Cover Image: The Gilded Wolves

The Gilded Wolves

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Member Reviews

I feel like Severin and Kaz Brekkar could be brothers. So bad ass and very volatile. Do not want to mess with these guys. The whole cast of characters fit so well together even though they are so different, both intellectually and ethnically as well. Love seeing that as well portrayed so well in Chokshis books.

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A fantastic start to a new series! Choski is a master storyteller, weaving a delightful tale of adventure! Perfect for fans of Leigh Bardugos Six of Crows! Set in Paris, Gilded Wolves follows six outcasts as they plan for a heist that could change their lives!

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Severin and his colleagues embark on a quest to find an artifact the Order of Babel has coaxed him into retrieving for them, holding his inheritance hostage in exchange. The story has a lot of twists and turns, which I love, and unexpected occurrences. There is an element of moral grayness in the characters that is very believable. I love the almost steampunk elements of this story, the intrigue, the characters. The setting of the industrial revolution in Paris is one of my favorites for the possibilities the era held.

I strongly recommend this book for readers who like adventure, intrigue, a touch of history, and quests. They will not be disappointed.

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Very late to the party but I finally picked this up after a friend urged me too. This was a refreshing surprise! Obviously I had heard the frequent Six of Crows comparisons so I knew I could expect questionable characters and heists and I wasn't disappointed! But the world building of the different houses and the magic completely swept me up! Now just to get my hands on the rest...

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The book felt very similar in premise and execution to Leigh Bardugo's Six of Crows duology. For that reason, I believe it will find success and will give us a book to recommend to readers who enjoyed that series.

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Fun heist with anti colonial aspects and a diverse cast. Some of the pacing is a little off and the treatment of the autistic ensemble member made me feel a little uncomfortable (she comes across as infantilized despite her genius intellect) but hopefully as Chokshi gets used to writing the genre these wrinkles will smooth out

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Though I love the first two stories written by this author, try as I may, I cannot get into this one. I have tried reading it on digital and audio formats without any success. I look forward to other series to come but will give up on making my way through this one.

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I thoroughly enjoyed the gilded wolves. The characters are what really stood out to me. Diverse, complex, and real. I loved the time-period and the historical aspects of the book. Sevrin being a treasure-hunter and looking to find a fantastical item that will help him be reinstated to his rightful place was the perfect leading man. Laila is a stand out protagonist, an indian dancer and has the ability to read people via objects. The magic system in this novel was different. The rest of the crew were fantastic and diverse.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC. It did not influence my review.

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Well, that was stunning. I expected nothing less out of Chokshi. This was a like a more glamorous and Parisian Six of Crows. Need I say more?!

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I really love Chockshi's work, she's a seriously talented writer and the worlds she builds are impeccable. I loved seeing this new genre from her was delightful. I'm excited to see what else this series has in store especially as she continues to grow these characters!

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This was definitely a different type of read than I’m used to in the thriller genre. It’s definitely unique and cleverly written. If you’re looking for something outside of the norm, try it out.

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Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Severin is the heir to the house of a powerful secret society in 1880s France, but he has been denied his inheritance by a villainous traitor. Severin gathers 5 friends who are each an expert in their field to help him pull off the heist of the century so he can claim his rightful place among the Order of Babel. The feeling of this book reminds me a lot of Six of Crows, but in the best ways possible. It's full of action, adventure, twists, and a tiny bit of romance. I love watching the relationships develop as the six characters work together to take out evil, and I am excited to read the sequel.

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THE GILDED WOLVES is like Indiana Jones, only instead of an older white man, he’s replaced by a diverse group of well-dressed teens in Belle Époque Paris. Ok, so maybe it’s not *quite* like Indiana Jones, but there are some really cool riddles and quests, and there are even some caves and underground rivers. Each of these characters are searching for something different amongst the rich and magical society of Paris, and that’s what brought them together initially. After forming a sort of ragtag team, they’re now undertaking their biggest quest that will come with either the biggest payoff....or their greatest loss.

