A delightful mix of the friendship and camaraderie from Guardian's of the Galaxy and the heist/mission aspect of a Mission Impossible-esque tale, The Gilded Wolves was fun and exciting. Chokshi has woven an intricate and deeply involved story with this new approach to a supernatural/magical ability, Forging.

Forging is the ability to manipulate or enhance an object, either physically changing it or showing a manipulation through mind forging. It's complex but fresh, which is a commendable feat for Chokshi. Forging is part of an elaborate history tying to the biblical Tower of Babel and its remaining fragments, controlled by the Order of Babel. The Order is constructed from members of Houses of families, similar to a royal lineage and royal courts.

Forging is introduced a little heavily in the beginning, along with the history and entire set-up for the world, but it's completely worth the little bit of info-dump thrown into those opening chapters. I know no other alternative, so I get why it is all there early on.

Propped up against the Paris backdrop featuring a newly constructed Eiffel Tower, and coinciding with the Exposition Universelle of 1889, The Gilded Wolves is hard to put down (after that info-dump). Between the characters, the settings, and the detailed history, I was entranced by the atmosphere and intensity so well-written by Chokshi.

Séverin, the main narrator and head of the band of misfits he calls his crew and family, is both cold and removed while still practically vibrating off the page with his vulnerability. Revealed both through his interactions with his crew and through flashbacks that read like dark fairytales, I could not get enough of Séverin as the narrator.

This is what I wanted, and didn't quite get, from Six of Crows. So any fan of that one should be thrilled with the web Chokshi has constructed for this new world that melds perfectly with the real-life 1889 Paris in which it is set.

The Gilded Wolves was a lavish, dark, and terrifyingly beautiful novel, with dynamic and instantly loveable characters that you root for, along with a suspenseful plot full of heists and double crosses that keeps you on the edge of your seat until the final word.

I particularly loved the diverse cast. There was so much wonderful representation with these characters!

I will be highly reccommending this book as an addition for our Young Adult collection to my library manager.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for sending me a digital ARC of "The Gilded Wolves" by Roshani Chokshi. This book is wonderful. I love everything about it! This book is a must purchase for teen collections.

An unlikely troupe of talented teens works together to uncover an ancient secret and plan a daring heist to prevent disastrous consequences for their world. Of course, each member of this group has their own interests in mind and their own personal reasons for participating in the dangerous venture.
Paris, 1889. Stunningly beautiful, evocative descriptions of setting, elaborate costumes, and mouth-watering confections abound. These details aren’t surprising considering the author: Roshani Chokshi delivers her signature descriptive prose all throughout this story. While Chokshi’s previous novels relied heavily on otherworldly, whimsical turns of phrase, The Gilded Wolves seems to weigh the equation more heavily on plot and action than any of her other works, yet there is no loss in the focus on aethstetics that elevates Chokshi’s writing to a near poetic level.
On the topic of action and pace: I was at times overwhelmed with the sheer amount of information that was given to the reader to absorb at a given time. This novel moved along briskly, fitting in a ton of exposition and background for not just the main character of the novel, Severin, but also the other central members of the cast. Explanations of the world and magical system were worked into the story via history book-like snippets of previous rulers general comments and observations. Some readers (including myself) may benefit from additional readings of the story to fully grasp all of the concepts presented in the text. However, an abundance of information is much more preferable to a lack of background and it wasn’t enough to drag the reader out of the story entirely; in fact, the fast paced plot, intricate planning and loads of action made this one tough to put down at all.
If the high praise of the action, writing style, and gorgeous descriptions aren’t enough to entice a potential reader, my final note is this: come for all of the previously mentioned aspects of the novel, stay for the characters. The multiple character POV provided a delightful peek into each of the main player’s heads and gave each a depth and uniqueness that vacillated between the hilarious and heartbreaking at times. Roshani Chokshi’s sharp, glimmering gem of a novel is surely not to be missed. The only question that remains is: when are we getting the next installment in this series?

What I liked best about this book is that there is a character for everyone to relate to. This group of misfits band together on a common quest despite their differences in personality, ability, or end game. The author's words really put you in the middle of the book and I could envision each relic and each character in great detail by the descriptions that were given. I enjoyed this book immensely and as stated by others...those interested in Six of Crows, the Invisible Library series, or even the Throne of Glass series would likely enjoy as well.

