The Gilded Wolves by Roshani Chokshi

The Gilded Wolves (The Gilded Wolves #1) by Roshani Chokshi

• Publisher: Wednesday Books, 2019
• Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Historical Fiction
• Format: Ebook
• Page Count: 388 pages
• My Rating: ⭐⭐⭐ (3/5)

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The overall atmosphere Chokshi had created was gloomy, haunting, and breathtaking. She stated that the idea for this trilogy stemmed from hearing about the “human zoo” displaying Filipinos in 1904 World’s Fair. Then she came across another “human zoo” featuring “Negro Village” in 1889 Exposition Universelle. The Gilded Wolves series was never meant to be a cheery story. Set in the 19th century, Chokshi wanted to show the “beauty and horror” of La Belle Époque, The Beautiful Era. In her words, “When we revise the horror and sanitize the grotesque, we risk erasing the paths that led us here.” And I love how she managed to achieve telling an honest story with a magical twist in this first installment.

The Gilded Wolves is a fantasy set in our history featuring Forging, an art that influences either matter or mind. The story is about a group of teenagers going through dangerous adventures, trying to recover the Horus Eye. Séverin, Tristan, Enrique, Laila, Zofia, and later, Hypnos, make a great team while being a disastrous mess at times.

Though there are multiple main characters, all of them have distinct personalities with diverse backgrounds. It is virtually impossible to mix them up. Algerian-French Séverin Montagnet-Alarie has failed to succeed as the patriarch of House Vanth, but he is the reason that they all, sans Hypnos, are a team. His adoptive brother Tristan, who has an affinity for liquid in plants, is a botanist, and he loves his tarantula. Enrique Mercado-Lopez is Spanish-Filipino, the group’s historian and translator. Laila is a dancer under the name L’Enigme, Indian, makes wonderful cakes, and can read regular objects through touch. Zofia Boguska is Polish, Jewish, on the autistic spectrum, and an engineer with affinity for solids. She was expelled from the university due to anti-Semitism. Haitian-French Hypnos is Séverin’s childhood playmate and rival. He pretty much blackmails Séverin to have his team join himself on the heist.

The Gilded Wolves is an ambitious work and the world Chokshi built is fascinating, but it took me a little too long to get sucked into the story. I would recommend reading nonstop until reaching the 35% mark or so for better experience. The plot deals with not only the adventures, but also the characters’ internal struggles. There are mentions of being biracial and belonging in neither world, past shame regarding sexuality, and Laila’s unconventional insecurities. Everything is really real.

Don’t capture their hearts. Steal their imagination.

Laila’s mother

I find myself especially drawn to Zofia. She is an engineer with a love of patterns and math, and an overall badass character. I am hoping for more of her in future books. Also, I want to hug Laila because she is superbly observant and very caring. It always feels like she knows everything about others, even without touching.

I laid out three dresses for you. The dark one will be the least distracting because there are no asymmetrical frills. The light one will be the most comfortable. The embroidered one is for if you feel nervous because then you can count the stitches while you’re waiting.

Laila’s note to Zofia

It is not a secret that I love languages and numbers, and The Gilded Wolves has them all. Did it feel like the author was trying a little too hard? Yes, but it totally works and I will always be happy to see Latin and Fibonacci series make cameos in fiction. There are also many references to different cultures, including Chinese, Egyptian, etc. The team is knowledgable on all sorts of topics, and if they were a single person, the best description would be a Renaissance polymath. Their adventures also feel a lot like competing in “Intelligent Ironman Creativity Contest” with lives on the line because both require solving puzzles during physical challenges.

The Gilded Wolves is a one-of-a-kind YA historical fantasy that is slightly creepy and dark with wonderful characters. It is worth checking out because for me, it was nothing like I have ever read. Chokshi had done thorough research and it shows in her careful writings. But I will say this: the ending of this first book is painful. I need The Silvered Serpents right now to see what is going on with the characters. [22 Jul 2020]