Book Review: The Gilded Wolves by Roshani Chokshi

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The Gilded Wolves came to me in a book box, a gifted subscription I received for Christmas last year. It sat on my shelves for a little over a year until I could sit down and start getting to work on all the books I owned and had not read.

The book is told from 4 different perspectives: Severin, Laila, Zophia, and Enrique. It involves two more important characters: Tristan and Hypnos. It involves a whole lot of complex symbolism that is important to a secret society of France in the 19th century which quite honestly, confused me at the beginning. I had to actually go back and re-read the first few chapters again to try and make sense of it. The bad news is, I think a lot of people felt this way and it even lead some people to DNF it. The good news is, it does get easier over time and if you DNF'ed it, I would consider giving it another try. Push through that first 1/4 of the book. The characters alone are worth it!

Even though Roshani Chokshi proved her brilliance not only in her very beautiful description of details (down to the smells and tastes of the lavish French world), and in her ability to bring so many historical symbols and fit it into a myth of her own, it was her characters that captured me above all else. Trust me when I say that that speaks volumes for she really did blow my mind with historical facts throughout the entirety of the book.

Severin is boy who was stripped of his heritage and vies to once again hold his place in this secret society. Laila is an otherworldly miracle child who's reason for living and the gifts she possesses gives her no sense real place of belonging so she's on the hunt for a book that may be able to explain more about herself. Zophia is a brilliant, possibly autistic GENIUS with a specialty for blowing things up. Enrique is a Spanish-Filipino bi-sexual historian who uses humor to cover up his insecurities and desire to be accepted. There's some books that having more than two voices can muddle and confuse. There are those that the character's don't differ enough to justify that many POVs. There are the other's which you may find yourself keen to read only two of them with enjoyment and the other's with mild to severe annoyance. This book was none of them.

Each time we flipped to a new perspective, I was excited. This tag team of outsiders all have their individual needs and desires and they're all hanging on to the hope that with Severin's reinstatement into the order, each of those desires can become more possible. Hence we are sent on a wild goose chase that reminded me a lot of the National Treasure movies now that I'm thinking of it...(but WAY better). Being inside each of these characters minds felt like a treasure. You got to see and understand them from their purest, vulnerable perspectives. Each one of the characters (including Tristan and Hypnos who don't get a POV) have been broken by their past in some way or another. Knowing each one of their hurts and insecurities allows you to see that these worldly things they'e after are just the shallow hopes and desire's they seem to want. Truly, each one is just after what we all want and crave throughout life: acceptance, family, and love. They're an amazing group of misfits. Some of my favorite to this day.

While I could see this book being a standalone, it is supposed to be a trilogy. Book two, The Silvered Serpents, came out this year. I just received my copy a few days before writing this review and have yet to start it. I look forward to seeing how deep Roshani takes this world. There's endless possibilities and I don't know her writing well enough to have an idea of what to expect. I round up on Goodreads so it stands at a 4 though if I am being honest, I'd give it a 3.5 rating. The characters were phenomenal however the world building and writing style could throw a lot of people off. The potential here is 10 fold. I feel like she is on the tipping point for literary genius.