"The Gilded Ones" by Namina Forna is a thrilling and empowering YA fantasy that follows the journey of Deka, a young woman who discovers her unique abilities in a society that fears and ostracizes her. Forna skillfully incorporates themes of feminism, identity, and rebellion into a richly imagined world filled with magic and political intrigue. The novel offers a fresh take on traditional fantasy tropes, presenting a protagonist who challenges stereotypes and embraces her strength. With its engaging plot and strong social commentary, "The Gilded Ones" is a compelling and thought-provoking read.

Due to a sudden, unexpected passing in the family a few years ago and another more recently and my subsequent (mental) health issues stemming from that, I was unable to download this book in time to review it before it was archived as I did not visit this site for several years after the bereavements. This meant I didn't read or venture onto netgalley for years as not only did it remind me of that person as they shared my passion for reading, but I also struggled to maintain interest in anything due to overwhelming depression. I was therefore unable to download this title in time and so I couldn't give a review as it wasn't successfully acquired before it was archived. The second issue that has happened with some of my other books is that I had them downloaded to one particular device and said device is now defunct, so I have no access to those books anymore, sadly.

This means I can't leave an accurate reflection of my feelings towards the book as I am unable to read it now and so I am leaving a message of explanation instead. I am now back to reading and reviewing full time as once considerable time had passed I have found that books have been helping me significantly in terms of my mindset and mental health - this was after having no interest in anything for quite a number of years after the passings. Anything requested and approved will be read and a review written and posted to Amazon (where I am a Hall of Famer & Top Reviewer), Goodreads (where I have several thousand friends and the same amount who follow my reviews) and Waterstones (or Barnes & Noble if the publisher is American based). Thank you for the opportunity and apologies for the inconvenience.

This is a very visual, exciting and adventurous novel - and I loved it! Pulsating, exciting, a violent sisterhood - I'm there.

Loved it. So much power, so much pain. I believe it is a great book for every young woman out there. I can not wait to read the second book!

What an absolute wild ride! While being such a violent book, this is also a book about living and discovering who you truly are!

I will not be giving feedback on this book as I couldn’t really get into it but I think others may enjoy it.

A refreshing Young Adult Fantasy with the some generic tropes I love but executed in such a great way that made reading this book a lovely experience. The pace of the story was spot on which is so difficult to do in a book, the main character's internal voice was interesting to follow and the storyline was not overly predictable.

The writing was stand out for me, one of those books where I know that I want to continue reading this author's work in the future. I think the reason this book was so excellent is because of the themes it dealt with throughout, not in a way where it felt someone just threw them in to tick a box, but done so sensitively and portrayed simply so people could understand what was going on.

"Refer to me with any other title, or mispronounce my name, and I will cut out your tongue for your insolence and put it in a jar to keep me company" - as an ethnic minority who's name has repeatedly been mispronounced growing up, this quote really resonated me. It is just one example of how beautifully this book portrayed women as being strong, kind and powerful.

"They might need us now because we're valuable, might pretend to accept us, to rewards us - but never forget what they did to us first"; that quote was just...wow. As explained at the end of the book, the author set out to try to represent the concept of patriarchy and it did it in a very simple, intriguing way that I thought was excellent.

"They taught we alaki to suffer, but they also taught us to survive" - I loved how this showed that your struggles can make you come out stronger, it helps give you patience during those tough periods in your life knowing that you'll come out wiser.

Read this book!

4.5/5

I liked the general idea and topics of the book. Very entertaining and easy to get through, but nothing too special for me.

Thanks to Netgalley and the author for giving me the ARC in exchange for an honest review. I am much delayed!!

I enjoyed this debut novel very much. There were many elements which were new and interesting, the back story of the Gilded Ones, which is slowly revealed over the course of the book (as the MC discovers it for herself), and others that follow along our own world’s divides (blonde Northerners, Black Southerners).

The story kept me interested and engaged throughout, but there was something about how it played out that reminded me of the novels of the angry feminist era, where men are (mostly) simply evil (except for a notable few) and the women seem to want to simply turn the tables.

I’m looking forward to book 2 which is either recently out or in the very near future. I do hope it addresses some of the issues with which I felt The Gilded Ones felt short.

Thank you for my eARC of this book!
Why did it take me so long to read this book? I think I got excited when I saw it then had the fear from all the hype. But the hype was so right. I loved the writing style and the world building. I think this is such an engaging fantasy and would recommend to anyone!

The Gilded Ones is bold and powerful and utterly gripping. The world that Namina Forna has created is so deeply compelling and this story is an epic in every sense of the world. It's a book that just doesn't let you go. I'm still thinking about it. Still turning things over in my mind, piecing everything together, contemplating this world and its fascinating cast of characters.

