THE INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTELLER! “Namina Forna Could Be The Toni Morrison Of YA Fantasy.” –Refinery 29 “Fans of Children of Blood and Bone, Mulan, and the Dora Milaje from Black Panther are going to adore this one.” –BuzzFeed“A dark feminist tale spun with blood and gold. Must read!” –Dhonielle Clayton, New York Times bestselling author of The Belles The most anticipated fantasy of 2021. In … York Times bestselling author of The Belles
The most anticipated fantasy of 2021. In this world, girls are outcasts by blood and warriors by choice. Get ready for battle.
Sixteen-year-old Deka lives in fear and anticipation of the blood ceremony that will determine whether she will become a member of her village. Already different from everyone else because of her unnatural intuition, Deka prays for red blood so she can finally feel like she belongs.
But on the day of the ceremony, her blood runs gold, the color of impurity–and Deka knows she will face a consequence worse than death.
Then a mysterious woman comes to her with a choice: stay in the village and submit to her fate, or leave to fight for the emperor in an army of girls just like her. They are called alaki–near-immortals with rare gifts. And they are the only ones who can stop the empire’s greatest threat.
Knowing the dangers that lie ahead yet yearning for acceptance, Deka decides to leave the only life she’s ever known. But as she journeys to the capital to train for the biggest battle of her life, she will discover that the great walled city holds many surprises. Nothing and no one are quite what they seem to be–not even Deka herself.
The start of a bold and immersive fantasy series for fans of Children of Blood and Bone and Black Panther.
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An enthralling debut. The Gilded Ones redefines sisterhood and is sure to leave readers both inspired and ultimately hopeful.
I’ll be honest, I almost put this book down early on.
Then, everything started to change, and I couldn’t pull my eyes away. It is disturbing, yes, but so unique in a way that had everything somehow making SENSE by the end. I don’t want to give away any spoilers, but I am glad I stuck with this one!
Recommended!
An epic new fantasy with heart-stopping stakes and a fierce, persevering hero, The Gilded Ones is a dazzling and powerful debut.
A dark feminist tale spun with blood and gold, The Gilded Ones lifts the veil of violent patriarchy and burns the idea of purity to the ground. Must read!
The Gilded Ones is a fierce, unflinching fantasy that marks Forna as a debut to watch.
This was a blatant case of judging a book by its cover. I saw the gorgeous cover and knew I had to pick it up. The thing is, the book itself is just as stunning. This book has so many amazing messages. It shows female empowerment snd the dangers of the patriarchy. It deals with its own version of racism with those who bleed gold being outcast and destroyed. In addition to the many messages though is a simple story of growing up and realizing the world isn’t what you thought it was, that YOU aren’t who you thought you were and that you are something so much greater than you could ever imagine. I highly recommend this one.
Girl Power!
The Gilded Ones is an entirely unique and empowering YA novel. I was first grabbed by the cover, which is absolutely Stunning!!!
If you like your romance element on the sweet side (hold the steam), this is perfect for younger audiences and adults who prefer friendship over physical… or any reader who just loves a beautiful, well-told story outside the norm.
One of the ways to articulate the importance of women’s rights is to situate them in a fictional world that gives them none, and the brutal world of The Gilded Ones is a particularly crushing example. In this oppressive world, teenage girls are examined for “purity” in a bloodletting ritual; even those who succeed earn the right to live behind masks for the rest of their lives, and those who fail are never seen again. When protagonist Deka is deemed impure, leading to torture and despair, she’s offered one alternative to death—join a group of outcast warrior girls, and earn back her purity with years of service to her country. What’s behind this offer, and who turns out to be the real enemy, take this YA novel to the next level and leave you hungry for the next installment.
Amazing imagery and character development.
This is NOT your typical YA book, and it’s not because there are several adult themes in it. This book is NOT for all readers (for more reasons than one), but it NEEDS to be read by everyone.
https://mistyaquavenatus.com/2021/08/21/why-you-need-to-read-the-gilded-ones
Moving off the Grishaverse until I get Rule of Wolves, I decided to read a book that I bought a couple months ago, and has been on my tbr backlist. I was so excited for it because I’ve seen it promoted on bookstagram, has beautiful cover art, and the book is completed with green sprayed edges. It even has a map inside; what more could I want?
That book is The Gilded Ones by Namina Forna, published by Usbourne Publishing Ltd. In the world of Otera, Deka is approaching the ritual of purity that every girl must endure when they are fifteen. Deka’s blood, however, runs gold, marking her as impure. Subject to the Death Mandate, Deka has one other option. She can join the Emperor’s army to fight the deathshrieks, a creature whose very scream can cause human deaths.
Originally from Sierra Leone, West Africa, Namina Forna now lives in Los Angeles and works as a screenwriter. She’s also contributed to a series of essays providing personal examples of sexual harassment and assault in a book titled You Too. As you can imagine, Namina loves having fierce female leads.
As I mentioned, I was so excited to read The Gilded Ones. I think that proved a problem, though; my expectations were too high and I was kind of disappointed with what I got.
Not that the novel was bad in any sense! It has so much potential. I would give it three stars out of five.
The worldbuilding was fantastic and very immersive. Namina really captured how the different cultures within the world interacted, including races, accents, legends, histories, and prejudices. An overall theme of the book was religion and this fictional religion was very thought out and she was careful to show the implications of it. The worldbuilding was very complex and I applaud her for that.
The plot was also very intriguing and unique. The Gilded Ones is very centered around religion and how the Infinite Wisdoms preach that a woman’s blood must run pure. The Infinite Wisdoms also preached how a woman should behave, mimicking a lot of the sexism our world has seen through religion. In some ways, it is a great political commentary on how the sexes are still seen as unequal, especially through the lens of faith. Add that with the other girls Deka meets in the army and sharing the trauma they’ve experienced, understanding what Deathshrieks are and what the definition of a monster is.
