Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with this book.

This was such an enjoyable read!
First of all, I must say The Gilded Ones wasn’t as dark as I expected (even if the characters went through terrible situations) and it might be because of the main character’s voice. She was really sweet. But it didn’t bother me at all and I was rooting for Deka from the beginning till the end.
The rest of the cast was great and my only complain is that I would have loved to learn more about them (hopefully in the sequel).
The world and the creatures inhabiting it were fascinating and/or frightening (some of them I could not really picture in my head though). Ixa 😍
There was a romance but just a little bit so, thankfully, it didn’t overshadow the plot. And what a plot. Honestly, you don’t get bored while reading thanks to the big reveals, action scenes and lighter moments: everything was well-balanced.
So I definitely recommend this fantasy.

The Gilded Ones was a fantasy book I was really excited to read, but unfortunately, it wasn’t for me. I hate to be negative, so I’m keeping this short and sweet. Remember that reviews are subjective, and what I dislike, other readers may still enjoy.

I will say that this book will make a great introduction to fantasy, raising many important real world issues. I think younger readers, just getting into Young Adult, would really enjoy this debut. It has a nice blend of fantasy, myth and feminism, which would act as a stepping stone into the genre.

There is so much potential in this book, but I felt like a lot of elements were glossed over. If it was a longer book, I think it would make a really interesting, gritty fantasy with elements of mythology. There was a lot of telling, rather than showing, which caused me to disconnect with the story. The plot and character development felt rushed, with characters not getting much depth beyond their role, which was ensuring the main character had allies. I wanted to know more about them, I wanted them to feel real, to leap off the page, but ultimately, I was left wanting. There were a lot of time jumps too, with mentions of how the next three weeks would be tough, and then, in the next paragraph, those next three weeks were up. I understand that this was to progress the plot, but allowing time for the pace to slow, down to display those struggles, allows the reader to gain sympathy for characters, which leads to readers relating to them, and then rooting for them.

This book sets out to detail the patriarchy, which sounds divine, but again, I wanted more. The book begins with women waiting to find out of they are pure, with little or no rights. The impure woman are then taken to an all female training facility. Sounds amazing, right? Except all of these woman are paired to work with men, and our main character develops a relationship with a love interest that felt forced. There were powerful moments that were over too quickly, and instances of men defending woman because it was ‘their turn’. The playing field was equal at times, and I was waiting for a moment where woman would rise up and prove them all wrong.

Overall, this book wasn’t for me but I’m so grateful that I was able to read it early. Thank you to Usborne Publishing and Netgalley for providing me with an E-ARC. I’m always honest in my reviews, and I do mean it when I say that even though this book wasn’t for me, there are readers out there who will enjoy it.

THE GILDED ONES is a feminist YA grimdark fantasy examining how the patriarchy flourishes and who is responsible for upholding it.

The worldbuilding is the strongest element. Drawing on her experiences growing up in Sierra Leone, the author creates a deeply religious society where women are judged solely on their purity and appearance. The diverse representation adds nuance to the exploration of racism and misogyny, as 'impure' girls from across the empire are brought together to train as soldiers. The purity test itself - checking the colour of an adolescent girl's blood - cleverly echoes the right of passage of getting your period (which many societies still view as dirty).

I like that the cast is primarily women - but I found many of them interchangeable. The highlight is Deka's journey of self-discovery: she's pious and hungry for acceptance, so takes a long time to realise how society is oppressing her. Her denial reminds me of the protagonist from THE RECORD KEEPER, and sends an important message about critically examining how we have been socialised to unearth bias within ourselves.

The plot is fast-paced, following Deka's military training, and then progressively more intense battles against demons. Deka's quickly caught between the lies she's believed for years and the dark truth of the empire. While there is a romantic subplot, it plays a relatively minor role, and I'm left wondering whether the novel would be better without it.

Personally, I'm not a huge fan of first person present tense, as I find it less immersive than past tense. But I most struggle with the uneven pacing, which makes it hard for me to emotionally connect with the story. At the start of the book, weeks and months are skipped over: I miss Deka's journey to the capital and much of her soldier training. The novel hits its stride midway through, but then escalates rapidly. There's enough content here for two books, and I'd have liked to see more of Deka's (and the other girls') character growth on page.

Overall, an imaginative YA fantasy with a powerful theme, recommended for fans of GIRLS OF PAPER AND FIRE or KINGDOM OF SOULS.

Sixteen-year-old Deka fears for her life in anticipation of the blood ceremony that will declare her human or an abomination. On the day of her ceremony, her blood runs gold, and the village turns on her. Until a mysterious woman arrives with an offer: submit to the Emperor by joining his army of gold-blooded girls, known as Alaki, or stay imprisoned in her hometown. Deka proceeds to journey to the capital, joining other girls like her, girls who bleed gold and can’t seem to die—making them perfect fighters against the vicious Deathshrieks that can take down even the most seasoned warriors. As she prepares to become a soldier, Deka discovers that something is different about her power, and she must find the truth before anyone else does.

Well, I must admit, The Gilded Ones was a surprisingly brilliant read. I went into this book with a relatively neutral mindset, very enticed by its cover, and found myself enjoying this one.

