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Namina Forna

Författare till The Gilded Ones

5+ verk 1,920 medlemmar 46 recensioner

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Verk av Namina Forna

The Gilded Ones (2020) 1,522 exemplar
The Merciless Ones (2022) 356 exemplar
The Eternal Ones (2022) 40 exemplar

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You Too? 25 Voices Share Their #MeToo Stories (2020) — Bidragsgivare — 41 exemplar

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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.
… (mer)
 
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Letora | 39 andra recensioner | Mar 6, 2024 |
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
… (mer)
 
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oldandnewbooksmell | Jan 31, 2024 |
Wow. This book took me a few chapters to really get pulled in, but within the first 40 pages the story has done a complete 180. What a beautiful world built out with surprises at every turn. Cannot wait to start reading the sequel!!
 
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Nlwilson607 | 39 andra recensioner | Jan 24, 2024 |
It’s been six months since Deka freed the goddesses in Otera and found out who she really is. With the war waging across the kingdom Deka and her army must stop the dark forces that are growing. But there are buried secrets getting unearthed that threaten to destroy her entire world, and her gifts are changing. Does Deka hold the key to saving Otera, or is she actually the threat?

So I swore I read this book when it first came out and so I requested the ARC of the 3rd book and got it. When I went to look at my reviews of these books, it was then that I realized I hadn’t read this one yet! So, I was able to read this book and then go directly into the third and final installment too - which is kind of nice because I’m so impatient when it comes to waiting for sequels.

I also listened to this in audiobook for the most part and there are some tense bits where I was gasping out loud while doing house chores (not going to mention what bits due to spoilers).

The only con I had of this was Deka’s fault of running headfirst into situations and making rash decisions. It's a young adult - Deka’s a young adult, and she’s learning. I did feel like she definitely grew since we first met her.

This is an action packed fantasy novel that I can see so many enjoying - especially since the third and final installment is coming out in just a few weeks. Definitely something I can see myself recommending for some binge reading for sure.
… (mer)
 
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oldandnewbooksmell | 4 andra recensioner | Jan 19, 2024 |

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Associerade författare

Bea Reiter Translator
Trish Parcell Designer
Shayna Small Narrator
Tarajosu Cover artist

Statistik

Verk
5
Även av
1
Medlemmar
1,920
Popularitet
#13,410
Betyg
3.9
Recensioner
46
ISBN
36
Språk
6

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