Hi fellow bibliophiles! Today I'm going to be talking about The Gilded Wolves by Roshani Chokshi. I absolutely adored this book! I started this book at the very end of January, thinking it would take me a few days into February, but I was very wrong. I finished it by the morning of the 1st. I still included it in my February TBR though. This was a definite five star read for me. I've also heard that people say this is similar in theme to Six of Crows (which I have not yet read) so that just makes me all the more excited to start that series. As always, there are spoilers ahead! Here's a quick synopsis:
It's 1889. The city is on the cusp of industry and power, and the Exposition Universelle has breathed new life into the streets and dredged up ancient secrets. Here, no one keeps tabs on dark truths better than treasure-hunter and wealthy hotelier Séverin Montagnet-Alarie. When the elite, ever-powerful Order of Babel coerces him to help them on a mission, Séverin is offered a treasure that he never imagined: his true inheritance.
To hunt down the ancient artifact the Order seeks, Séverin calls upon a band of unlikely experts: An engineer with a debt to pay. A historian banished from his home. A dancer with a sinister past. And a brother in arms if not blood.
Together, they will join Séverin as he explores the dark, glittering heart of Paris. What they find might change the course of history—but only if they can stay alive.
I fell in love with all of these characters. There wasn't one that I didn't like. My favorite? Probably Enrique. He was so funny and witty and had so many great one-liners. The banter between him and Severin was fantastic. Zofia was such a fun character too, I really enjoyed her. And of course, I adored brooding Severin.
This was such a fun idea! I love the twist on the Tower of Babel. I don't know of anyone who has done something like this before, but it was very interesting. The idea of Forging is super neat too, I wish we had abilities like that in our world. This book was fun because it actually made me think - there was some puzzle solving involved.
When I was younger, I exclusively read mysteries, and I was super into Ancient Egypt. I wanted to be an Egyptologist. (Basically an archaeologist, but someone who works specifically in Egypt) This book had both of those themes, and it made me super nostalgic.
I'm not going to lie, though, there was one thing that frustrated me a little. Some things weren't very well explained, and I often had to reread a paragraph or page to try and understand exactly what was happening. This is my only gripe with the book.
If you've read this far, and you don't want a huge spoiler, you should probably stop now. I'm going to talk about something kind of huge. Last chance... okay. I was devastated that Tristan was killed. But the more I thought about it, it was probably for the best. Everyone hates themselves for it now, and they lost a very talented Forger, but this poor boy was tortured. I thought back on the story, and while Tristan seemed fairly normal, he was also a little off. He was off because of the torture he had endured earlier in his life, and then this asshole comes around and does the exact same thing to him! It made him lose his mind. So while it was very sad, it's probably for the best because who knows how he would have been after this. And from a different point of view on it, it was a little refreshing.
I know, "Refreshing?! Are you psycho?!" I'm not. But what I mean is that we read so many books where the main circle of people always remains alive and well. Real life doesn't happen like that; there are usually casualties on all sides in something like this. For example, ACOTAR does this. There's a HUGE war, and TONS of people die, but somehow everyone in the Inner Circle is alive and well. It's going to be a good underlying issue that all of these surviving characters deal with going forward. We'll be able to see how everyone deals with grief. We got a small glimpse of it, but there's going to be a second book. It's going to come up again.
I'm super stoked for the second book in this series. I'm not sure how many books she's planning, but we'll at least get one more story about this wonderful cast of characters. If you have thoughts on this and want to share them with me, please leave a comment! I'd love to talk about this book with people.
Until next time!
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