An explosive tale reminiscent of Six of Crows. This book teems with magic, hidden agendas, and unlikely alliances. I was hooked from page one and couldn't stop until I reached the satisfying conclusion. Rich characterization, colorful worldbuilding, and heart-stopping action make for an unforgettable read. I highly recommend!

Let me start by saying that Roshani Chokshi writes beautiful prose and has created a fascinating alternative history of Paris in the 1800s...with a wonderful form of alchemy, known as forging. On the flip side, I think that maybe this just wasn’t the book for me. At first, I was sucked into the world of forging, vendettas, mystery and magic. And then, we’ll, I sort of glazed over with the rapid introduction of characters, the complicated heist, and the many, many magic rules. So my attention faltered in the middle of the book. But then, all of a sudden, everything speeds up and gets dirty and violent and wonderfully tense at the end. Seriously. The last few chapters were absolutely riveting! So I’m having a hard time rating this one - I love the author, I love her writing, I love the beginning and the end, but I was a bit bored in the middle.

Roshani Chokshi has done it again! Once more she graces the page with an alluring balance of evocative prose and characters you'll want to either love or throttle or perhaps even both. Gilded darkness, Parisian mystique, secret history, and a thrilling current of witty banter all ties this dangerous chase together into a must-read for readers everywhere. If THE GILDED WOLVES is not on your list already, then it really ought to be.
-pooled ink

**I was provided with an ARC through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review**

Roshani Chokshi’s The Gilded Wolves introduces a captivating world where magic and science collide. Words cannot do justice to the mesmerising world building that will teleport you to another world and another time and you’ll just want to leap right in.

Set in 19th century Paris at the time of the Exposition Universelle the story centres on one Severin Montagnet-Alarie - hotelier and self proclaimed “treasure hunter” – and his group of talented cohorts. Together they dabble in acquiring *cough* stealing *cough* artefacts that belong to the Order of Babel – a powerful elite organisation that secretly governs the world. When a particular acquisition opens up an opportunity to achieve their dreams, this group of misfits plunge into a high stakes adventure full of riddles and puzzles, secrets and baked treats and all of the feels!!

This was the first book by Roshani Chokshi that I have read and I absolutely loved it!! At first it does feel like there is a lot to take in, as with every new fictitious world there are various names, characters and features to become accustomed to, however Chokshi has a beautiful way of weaving her words and has created an entertaining and twisting plot that keeps you hooked throughout. I don’t want to give too much away because you need to read and appreciate this book yourself but it does give off a Six of Crows vibe but with its own unique tangent.

It is wonderfully diverse, ingeniously sprinkled with historical and scientific knowledge and hosts a bunch of endearing characters that you will want to protect with your life.

I just hate that I read this as an ARC because it means a longer wait to see how the story goes on because THAT ENDING ! ! OH MY GODDDD!
Final Rating – 4.5/5 Stars

This is the first book I’ve read by Roshani Chokshi and I’ve got to say, I love her ideas and writing already. It reminds me of Six of Crows in many ways, the main ones being that they both are heist books and contain six different main characters. However, this book had its own magic to it, and I’d honestly say that it’s one of my favourite books this year (or maybe 2019? It’s not published yet).

So, the characters. They were all super relatable, yet so much smarter and braver than I could ever be - basically, my favourite kinds of characters.
- Séverin: A biracial i.e. son of a slave and noble, but very white-passing, anti-hero (sort-of) who wants his inheritance and involves the help of his friends (who he will never admit are his friends so maybe ‘colleagues’ is a better word) in order to retrieve it. He’s been denied the inheritance of his family and house, therefore, is bent on revenge and blackmail. Secretly cares for his friends and family but bottles it up all inside. Is broken and hides it with coldness.
- Hypnos: Another biracial character, and like Séverin, is also the son of a slave and noble, however, is much less white-passing and of colour. He’s bisexual/pansexual (not specified, but it’s known that he likes both men and women). This character offers Séverin the chance to get his inheritance back. Loud and obnoxious, but funny and also the most beautiful man anyone will lay their eyes upon. Is overconfident and knows that he’s pretty.
- Laila: An Indian girl who was created out of magic as a result of her parents’ consultation for someone with a mind Forging affinity. Can read people and objects’ minds by touching them. Worries about her family and friends and acts like a mother. Is one of the only ones who can get Séverin to blush.
- Enrique: A biracial, Spanish and Filipino, historian with a tendency to read 24/7 (like me), mostly non-fiction (unlike me). Likes to brag about his beauty but is also shy at the same time (exactly like me). Is bisexual/pansexual (again, not specified).
- Zofia: An autistic Jewish, Polish ex-student who was kicked out of university for arson. Is super smart and loves Mathematics. Has a matter Forging affinity.
- Tristan: Séverin’s brother, but not by blood. Is an amazing and adorable smol bean and raises pet spiders and tarantulas as a hobby. Has a matter Forging affinity. Is my little 2, I mean 16, year old son and I LOVE HIM SO DAMN MUCH.
I loved all the characters so much. Seeing them cry makes me sad. Seeing them smile makes me happy. Seeing them shouting/being cold makes me angry. They’re all my adorable little munchkins jajsjsksksjsk!! And can you see how diverse they are? They’re wonderfully diverse and that makes me sigh in awe.

