quite that easy. But that's okay - Deka is a lot stronger than anybody has given her credit for.

Reader's Notes: Deka is a wonderful, strong character, faced with some unusual situations. The world-building was interesting in this book, but I would have liked to have a bit more explanation of what was going on in their world, instead of snippets here and there.

The Gilded Ones is a high fantasy novel that deals with many issues such as child abuse and graphic violence, racism along the society, and dehumanized behaviors. Not excusable but explained as a way to show female power of regenerating and becoming more powerful. I will say that Deka was lied to her whole life and it becomes clear during a ritual ceremony. Every girl in her 15th year of life is to go through a blood ceremony. If the girl bleeds red, she is deemed pure, if she bleeds gold, she is impure. Girls with golden blood are demons and are looked at like they are animals and don’t deserve to be considered a part of human society. This book took the saying “what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger” to a whole new level. The Gilded Ones give voice to those that feel oppressed, ignored, or overlooked to rise up. Please note that the pacing is slow at times and can be a struggle to get through. Push on because it gets better and is well worth it. Some parts I will say are obvious and you want to yell at Deka because many of her questions could be answered if she took some time to think about them. Overall, I thought this was a great novel.