Namina Forna

The must-read new bold and immersive West African-inspired fantasy series, as featured on Cosmo, Bustle and Book Riot. In this world, girls are outcasts by blood and warriors by choice, perfect for fans of Children of Blood and Bone and Black Panther. "Namina Forna Could Be The Toni Morrison Of YA Fantasy." Refinery 29 Sixteen-year-old Deka lives in Otera, a deeply patriarchal ancient kingdom, where a woman's worth is tied to her purity, and she must bleed to prove it. But when Deka bleeds gold - the colour of impurity, of a demon - she faces a consequence worse than death. She is saved by a mysterious woman who tells Deka of her true nature: she is an Alaki, a near-immortal with exceptional gifts. The stranger offers her a choice: fight for the Emperor, with others just like her, or be destroyed... "An enthralling debut. The Gilded Ones redefines sisterhood and is sure to leave readers both inspired and ultimately hopeful." Stephanie Garber, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Caraval "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." Roseanne A. Brown, New York Times bestselling author of A Song of Wraiths and Ruin "The Gilded Ones is a fierce, unflinching fantasy that marks Forna as a debut to watch." Kiersten White, New York Times bestselling author of And I Darken

The Gilded Ones

Eilidh 

'Namina Forna Could Be The Toni Morrison Of YA Fantasy.' - Refinery 29 The start of a bold and immersive West African-inspired, feminist fantasy series for fans of Children of Blood and Bone and Black Panther. We all have a choice. Are we girls, or are we demons? Sixteen-year-old Deka lives in Otera, a deeply patriarchal ancient kingdom, where a woman's worth is tied to her purity, and she must bleed to prove it. But when Deka bleeds gold - the colour of impurity, of a demon - she faces a consequence worse than death. She is saved by a mysterious woman who tells Deka of her true nature: she is an Alaki, a near-immortal with exceptional gifts. The stranger offers her a choice: fight for the Emperor, with others just like her, or be destroyed...

Malak Mazen

Joan 

Mercy Jepchirchir Barno

Honestly, I can't even begin to write at how amazing this book was. I never expected it to be as good as it was. I do love how you see the strength of these girls and some of the other characters from the start till the end. Also another thing to point out, is I love how the romance isn't as important. You'll see it here and there but as much, the friendships that was built nicely, the author Namina Forna did an excellent job. I feel like it's mostly Plot-driven (but correct me if I'm wrong here), but the character developments was good stuff. Love the sense of humor. And before I forget to mention, I do love how it tackles a world where when almost all things are run by men, the women and girls find strength to surpass that and aim for greater heights. Not to mention, they are badasses as they continue to do that. 
I definitely look forward to the second book.

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 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.

5 stars isn’t enough. There aren’t enough stars in the world for this book. Incredible from start to finish.

Bria

The start of a bold and immersive West African-inspired, feminist fantasy series for fans of Children of Blood and Bone and Black Panther. In this world, girls are outcasts by blood and warriors by choice. 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.

Sarah Sammis

Not the best but not the worst. Cool plot twists. Weird writing? Meh overall

Jillian Roberts

Micaela Rangel

i liked the idea and the concept behind the book i just think it could have been written a lot better. Don’t know if i’ll be reading the rest of the series 

Cameron Gleeson 

Wafaa S

So amazing if you love fantasy and amazing world building this book is for you! ❤🥰

Not a fan of the writing style. Felt like I was reading a script. Story became wildly predictable about halfway through

Daron Rose

Gillian Rose

Sad to say, I struggled with this one. I think there were a lot of good elements, but it was hard for me to connect with the characters and setting.

Absolutely amazing. I loved the characters, the settings, the twists, turns, and of course the underlying message of feminism and female empowerment.

I loved Deka's strength and resilience, and her character development is so well done throughout the book!

Holly

Absolutely amazing. I loved the characters, the settings, the twists, turns, and of course the underlying message of feminism and female empowerment.

I loved Deka's strength and resilience, and her character development is so well done throughout the book!

Jantien 

Holy sh*t! This book is so good!! Definitely one of the best fantasies I’ve ever read! Can’t wait for the next book in this series 😍😍😍

Jessica Geddis 

I love the characters, but I got immensely bored and soon only finished it just to finish it. I think the romance is cute, but there’s way too many training scenes and way too little actual action. I loved the representation and the problems it addressed, even through a fantasy world. I think the characters are loveable, even when they do questionable things. I did like the plot twist at the end, and I might get the second book. As it says, it does remind me of Children Of Blood and Bone a lot, and I don’t know if that’s a good or bad thing.

I loved this book. The plot was good and I enjoyed the characters and the growth of the character. I love the fact it was a very women empowering book. I really enjoyed this and recommend to people 

Caitlin harwood

Julia Lotz

So much love for this one. It's one of my favorite books 2020 ♥

Ashley Wendt

DNF @ 52%. Ugh. I tried. I struggled. I had such a hard time connecting to the Main Character. The time jumps were startling. The world building was scattered and sometimes pointless. The dialects didn’t make sense or add anything to the world, because the world didn’t really feel fulfilled enough for it. So much of it was confusing. I’m bummed. I really wanted to love this book, but I found myself not caring or connecting to anything in this book.

