Review – The Gilded Wolves (The Gilded Wolves, Book 1) by Roshani Chokshi (4/5 stars)

Reading Level: Young Adult
Genre: Historical Fantasy
Length: 400 pages
Publisher: Wednesday Books
Release Date: January 15, 2019
ISBN-13: 978-1250144546
Stand Alone or Series: 1st book in the Gilded Wolves series
Source: ARC through Amazon Vine
Rating: 4/5 stars

“It’s 1889. The city is on the cusp of industry and power, and the Exposition Universelle has breathed new life into the streets and dredged up ancient secrets. Here, no one keeps tabs on dark truths better than treasure-hunter and wealthy hotelier Séverin Montagnet-Alarie. When the elite, ever-powerful Order of Babel coerces him to help them on a mission, Séverin is offered a treasure that he never imagined: his true inheritance.

To hunt down the ancient artifact the Order seeks, Séverin calls upon a band of unlikely experts: An engineer with a debt to pay. A historian banished from his home. A dancer with a sinister past. And a brother in arms if not blood.

Together, they will join Séverin as he explores the dark, glittering heart of Paris. What they find might change the course of history–but only if they can stay alive.”

I got this through the Amazon Vine program to review. This is the first book in the Gilded Wolves series. There was a lot I liked in this book and some things I didn’t like; overall though it was a creative and intriguing read that I enjoyed.

The book is set in Paris in the 1880’s. The book jumps between 4 POVs. The first is that of Severen, a noble who is determined to get back his House status. The second is Laila who is a chef and also a performer. The third is Enrique, a historian who is visiting from a foreign land and the fourth is that of Zofia, a female engineer who lacks social skills and was barred from University. Together this group of characters tries to help Severin get his House ring back; even though each of them have their own goals and ambitions.

This book has a bit of an Ocean’s Eleven feel to it; the characters are all scheming together to “acquire” various relics and artifacts. The characters are all very interesting individuals and I enjoyed them all. I also really enjoyed this historical Paris setting where items can be magically Forged. The writing is very imaginative and I loved some of the imagery and things that were in this story.

Now on to my issues with it. The constant POV changing drew out the story at points; it works okay for this book but not great. Additionally, sometimes the descriptions of things were so outlandish it was hard to picture them. Lastly, I felt like there was a lot about Forging early on in the book and then this was somewhat dropped. The Forging was very intriguing and I wish it had been explained a bit better and had been more consistent throughout the story.

There is a lot of intrigue and some romance in this story. There is also a lot of “magic” and an interesting history built around the Tower of Babel.

Overall I really enjoyed this book and plan on continuing the series. I would recommend to those who enjoy YA historical fantasies with a lot of intrigue, mystery, and a bit of romance. I plan on continuing the series.

This book goes towards the following reading challenges:
– New Release Reading Challenge
– Goodreads Reading Challenge