While the plot and worldbuilding were amazing, I was ultimately disappointed with the writing style and pacing of the novel. The book dealt with such complex topics, but the writing itself seemed almost too simplistic. I know this fantasy is meant for young adults, but I feel like I’ve read more complex sentences in middle grade books. In addition, the pacing was just too fast. One second Deka was just learning about her abilities and the next she was off fighting deathshrieks. In fact, the end was tied together too neatly because of this pacing, solving complex questions with a simple sentence like “I didn’t think you could handle the information at the time.” (In a way that very much sounds like Dumbledore to Harry). I am not satisfied with some of the answers I got, like the reason deathshrieks attacked human villages. It would have been better to reveal this more slowly.
Because the pacing was so off, the love interest also developed too quickly, even though it was a slow burn. Most of the book they exchanged a few words and then all of a sudden they were embracing! It seemed like there was no buildup to that. Plus, Keita was just too perfect to seem like a real character. Even when I expected him to be angry at Deka, or when such a volatile reaction was warranted, he just sort of shrugged and said it was all right before declaring his love with his eyes. (like what?) I wish Keita was a more developed character with flaws and weaknesses. I don’t want perfect!
I’m still unsure if I’m going to read the sequel, The Merciless Ones, when it comes out in 2022. I suppose I have a year to think about it. I don’t like starting series and not finishing it, but I don’t feel invested.
Anyway, this YA fantasy is an average book, so I suppose if you want something to read, it’s all right. Beware: It’s pretty violent and gory.
Haunting, brutal, and oh-so-relevant. This book will suck you into a world where girls bleed gold, magic fills the air, and the real monsters hide behind words instead of claws.
Deka wants nothing more than to fit in, so the upcoming blood ceremony is very important as it can determine whether she can become a member of her village and finally receive the welcome she has longed for. However, things don’t go the way she’d hoped it would and she’s left feeling more of an outcast than ever before. All’s not over for Deka, however, as it appears there may be a place in the world for her after all as she is offered the opportunity to join an army of girls with rare gifts just like her.
This book started and ended very well albeit the last few chapters felt a little rushed. The ending certainly left me eager for more. I got a little bored halfway through and struggled to engage with the characters, but I’m glad I stuck with it to the end, because it turned out to be a rather fascinating tale that dealt with many relevant topics. I would have liked more interaction between the characters so to better form an emotional connection with them as I found I didn’t care much what happened to them, which is a big deal for me. I want to feel invested in the characters and be able to step into their shoes so I can envision the world from their perspective, but I found it hard to connect with the characters in this book, which was a shame because they had such potential. I wasn’t convinced by the romance element. It didn’t feel very authentic and wasn’t paticularly exciting to me. Having said all that, I loved the cover and the originality of the story idea. I loved that there was an array of diverse characters. Quite clearly Deka is a strong and powerful character with great potential for growth.
I look forward to seeing how the story continues to unfold and hope to see more development between the characters and more solid relationships being formed between these girls. A good start to what appears to be a promising series.
The Gilded ones is the first book in the Deathless series by Namina Forna.
Deka lives in fear since forever. At the age of sixteen, she will go through a ceremony that will determine if she’s pure or not. If she is, she will be a member of the village and if not… if her blood run gold…
Just like she have fear since she already different from the other girls of her village, her blood is the color of impurity. And a fate worse then death awaits her. A mysterious woman, The White Hands, will come to the village and will let her choose another fate. Go join others like her and fight for the Emperor. He’s assemble an army of alaki–near-immortals with rare gifts. Only they can stop whats threatening the kingdom. She will soon notice that even among the other alaki, she’s not normal.
I have really loved this book and looking foward to the sequel!
A great fantasy read that quickly swept me away. The world building was rich and I could see it in my mind. I immediately felt invested with Deka and her story. I also loved the variety of cast of characters she meets throughout.
Oh. My. Gosh! I love this book so much! I picked it up at the library, expecting an ok read. I started to read it and fell in love. Deka and Britta are amazing friends, and White Hands is so cool. I would 100% recommend reading this book!
I was kind of disappointed by this book. It has everything I could want in a book, yet the characters didn’t really come off of the pages as I expected them too. So it’s 4 stars from me, nothing particularly wrong about it, just wasn’t speaking to me.
Also, the ending was odd for the first in a trilogy. It was very “happy ever after, all loose ends tied up” and I couldn’t figure out what would be in future books with everything so “picture perfect.”
This book was stunning. It was intense and brilliantly written, pulled me in immediately and refused to let me go. Deka is a young woman, frightened and in pain when her blood runs gold and everyone she knows turns their back on her. Determined to move forward, she accepts the only real option available to her and agrees to be an elite soldier. This is a beautiful story about finding the truth, finding yourself, finding family, and figuring out what you are fighting for. I cannot wait to see where the series goes next!!
I can’t wait for the rest of this series. The magic, the creatures, and the themes in this bookmare amazing. There is so much female empowerment and brings to light the imbalance and unfairness of a patriarchal society. There are alot of hard topics covered in this book including sexual violence, abuse, physical violence, xenophobia and misogyny. All of these are handled very well in my opinion and the fact that it is tackled in a fantasy book makes it easier to talk about in my opinion.
Wow, this was a fantastic read! I was sucked in right from the beginning and the entire way through! The twists and turns were surprising, normally I can guess what is going to happen and be pretty spot on, but this one definitely shocked me! I really loved the overall story and history within the timeline; a highly recommended read!