Gilded Wolves: A Kate Burkholder Novel

This book gives off very strong six of crows vibes. It has 6 characters, different POVs, a thieving crew. It's really good. The fantasy element isn't explained as well as the Grishaverse. But it's a very character driven story and very good overall.

found familyheist storyqueerdiversebeautiful writingmagical settinga perfect blend of all things we love!!!

Arrived in perfect condition and was delivered on time! As for the book, it has become an instant favourite and I can't wait to start the sequel!! Cannot recommend this enough!!

My first book by Roshani Chokshi and it did NOT disappoint! This book was everything I look for in a book: racial diversity, sexual diversity, fast pacing, puzzles, mystery, flirting, humor, a fictional squad that I'm ready to witch-brew to life, and great writing.The Gilded Wolves is a story about a group of acquaintances turned friends who are ready to walk toward the same goal through their personal motivations and are ready with their individualistic personalities and talents to tackle anything that comes in between. It's as easy to fall in love with the characters as it is to breathe. The fast pacing will be keeping you on your toes because the answers to "what's gonna happen next?!" will excite you and once you do get to know what happens, you'll either be all the more excited or bawling--and both in a good sense.A ton of research must have gone into this because the puzzles are indecipherable but totally understandable, and the fusion of history with mystery is stunningly executed. Each character has their own set of strengths and weaknesses that collectively make the story only stronger with every witty dialogue, funny conversation, and flirty exchanges. The writing is one of the bestest aspects from the long list of best aspects and the simplicity in the narration while it also intrigues the reader is pleasing.The book is a great execution of diversity: Laila is Indian; Zofia is Jewish, Polish, and autistic; Enrique is Filipino, Spanish, and bisexual; Hypnos is black and gay; and the other two, Severin and Tristan are just as amazing as the other squad members if not more. The romance is impeccable with the precise amount of tension and non-acceptance of love for each other.I would recommend this to everyone looking for a squad to love until your last breath while the squad takes on the most exciting tasks that will also propel their character arcs to be defined, that will also make you laugh, cry, and swoon, that will also make you want to pick up the next book in the series instantly.

The Gilded Wolves by Roshani Choksi has a chock full of diversity and that my babies is what I thrive for.⁣⁣We have :✨⁣⁣🌻 Enrique, a bisexual character who is a half Filipino and well a historian. Woot woot🥺 uhm also with the best lines👀⁣⁣⁣𝐄𝐥𝐞𝐠𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐮𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐧 𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐤𝐞.⁣⁣⁣🌻 Zofia, a Jewish and a gifted mathematician with an affinity to metals and an unparalleled mind for numbers🖤⁣⁣𝐖𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐙𝐨𝐟𝐢𝐚, 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐬𝐨 𝐦𝐮𝐜𝐡 𝐚𝐬 𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐚𝐭 𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐨𝐦 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐟𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐠𝐢𝐫𝐥 𝐠𝐢𝐫𝐥 𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐝..⁣⁣⁣🌻 Tristan, my cinnamon roll who I vow to protect at all costs🤧 "I protect you" 😩⁣⁣𝐎𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐰𝐨 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐢𝐫𝐬 𝐥𝐞𝐟𝐭, 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐓𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧'𝐬- 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐡 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐚 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐢𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐚 𝐜𝐮𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐢𝐝𝐧'𝐭 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬🥺⁣⁣⁣🌻 Severin, uhm equally soft and well although he claims to hold the reins of the gang, he is the one who needs the most validation🤣🥰⁣⁣𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐬𝐨 𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐡𝐢𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐨𝐮𝐛𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐫𝐨𝐨𝐦 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐛𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐛𝐨𝐝𝐲💫⁣⁣⁣🌻 And finally my favorite the unapologetically Indian, Laila😭❤️ oh my this lady just breezed in and took my breath away akzxhbdns😩⁣⁣𝐋𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐚, 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐦𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐝 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐚 𝐬𝐥𝐲𝐩𝐡 𝐚𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦, 𝐰𝐚𝐭𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐞𝐲𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐬𝐚𝐢𝐝 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐤𝐧𝐞𝐰 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐬𝐞𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦. 𝐋𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐚, 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐚𝐥𝐰𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐬𝐮𝐠𝐚𝐫 𝐢𝐧 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐡𝐚𝐢𝐫.✨⁣⁣⁣THE GILDED WOLVES was everything I had hoped for and more! With amazingly fleshed out characters, Roshani's lyrical writing, a heist like no other (no hun, it's not SOC-like at all pls keep your opinion to yourself🙃) and an ensemble filled with diverse characters, I swear I had the best time with these chaotic babies.

