aimee (aimeecanread)'s Reviews > The Gilded Wolves

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"Wolves were everywhere. In politics, on thrones, in beds."

The Gilded Wolves is obviously the next big YA title. Think somewhere along the lines of Six of Crows meets Caraval--this book has all the hardcore action and diverse characters as the former, and the brilliantly-crafted world of the latter. If you read for escape, this book will definitely take you somewhere epic.

There are literally no dull moments in this book. I didn't come across a single scene that felt like a filler; everything that happened in the book happened for a reason, or at least deepened the characters' development. Roshani Chokshi did a fantastic job filling this novel with impossible puzzles, complex politics, and delicate secrets.

"Am I pretty?" [...] "Be honest."
"'Pretty' is a stretch. Let's call you 'striking.' Or 'impossible to look away from.'"
"Oooh. Like the sun?"
"I was thinking more along the lines of a train wreck."

Like I mentioned earlier, the characters in The Gilded Wolves are pretty fantastic. We have a main cast of six eccentric characters with unique personalities, who each bring something different to the story:

🐺 Séverin - This half-Algerian, half-French mastermind is probably the hardest to read among all the characters. He has so much to fight for, and take revenge for. I found his character to be really similar to Kaz's from Six of Crows, although it was a bit harder for me to connect to Séverin.
🐺 Laila - She's a gorgeous Indian dancer, and a fabulous baker during her spare time. I think her character's the most interesting--I don't want to spoil anything, so just take my word for it. She's also probably the group's sweet mother-figure and I love her for that.
🐺 Enrique - I'm totally biased, but the fact that he's Spanish-Filipino pretty much made him an instant favorite for me. Being Filipina, I learned about our history in the eyes of the Filipinos, so it was fantastic to read about the struggles of someone who looked more Spanish than Filipino, and how this was not a great thing for him. He's also the group's comedic relief, and I loved his charm so much.
🐺 Zofia - This Polish math genius has a lot to offer as well. She's always anxious, always lost. She's adorable and sensitive, but is still incredibly strong.
🐺 Tristan - Séverin's foster brother who is basically a teddy bear personified. He's everyone's favorite botanist who has a lot of heart.
🐺 Hypnos - He's black and unapologetically queer. He just wants to be loved and wants to love, which I loved so much about him. He's also funny and charming, and he's just so himself all the time, which is fantastic.

I loved the characters individually, and their relationships--friendship-wise and romance-wise--were equally commendable. Séverin and Tristan, of course, have the most genuine and beautiful relationship, the one between two people who are brothers in everything but blood. Séverin's banter with Enrique also gets me every time. Laila and Zofia had a very sisterly relationship, and I adored them together so much. (view spoiler)[Of course, we also have the intense heat between Séverin and Laila, who are obviously in love but believe they shouldn't be. We also have Enrique's situation, where he finds himself attracted to both Zofia and Hypnos--I can't wait to see how the author will deal with this in the sequels! (hide spoiler)]

"Take what the world owes you by any means necessary. The world has a shit memory. It will never pay its debts unless you force its hand."

The politics and the world-building were fantastic--there was definitely a lot of depth. That being said, it became hard to follow at some points. I had to pause a lot from the information overload, being someone who doesn't like having to take in too much information about something. The background information got too intricate, and there was a bunch of terminology that I had trouble following.

Overall, I would still recommend this gorgeous YA fantasy to any lover of heist-related stories, diverse characters, and unique magic systems. Chokshi also leaves much room in the ending for a sequel with even more magic, secrets, and revenge. I can't wait!