I really enjoyed this book. The characters were all different but melded well as a group and each brought their own unique aspects to the plot. I would say that trying to have five main characters is a bit too much, leading to a disconnect from a couple of them. I also enjoyed the magic system created in this story. The different affinities were really interesting. The heist story line mixed with all of the magic and the main character with a vendetta made for one really good story and I am definitely looking forward to the next book.

So in all honesty, I did not finish this book, partly because there were a few things that made me really uncomfortable with this book. In the first 5o pages we meet all the characters whom I loved and I was excited about the world and excited about the opportunity to explore with all of the characters. But, one of my big problems with the story is the use of the bible verse and the bible story to set up the magic system. The book quotes a false version of a bible verse and it made me somewhat uncomfortable to read because the Bible is a sacred book for me. I know that it's not sacred to a lot of people anymore but to me it was something that made me uncomfortable. I'm giving it three stars because I may pick it up again in the future and I don't want to completely antagonize it based on one piece. It's just something that was a little off-putting for me.

This is my first Roshani Chokshi story, I was really excited to get this advanced copy. The story is written in Paris in 1889. The story has 5 main characters Séverin, Enrique, Zofia, Laila, Tristan and is focused on a big heist to regain the family inheritance. It seemed like quite a complex storyline for me and was hard for me to stay on top of it.
I enjoyed Chokshi’s writing but found myself a bit lost with some of the magical workings in the book which made it harder to follow. Overall the book is well written, it just wasn’t for me.
Thank you to NetGalley and St Martin’s Press for this advanced reader copy.

Another enthralling tale from the wonderful Roshani Chokshi. Set in Paris, Gilded Wolves contains a fantastical world of magical-mechanical engineering and a great cast of diverse, fascinating characters. Readers of Leigh Bardugo's Six of Crows series will enjoy this heist tale with just a bit more magic.

A fantasy book written in France during the 1880s involving a group of characters leading the heist they have been waiting for? I was more than excited. After I finished reading Enchantee, I was excited to get back to fictional France. I was even happier knowing that this has been written during a later time period, so I didn’t get my storylines mixed up!

Who are the main characters:

Séverin: The ring leader. They are the typical disgraced heir who wants to seek the life he is owed. However, this book is so much more. The reader learns more about Séverin and his past as the book goes on. The only annoying part is the chewing of cloves…ew!

Enrique: I love how he is the nerd boy we all need. He is the bi soft boy fiction needs. Enrique has interests in all things science, as well as wanting to join a group of old men. I just really want to have my Geek On with him. He is also Spanish/Filipino.

Zofia: My autistic baby, Zofia is the character I resonated with the most, for obvious reasons. She is the person who knows all things maths, and I felt that, even though she was the stereotypical autistic, I liked the idea of this mousy creature blowing stuff up. She is also Jewish.

Laila: The mum friend, Laila is Indian, and takes care of all the others, especially during times of crisis. Her character has a dark past, which we learn more about during the story, but I want to take care of her so much.

Tristan: Spider and plant boy who is the baby of the group. Tristan deserves so much better than the hand he is dealt with. I liked the thought of everyone looking after him, even when they disliked some of his hobbies.
My thoughts

I think this book is an interesting read, and was definitely different to the books I have read recently.The plot was also enjoyable, which kept me hooked. I also found the pace was quick enough to follow, but not slow enough that I got bored.

There is a major theme of race and ethnicity in this book, and I felt like Roshani managed to draw on her own experiences, especially being Indian, for Laila. Enrique also feels like he is not sure who he should be, with his mixed race being part of his struggles to get what he wants in life.

In my opinion, Roshani Chokshi has written a very good isexual representation in this book. Enrique is openly interested in some of both male and female characters, yet not portrayed as someone who fancies everyone. Also, Hypnos, one of the characters, is a bisexual king. He is flamboyant and colourful and I love his whole personality so much.

Autistic rep. Okay this annoyed me in the end, which is why my rating has dropped. Stereotypical autistic traits, such as the lack of eye contact, and the obsessive traits, and the issues around food. I felt the writing overplayed and overexaggerated these. I would really like to see more autistic research carried out for the second book.

Overall, I enjoyed reading this book. It was a lot of fun, as well as breaking my heart into a million pieces. It was also my first Roshani book, so I will definitely be picking up her other work soon! I definitely recommend getting this book.

I am a huge Roshani Choksi fan and has read everything she has written. This is a new series from her, and it a bit different from what she wrote in the past. The writing is her strength for the imagery is very rich and detailed. The story is fast-paced and flows pretty well. There were a few weaknesses in the novel. The characters were very stereotypical and was not given much character growth. Also, the world-building was confusing and took me a long time to understand. Still, this is a solid fantasy and a very promising series! I look forward to more!

