#Review - The Bronzed Beasts by Roshani Chokshi #YA #Fantasy #Historical

Series: The Gilded Wolves # 3
Format: Hardcover, 400 pages
Release Date: September 21, 2021
Publisher: Wednesday Books
Source: Publisher
Genre: Young Adult / Fantasy / Historical

Returning to the dark and glamorous 19th century world of her New York Times instant bestseller, The Gilded Wolves, Roshani Chokshi dazzles us with the final riveting tale as full of mystery and danger as ever.

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.

 

The Bronzed Beasts is the third and final installment in author Roshani Chokshi's The Gilded Wolves trilogy. The Silvered Serpents ended on a cliffhanger and now we'll see Severin & crew face incredible odds in their fight to save Laila & keep their friendship from crumbling. Set in a beguiling and fog-filled Venice, Severin is faced with godhood, Laila is faced with her own mortality, and Enrique, Zoya, and Hypnos come to terms with their impossible mission: defeat Ruslan, save Laila, and overcome Séverin's betrayal.   

After leaving his friends behind, Séverin bides his time with Ruslan, Patriarch of Fallen House, trying to learn the location of the temple where the lyre can be played to make him a god.  Séverin has no idea that Laila has smashed the recording bug that he left behind telling his friends where to meet him and what really happened in Russia. When they don't show up as planned, Séverin fears that Ruslan figured out his game, and has done something to prevent the reunion. 

Séverin has always been the planner of the group, the one who's always leading them, the one who the group trust to fix everything. So, when the crew does things without him, it proves that these 5 characters are a force to reckon with. Meanwhile, the rest of the crew is dealing with the effects of Séverin's betrayal. Even after Hypnos reassures them that it was a ruse, Enrique has a hard time trusting him, especially after having lost an ear. 

Enrique, who is good at history, languages, myths and legends, is rethinking his own personal decisions and how he hasn't exactly made a mark on the world like he had planned. But he knows that with time running down for Laila he needs to put his anger behind him to save her. Laila's clock is ticking down to zero, and she's close to accepting the idea that there's no hope. Can she ever forgive Séverin's betrayal? Before meeting Séverin, Laila was treated as something different, something no altogether human. 

She's the mom of the group. She's the one who will bake cakes, and cookies just because. She's your favorite character because you want her to be successful and not succumb to time. Zofia carries a letter from her sister but refuses to open it fearing it might be the worst news possible. Zofia is brilliant but also likely has autism but on the high scale. She can function without much pushing, and she's remarkable in almost every aspect. She's able to create marvelous things and doesn't normally panic when things are looking gloomy. 

I think in many ways, the ending is damn near perfect. We see things that happen to each of these characters over the course of say, 100 years, and what comes of them, including Laila and whether or not Séverin gets his wish of becoming a God.

Zofia noticed that it was Laila he looked at last. It was a familiar pattern. In L'Eden, whenever Severin made plans, he always looked at Laila. To see him do it again made Zofia think of all their former patterns. It was like physics, the study of working mechanisms and the interplay of light. Laila was a fulcrum, the point around which all things in their group seemed to pivot. Severin was mass, the weight that changed their direction. Enrique gave them depth. Zofia hoped she offered light. She was not sure what Hypnos contributed to the group, but she could not imagine it without him. Perhaps that made him perspective.

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#Review - The Silvered Serpents by Roshani Chokshi #YA #Fantasy

Series: The Gilded Wolves (#2)
Format: Hardcover, 416 pages
Release Date: September 22, 2020
Publisher: Wednesday Books
Source: Publisher
Genre:Young Adult Fantasy / Historical

Returning to the dark and glamorous 19th century world of her New York Times instant bestseller, The Gilded Wolves, Roshani Chokshi dazzles us with another riveting tale as full of mystery and danger as ever in The Silvered Serpents.

They are each other’s fiercest love, greatest danger, and only hope. 

Séverin and his team members might have successfully thwarted the Fallen House, but victory came at a terrible cost — one that still haunts all of them. Desperate to make amends, Séverin pursues a dangerous lead to find a long lost artifact rumored to grant its possessor the power of God.

Their hunt lures them far from Paris, and into the icy heart of Russia where crystalline ice animals stalk forgotten mansions, broken goddesses carry deadly secrets, and a string of unsolved murders makes the crew question whether an ancient myth is a myth after all. 

As hidden secrets come to the light and the ghosts of the past catch up to them, the crew will discover new dimensions of themselves. But what they find out may lead them down paths they never imagined.

A tale of love and betrayal as the crew risks their lives for one last job.

The Silvered Serpents is the second installment in author Roshani Chokshi's The Gilded Wolves trilogy. The book picks up 2 months from where the first installment left off. The story opens with a Prologue from 13 years ago with a revealing secret regarding Séverin Montagnet, House Vanth, & House Kore which I won't spoil. If fairness, this was hinted to at the end of the previous installment. Séverin, Enrique, Zofia, and Laila are reeling over the death of someone Séverin swore to protect.

The Silvered Serpents deep dives into the character's emotional lives and the repercussions of the notable death at the end of the first book. As a reminder, the Order of Babel hired Séverin and his crew to find the Fallen House's treasure trove. They have done so to a point. The Fallen House has shown their cards and it's not the last time we will hear from them. To top everything off, The Divine Lyrics holds the secrets of joining the world's Babel fragments which would cause irreparable damage to the world.   

Séverin summons his crew back to L’Eden with the news that he’s discovered a clue that could lead them to the Fallen House’s store of hidden treasure - including the Divine Lyrics. It's fair to say that this Séverin is not the one you've met in the opening installment. Séverin's urgently needs to find the Divine Lyrics which might lead to godhood for himself and his friends. The idea of attaining godhood for himself and his friends leads him to doing some very bizarre and terrible things including making a deal with the devil. This group heads off to St. Petersburg, Russia, Siberia, and the Sleeping Palace which is expected to host the Winter Enclave in a matter of weeks. 

Meanwhile, Laila, who can read an object's history, is literally running out of time. She has 21 days before her 20th birthday in which magic used to forge her comes unraveled and she'll no longer exist. Though she's resolved to tell no one about the whole dying thing, her resolve is starting to falter. Laila needs The Divine Lyrics in order to live. She was told all she needs to do is open the book in order to find a way to live past her 20th birthday. Laila also may be the key to opening the book.

Enrique is trying his hardest to fit in with the Illustrados, only he’s not having much by way of success. Then there’s his relationship with Hypnos, who seems more interested in being included as a fully-fledged member of the L’Eden Gang than he is in Enrique. Zofia is back in Poland tending to her gravely ill sister Hela, and is ready to quit the gang altogether. The L'Eden gang is on the verge of dissolution but Zofia desperately needs the money to send back to her sister.

As the team struggles to come back together to find a mysterious book that could be their salvation...or their downfall, there are old enemies, new enemies and twist and shocking surprises that await them in Russia. There's some really horrible surprises in store for this group which leaves a rather large hole in my heart until I am able to read the sequel. 

 

 

 

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#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. 

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