Oh, I so wanted to love this book.First thing’s first, I’m in the minority here. So many people loved this book, and for the most part I think this might just be a case of me not quite gelling with Chokshi’s writing style, but I had a few issues with this book that I’m going to unpack here.I don’t think Chokshi is a bad writer, but I found it really hard to clearly picture pretty much anything in this book. I didn’t think the magic system – known as Forging – was explained all that well; I’ve just read an entire book where it was used a lot, and yet I couldn’t tell you what its rules are. It seemed to have a (literal) magical solution to all of this story’s problems, which meant this was a heist novel in which I was never worried that this group of characters wouldn’t succeed, and because I wasn’t worried I didn’t care if they succeeded or not.In fact Forging didn’t really seem to fit in with this setting. The Gilded Wolves takes place in an alternate late 19th century Paris, but this is still an alternate France that has seen the French Revolution, the reign of Napoleon and the growth of the French Empire, and yet I never quite got a sense of all that history. There were a few French words here or there, but the dialogue and even Forging itself felt so modern that I couldn’t help wondering why 19th century Paris needed to be the setting at all. At no point did I feel like I was in Paris.I wish that Chokshi had either written a straight up historical fiction heist or that she’d set it in a fantasy world of her own, because the times when she did explore the characters’ personal histories were really interesting. Having said that, the writing style also meant that I sometimes forgot whose point of view I was reading from even when the characters’ names were mentioned at the start of each chapter. Laila and Zofia, in particular, I was always mixing up and I shouldn’t have been – they’re very different!This is a set of characters that I was hoping to fall in love with, and I didn’t. I did like them; Zofia, in particular, I liked a lot. She’s a Jewish girl on the autism spectrum and I did really like how Chokshi explored her autism (though I’d like to read some reviews by own voices reviewers to see what they thought!) and how she finds logic so much easier to understand than people and their small talk. Enrique I ended up liking a lot, too; as someone who is mixed race, he’s not Spanish enough for the Spaniards but he’s not Filipino enough for his fellow countrymen either. Their stories are what made me yearn for more history than fantasy in this story.I really liked how this is a very diverse group of characters, and I loved how Chokshi explored how the French Empire stocked its museums with stolen objects from other cultures and turned those cultures into titillation for white, wealthy Parisians. Unfortunately, I felt a little beaten over the head with that message. It’s such an important message, I just wanted a little more nuance.I think there was an attempt at this with Séverin, who is the main character of this group and is mixed race himself with a white, wealthy father and Algerian mother. He was discouraged from acknowledging his mother, particularly in public, and that was heart-breaking when we learn how much he adored her.But I still thought Séverin was kind of a dick.It could very well be that that’s the point of Séverin as a character – I don’t want my characters to be perfect people by any means – but I couldn’t help feeling a little uncomfortable about how he treated the others, who we’re led to believe are his friends before they’re his employees, considering he’s the most privileged of all of them in terms of his finances and his place in society. He is mixed race and it’s that part of him that’s led to him missing out on the true inheritance he’s seeking to regain throughout this novel, but he’s hardly struggling. He still has his late father’s money and he runs a very, very successful hotel in the centre of Paris.In other words, I never quite got why he was so desperate to reclaim his true inheritance other than that he’s a rich boy who doesn’t like to be told ‘no’. I know there’ll be people who loved this book hissing at that summation, but he’s a character I never warmed to because I could never quite place him. He was friends with these people and he’s the leader of this gang, but he could never quite decide whether he was a friend or a leader first, which ultimately meant he was weak in both roles.I also found his relationship with Laila boring. I loved that this is a YA novel that acknowledges that teenagers (how old are these characters? No idea – I don’t think it’s ever mentioned) can and will have sex, and that these are a pair with a sexual history was compelling, but theirs wasn’t the kind of angst that made me root for them. I just wanted them to stop namby-pambying about and admit that they liked one another.In fact a lot of this novel read as rather juvenile and silly to me. It almost read like an MG novel rather than YA – not that MG is juvenile and silly – and this would have been fine if I didn’t go into it expecting a YA heist novel. Whatever this novel was, it didn’t feel like that. The villain was disappointing and the ending was rushed despite the book as a whole dragging for me. I almost considered DNFing it but I forced my way through it, constantly hoping it would improve because I wanted it to be the diverse, historical heist novel I’d hoped for.Ultimately, this book just wasn’t for me and I’m very sad about it. I loved Chokshi’s idea, but it was never fully realised for me here and I found the magic system took up too much of this story without enough information for me to fully understand it or care. I am very much in the minority here, though, so if you think you’ll enjoy this novel give it a try – I hope you enjoy it as much as I’d hoped to!

