The Gilded Wolves

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Manufacturer: Roshani Chokshi
Brand: Fantasy Fiction, Historical Fantasy Fiction
Brew: Paperback
Steeping Time: 416 pages
Tea Service: Book Club
Strength:

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.

The Gilded Wolves might have taken me a while to get into, but by the end, I was buying the next book in the series.

To start, The Gilded Wolves is definitely not without flaws. The world-building and characters are thrown at you hard and fast, making it a tough book to ease into. It felt like walking into a film that is a half-hour in, and I spent the first 100 pages just trying to find the groove and catch up. However, I feel like Roshani Chokshi really hits her stride after that mark. The characters finally seem more natural, no longer forced, and the world has settled down to a comfortable din in the background. That is also the point where I started to learn more about the characters and actually develop an emotional bond with them.

Each character is very much their own person, and I love the quirks of them all. My favorite character by far was Hypnos, and once he hit the stage, I was sold. I don’t want to give too much away, but I developed a huge soft spot for Hypnos and I want to protect him from all of the bad in the world forever and ever.

If you’re a fan of hard structured magic systems, you may want to pass on this one.

If you asked me to tell you how the magic system works in this world, my explanation would be very short and quickly followed by, “Other than that, anything goes.” I could be 100% wrong on that, but that’s what I gathered while reading. Personally, it doesn’t bother me one way or the other. I don’t mind having an extensive sandbox-style system where practically anything is possible, but I know others who cannot stand it.

As far as pace, again, I feel like The Gilded Wolves hit its stride after the 100 page mark. I found it a little overwhelming before then, but after that, I really got into the story and I felt like it flowed well moving forward.

There were a few typos and misnamed characters, which is always a pet peeve, but ultimately it didn’t break the book for me. As someone who is currently attempting to write a book, I fully understand how hard it is to catch every single mistake. It’s tough. But I do think Roshani could have done to edit this book a little more before publishing, especially in the beginning.

The opinions of the rest of my book club were not so kind.

They didn’t like the open-structure magic system, they didn’t feel like they connected to the characters, and overall had very few positive things to say. One of them tried listening to the audiobook and actually returned it due to the narrator. We listened to a sample during our meeting, and I agree, it was one of the most emotionless narrators I’ve ever heard. If you decide to give The Gilded Wolves a chance, I’d recommend a physical copy or the ebook.

My overall thoughts towards The Gilded Wolves are good, though.

I thought the story was interesting and engaging, and I definitely had some gasp-out-loud moments. My main reason for the three cuppa rating is because of the first half of the book. I felt it could have been pared down or shaped a little better to not be as overwhelming. But honestly, as soon as I finished the last page, I looked up the next two books in the series. I’m hoping to order them soon and read them in the next few months. I definitely wouldn’t waste my time on the rest of the series if I didn’t enjoy the first one!

Have you read The Gilded Wolves? Leave a comment and let me know what you thought about it! Want to read it for yourself? Click here to get a copy of your own.
Cheers,
Lydia