A band of six thieves come together to retrieve an artifact that will restore power to the family.
In 1889 Paris, Séverin, infamous thief, is the rejected heir of House Vanth, and he longs to claim his inheritance. Hypnos is the patriarch of House Nyx and offers to help Séverin’s regain his house if he helps him retrieves a Horus Eye, an artifact which can reveal the location of a Babel fragment. Forging is a divine art, a power believed to come from the broken fragments of the Tower of Babel. To accomplish his mission, Séverin enlists the help of his closest friends, each with their own unique abilities.

While this story was fast paced and had interesting mythology woven in, I found it confusing and hard to follow. There were a lot of names and items to keep track of it. I liked the characters and the world, but overall, I found it just a little hard to get through and slow in parts.

This book is probably going to be in my top 5 books of the year, no joke. This book did take me a while to read, but I think a big part of that was the fact that I kept stopping simply so I could absorb what was happening.

The writing in this book is so rich and has so much depth. Chokshi's description of the places and items were so well built that everything was vivid and could be seen in your mind's eye. The Paris of 1889 that she built perfectly captured the glitz and opulence of the time, while also weaving in the fantastical elements she created.

I found myself falling in love with each character and their individual quirks. Every character was unique in their back story and motivation, so it was wonderful to see how their paths wove together and allowed them to work towards a common purpose. I won't lie, there were quite a few tear filled moments as you see the consequences of actions unfolding, but I couldn't stop reading and had to keep coming back to find out what happened.

I can't wait for the sequel to this book to come out and waiting is probably going to drive me a little mad. While the story doesn't necessarily end on a cliff hanger, there are definitely questions that still have to be answered and conflicts that have to be resolved. If I could give this book more than 5 stars I would, but alas, that's the cutoff.

A huge thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I was so excited for this book and it did not let me down. There are so many things to love in here, it's almost impossible to list them all properly, but I'll give it a shot nonetheless:

- A diverse cast: an autistic girl with autism, a girl from India, a queer guy from the Philippines, a queer black guy with Haitian slaves for ancestors, and a mixed race guy. I mean. Come on. Look at that! How can you not love that? My favorite thing about it was that it wasn't in-your-face about it. It was just there, mentioned every once in a while. It wasn't a big deal and I loved that. It just was.

- All the rep from the above diversity!

- The setting: late 19th century Paris. The dresses, guys. THE DRESSES. The splendour! The Exposition Universelle, as magical and problematic as it was. I learned some horrific things in this book about said Exposition, and I am very glad the horrors were kept in.

- The 'magic'! It's not magic, of course, it's called 'Forging' but man oh man do I love it! Especially Zofia's dresses, and her inventions. To be honest I just love Zofia, but that was something I adored.

- The lore/mythology/religion/symbology etc. I'm a sucker for that stuff so I massively enjoyed all of it.

- The friendships. I mean. Need I say more? I loved this group of characters, and their interactions, what they all were to each other and how it evolved and changed over time.

- Badass women. Laila and Zofia are awesome and smart and they kick ass and I love them.

- Hypnos. Just. Hypnos. You'll know what I mean when you meet him.

I would honestly love to see a movie of this, as I think it could be absolutely stunning if done well. I can't picture things in my head (well), so to see this come to life on screen would be a dream come true.

This doesn't mean however that the book is perfect. I wasn't a fan of the romantic subplot, which is just because it's not for me. It's not overbearing or anything, I just found myself rolling my eyes at times. I also found the end lacking a bit, though I suppose given the last chapter it made sense why the author chose to do what she did. It was a bit of an anti climax, but the very last chapter did leave me openmouthed and eager for the sequel.

I'd also like to mention that the writing and language used really isn't compatible with the time it's set in. Personally I didn't mind, as this reads much easier for me, but it's something that can be a real nuisance to some so I just want to put it out there. Besides, there's all sorts of things that wouldn't fit in that time due to the Forging, so I just assumed that the language could have evolved too. But that's up to everyone to decide for themselves!

Zofia. I lovelovelove Zofia, as I've mentioned before. Her and Hypnos are my favorite characters and I want to wrap them in blankets and keep them safe, even if Zofia would kill me for trying to wrap said blanket around her. So for her it's metaphorical. The 'problem' with Zofia is that her autism shows in a very stereotypical way, and I don't meant the struggling to be socially acceptable, to fit in. I loved that, I recognized myself in that. It's just that autism/Asperger's is so closely connected to STEM due to stereotypes that it's always a shame when authors fall back on that. I have to admit, however, that in this case it was very important to the story, given who she was as a character, but it still nagged at me a bit. It's one thing to be goot at STEM, another to only think about STEM and in terms of that. It's not enough to put me off the book, or her, clearly, but I do feel it's something to be mentioned. Though, it does have to be said: It's a WOMAN with autism for a change and that was so refreshing in and of itself!

Speaking of the Math, there is some Math in there, and it went right over my head. Way too advanced for me. It pulled me out of the story trying to figure it out, but that might just be me not being able to just let it go and read on. Just like there were some sentences where the writing was... not great. Especially one sentence had me cringing and then laughing about it for quite some time. I still chuckle when I think about it now. It just pulls you out of the story, but at least it did so in a hilarious way haha!

