4.5/5 Stars!
I first read a book by Roshani Chokshi when she started her middle grade series with Rick Riordan Presents, Aru Shah. I was immediately in love with her magical way of writing and wanted to be friends with her characters. Once I had read it though, I realized she had already written several other books that were YA fantasy. The Gilded Wolves is the first of these books that I delved into. IT DID NOT DISSAPOINT!
When I first started this book and took some notes about fifty pages in, I was a little confused. I admit this might be because I didn't read the synopsis before I started it (I just saw that it was by Roshani Chokshi and had a beautiful cover and then dove right in!). Either way, I was a little confused as to what was happening in the first few chapters. When I say confused, though, I don't mean that the characters were unclear or that the plot didn't make sense. I really can't describe it very well, but something about the story and what the characters were doing in general was confusing to me.
A little confusion has never been a deterrent for me, though, and it definitely wasn't in this case. I really wanted to like this book and I was already pretty much won over by the rich language and diverse cast of characters. I especially liked that the characters each brought something new to the story and had such unique perspectives and interesting backgrounds. So, I kept reading, falling in love with these people (although also hating the stupid choices they made from time to time).
Once I had finished the book, I was much more convinced of my adoration of this author's works. Everything started making more sense throughout the book and there were lots of little puzzle-like scenarios, which I realized weren't supposed to make sense right off the bat to the reader. I really appreciated the journey this story took me on and I can't wait to read the next book in this series which is coming out next year.
*note: originally published on my blog (www.libraryinmymind.com).
I first read a book by Roshani Chokshi when she started her middle grade series with Rick Riordan Presents, Aru Shah. I was immediately in love with her magical way of writing and wanted to be friends with her characters. Once I had read it though, I realized she had already written several other books that were YA fantasy. The Gilded Wolves is the first of these books that I delved into. IT DID NOT DISSAPOINT!
When I first started this book and took some notes about fifty pages in, I was a little confused. I admit this might be because I didn't read the synopsis before I started it (I just saw that it was by Roshani Chokshi and had a beautiful cover and then dove right in!). Either way, I was a little confused as to what was happening in the first few chapters. When I say confused, though, I don't mean that the characters were unclear or that the plot didn't make sense. I really can't describe it very well, but something about the story and what the characters were doing in general was confusing to me.
A little confusion has never been a deterrent for me, though, and it definitely wasn't in this case. I really wanted to like this book and I was already pretty much won over by the rich language and diverse cast of characters. I especially liked that the characters each brought something new to the story and had such unique perspectives and interesting backgrounds. So, I kept reading, falling in love with these people (although also hating the stupid choices they made from time to time).
Once I had finished the book, I was much more convinced of my adoration of this author's works. Everything started making more sense throughout the book and there were lots of little puzzle-like scenarios, which I realized weren't supposed to make sense right off the bat to the reader. I really appreciated the journey this story took me on and I can't wait to read the next book in this series which is coming out next year.
*note: originally published on my blog (www.libraryinmymind.com).