I genuinely don't understand some of the harsh reviews about this book. It was a very fun, fast-paced romp with an engaging cast of characters - and everything I ever wanted in a historical fantasy fiction that also addresses colonialism and has actual POC and mixed race characters front and center of the story. True, I wasn't always so clear on how forging worked, but I didn't feel like that detracted. Personally, I loved all the references to historical symbolism and numbers. Those were some of my favourite parts.I also found the chemistry between Laila and Severin off the charts - but I have a weakness for broody protagonists who haven't fully understood what they're feeling yet and need to learn the hard way.I read this in like, two sittings and can't wait for the sequel. Would definitely recommend.

Quando vi falarem que este livro é uma mistura de Six of Crows com Código Da Vinci na Belle Époque, tive que comprar! Sempre procurei um livro parecido com Six of Crows, adorei O Código Da Vinci e amo ficção histórica, principalmente as que se passam no século dezenove! Personagens diversificados, magia, aventura e Paris no ano da exposição que trouxe a Torre Eiffel para nossas vidas (amo a torre, admito!), não tinha como ficar melhor! Ainda tenho algumas críticas para fazer, mas já posso respirar aliviada, porque The Gilded Wolves é realmente ótimo e aguenta fácil o peso da expectativa que eu coloquei em cima dele!Infelizmente, essa comparação com Six of Crows, na verdade, foi algo que dificultou um pouco a leitura dele para mim! Os personagens têm algumas características que me lembraram demais dos de Six of Crows, como a Laila trabalhar em um cabaret e sua fantasia ser de pavão (me lembrou da Inej) e o Séverin ter uma posição no grupo que é tão parecida com a do Kaz no outro livro. Isso me atrapalhou, porque eu não conseguia separar a personalidade deles. A Laila é bem incrível, mas ficou difícil no começo eu ver isso, porque só conseguia me lembrar da Inej quando ela aparecia. E o Séverin é bastante diferente do Kaz, então compará-lo não poderia levar a nada bom.Chegou a um ponto em que eu percebia que estava imaginando-os como os personagens de Six of Crows e me forçava a parar e tentar esquecê-los. Não foi fácil, mas talvez seja só porque sou extremamente apegada a eles. Se você não leu Six of Crows (meu deus, o que você está esperando? Faça um favor a si mesmo e comece o quanto antes!) ou se simplesmente não é seu livro favorito, vai conseguir desfrutar dos personagens aqui bem mais!No final das contas, meus grandes favoritos foram Enrique - o historiador filipino espanhol e bi, que é super sarcástico e amado! - e a Zofia - a engenheira polonesa judia e autista que eu queria guardar em um potinho! Melhor ainda, só a interação entre eles! O Tristan foi bacana também, apesar de não ter me conectado tanto a ele (talvez por ser um dos que não tinha ponto de vista na narrativa). Até cheguei a achar que ia compará-lo ao Wylan, mas eles são bem diferentes para isso. Adoro o jeito inocente dele, como tem afinidade com as plantas, mas principalmente seu amor pelo Goliath, sua tarantula de estimação! E o Hypnos - o "socialite" rico, negro, francês e haitiano e gay (ao que tudo indica) - é tão legal! Mesmo nas horas em que era para eu odiá-lo, não conseguia! Espero que no próximo livro ele esteja cada vez mais presente!O enredo do livro todo é muito legal! Está sempre movimentado, mas não a ponto de ser só ação e você mal conseguir respirar. Adorei as partes em que me senti em um jogo de Tomb Raider e queria mais dessas! Mas até os problemas comuns das missões deles foram super interessantes! Além disso, a ambientação em Paris ficou bacana! Senti que às vezes poderia ter sido mais intensa, que me colocasse mais naquela época, mas acho que o que impediu isso foi o sistema de magia.Aliás, a autora em nenhum momento chama de magia. É como os poderes Grisha, na verdade, (da duologia Six of Crows e outros livros) uma habilidade com afinidade para certas coisas, mas que precisa de um trabalho em cima daquilo, que não sai literalmente como mágica. Eu achei a ideia interessante, mas tive dois problemas com ela. Primeiro, a autora explicou demais e mesmo assim ficou confuso. No começo, tem explicações claras, praticamente infodumps, mas que não teriam me incomodado tanto se tivesse ao menos ficado bem claro como tudo funciona. Acho que teria sido melhor também se não fosse por outra coisa, que é o segundo problema que tive: não dá para entender quanto o resto do mundo sabe sobre essa habilidade. Em um primeiro instante, fiquei com a impressão de ser algo secreto, mas depois vi tantas e tantas coisas que tinham sido feitas por essa magia, que não tinha muito jeito de ser secreto. Mas, se for algo aberto para todo