All in all, if it wasn't clear yet, I absolutely loved this book! All the tiny things here and there that bothered me are why it's a 4 star rating iso a 5 star rating, but let's face it, if I could give 4,5 stars, I would. I'd definitely recommend this if you're looking for something easy to read, as it's a book you just breeze through without even realizing, and you're getting a good quality story still!

This book was trying to live up to Six of Crows and felt like a poor imitation in comparison. There were moments where the characters felt different and could shine on their own, but, more often than not, they just felt a little trite. I did end up finish the whole book and might pick up the second, but only to find out what happens to certain characters.

Despite the (slightly) confusing magic system, I loved the characters! The descriptions of Paris in the late 19th century were wonderful to read, making this reader desperate to travel back in time to experience L'Eden!

Wonderful read full of twists and turns, interesting characters and the best dialogue! I found the characters endearing and witty, often finding myself laughing out loud at their antics and one-liners.

I really tried to like this. I wanted to love it. I liked Chokshi's first book. When I first started this it seemed to remind me of Six of Crows. However, as a I continued reading I found that I cared less and less about it and the characters. There was no one that I connected with or was interested in. I loved the cover though. Gorgeous!

Roshani's writing is beautiful and she did an excellent job of creating a new cast of characters to love. This reminded me of Six of Crows in a way, which is one of my favourite books! I love the blend of historical with the mythical atmosphere and steampunky-type elements. I recommend!

A heist, a band of misfits, a stolen inheritance and Bond-levels of gadgets. What's not to love about The Gilded Wolves? Well...

The whole concept was what made me desperately want this book. Plus, Roshani Chokshi’s previous books were a smash hit–so that means The Gilded Wolves had to be great too, right? Not so much. When I was reading, I just felt lost a lot of the time. I didn’t quite understand the “magic” system presented in the book, and it felt a little flimsy at best.

The characters were a shining aspect to the book; I loved the diverse and interesting crew, and I was interested enough in them alone to keep reading. I just kept finding myself constantly shunted out of the story due to the lackluster worldbuilding and the ever-present deus ex machina that came up at every turn.

There were some interesting points that felt skated over, and few things were ever really delved deeply into. The writing itself felt forced and stiff, and the occasional French words tossed into a conversation that was otherwise written in English just made it seem like the characters weren’t speaking in French at all…in a story about (mostly) French natives.

I was never invested in the heist, and there never truly felt like there had been any sort of tension. I dreaded picking up the book to finish it, but I was determined and far enough in that I couldn’t just DNF it. It felt like a slog just to get through it, despite the intriguing concept and the hope that maybe it’ll explain something at some point instead of just this vague teasing of information hidden somewhere in the story.

All in all, it wasn’t a terrible book. I’ve read and reviewed some pretty bad ones in my time, and The Gilded Wolves wasn’t one of those. It had plenty of room to expand and be better, but there was some great prose and the characters were the shining stars of the whole ordeal. But it’s not something I’d be willing to read again.

Roshani Chokshi is back with her best work yet. I loved the characters and their friendship, and the world was glittering and enticing. Her writing was beautiful as always. The only reason I docked a star was that it took some time for the plot to feel like it really picked up. Still, I'd definitely recommend this book to anyone looking for a beautiful romp through a fantastical French world!

The Gilded Wolves is a wonderful, powerful and imaginative story, teeming with representation for marginalized groups and with a superb cast of unforgettable characters.

With lush descriptions and thought provoking narratives, I was swept into the world of Belle Époque Paris. Roshani does a wonderful job of painting a world teaming with life, while shining a strong light onto those who pay for other's privileges.

This book is PERFECT for fans of Six of Crows.

The Gilded Wolves is a unique story with a perfect setting: Paris in the Exposition Universelle. The story talks about forging (old magic that seems unreal even now), ancient houses and the Babel Order. The plot is complex and so are the characters, each of them very different from the other but also bringing something to the story. It was interesting reading about each of their stories.
The writing is utterly detailed and, at first, it was hard to imagine all the descriptions, but then you get used to it and it is incredible to imagine all such things.
The rhythm starts a bit slower but picks up after the first chapters and the end has so many things happening that you cannot stop reading.
I found the characters very likeable, even Hypnos. I liked Séverin and Enrique but I loved Laila and Zofia.
I cannot wait to see what happens now; this first book’s ending was the perfect setting for the second one and I would love to read more.
In summary, I really enjoyed the story, the details. I loved that it was set in Paris and that it talk about other cultures like the Egyptian. I definitely read more of Roshani’s books.

I enjoyed the worldbuilding in The Gilded Wolves. As always, Chokshi is amazing at writing fantasy and her writing just captivates you. I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys reading about mystery and adventure.