I received this ARC through BookishFirsts in return for an honest review.
Putting this under a spoiler tag but I’ll try to be as spoiler-free as possible.
Roshani Chokshi is definitely an author to watch. It seems like every book she touches, whatever the themes, are rich and full of detail, nuanced characters and plots that captivate.
This world of glitter, magic, blood and sorrow is probably the most interesting combination of parts I have ever read. Roshani is brilliant in her language and detail, each sentence feeling like a masterpiece that transports you.
So let’s dive in.
It’s Paris in 1889 and the world thrives around one primary thing: Forging. Forging is the ability to alter and create new, based on your affinity and whether your blood allows you to even Forge at all. The source of these powers come from objects called Babel Fragments, items believed to have come from God Himself and very dangerous in the wrong hands. The only way of finding the location- and accessing- the fragments are to use Rings passed through certain powerful families. If the family’s bloodline ends, so does the Ring.
Séverin Montagnet-Alarie’s family was one such great family, but he was stripped of his wealth and name by a falsified Two-Ring test. Since then, he has made a band of comrades assist him in repossessing what he lost while he assists them- whether through action or power- in finding or achieving their own personal goals.
Séverin’s entourage includes: Laila, a brilliant, kind-hearted dancer with a hidden secret; Enrique, a historian who wants to make a mark on Paris and finally feel equal to those whose skin is lighter; Tristan, the closest thing Séverin has to a brother and an incredibly talented landscaper with a Forging affinity to liquid matter; Zofia, a Forging engineer with a head for numbers that longs to be accepted back into the University she was banished from; and Hypnos, the flamboyant Patriarch from House Nyx who longs to be accepted in the Order and find people he can call friends.
You would think that with so many characters, all of whom narrate entire chapters throughout the book, would be hard to differentiate and define. That isn’t the case. Their characters are nuanced and detailed in a short amount of time. Not only that, the witty banter and the interactions amongst each other are some of the best parts of the book. Hypnos is particularly hilarious, but so is Zofia in her obliviousness to jokes and social cues.
Which leads me to something that made me so happy: the representation in this book. Let me make a list:
One character is bisexual, another is possibly gay
One character is darker skinned and one is mixed and both treated differently for it.
One character wishes to make a revolutionary difference in his home country and be a visionary for his people.
One character has a disability and cannot understand social cues, feelings, or anything not literal. She also has problems with textures, symmetry, and crowded places.
One character goes out of her way to help the aforementioned character by understanding her triggers and feelings. Methods include a trail of cookies and giving her freedom of choice without pressure.
One character is Jewish and has frequently been bullied and harassed for it.
One character believes deeply in her religion and has to overcome it for a role.
There’s likely more I missed. None of these things are one-off, or token. They’re naturally woven throughout, becoming foundations of the characters. For me, this is probably the best represented book I have read in YA Fantasy.
Character growth is shown throughout, same with character regression. Events make characters overcome boundaries... and make new ones. Some characters become wholly different from the beginning of the book, and some of them become so broken they’re hardly living. It’s hard when you love the character, but this book is only the beginning.
I’d like to thank Roshani for thoroughly causing a huge mess of emotions in me through the last quarter of the book. You think everything is great and then... bam. There are some amazing twists in this story, many I didn’t see. The last 50 pages was a mixture of shock, heartbreak, and revelations. One of the things revealed of one of the characters still haunts me.
My only complaint was that I struggled to get into it until about a quarter of the way into the book. It took me a bit to get into the feel of the book, but the plot greatly picked up and my mind snapped into place.
I’m so grateful I got to read this early. I really highly recommend it like I do for all of Roshani’s books. Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to find some tissues.
Putting this under a spoiler tag but I’ll try to be as spoiler-free as possible.
Roshani Chokshi is definitely an author to watch. It seems like every book she touches, whatever the themes, are rich and full of detail, nuanced characters and plots that captivate.
This world of glitter, magic, blood and sorrow is probably the most interesting combination of parts I have ever read. Roshani is brilliant in her language and detail, each sentence feeling like a masterpiece that transports you.
So let’s dive in.
It’s Paris in 1889 and the world thrives around one primary thing: Forging. Forging is the ability to alter and create new, based on your affinity and whether your blood allows you to even Forge at all. The source of these powers come from objects called Babel Fragments, items believed to have come from God Himself and very dangerous in the wrong hands. The only way of finding the location- and accessing- the fragments are to use Rings passed through certain powerful families. If the family’s bloodline ends, so does the Ring.
Séverin Montagnet-Alarie’s family was one such great family, but he was stripped of his wealth and name by a falsified Two-Ring test. Since then, he has made a band of comrades assist him in repossessing what he lost while he assists them- whether through action or power- in finding or achieving their own personal goals.
Séverin’s entourage includes: Laila, a brilliant, kind-hearted dancer with a hidden secret; Enrique, a historian who wants to make a mark on Paris and finally feel equal to those whose skin is lighter; Tristan, the closest thing Séverin has to a brother and an incredibly talented landscaper with a Forging affinity to liquid matter; Zofia, a Forging engineer with a head for numbers that longs to be accepted back into the University she was banished from; and Hypnos, the flamboyant Patriarch from House Nyx who longs to be accepted in the Order and find people he can call friends.
You would think that with so many characters, all of whom narrate entire chapters throughout the book, would be hard to differentiate and define. That isn’t the case. Their characters are nuanced and detailed in a short amount of time. Not only that, the witty banter and the interactions amongst each other are some of the best parts of the book. Hypnos is particularly hilarious, but so is Zofia in her obliviousness to jokes and social cues.
Which leads me to something that made me so happy: the representation in this book. Let me make a list:
One character is bisexual, another is possibly gay
One character is darker skinned and one is mixed and both treated differently for it.
One character wishes to make a revolutionary difference in his home country and be a visionary for his people.
One character has a disability and cannot understand social cues, feelings, or anything not literal. She also has problems with textures, symmetry, and crowded places.
One character goes out of her way to help the aforementioned character by understanding her triggers and feelings. Methods include a trail of cookies and giving her freedom of choice without pressure.
One character is Jewish and has frequently been bullied and harassed for it.
One character believes deeply in her religion and has to overcome it for a role.
There’s likely more I missed. None of these things are one-off, or token. They’re naturally woven throughout, becoming foundations of the characters. For me, this is probably the best represented book I have read in YA Fantasy.
Character growth is shown throughout, same with character regression. Events make characters overcome boundaries... and make new ones. Some characters become wholly different from the beginning of the book, and some of them become so broken they’re hardly living. It’s hard when you love the character, but this book is only the beginning.
I’d like to thank Roshani for thoroughly causing a huge mess of emotions in me through the last quarter of the book. You think everything is great and then... bam. There are some amazing twists in this story, many I didn’t see. The last 50 pages was a mixture of shock, heartbreak, and revelations. One of the things revealed of one of the characters still haunts me.
My only complaint was that I struggled to get into it until about a quarter of the way into the book. It took me a bit to get into the feel of the book, but the plot greatly picked up and my mind snapped into place.
I’m so grateful I got to read this early. I really highly recommend it like I do for all of Roshani’s books. Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to find some tissues.