Nestled in the glittering and dark streets of Paris is L’Eden, a ritzy hotel that’s home to wealthy hotelier Séverin, scientist Zofia, historian Enrique, gardener Tristan, and baker Laila. The characters are definitely the highlight of this book. Coming from all different places and backgrounds, there’s an undercurrent of otherness that ties each of them together. All want different things out of life but the one thing they all have in common is their desire to be accepted for who they are and to finally fit in somewhere. Chokshi really puts her characters through the wringer as well — there’s love and loss and everything in between, and much of it will jump off the pages and punch you directly in the guts.

THE GILDED WOLVES has become one of my all time favorite books. I’ve read it twice now — the first time I listened to the audio, this time I read the book. Normally I recommend one way over another but I highly recommend both ways. The dual narrators were phenomenal, the book has illustrations of all the interesting puzzles. Either way you read it though, you’re in for a whole lot of fun. And heartbreak, but we’re not going to talk about that because I’m still mad 😉

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I didn't finish this book. I found it hard to follow the plot. I loved the idea, but the execution seemed a little off. I love Roshani Chokshi's other books, so it was rather disappointing that this one just didn't quite work for me.

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**After re-reading...I LOVE this book and everything about it. I cannot wait for book two.

I think I thought this was going to satisfy my Six of Crows cravings, but it only intensified my love for the series it’s so aptly like. That isn’t this book’s fault, and maybe under different circumstances, when I read it next time, I will feel differently-at that point I’ll retract this review and come back and change it here.

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I didn't finish this book, unfortunately. I got about 1/2 way through and just lost interest. The mood of the book and the violence were just to much for me at the time. I didn't really like the characters that much. It was kind of depressing. I got to a point where it was the last thing I wanted to pick up. I find that when that is the case, it is better to move to a book that I want to read.

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Whilst I've enjoyed stories from this author previously, I struggled to connect with the story and the characters with this one.

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I have been putting off writing this review for a while now. Why, oh why, is it so hard to write a review for a book you loved? All I want to write is "I LOVED IT. READ IT NOW." and add a bunch of hearts around it and push it on as many people as possible. However, that's not really much of a review and I need to start getting better a doing this. 

I requested and read The Gilded Wolves over a year ago, but just recently finished a re-read in preparation for the release of its sequel, The Silvered Serpents, in September. I seriously have the worst memory and need to re-read in order to remember key plot details and characters. Anyway, I absolutely loved this book both times I read it! Roshani Chokshi is a fantastic author who writes in such a beautiful and almost lyrical way. Her words seem to jump off the page and into my heart. I was completely hooked after the first few pages and honestly couldn't stop reading. I finished this book the first time by staying up late into the night. I didn't mind suffering the next day at work because it was such a delight. 

The standout part of this book was its diverse cast of characters. Yes, the book was about a heist, but the characters and their lives were really what took center stage. I'm all about character-driven stories and I think that's why I enjoyed reading The Gilded Wolves. The characters were really well written, fully formed, believable and imperfect. Plus, they were so much fun! I adored their hilarious banter and tender moments with each other. Oh, and there's some well written romantic tension that just builds and builds as the story progresses. I'm a sucker for books that take this route and I can't wait to see what happens in book two! 

While I thought that the book was amazing, I did have a few issues with the world-building. The first few chapters were largely dedicated to the mythology of the Houses and the magic system. The first time I read the book I'll be honest and say that the whole world was kind of confusing. I just couldn't wrap my head around it. The second time around was different and everything was very clear to me. However, this was probably because I had already experienced the world before and could properly imagine what was being explained to me in my head. 

I don't want to write too much and give away key details about the plot and characters. If you haven't read The Gilded Wolves drop what you are reading and do it now! You won't be disappointed with the fast-paced story, loveable characters and magical world. I especially recommend it to fans of the Six of Crows duology and readers of Chokshi's previous novels. 

Now, I just need to wait until September for the next installment. *sigh*

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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.

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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.

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