• Author: Roshani Chokshi
• Series: The Gilded Wolves #1
• Genre: Historical Fantasy
• No. of pages: 388
• Dates read: 26.06.2023 – 05.07.2023
• Star Rating: 5 stars

Plot: It’s 1889. The city is on the cusp of industry and power, and the Exposition Universelle has breathed new life into the streets and dredged up ancient secrets. Here, no one keeps tabs on dark truths better than treasure-hunter and wealthy hotelier Séverin Montagnet-Alarie. When the elite, ever-powerful Order of Babel coerces him to help them on a mission, Séverin is offered a treasure that he never imagined: his true inheritance. To hunt down the ancient artifact the Order seeks, Séverin calls upon a band of unlikely experts: An engineer with a debt to pay. A historian banished from his home. A dancer with a sinister past. And a brother in arms if not blood. Together, they will join Séverin as he explores the dark, glittering heart of Paris. What they find might change the course of history–but only if they can stay alive.

A historical fantasy set in Paris which tackles issues of colonialism, racism and class! Yes please! Add a bisexual love triangle, a will-they won’t-they couple and beautiful found family and you may have one of my new all-time favourite book!

I read this for my book club and it was such an adventure to read.

Starting off I want to talk about the characters. I will say initially it took me a bit of time to get invested in the characters due to the fact that we don’t know enough about them and Chokshi really drip feeds you their back stories and motivations. But what did endear me to them was their relationships to one another. Not just a group but as their own individual relationships with one another. Laila and Zofia’s friendship is so different to Laila’s friendship with Tristan but they are a true found family which I loved and that was drew me to them. Not them as individuals but them as a group.

That being said Zofia was by far my favourite character. Reading her POVs was so interesting and I just loved being inside her head and seeing how her mind worked.

The plot was so ingenious and incredibly intelligent. From the historical setting, the mathematics, the physics, the symbology. All the puzzles. It was incredibly detailed. The amount of research that went into this was phenomenal. The heist itself was fun and exciting, I was kept on my toes the entire time. I also loved all the over-arching wider narrative elements which piqued my interest and can’t wait to explore in the sequels.

The magic system was super fun and I loved how it allowed our characters to use magical gadgets in their heist which really added and elevated the heist and its stakes. Plus it made the plot really vibrant and meant that anything went.

And if you are a romance fan you will love the sexual tension between Severin and Laila. I couldn’t look away from them. I was entranced by their tension and chemistry. More from them please and forever.

Also I am not always the biggest fan of a love triangle but I am really interested to see where Chokshi takes her triangle in series. Both relationships are just flourishing, so anything goes. I am excited!