Review: The Gilded Wolves

The Gilded Wolves by Roshani Chokshi
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I've seen a lot of conflicting responses to this book in the time since it came out, and even before that. A lot of people saying it's too similar to Six of Crows, or that it's got too much of an overwrought writing style, that sort of thing. Well, I'll concede on the first point only because, frankly, SoC was so big that it practically defined the YA fantasy heist story, and while this book isn't as much about the heist, it's also got a lot of what helped define SoC as the classic it was: namely, a beautifully complex magic system and a wonderfully inclusive ensemble cast. It also has this much else in common with SoC - it's marketed as YA but would make much more sense as an NA book. Mostly because Séverin, for one, comes off a little too mature and businesslike to be a teenager...but I digress.


Taking place in a real-world historical setting as opposed to Leigh Bardugo's signature second-world Grishaverse, The Gilded Wolves comes in a very pretty Art Nouveau package that belies just how much of a deep dive Chokshi does in the seedy underbelly of the culture of that time. Her diverse cast helps highlight a lot of historical injustices done in the name of colonialism and imperialism, while also bringing a wide variety of excellent representation to the table. One personal favorite of mine is Enrique, being a bi Filipino guy - though, notably, it's his seminary-bound brother who has given him the most reassurance that God made no mistakes with his heart. Laila, from India, gets routinely mistaken for a servant, especially when she's around Zofia, who's perhaps the whitest-looking in the whole cast. But Zofia is marginalized herself, being autistic and Jewish and having fled Eastern Europe due to rampant anti-Semitism.

I think the only real problem with the book is that the magic system of Forging, as beautiful as it was, was a little underdeveloped. But that's something else this book has in common with SoC - the magic isn't really explained in great detail, so you're going to be a little lost. It's just too bad that this book doesn't have any prequels like SoC does.

As is usual for Roshani Chokshi, though, The Gilded Wolves is a lovely, lovely book that demands immediate reading from everyone, and I'm sure the sequel will too!

Though that death at the end left me feeling pretty sad. Just sayin'.

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