The setting (and world-building, I guess?) was/were great as well. This was set in Paris 1889 where The Order of Babel, a powerful organisation ruled secretly underground. To normal people, they were a part of the police force, however, underground, they held auctions and did many things considered illegal. The Order rules across the world, but this book focuses on France’s one. Within the Order consists of two houses, House Kore and House Nyx. There were once four houses, consisting of these ones and House Vanth (Séverin’s old one, where the Order denied him his inheritance), along with the Fallen House (the once most powerful, and as the name suggests, has fallen). Those with a Forging affinity could create, manipulate and shape things in their will. There were two kinds of Forging: mind and matter. Mind was more rare, and involves the mind, as it names suggests, instead of objects, etc. I’d love to say more, but I don’t have the talent to explain everything without spoiling the book.

Chokshi’s writing was beautiful. It was descriptive, yet never crossing the line of purple prose. I can go on and on about this, but the thing I loved the most was the message.

As much as I can praise this, I think one has to read for themselves in order to understand the depth of this novel. Roshani Chokshi explores a world where slavery still exists and even those who are noble cannot fully escape the treatment of slaves in they have, well, slavery blood in their veins. I loved how biracial characters were described, never fitting in with any of their relatives as they were too different. LGBTQ characters could not fit in because they are too different. Autistic characters, could not fit in because they were too different. We’ve been taught all throughout history this different is bad and until now, the idea is still apart of our minds, regardless of whether it’s a small part or large one. The author examines the sexualising of women and how, while being confident of one’s sexuality can be a good thing, there are so many cases where this sexualising is taken too far. We’re discovering that everyone, in the end, are humans and deserve to be treated well and fairly.

And the plot, though. Okay, at first it doesn’t sound anything special. Just another heist book, right? Nope, wrong. It contains so many plot twists, and sure, some are kind of predictable, but for the most part, they were unexpected and blew my mind. Especially the ending. It was so dramatic and bittersweet, and I love it. It made me cry, laugh and feel 182803945 emotions at once.

Just to get some complaints, actually, no, more like one complaint, out of the way. The beginning was so confusing. I didn’t understand what Forging was. Like, what were these different Houses?? Who’s the Matriarch? What??! I don’t know if it’s just me, but I prefer to be fed information bit by bit, not all at once later on in the book. I guess this is just a it’s-not-you-it’s-me thing,.

I see the love-triangle-ish thing between Enrique, Zofia and Hypnos. You might be thinking, “ohhh, so both guys like Zofia?”, but you’re wrong. It’s more like an ‘Enrique is attracted to both of them and they’re attracted to him as well’ type of thing. The love triangle is subtle, so it might just be me picking up on it. Usually, I would hate love triangles, but this one is hilarious and cute, so I actually like it. It’s a funny addition to the story.

Yeah, so overall, really good. I loved it sososososo much. Like, I think I’d read anything by Roshani Chokshi now. If she wrote on a garbage bag about a table, I’d still read it.

I couldn’t get into this one as much as I would have liked. I think because I kept envisioning Six of Crows. A lot of the book reminded me of that. It did havevery beautiful writing, though. Roshani is a master at that!

Such an enticing novel with a romantic mystery twist. Every chapter was engaging in a time period of 1889 where gangster crime is at its beginning. Some parts however were somewhat predictable but it made up for incorporating unexpected turns and surprises to keep the story more exciting. This story was also the 1889 Paris version of Indiana Jones where three people come together to find an ancient artifact with all at stake. The story is so enticing and adventurous that it was hard to stop reading.