Big thank-you to netgalley and the publishers for this book.

Honestly this was amazing! I cannot explain it exactly but here goes:

Main character is mixed race in a town of white people. It’s okay because it’s fantasy land so clearly racism is the norm (no!!!). Everyone treats her like she doesn’t belong but it’s okay because her purity ceremony will make it obvious she’s not unclean. Aka a demon!

All girls are cut when they’re like 16 and if they have gold blood they’re a demon and if they don’t they’re pure. Apparently even kissing boys can make you a demon. We love religion here.

So deka has done literally nothing but be pious and sweet and just looks after her friend with a portwine stain away from bullies. There’s a cute boy that’s into her too and overall like we know something is going to go wrong because her life isn’t too bad. Yeah her mum died recently but she’s got a dad who is devoted to her etc.

So ofc these creatures called bloodshrieks show up and attack her village and, trying to save her dad from dying, she somehow commands them to leave. Then they’re all like wow thank-you for saving our lives, also you’re a demon and we will kill you, and promptly murder her.

As you can imagine things just get better from there for Deka. She’s having a good day. Because turns out she can’t die. Awesome. Time for the village to murder her repeatedly and harvest her gold blood and torture her.

This is the tone set by the book and honestly it’s so good. The female friendships are chefs kiss. The romance is perfection. The twists, if slightly predictable are logical and the magic system is established and makes sense.

Buy this. The end.

Namina Forma's The Gilded Ones was a page-turner set in a fictitious, dystopian world where girls bleed 'red' to prove their worth. The novel tells the story of Deka and her struggle to survive in a world dominated by violent patriarchy. I found the fictional world and characters to be credible and engaging, and I was able to connect with them. The book moves quickly, and I enjoyed reading it.

This. Was. Awesome!
The story explores themes of patriarchy and its effects on women, loyalty and betrayal, trauma, and identity. I couldn't stop reading it, feeling giddy when all that suffering Deka and the other girls had gone through turned to triumph.
I can't wait for the next one and am actually upset it's not set up to come out until 2022. Highly recommend!

Oh my... this was so GOOD. An exceptional YA fantasy debut that had me reading into the early morning.

Sixteen-year-old Delea lives in Otera, a deeply patriarchial ancient kingdom, where a woman's worth is tied to her purity and she must bleed to prove it. But when Delea bleeds gold - the colour of impurity, of a demon - she faces a consequence worse than death.

This was fantastic. It had everything that I love in fantasy and I'm so excited to see what comes next. The world-building was complex and I adored the characters as they all offered so many qualities to the story. Each individual had depth and a tale to tell which was lovely as there weren't any "throwaway" characters. Demons are one of my favourite fantasy topics, so this was a match made in heaven for me. I loved learning about the backstories and it was made even better by the inclusion of the world's own mythology. The feminist themes were strong, I loved how the story had emphasis on the powers of friendship, and we even had a surprising amount of violence for a YA!

A long story short, I absolutely loved this book. It had me completely hooked and I'll definitely be following future installments. An amazing debut!

Many thanks to the author, publisher, and Netgalley for sending me a copy of this book in return for an honest review.

A powerful fantasy novel that tackles a number of timely issues in a nuanced manner. I was absolutely immersed in this beautiful tale from the very first page and can't wait for the sequel.

The Gilded Ones by Namina Forna has such an intriguing premise. The main character, Deka, has spent her entire life preparing for a purity ritual at the age of sixteen. Often ostracized by her community she's determined to prove her purity, but she bleeds gold, the sign of a demon.
I felt heartbroken for Deka when she was discovered to be a demon however this is the moment when the story becomes even more fascinating! I couldn't put this book down until I discovered where Deka's journey would take her.
Namina Forna has written a world rich in cultural detail, I felt transported into Deka's world. The author has delivered an educational read about patriarchy tied up in a new fantasy novel, I really enjoyed it!

This isn't my usual genre of book - however, I really enjoyed the Gilded ones. I had seen a lot of hype for this over bookstagram so I had high expectations.

I find it quite difficult to get into at the beginning and almost DNFed, however, it definitely picked up as I got more into the story.

This was a great YA book and would definitely recommend to any YA fantasy fans.

This was such a brilliant read! This story was adventurous, fun, heartbreaking and wonderful in every way. I loved all the characters and everything about the word Namina Forna built.

An action oriented, empowering female led YA that I think will be perfect for teen readers. I loved the characterisation and development of the magic system most, and this had one of the most killer hooks at the start of the book that propelled me into the story.