I fucking love Six of Crows and Crooked Kingdom. They are my comfort books. I have been following all of the actors in the upcoming Netflix series since they were cast.
So when I came across The Gilded Wolves (thanks Storygraph!), I was immediately intrigued, because of its similarities to Six of Crows. I love heists. The world sounded interesting. Count me in.
Now, the problem with reading something that is similar to something you love is that you constantly compare it to the original. If you’re a high fantasy fan, how many times have LotR clones fallen flat? Harry Potter readalikes?
That’s not to say that The Gilded Wolves isn’t original – the worldbuilding certainly is. But the lens through which I am reading and reviewing it is most definitely colored by my experience with the Dregs.
I once again find myself feeling old while reading YA. How is Severin a hotelier as a teenager? How can Enrique be considered a historian without multiple advanced degrees? Part of the reason I was drawn to the premise of this books is that the description made it sound as though the characters would be older. Had I actually checked the Storygraph tags, I would have of course determined this was YA. And again – I like YA. I do. But maybe because I’m approaching 30, the idea of teenagers being in positions with this much power seems more and more unbelievable to me. read whatever the fuck you want.
Part of the appeal of Six of Crows is the Not Knowing. We don’t discover Kaz’s trauma until well into the book. We simply know that he wears gloves. The Gilded Wolves doesn’t have this kind of build up and suspense. And I fully recognize they don’t have to be the same! They shouldn’t be, in fact! But some of the character backstories border on infodumping and information is repeated regularly, especially by Severin and Laila. Additionally, for people trying not to remember that One Night, they sure think about it a lot!
For lack of a better description, this felt like strong scenes strung together with not much in between. There are some very poignant, vivid images, but moving from scene to scene feels rushed and somewhat forced. I felt this struggled a bit with White Room Syndrome but is this also just from the fact I read absurdly fast? idk Maybe I just missed it see: reads absurdly fast, but more foreshadowing and build-up would have made the reveals far more satisfying (especially the blood aspect of the Fallen House) also, i’m real fucking tired of things being tied to blood and purity and all that nonsense
(I also literally just realized that this book borrows the SoC ‘countdown’ from the Ice Court scenes – is this common in other YA books and I’ve missed it?)
This feels kind of horrible to say, but I didn’t feel like Tristan was…there enough for his death to have a significant impact.
Overall, an interesting concept, but dragged down by similarities to one of my favorites and lackluster writing and pacing why have I become the Pacing Police?. Three Cups of Tea.