Review – Bronzed Beasts (The Gilded Wolves, Book 3) by Roshani Chokshi (5/5 stars)
Reading Level: Young Adult
Genre: Fantasy
Length: 307 pages
Publisher: Wednesday Books
Release Date: September 21, 2021
ASIN: B08R2KHKCD
Stand Alone or Series: 3rd book in The Gilded Wolves series
Source: Borrowed eBook from Library
Rating: 5/5 stars
“After Séverin’s seeming betrayal, the crew is fractured. Armed with only a handful of hints, Enrique, Laila, Hypnos and Zofia must find their way through the snarled, haunted waterways of Venice, Italy to locate Séverin. Meanwhile, Séverin must balance the deranged whims of the Patriarch of the Fallen House and discover the location of a temple beneath a plague island where the Divine Lyre can be played and all that he desires will come to pass. With only ten days until Laila expires, the crew will face plague pits and deadly masquerades, unearthly songs and the shining steps of a temple whose powers might offer divinity itself…but at a price they may not be willing to pay.”
Series Info/Source: This is the third and final book in The Gilded Wolves trilogy. I borrowed this as an ebook from the library.
Thoughts: This was incredibly well done and absolutely beautifully written. The story does start a bit slow, as our characters deal with the fallout from the second book (which ended on a huge cliffhanger). However, the main goal remains. Severin must play the magical Divine Lyre at an as yet unknown location to attain godhood and save Laila from certain death.
A lot of this story does dwell on our characters and their thoughts and turmoil after the events of the last book. I really love the characters in this series so I enjoyed these parts. I also enjoyed the setup for the final quest to the mysterious plague island. Chokshi’s writing style is just so beautiful and glittering you really feel like you are in the settings with these characters. Everything about the story is just so lush and alive, I absolutely adore how beautifully this was written and how easy it was to read.
The story wraps up in a unique and well done way that was absolutely perfect for the tone of this series as a whole. I thought this was one of the strongest books in the series, although I really enjoyed the series as a whole too.
My Summary (5/5): Overall this was a fantastic conclusion to a beautifully written series. This series is full of amazing characters, glittering description, heartbreaking choices, and a fantastic adventure as well. I would recommend it to fantasy fans who love beautifully written, glittering and magical stories. There is a lot of time spent listening to characters’ thoughts and introspections, which does make the story move slower, however, I thought that was very well done and worked well with the tone of the rest of the series. I can’t wait to see what Chokshi comes up with next!
