I loved The Star-Touched Queen and A Crown of Wishes, and as excited as I was for a heist story in 19th century Paris, I didn’t think The Gilded Wolves could top those. It did. This novel is a masterpiece, and it’s secured Chokshi’s place as one of my favorite authors.

I loved every aspect of this so much, I’m not sure where to start.

The world-building was brilliant. I thoroughly enjoyed the combination of Paris and real Parisian history with Chokshi’s intricate magic system and lush writing. There was no info-dumping or confusion; everything simply worked. I was constantly curious and periodically satisfied. This was a true pleasure to get lost in.

In the author’s note, Chokshi talks about wanting to write a story that combined the glamour of Paris with the horrors of that time period. While I wasn’t previously familiar with those horrors and am not qualified to speak on the specifics, as a reader I think she accomplished that. She made it work without overshadowing the plot.

In my opinion, bits and pieces of the story seemed reminiscent of Six of Crows and Ace of Shades, while also being unique and unpredictable. It was dark and delicious, very atmospheric.

Can we take a moment to admire the plot? Magic and mythology are spun into something new, with rebellion, lost inheritance, heists, and puzzles. It was amazingly complex, entirely gripping, and a ton of fun. And even though it only happened once, I was much too happy to solve a puzzle before the crew did and find out I was right.

My favorite part of this novel, hands down, was the characters. It features a very diverse ensemble cast. Séverin is the leader, a French-Algerian boy with a mentally and emotionally abusive past. He has an adoptive brother Tristan, who experienced similar trauma. Laila is a South Indian, specifically Tamil, dancer with a secret, a deadline, and a passion for baking. Enrique is a Filipino-Spanish queer historian, either bisexual or pansexual, though it’s not stated. Zofia is a Jewish Polish mathematician and scientist, and she might be autistic, but I’m not 100% sure of that. Finally, Hypnos is the new addition to the crew, half-Haitian and the queerest diva I think I’ve ever seen outside of Queer Eye, though again, his specific identity isn’t stated. I can’t speak for any of the rep, but thus far I haven’t seen any complaints.

Every one of our six protagonists is wonderfully developed, with a personality you can’t help but love. On their own, they’re amazing. Put them together and they steal your heart. They certainly stole mine. The banter is so much fun, and I loved all of the relationship dynamics. As the story progresses, we see Laila and Zofia solidify their friendship, Séverin’s brotherly love and desire to protect Tristan, some romantic tension between one couple that refuses to call themselves a couple, and a slow-burn that I, for one, didn’t see coming. The friendship and the banter and the feelings and the kisses…I can’t even with these characters. This is possibly my favorite execution of the found family trope ever.

I’ve seen people praise this story and say that it will surprise and destroy you. I wasn’t sure what to expect while reading, but I can tell you now that that’s 100% true. This story is a whirlwind of emotion, despite being under 400 pages. The closer I got to the end, the more intense the emotions were. Who gave Chokshi permission to get me attached to these characters and then put them through this crap?! I mean, yeah, it’s a sign of her incredible skill, but I was already aware of that. Rude. Don’t hurt my sweet little disasters.

And then there’s the ending… It’s not okay. I’m not okay. I need the sequel and I need everything to be fixed. Last night when I closed the book, I legitimately had to sit there and process what happened for a good five minutes before opening Twitter to shout about it.

So if you couldn’t already tell, I absolutely loved The Gilded Wolves. This novel will undoubtedly have a place on my favorites of 2019 list, and I look forward to shoving it in unsuspecting people’s faces as I eagerly await any snippet of news regarding the next book.