Thank you Netgalley and publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review. We will definitely be considering this title for our YFiction collection in the library. That is why we give this book 5 stars.

This books sells itself as a heist, a leader gathering his team with their unique abilities. What I found it to be at its core was a story driven by its characters. The story is told from four unique points of view that each add to the story.

The world is built with technology, a bit of magic (forging) and awash with religious imagery. With her previous books, she created a world that I wanted to live in this is just the same. It draws from history, historically recognizable characters but rewrites it to her own. I want to live in this Paris.

I found Laila's POV to be my favorite. She wears the tightest mask, puts on the biggest smile to hide the truth. Its mysterious magic I wish had been explored more, how did it come to be. She cares for all the different characters, finding ways to connect with them. There is a particular scene with Zofia late in the book that she specifically picks something she know will help put Zofia at ease in a situation she knows makes her uncomfortable. The way Laila and Séverin circle each other, both seemingly too afraid to be something more to each other. Their ending though, my how that upset me. I don't want to wait however long until the next book to see the outcome.

I wish we had a POV from Tristan. He is written almost childlike but you see the hints of something darker and broken lingering below the surface. Séverin history is explored with the seven different fathers but it would have been nice to see how this directly affected Tristan and I wish this had been explored a little more.

Overall, this is a good book with a tantalizing (read why you do that to your reads?) ending that I look forward to seeing more of.

I had a really hard time connecting to the characters and the plot. The pacing was really slow and it was sometimes hard to tell the difference between each character's voice. I often forgot who was the focus of the chapter.

The Gilded wolves

Thank you so much to Wednesday Books via netgalley for sending me an ARC copy of The gilded Wolves by Roshani Chokshi. This will be released on January 15, 2019.
All opinions are my own


Six amazing people, one heist.

First off I would like to say the writing is absolutely beautiful. The world is entrancing, the diversity is strong, and the magic is beautifully executed.

“Distracted Laila smoothed her hands across jer dress. A mistake. She should never touch anything when her thoughts were too frenzied. — hands folded in prayer and then, blood”

I reallyed liked the gardens and the powers and seven deadly sins interwoven through the story.

“Gardens were no paradise but a labyrinth of sins. Seven to be exact.”

There were alot of characters and prospectives so at times the story was confusing for me. I would have liked each persons prospective to be longer so my brain wouldnt have to constantly change who was talking and what their story was. Otherwise it was an excellent book. A mix of six of crows and smoke and bone.

Interesting read, full of mystery and suspense! I enjoyed it! I can’t wait to read more by this author!

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own

The best way I can describe The Gilded Wolves is Six of Crows meets Indiana Jones meets National Treasure. That may sound like a weird mix but trust me it works.

The Gilded Wolves follows the antics of Séverin Montagnet-Alarie, a treasure-hunter, and his band of friends as they obtain (steal) antiquities that belong to the Order of Babel. That is, until the Order seeks his help and offers him a prize he simply can't refuse: the right to his inheritance. Set in Paris, 1889 the book takes place in a gothic and twisted version of our world. This world has an interesting mix of science and magic. Roshani Chokshi is a very talented author and that really shines through in this book.

I loved all the action scenes in the book. They were fun, suspenseful and just genuinely well written. I can honestly say that I was never bored reading this story, between the action scenes and the lore of the world I was invested. The magic/science system was very cool. It is very unique and not really something we have seen before. Roshani Chokshi did a really great job of mixing together different mythologies and religions to create this system.

This book is told from 4 POV's: Séverin, Leila, Zofia, and Enrique. Usually I am not a fan of multiple POV books but in this case it is needed. You get a better grasp of the story seeing through the eyes of these characters because they are all vastly different. This book has no shortage of diversity so seeing how each of the characters deals with society and the struggles they go through is so important. Zofia, Enrique, and Leila are my favorites (Zofia is #1 though) but Séverin and two other important characters, Tristan and Hypnos, fell short for me. I think I was expecting Severin to be a certain way and was disappointed when he was not. Tristan and Hypnos are two characters that came off immature to me. The way they acted felt weird and exaggerated, it just did not sit right with me.

As I mentioned above, this book is full of diversity. But on top of that it deals with themes of feminism, queerness, and racism (in 1889 society and how the characters deal with it). The book handles all these topics well so if this is something you look for in books I would recommend it.

