Audiobook Review: The Gilded Wolves by Roshani Chokshi

Series:	Gilded Wolves #1
Pub. Date:	Jan 15, 2019
Publisher:	MacMillan Audio
Narrator:	Laurie Winkel P.J. Ochlan
Length:	11 hrs 55 min
Source:	Publisher

I have been a fan of Roshani Chokshi since I first picked up The Star-Touched Queen. I was expecting The Gilded Wolves to be similar in nature, with loads of beautiful prose and maybe some Hindu and Indian Folklore. So I was quite surprised by this book, as it stepped away from the prose and focused more on dialogue, character relationships and a linear plot.

But those fans of Chokshi will still enjoy the vast diversity and mythology in this story. The Gilded Wolves focuses on a group of main characters who are liberators of artifacts, as calling them thieves would be too low brow for this interesting cast. They each have their own unique talents, and weaknesses. I would say that the book has a slight steampunk feel with the character's ability to forge various tools which seem almost magical in nature, and some innate abilities that have a supernatural or paranormal feel. While each character had their own unique traits to set them apart, their vulnerabilities made them more relatable and served to establish a connection with each individual. Some of the characters appeared more fragile than others, but I think those that appeared stronger were just better at hiding their fears and phobias. One drawback to having a larger cast of main characters is that the story is somewhat harder to follow in audio. It took me longer to learn who each character was and I found myself trying to place people with each scene change for the first half of the book. You will notice that I haven't mentioned any characters by name thus far, and that's because I will probably butcher the spelling of their names as I was listening in audio. 

I did like the mythology aspect of this story - it was biblical and Egyptian in nature and focused on the Tower of Babel. Our group of liberators were searching Horace Eyes and Babel fragments, sneaking in vaults and catacombs, and doing all kinds of interesting things. Though, like I said above, I found it somewhat hard to follow in audio and felt like I didn't always know what was going on. I finally just tried to relax in the story without paying overly close attention, and I started to enjoy it more. I think that now that I know the cast of characters, it will be easier to follow future installments.

This series reminds me quite a bit of The Invisible Library series by Genevieve Cogman. The storylines are not similar, but I got the same feel when reading them both.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book that I received from the publisher.

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