"The story reminded me of both The Da Vinci Code and Ocean's Eleven..."
I almost gave up on The Gilded Wolves, but things improved as I kept reading. The story reminded me of both The Da Vinci Code and Ocean's Eleven, but written for a younger audience. The aspects of the story that included symbolism and mathematical equations sometimes felt a little far-fetched, but they were intricate and difficult enough to be believable. The characters had to actually work for their answers, and solutions didn't fall into their laps. However, I didn't always understand why Forged objects worked (or how), but I ignored the part of my brain that wanted a clearer understanding of the information being presented.
Speaking of information, The Gilded Wolves really overloaded my brain at the beginning, and then periodically throughout the book. I want an author to show me how their world works, because a lot of new information can be overwhelming and difficult to process. I would rather feel like I'm a part of the story, which is hard to do when I'm having trouble understanding how the world works. Additionally, some of the chapters in this book started with archival records from the Order of Babel, and the information only added to my confusion (random names and dates that dealt with Babel fragments and Forging).
There were also a lot of inconsistencies that I wasn't a fan of. For example, the rings are supposedly melded to the skin and impossible to remove (unless by force), which is why the first chapter happens the way it does. However, towards the end of the book, everyone is taking their rings off like it isn't an issue at all. I thought they had to literally be cut from the skin? If you've read this, did I miss something along the way? Really, everything about the house rings was confusing.
I did like watching everyone work together, and learning about all of their individual quirks. Hypnos was charming and instantly a favorite! It was clear he was lonely and looking for friendship, but the group was distrustful of anyone within the Order. Also, now that I think about it, he said the Order monitored his every movement outside of his house (and even wore a recording device for their benefit), but after a certain point he never seemed to have one on. Did the Order suddenly not care about his whereabouts?
As for the ending, I didn't like it. I felt betrayed by the author, and didn't appreciate how she handled something regarding one of the characters. There's also a cliffhanger, but it wasn't one that left me wanting more. I was annoyed with Severin and his decisions, confused about why he's able to attend the big meeting that's coming up, and angry at the way he's treating his friends. I understand that he's in pain, but he's picking at the wound instead of letting it heal. It went against what I thought I knew about Severin. In all honesty, I feel like I know very little about the characters, except for what they achieved during this book.
Books like this are always hard for me to review, because on the one hand I liked it enough to finish the story, but there were still a lot of things that rubbed me the wrong way. I enjoyed watching everyone worked together to crack codes and riddles, but I didn't always like how they handled their personal relationships and goals. If The Gilded Wolves sounds like something you'd enjoy, go for it. I thought the overall story was incredibly imaginative and fun to experience.
Originally posted at Do You Dog-ear? on January 26, 2019.
Speaking of information, The Gilded Wolves really overloaded my brain at the beginning, and then periodically throughout the book. I want an author to show me how their world works, because a lot of new information can be overwhelming and difficult to process. I would rather feel like I'm a part of the story, which is hard to do when I'm having trouble understanding how the world works. Additionally, some of the chapters in this book started with archival records from the Order of Babel, and the information only added to my confusion (random names and dates that dealt with Babel fragments and Forging).
There were also a lot of inconsistencies that I wasn't a fan of. For example, the rings are supposedly melded to the skin and impossible to remove (unless by force), which is why the first chapter happens the way it does. However, towards the end of the book, everyone is taking their rings off like it isn't an issue at all. I thought they had to literally be cut from the skin? If you've read this, did I miss something along the way? Really, everything about the house rings was confusing.
I did like watching everyone work together, and learning about all of their individual quirks. Hypnos was charming and instantly a favorite! It was clear he was lonely and looking for friendship, but the group was distrustful of anyone within the Order. Also, now that I think about it, he said the Order monitored his every movement outside of his house (and even wore a recording device for their benefit), but after a certain point he never seemed to have one on. Did the Order suddenly not care about his whereabouts?
As for the ending, I didn't like it. I felt betrayed by the author, and didn't appreciate how she handled something regarding one of the characters. There's also a cliffhanger, but it wasn't one that left me wanting more. I was annoyed with Severin and his decisions, confused about why he's able to attend the big meeting that's coming up, and angry at the way he's treating his friends. I understand that he's in pain, but he's picking at the wound instead of letting it heal. It went against what I thought I knew about Severin. In all honesty, I feel like I know very little about the characters, except for what they achieved during this book.
Books like this are always hard for me to review, because on the one hand I liked it enough to finish the story, but there were still a lot of things that rubbed me the wrong way. I enjoyed watching everyone worked together to crack codes and riddles, but I didn't always like how they handled their personal relationships and goals. If The Gilded Wolves sounds like something you'd enjoy, go for it. I thought the overall story was incredibly imaginative and fun to experience.
Originally posted at Do You Dog-ear? on January 26, 2019.