Monday, October 14, 2019

#Review - The Gilded Wolves by Roshani Chokshi #YA #Fantasy

Series: The Gilded Wolves #1
Format: Hardcover, 400 pages
Release Date: January 15, 2019
Publisher: Wednesday Books
Source: Library
Genre: Young Adult / Epic Fantasy

Set in a darkly glamorous world The Gilded Wolves is full of mystery, decadence and dangerous but thrilling adventure.

Paris, 1889: The world is on the cusp of industry and power, and the Exposition Universelle has breathed new life into the streets and dredged up ancient secrets. In this city, no one keeps tabs on secrets better than treasure-hunter and wealthy hotelier, Séverin Montagnet-Alarie. But when the all-powerful society, the Order of Babel, seeks him out for help, Séverin is offered a treasure that he never imagined: his true inheritance. To find the ancient artifact the Order seeks, Séverin will need help from a band of experts:

An engineer with a debt to pay. A historian who can't yet go home. A dancer with a sinister past. And a brother in all but blood, who might care too much.

Together, they'll have to use their wits and knowledge to hunt the artifact through the dark and glittering heart of Paris. What they find might change the world, but only if they can stay alive.




“When you are who they expect you to be, they never look too closely. If you’re furious, let it be fuel,” Séverin said, looking each of them in the eye. “Just don’t forget that enough power and influence makes anyone impossible to look away from. And then they can’t help but see you.”

The Gilded Wolves is the first installment in author Roshani Chokshi's The Gilded Wolvesseries. Set in an alternative 1889 Paris, the series features 5 distinct characters with their own individual quirks. Séverin Montagnet-Alarie is the apparent heir of House Vanth which was declared dead 10 years ago. Séverin has been attempting to reclaim each of the House possessions that were sold with some help from his friends. As a wealthy hotelier, owner of the most fashionable establishment in France, L’Eden, he has been able to attract a motley band of followers with hopes of paying them off for helping him.

After being caught stealing by a rival House, Séverin's former childhood friend, Hypnos, pretty much blackmails him into helping finding something that the Order of Babel wants badly or Séverin loses several of his friends. To make matters even more twisted, Hypnos offers the one thing that will get Séverin's attention; the reclamation and return to status of House Vanth as long as HE is part of the crew. But, there is a party that stands in Séverin way of success. The Fallen House, as it is called, refuses to go silently into that good night, and plans to establish a revolution of which hasn't been seen before.

Apparently, there were once (4) great Houses in Paris; Nyx, Kore, Vanth, and the aforementioned Fallen House that was been stricken from the records due to its attempt at recreating the Tower of Babel to reach Heaven. As Séverin and his group put together plans to retrieve what the Order wants, they have to deal with each other's specialties, quirks, and personalities. The dynamic between this group was loving, teasing, and above all accepting. The banter between the group is one of the best parts of the story.
 
Séverin and Tristan grew up together. They had 7 foster homes which is broken down by the author into the number of fathers who paved the way for who they are today. Séverin is highly protective of Tristan, and has made a vow to himself that he will not only keep him safe, but ensure that he has a permanent home. Hurdles that are thrown in his way at every turn, including Hypnos, his former childhood friend who punches his way back into Séverin life.

Tristan is the soft spot for me. He's a botanist who has a gift for planets and loves his pet tarantula who he forged into reality.

Zofia is the introvert of the group. She is the math genius who was put out of her school because she was Jewish. She has the rare gift of “mind-forging”. She yearns to pay off her debts so that she can be reunited with her sister. She exhibits many of the signs of being on the autism spectrum.

Enrique is a Filipino historian with a deep interest the cultural side of his profession. He yearns to write for his own countries newspaper. He’s also the nerdy comic relief in his friend group.

Laila is the most interesting. Laila is hiding a dark history, and it may kill her one day soon if she isn't able to uncover the secrets of her unorthodox birth. She is able to read objects by touch and tell their history. She is also quite the talented baker as well as a famous cabaret dancer known as L’Enigme.. She and Séverin gave in to their passions once and have kept their distance ever since.

Hypnos is the head of a rival House Kore, but he once was Severin’s childhood friend who now is bribing the group to do his bidding. He has one proviso – he must be a part of the gang.  
 
In this world, there were two kinds of Forging affinities: mind and matter. One must be born with an ability to Forge, but the extent/expertise to which one Forges depends on how they well they study/practice their talent. Someone with a matter affinity could influence one of three material states: liquids, solids, or gasses. Both Tristan and Zofia had matter affinities; Zofias' Forging affinity was for solid matter—mostly metals and crystals—and Tristan had an affinity for liquid matter. Specifically, the liquid present in plants.

In this world, the greatest thief of all is the Order of Babel, for they stole more than just objects. They steal histories, swallowed cultures whole, smuggled evidence of illustrious antiquity onto large ships and spirited them into indifferent lands. One could call this the author's determination to call out colonization of countries by Europe which ended up stealing a large swath of history. One could take away from this that the author is calling Europe’s Age of Imperialism and the deep scars left in those conquered countries. History is shaped by the tongues of conquerors while the conquered have long lost their voices. 





https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/39863498



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