Namina Forna

4 Stars

An inspiring story about overcoming oppression in a severe paternalistic society that serves only to put every female in their place, and if they’re not deemed pure enough, they’re killed. Yep. You heard that right.

Harsh. Brutal. Violent. This pulls no punches on what women in this fictional world are subjected to. Good thing there’s an ally who has put in motion a series of events that starts the beginning of the end of such a cruel and unfair culture.

Filled with a bit of magic, a brewing teen romance, plenty of legend and lore, and wondrous creatures and monsters, Deka’s journey has just begun, and I look forward to seeing how she fights for her freedom and those of her fellow sisters!

Go Girl Power!!
… (mehr)

This review is also featured on Behind the Pages: The Gilded Ones

In Deka’s village, young girls must abide by strict rules or else risk becoming impure. And to be impure means enacting the death mandate. Deka lives in a near-constant state of anxiety, fearing she will be impure. Having a mother from outside the village, she already stands out from the rest. When the day of the bloodletting ritual comes, disaster strikes the village and it is discovered Deka’s blood runs gold. Deka is continually subjected to horrors from the elders as they try to enforce the death mandate. Until a woman arrives at the village, offering Deka a way to leave the village behind. Deka is offered a way to use her near-immortal powers as an alaki to fight for the empire and earn purity as a reward.

The Gilded Ones is not a book for those for the faint of heart. While Namina Forna wrote about Deka's time with the village elders in a way to avoid diving into details, it is still a traumatic experience. One Deka relives throughout her time at the training grounds. However she never fully processes what occurred in the village. She buries it and the anxiety she once held. Ingrained into her mind are the beliefs of her village, and it will take Deka a while to unwind the untruths she lived.

This novel didn’t quite dwell on the emotional side of the alaki and their situation. There was a detachment when Deka was reliving the actions of the elders. Taking an almost disassociated approach to the trauma Deka endured. When a fellow alaki named Belclis shares her story, it is steeped in emotion and the pain her past caused her is quite evident. Taking the same approach to Deka’s trauma would have made her a character easier to connect with and more realistic.

Building the lore and beliefs of the world was well done. From the start, readers are shown how quickly loved ones will turn on their family if they are found to be alaki. However, the smaller details were sometimes lost within the narration. Certain aspects of the alaki, such as the signs of a true death were glossed over during action sequences. This could make it easy to miss and later on when the same situation is brought up, but no explanation is given, it’s hard to connect the dots and see the conclusions characters are coming to.

The Gilded Ones was a quick and easy read. It has wonderful battle sequences and lore. It’s a unique storyline and the abilities of the alaki are just beginning to be discovered by the end of the novel. Readers who enjoy darker young adult fantasy may enjoy this novel.… (mehr)

Mere weeks after confronting the Gilded Ones, Deka is on the hunt for the truth behind her divinity. But her human body is on the verge of crumbling to pieces and that’s pushing her time to save everyone even closer. When Deka’s search leads her and her friends to the edge of the world, they discover a whole new realm, filled with knowledge they weren’t aware of - especially knowledge that holds the key to Deka’s past.

Now, Deka must decide to be reborn as a God or bring about the end of the world.

This book had a lot going on in it, a lot of Deka finding everything out, but it always kept my interest and kept me turning the pages. I was also so fond of her little found family - and the fact that they were always calling each other that too!

All the main characters in this series come full circle by the end of the book - nothing left open ended that wasn’t meant to be left to your imagination, you know? Also, I absolutely love Ixa and if this ever becomes a movie or a series, can’t wait to see him in the flesh! I do not have drawing abilities, but shall absolutely be on the lookout for fanart of him! Britta is also a favorite and I love her so much, and her support for

I also wanted to point out the romance in this that isn’t anything crazy. Deka and Keita were cute and realistic. None of their relationship felt forced and Ketia was so understanding of everything. It all just felt right and you don't always see that in YA romance. And, it’s obviously not the main focus of this book, so that may be why as well.

Overall, this series is amazing and I love it so much. I can’t wait to get it in the hands of those who love high stakes YA fantasy with a badass female lead.

*Thank you Delacorte Press and NetGalley for an advance digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review… (mehr)