The reason this book is only a 4 Star for me is because the magic system and lore of the story was a little difficult to grasp. I did not really understand it until about halfway through the book but even now I am still confused about some things. It is a very complex story so you really have to pay attention to every detail mentioned. The other reason that this was not a 4 Star for me was that some of the characters felt a little immature to me and a lot of the humor fell flat. Sometimes the book seemed to read as if it was meant for younger audiences but then there would be times where it seemed to read for older audiences. It went back and forth a lot.

Overall I really enjoyed this book and I can't wait to see where the next book will take Séverin and the gang.
Review by Emily Indriolo Justlovemybooks Romance Book Blog

2.5/5

Honestly I think I would have enjoyed this book much more if it wasn't a complete rip off of Six of Crows, down to characters' mannerisms and storylines. I'm pretty disappointed as I loved Roshani's other books.

Paris is a city filled with glamour and artifacts of interest and as new possibilities in industrial power grows ancient secrets start resurfacing in Roshani Chokshi's The Gilded Wolves. 

With the Exposition Universelle opening night soon approaching, the innovations of industry and power that'll be on display for Parisians of 1889 are highly anticipated. For hotelier and treasure-acquirer Séverin Montagnet-Alarie, the exposition provides an opportunity to explore some old secrets. When a former friend, and Order of Babel member, Hypnos comes to Séverin for assistance in finding an artifact he agrees to help in exchange for the chance to gain back his true inheritance that was previously denied him. With the help of friends who have varying skills, including an engineer, a historian, a dancer, and a brother in all but blood, Séverin begins upon a journey with a world-changing end.

With a wonderfully diverse cast of characters and fascinating premise based on artifact heisting, the story is filled with clever thinking and dialogue, as well as underlying explorations of big topics beneath a veneer of magical adventure. As a captivating story there was evident thought put into creating the world, but the world-building didn't seem to be fully presented through the text to help readers make sense of this particular version of Paris; the narrative seemed to jump in rapidly headfirst into events and interpersonal relationship dynamics without explanation and then slowly begins to add in necessary information, which left me feeling as though I'd missed something at the outset (or a previous installment in this series despite this being the first of the series), particularly for the relationships between characters, their motivations, and how various affinities and power fit within the world. 

Overall, I'd give it a 3.5 out of 5 stars.

Look at that cover and tell me you aren’t intrigued. Read the synopsis and tell me it doesn’t sound amazing.

This world is what drew me to this book in the first place. Paris in 1889 with treasures and secrets and power. I sounded dark and haunting yet magical. You get all of that within the book. But I think there was too much. The worldbuilding was really intense. Not so much as an information dump, there are just a lot of terms and policies of the world that are given to you very quickly. I found myself a little confused a few times and I had a hard visualizing a lot of things. Despite the world’s drawbacks, once you peel away everything, you truly are left with the world that is originally hoped for.

I knew this was going to be a found-family book and I knew it was going to be a group cast. Every single on the characters sounded interesting and like they had something to say. I was looking forward to each of their POVs. And they delivered and they also didn’t.

I loved aspects of every single one of the narrators, Zofia, Séverin, Enrique, and Laila. Though I do have soft spot of Zofia. I think the multiple POVS are needed to make this story what it is, I just have a few problems with it. One of the crew members doesn’t have a POV. It seemed weird and off kilter. I can’t say much more without spoiling literally everything, but I think adding in a few chapters from that characters POV would have strengthened the plot and how everything flowed.

I feel like this was a setup book without being a setup book. It had it’s own plot and own story and own happenings, but I think the next book is going to be even better than this one is because of the groundwork laid. I’m really looking forward to how this world expands and grows as the story moves forward!

And there are a lot of puzzles in this. A lot. Diagrams are given for some so you can really see what the characters are looking at. I found that so cool!

There was one scene in the beginning that completely took my breath away. That was the scene that had me hooked and that was the scene that helped me visualize everything. It was so freaking cool that I don’t even know how to explain it.

And then there was one scene at the end that stuck with me. I think these two scenes show what happened in this book and the development all the characters went through. One made me excited for the things to come and one made me unbelievably sad. It was amazing.

I’m honestly not sure how I completely feel about this book. I loved the characters and I loved parts of the world, I just didn’t love the whole thing. I just know that this book is different from anything I’ve ever read in a really good way. I’m looking forward to my next adventure with the crew!