the gilded wolves by roshani chokshi is a glittering delight. full of diverse and marginalised characters with backstories and full emotions. the the themes in this book touched my heart and inflamed me. I created this blog just to review this book!! I wanted it to be the first review that I posted on here.
being a fijian indian, the daughter of fijian indian immigrants descended from labourers brought over to work sugar cane plantations by the british, I have a strong sense of where I’ve come from and the history I’ve lost. we are the dispossessed, without a solid link to our ancestors and only the barest knowledge of which villages and provinces we came from. when I saw hindi words in laila’s chapters, my heart leapt and my eyes filled with tears. I’ve never felt so seen. here’s my exclamation-point filled thread on twitter where I live-tweeted my descent into hell.
‘History is a myth shaped by the tongues of conquerors.’
- roshani chokshi, in the author’s quote
just as an aside, I was and remain part of the street team for the gilded wolves. I was afraid I’d end up disappointed after hyping up the book so much but wow, I was absolutely blown away. trust in rosh, she always delivers.
for those comparing it with six of crows and claiming soc is more ‘nuanced’, that is the biggest load of crap tbh. tgw dealt with colonialism, with cultural appropriation, with racism, with freedom fighters. there was so much more context and nuance there because tgw was written by a poc!! a filipina-indian woman!! I love soc With my wholeass heart but these two are not comparable. sure, they’re both heist stories with a diverse cast, both feature unbeatable odds and daring chases. but at the heart of it, the themes are different. The characters are different. enjoy both, but please don’t make us choose between the two.
moving on, tgw’s plot is never predictable from the first moment and ensnares us at twists and turns. the first acquisition of the compass literally had me sweating (I had to wipe my hands before I touched my book lol). roshani’s writing is at its enchanting best. it dips and twirls, crafting beautiful metaphors and blooming words. her dialogue is at its best when it is snarky, with witty repartees and crackling tension seeping into exchanges between characters.
the characters are the heart of it all. my favourite characters, of course, were laila, enrique and hypnos I loved all of them: séverin, tristan, enrique, laila, zofia, hypnos. but those three specifically touched me the most. enrique’s musings on history colonialism, ravaged cultures and the rights of the dispossessed stirred a fire in me (feat. BISEXUAL REP!!!) laila’s courage and her willingness to play on stereotypes and leverage her looks and glamour fascinated me. and hypnos, oh hypnos; insecure, overconfident and playing a part in his own game with the western-supremacist order of the babel. My baby, you are ONE OF US and I challenge anyone who claims otherwise to fisticuffs at dawn *side-eyes séverin*
“When you are who they expect you to be, they never look too closely. If you’re furious, let it be fuel.”
let me tell yall about the ships. WHEW CHILE the ships! laila/séverin was the tension filled we-had-one-night-together-and-it-has-haunted-me-since’ vibe that I adore. it also made me want to tear out my hair because!! séverin is so STOOOPID. enrique and zofia had me on the edge with their reluctant-allies, oil-and-water snark. hypnos was a surprise contender who swooped in and stole all of our hearts!! (and enrique’s lips) ((POLYAM PLS THESE DORKS NEED HAPPINESS))
the ending left me shook. like, I knew it was coming because of my inability to help from flipping to the last page of a book before starting to read it. how the hell can we top that?? the last 30 pages were So Much, as my followers on twitter know because I practically screeched over it. It didn’t end on a cliffhanger, but rather left the door open for a sequel likely full of blood, betrayal and secrets (and plenty of cake!)
rating: 5 stars!!!
being a fijian indian, the daughter of fijian indian immigrants descended from labourers brought over to work sugar cane plantations by the british, I have a strong sense of where I’ve come from and the history I’ve lost. we are the dispossessed, without a solid link to our ancestors and only the barest knowledge of which villages and provinces we came from. when I saw hindi words in laila’s chapters, my heart leapt and my eyes filled with tears. I’ve never felt so seen. here’s my exclamation-point filled thread on twitter where I live-tweeted my descent into hell.
‘History is a myth shaped by the tongues of conquerors.’
- roshani chokshi, in the author’s quote
just as an aside, I was and remain part of the street team for the gilded wolves. I was afraid I’d end up disappointed after hyping up the book so much but wow, I was absolutely blown away. trust in rosh, she always delivers.
for those comparing it with six of crows and claiming soc is more ‘nuanced’, that is the biggest load of crap tbh. tgw dealt with colonialism, with cultural appropriation, with racism, with freedom fighters. there was so much more context and nuance there because tgw was written by a poc!! a filipina-indian woman!! I love soc With my wholeass heart but these two are not comparable. sure, they’re both heist stories with a diverse cast, both feature unbeatable odds and daring chases. but at the heart of it, the themes are different. The characters are different. enjoy both, but please don’t make us choose between the two.
moving on, tgw’s plot is never predictable from the first moment and ensnares us at twists and turns. the first acquisition of the compass literally had me sweating (I had to wipe my hands before I touched my book lol). roshani’s writing is at its enchanting best. it dips and twirls, crafting beautiful metaphors and blooming words. her dialogue is at its best when it is snarky, with witty repartees and crackling tension seeping into exchanges between characters.
the characters are the heart of it all. my favourite characters, of course, were laila, enrique and hypnos I loved all of them: séverin, tristan, enrique, laila, zofia, hypnos. but those three specifically touched me the most. enrique’s musings on history colonialism, ravaged cultures and the rights of the dispossessed stirred a fire in me (feat. BISEXUAL REP!!!) laila’s courage and her willingness to play on stereotypes and leverage her looks and glamour fascinated me. and hypnos, oh hypnos; insecure, overconfident and playing a part in his own game with the western-supremacist order of the babel. My baby, you are ONE OF US and I challenge anyone who claims otherwise to fisticuffs at dawn *side-eyes séverin*
“When you are who they expect you to be, they never look too closely. If you’re furious, let it be fuel.”
let me tell yall about the ships. WHEW CHILE the ships! laila/séverin was the tension filled we-had-one-night-together-and-it-has-haunted-me-since’ vibe that I adore. it also made me want to tear out my hair because!! séverin is so STOOOPID. enrique and zofia had me on the edge with their reluctant-allies, oil-and-water snark. hypnos was a surprise contender who swooped in and stole all of our hearts!! (and enrique’s lips) ((POLYAM PLS THESE DORKS NEED HAPPINESS))
the ending left me shook. like, I knew it was coming because of my inability to help from flipping to the last page of a book before starting to read it. how the hell can we top that?? the last 30 pages were So Much, as my followers on twitter know because I practically screeched over it. It didn’t end on a cliffhanger, but rather left the door open for a sequel likely full of blood, betrayal and secrets (and plenty of cake!)
rating: 5 stars!!!