Chelsea van Rer

2.49
you can definitely tell this is a debut novel. there was hardly any consistency with the characters and the plot was all over the place. i found that things werent explained, just told? it wasnt a problem for me, but it definitely could be for others.
i suppose i still plan on reading the next book, just to see how it goes. i think this series had potential!

Dee B. 

I found this story to be a chill, enjoyable and quick read. The world building was exactly what I needed out of this book. It wasn't overly complicated or info-dumpy. Instead it was sprinkled throughout the plot at relevant moments.

I'd recommend this to fantasy lovers who aren't keen on heavy/in your face romance or constantly tense/high action books. 

The romance that is included is so wholesome, but it isn't only the romantic relationship that's wholesome, the friendships are as well. There weren't any girl fights for the sake of the male gaze or crab in barrel syndrome, just a group of girls making the best of a horrible situation and supporting each other through it all.

I can't wait for book 2!

vmknmy

The plot was good and the characters were alright, but the pacing was off in the middle of the story, and seemed like a lot of it happened off-page (idk is that the right way to put it), and it seemed very fast-paced compared to the beginning and end, skipping like 2 weeks where there were things happening, but just off the page

Edit a few months later:
Changing to 3 stars from 4 stars because I realised while reading the sequel, The Merciless Ones, that absolutely nothing from the first book actually stayed in my brain, and I definitely feel the same problems from the first book in the second book so far, like a lot happening off-page, especially between the books? like I can't exactly remember what happened in the end but I'm confused as hell with who is who and what is what .__.
idk it was quite forgettable I guess, it was still a quick and easy read back when I read it so I'll give it that

Seher Mohsin

I can’t believe I took so long to read this! Loved the book! 



Nicki

Rating: 3.5 stars (rounded up to 4)

I had a good time reading this book especially after not being able to finish Witches Steeped In Gold. This book didn’t make me cringe every time someone spoke. In general this is a very fast paced read and kept my attention. Although, the story was thoroughly predictable there was a certain charm to this book that made me smile. It did feel like a majority of the smaller details were told not shown.

Deka, our main character, is not the sharpest tool in the shed and I’m not entirely sure that we were given the best development of her character. I also felt a bit insulted that the author had to tell us on paper that she’s not aware or that xyz needed to happen so that we could get to where we are. You know what I mean? I did appreciate that there was an unwavering bond with the girls and that really carried for 89% of the book. 

In all honesty, I was a little sad this didn’t turn into an epic wlw story especially after we were constantly told how these men ain’t shit, but you know what Keita proved himself useful. There are certain things that I’d love to witness in the sequel, but I’m not really holding my breath for that. 

Be forewarned there are a lot of strong topics to deal with in this book and if that makes you uncomfortable then I’d stay clear.

Overall, I enjoyed this debut novel and I’m definitely looking forward to the sequel!

Deka has been anxiously anticipating the Ritual of Purity, a ceremony that could finally make her an accepted part of her community for years. She has strictly followed the dictates of the Infinite Wisdoms in the hope that she will stay pure and that her blood will run red. But when the ceremony finally takes place, her blood runs gold instead - the color of impurity. She's labelled and demon and subject to the Death Mandate. She is rescued from her village elders' attempts to discover what her final death will be by a mysterious figure Deka calls White Hands and inducted into an army of other girls like her - the alaki, the impure ones, the demons. Deka and the other girls are promised absolution if they make it the end of twenty years of service in battle against the deathshrieks. However it is quickly clear that nothing is as it seems - most especially not Deka herself.

This was a fascinating adventure that explores the ways in which women are subjugated and exploited, ostensibly in the name of religion. Deka has tried to cram herself into the tiny box that the men around her have stuffed her in in the hopes of finally finding a place where she feels wanted and safe. It's only in rejecting the narrow roles offered to her and stepping into a world and life that she never could have previously imagined that Deka is able to find any kind of security or compassion. I find myself extremely interested in seeing where the sequel is going to take this new world that Deka finds herself in. I'm really hope we see true equality and not simply a role reversal of men and women in the future.

I find myself still confused on some of the history of this world and how the alaki and deathshrieks got to the point that they did. I felt like that whole plot explanation was glossed over. I hope we see a little more of the history in the future as well. My biggest complaint is probably the romance. It was just kind of blah. It was very by-the-book in terms of YA romances. Literally as soon as the love interest was introduced I knew exactly how that story was going to play out and there really weren't any surprises. Call me a bitter aromantic, but I would have found it a lot more interesting if Forna had leaned into the sibling dynamic that the recruits and alaki were supposed to have and developed a strong familial/platonic bond between Deka and Keita.

The Gilded Ones

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