mundo, que todo mundo sabe que existe, fica difícil acreditar que a tecnologia da época continuaria no mesmo nível que esteve no nosso mundo real, entende? Aqui, o máximo que essa tecnologia/magia parece mudar é em detalhes decorativos ou recreativos, em vez de coisas mais práticas. Por exemplo, com engenheiros que têm essa habilidade mágica (como a Zofia), não faz sentido eles ainda usarem cavalos em carruagens na cidade, pelo menos, não a alta sociedade.Essa não foi a única coisa que ficou incerta aqui. Nesse livro, existe uma Ordem de Babel, à qual fazem partes Casas (famílias) diferentes em países diferentes. Confesso que toda essa separação e o propósito desse sistema fez pouco sentido para mim também. Tenho certeza de que vou reler o livro, só para poder entender melhor! Essa Ordem foi outra coisa que deu a entender ser secreta, mas faziam bailes enormes e cheios de convidados para ela. A autora menciona demais a matriarca de tal Casa, mas se esqueceu de deixar bem claro que, apesar de não serem os chefes das Casas, todos os membros das famílias também fazem parte da Ordem. Se pelo menos algum tivesse sido nomeado, nem que fosse com "o filho da tal", juro que teria ficado mais claro. Só posso deduzir mesmo que é assim que funciona!Além disso, e juro que vai ser minha última ressalva, o mistério que eles desvendam, o simbolismo e as charadas, é um pouco confuso também. Quer dizer, as explicações são claras, mas as teorias e tudo mais vêm de tantas culturas diferentes, que ficou um pouco complicado de sentir mais firmeza nas respostas. Eu tenho cadernos de resumos dos livros que leio (porque leio mais livros do que minha memória aguenta!) e super precisei escrever o resumo desse para me ajudar a entender! Mas não chegou a ser algo que atrapalhasse mesmo a história, confesso! E gostei de ver que as culturas não são ocidentais!Para quem está esperando romance nesse livro, preciso avisar que ele é só um detalhe! Dá para ter vários ships - eu tenho dois, confesso, - mas a autora claramente não queria correr com o romance, já que será uma trilogia e esse nem poderia ser o foco da história! Estou, afinal, bem satisfeita com isso!Por último, só queria ressaltar o questionamento dos personagens sobre preconceito, já que, na Exposição Universal de 1889, eles tinham uma "Vila de Negros" a qual visitavam como se fosse um zoológico. A raiva que me dá só de escrever essa frase é absurda! Imagina pensar que realmente aconteceu! Mas não é só em relação a essa visão completamente doentia dos europeus daquela época, como também sobre antissemitismo e a diferença que a cor da pele faz, mesmo entre pessoas da mesma raça. Mal posso esperar pelo próximo livro, que os levará à Rússia na época em que já estavam perseguindo judeus por lá, porque sei que posso confiar na autora para questionar e abordar esse preconceito sem medo!Pois é. Tive bastante coisa para falar! A verdade é que esse não é um livro fácil, mas foi muito bem feito e tem uma ideia excepcional! Mais do que isso, até, os personagens são excelentes e a história é muito apaixonante! Eu lia cinquenta páginas ou mais sem nunca parar para ver em que página estava (sim, eu tenho a mania de acompanhar o número da página, então isso é raro para mim!). Recomendo absolutamente!

One of my new favourite books! I literally could not put it down! I’d give it more than five stars if I could.

Format: Audiobook 🎧I ended up enjoying this way more than I thought I would (not that I thought I would hate it lol) and it turned out to be an emotional roller-coaster which I always love. If a book can make me laugh and cry, it's always a good one!So I've seen this described as Six of Crows crossed with The Da Vinci Code and that is 100% accurate. But I believe it still stands on its own. We have a cast of loveable characters, whose banter had me laughing out loud at times, a beautiful Paris setting, and the interesting introduction to the concept of Forging, which is a sort of magic/small science type thing that some people are born with, allowing them to manipulate objects or people.Severin (please excuse my spelling, I listened to the audiobooks, and the names are not English), is the Kaz character, the leader of the pack and ideas man, trying to win back his stolen Inheritance of a place in the Order of Babel who govern the world and history of Forging. Together with his foster brother Tristan, courtesan Laila, engineer Zofia, and historian Enrique, they embark on a heist to claim a powerful Babel fragment before anyone else can find it, using a mix of cunning and problem-solving skills.I think this book will appeal to almost any YA fantasy lover, especially those who like clever and funny stories. I'm looking forward to continuing the series after a cracker of an ending in this one.