JANUARY 2019 - AudioFile
P.J. Ochlan and Laurie Winkel narrate the first in an alternate-history series. They animate a large cast of well-rounded characters, a complicated plot, and rich descriptions. Ochlan delivers the chapters told from a male point of view. He describes, for example, the power of Séverin, a thief who leads a brilliant multiethnic crew in solving riddles and puzzles to recover a magical artifact. Winkel delivers the chapters told from a female point of view, such as Laila’s. Winkel stresses the sarcastic responses of this Asian Indian dancer to the opulent wealth around her as well as her attraction to Séverin. Both narrators dramatize minor characters equally well. Their strong characterizations as well as their use of accents and judicious timing suggest an exciting new series ahead. S.W. © AudioFile 2019, Portland, Maine
The New York Times Book Review - Jennifer Hubert Swan
…[a] glittering series opener…Reading Chokshi's prose is like sinking deeply into the overstuffed arms of a plush, purple velvet sofa. Her lavish descriptions of extravagant dinner parties, furtive meetings and daring escapes wrap you in sumptuous sensory detail…This ingenious take on colonialism and cultural appropriation is wildly inventive and widely representative.
Publishers Weekly
★ 10/22/2018
In this spellbinding series opener from Chokshi (A Crown of Wishes), Tower of Babel shards hidden around the world radiate energy that gifted individuals can use to “Forge”—magically manipulate—mind and matter. In 1879, Séverin Montagnet-Alarie attempted to assume his dead father’s position within the Order that protects Europe’s Babel fragment; instead, the Order excommunicated him for having mixed blood. Now, in 1889, Séverin runs Paris’s illustrious L’Eden Hotel while working with a diverse crew of talented teenage rogues (a bisexual Spanish-Filipino historian, a Polish-Jewish engineer, an Indian cabaret star who can read objects’ histories) to steal Forged treasures from those who spurned him. When an Order Patriarch named Hypnos tries to bribe Séverin into staging a dangerous heist by offering to help him reclaim his birthright, Séverin refuses—until Hypnos threatens to kill his friends. Evocative writing, sumptuous set pieces, and vividly sketched, authentically flawed characters distinguish this immersive tale of found family and star-crossed romance. Kaleidoscopic narration complements the intricate, high-stakes plot and allows Chokshi to showcase numerous aspects of her richly imagined universe all the way to the closing cliff-hanger. Ages 12–up. Agent: Thao Le, Sandra Dijkstra Literary Agency. (Jan.)
From the Publisher
"A gorgeously layered story, with characters that make you laugh and ache and cheer." – Renee Ahdieh, New York Times bestselling author of The Wrath and The Dawn
"This is a book to swan dive into, swim around in, luxuriate in. Trust me, you won’t want to come out” – Laini Taylor, New York Times bestselling author of Strange The Dreamer
"A masterpiece of imagination. You will want this book to steal your heart so that you will never have to leave this story." Stephanie Garber, New York Timesbestselling author of Caravale
"A gorgeously layered story, with characters that make you laugh and ache and cheer." – Renee Ahdieh, New York Times bestselling author of The Wrath and The Dawn
"This is a book to swan dive into, swim around in, luxuriate in. Trust me, you won’t want to come out” – Laini Taylor, New York Times bestselling author of Strange The Dreamer
"A masterpiece of imagination. You will want this book to steal your heart so that you will never have to leave this story." – Stephanie Garber, New York Times bestselling author of Caravale
"The Gilded Wolves is part political misadventure, part puzzle and thoroughly charming, with a band of rapscallions and a string of surprises!" – Holly Black, New York Times bestselling author of The Cruel Prince
"The Gilded Wolves is the smart, dark adventure YA readers have been waiting for.” – Adrienne Young, New York Times bestselling author of Sky In The Deep
"The Gilded Wolves has it all: magical Belle Époque Paris, dark and glittering prose, a cast of characters that will steal your heart inside their other heists. This is a book I wish I'd written." – Ryan Graudin, award-winning author of Wolf By Wolf
School Library Journal
★ 11/01/2018
Gr 9 Up–Paris, 1889: Séverin Montagnet-Alarie is well known throughout Paris society as a wealthy hotelier—a persona that helps him acquire secrets and artifacts from the French faction of the Order. The Order is composed of powerful houses that manage all Forged artifacts and guard the secrets of the Babel Fragments that make Forging both materials and minds possible. Over the years, Séverin has created a loyal team to help with his acquisitions: Tristan, his brother in everything but blood; Enrique, a Filipino historian eager to champion his own cause; Zofia, a Polish engineer with obligations of her own; and Lailah, an Indian dancer with a secret that could be deadly. The Order has taken everything from Séverin, but if he and his crew find an ancient artifact for a rival, he could get it all back and change their fates. This series starter is a sumptuous historical fantasy that perfectly evokes the luxury and unrest of Belle Époque Paris alongside a carefully detailed world where Babel fragments allow Forgers to create wonders. Séverin and members of his crew alternate chapters in close third-person, introducing readers to their faceted backstories while the narrative unfolds. Chokshi has created an inclusive and authentic cast with obvious chemistry and affection for one another and infuses the tale with witty banter and twists. In addition to solving ciphers and riddles on the hunt for the artifact, these characters also interrogate the troubling history of European colonialism and cultural appropriation. VERDICT A delectably intriguing adventure for all teen shelves.—Emma Carbone, Brooklyn Public Library
JANUARY 2019 - AudioFile
P.J. Ochlan and Laurie Winkel narrate the first in an alternate-history series. They animate a large cast of well-rounded characters, a complicated plot, and rich descriptions. Ochlan delivers the chapters told from a male point of view. He describes, for example, the power of Séverin, a thief who leads a brilliant multiethnic crew in solving riddles and puzzles to recover a magical artifact. Winkel delivers the chapters told from a female point of view, such as Laila’s. Winkel stresses the sarcastic responses of this Asian Indian dancer to the opulent wealth around her as well as her attraction to Séverin. Both narrators dramatize minor characters equally well. Their strong characterizations as well as their use of accents and judicious timing suggest an exciting new series ahead. S.W. © AudioFile 2019, Portland, Maine
Kirkus Reviews
★ 2018-09-30
Leigh Bardugo's Six of Crows (2015) and Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code (2003) converge in this dazzling new fantasy. The backdrop is 1889 Paris, just weeks before the Exposition Universelle. Forging is a divine art, believed to emanate from the broken fragments of the Tower of Babel. The French faction of the Order of Babel, which is currently in charge of protecting the West's Babel Fragment, now consists of only two Houses after one House fell and another died without an heir. Séverin Montagnet-Alarie, infamous thief and hotelier, half-French and half-North African, is the rejected heir of the dead House Vanth who longs to claim his inheritance. Hypnos, the dark-skinned, blue-eyed son of a Martiniquan mother and French aristocrat father, is the patriarch of House Nyx and Séverin's childhood rival. He offers to help fulfill Séverin's desire if Séverin retrieves a Horus Eye, an artifact which can reveal the location of a Babel fragment. To accomplish his mission, Séverin enlists the help of his closest allies—his brother Tristan, a landscape artist; bisexual Enrique, a half-Filipino, half-Spanish historian; Zofia, a Polish-Jewish engineer; and Laila, an Asian Indian dancer. Readers will be fascinated by each cast member's unique background and personal motives. Chokshi (Star-Touched Stories, 2018, etc.) creatively reimagines history, weaving fantastical elements with symbology and broadening the scope of her narrative by integrating multiethnic worldviews. An opulent heist adventure that will leave readers voracious for more. (Historical fantasy. 14-adult)
