First I would like to state that I read a 30-page excerpt of this book through bookishfirst and this review is based on that initial reading.
Gilded Wolves should automatically appeal to someone like me; magic and an 'Ocean's 11' style heist mixed with some decent YA tropes should be as entertaining as it comes but there was something just, off about this experience.
With only the basic introductions to characters, I have to say...I see little difference in personality or rationale behind their future actions. I know the heist was done since the opening bit of 'history' pretty much seals that in before the start of the actual narrative but there is still something fundamentally missing for me.
Maybe there was more details and character development further along in the book ( dear gods I hope so,) but for right now, the first 30 pages were a struggle for me to get through let alone differentiate between all the characters.
In addition, there is no real world building in this first part of the book which makes the world seem covered in fog. Yes I know it is set in France but the time period? Alternate timeline? Magical? It is hard to tell in the first 30. My guess is that the characters are developed more throughout the book but that I would be left hungry for more details about the world they inhabit.
Gilded Wolves should automatically appeal to someone like me; magic and an 'Ocean's 11' style heist mixed with some decent YA tropes should be as entertaining as it comes but there was something just, off about this experience.
With only the basic introductions to characters, I have to say...I see little difference in personality or rationale behind their future actions. I know the heist was done since the opening bit of 'history' pretty much seals that in before the start of the actual narrative but there is still something fundamentally missing for me.
Maybe there was more details and character development further along in the book ( dear gods I hope so,) but for right now, the first 30 pages were a struggle for me to get through let alone differentiate between all the characters.
In addition, there is no real world building in this first part of the book which makes the world seem covered in fog. Yes I know it is set in France but the time period? Alternate timeline? Magical? It is hard to tell in the first 30. My guess is that the characters are developed more throughout the book but that I would be left hungry for more details about the world they inhabit.