The Gilded Ones is a high fantasy novel that deals with racism, xenophobia, misogyny and abuse. The world that Deka resides in is extremely patriarchal that makes young girls go through a ceremony where if she bleeds gold, she is deemed impure. This will most likely end in death or slavery. Gold-blooded girls are almost impossible to kill, their ability to heal at lighting speed makes them demons, according to the village priests. Deka goes from being the village demon to a soldier in training at one of the Emperor’s greatest training halls. The other girls hail from towns from all corner of their world, going from strangers to sisters-in-arms in just weeks.

The lore of The Gilded Ones is where I think it shines the most. Deka and the other girls are descendants of monsters which makes them extremely resilient to most damage. The origins of the death shrieks are so fascinating. The land of Otera is vast and diverse. I was conflicted on what I wanted more: continue to read Deka’s story, or wanting to read about the past. Because there’s a lot of information I think could’ve pushed to the present that would not have dragged the book down, but enhance the current world more. The worldbuilding was well-done, very descriptive, and I can imagine any sequel will build and improve upon what we see.

A high fantasy novel of this kind would not be what it is without its characters. And Namina Forna delivers! Deka starts off someone entirely innocent, due to her upbringing, and she grows up very quickly after discovering the truth. She is terrified of herself and soon realises it’s not her fault the world decided she was a demon, so why should she be afraid? The only issue I noticed was that her powers were introduced and developed very quickly. I feel like some progression could’ve been dragged over to the sequel to make it more balanced, rather than immediately push her into the role of a Chosen One. It doesn’t help that the training scenes are skipped over in favour of a time jump. The central casts are all girls who, like Deka, have been made leave home and become warriors. All of them have their own story and stand firm in their own right. Their personalities stood out, loud and distinct, not one faded into the background. And their quips are hilarious and on point.

For most of the novel, the storytelling is pretty great. The pacing and flow are pretty consistent. I’m not sure how to best describe this, and I’ll do this without mentioning any plot detail. But some moments lost momentum because we’re made to recall something that had happened previously. Something pivotal would occur in the story, and then Deka would remind us of something that happened before because it now holds relevance to the story. This didn’t impact my enjoyment while reading, nor does it affect my rating. I just noticed it happening a few times in the novel.

Overall, I was thoroughly surprised by The Gilded Ones. Much of my expectations were met, and I had a lot of fun learning about the world of Otera: one I would like to see more of the world in any upcoming sequels. The story ends in a complete way; if you had told me this was a standalone novel, I would’ve believed you. The events of the first book are tidied up quite nicely, enough that you could be satisfied to leave there if you wish, but I’ll be anticipating what happens in Deka’s story next. This series has the potential to be something extraordinary.

This is relatively new territory for me in that The Gilded Ones is a book that I didn’t find myself gelling with. As a consequence, the review is going to be shorter than usual, and I’m sure you’re glad to hear, far less florid.

In all honesty, I was gutted that I didn’t enjoy The Gilded Ones, because the themes and concepts at the heart of it are fantastic.

The Kingdom of Otera has been unified under the single rule of the southern emperors who historically reside in the capital city of Hemaira. Otera itself is a fairly diverse kingdom, split broadly into four provinces, I don’t recall them having specific names though and are just referred to as Northern, Southern, Eastern, and Western.

We only really see the Northern region, which is cold and Norse inspired, and the Southern region, which is far hotter and takes its inspiration from Africa.

In millennia past the lands were ruled by four Demons, females of tremendous power, the titular Gilded ones, who were defeated before unification. Their legacy lives on in the golden blood, which flows in their female descendants.

When a girl reaches the age of sixteen, her blood will change from red to pure gold, and this is tested as part of the purity ritual across the kingdom. The priests will cut the girl, and if she bleeds gold, she is a demon, an alaki and is then sentenced to die.

These alaki have gifts, they are stronger, faster, resistant to disease, and unless killed in a way specific to each individual, they are all but immortal.

But, these alaki are being collected and transported to the capital to create an army with the sole purpose of annihilating the Deathshrieks who are ravaging the land.

It is these elements that really make The Gilded Ones stand apart from the bulk of other YA and adult fantasy. While I would compare it to The Rage of Dragons in that it is gloriously brutal, African inspired, and deals with war and violence, rather than higher/lesser, the divide is male/female.

The world is 100% patriarchal, women have little rights, and if they are deemed pure, they are packaged off to a husband to act as his servant for the remainder of their lives. The priesthood is entirely male, carrying out egregious abuses of power daily. The normal men aren’t any better, women are lesser, and alaki are nothing.

It’s a powerful story, therefore, of women taking control of their own destiny, of seeing themselves through their own eyes. They are constantly being told their gifts are wrong, their bodies are dirty, yet these men use that which they call abhorrent for their own ends and their own ambitions.

There is also a racial element with the main character Deka being the only black person in her home village. While this wasn’t really touched upon beyond the first few chapters, it’s again a powerful own-voice element that will resonate with a great many potential readers.

Beyond the themes, I also really liked the ideas and thoughts behind the wider-world, including the brief glimpses at its mythology. The ending too was good as it felt logical and fit completely with the overall theme. White hands was also a fantastically written character and one that had a lot of depth.

Tonally it is very dark, almost adult grimdark at times, which may be an issue for readers who primarily pick up YA. There is graphic mutilation, death, torture, blood, guts, and implied rape.

So where was the disconnect? For me, there was almost no development in either character or plot caused mainly by an abundance of telling rather than showing.

Early in the book, Deka is being transported to the capital, but rather than seeing the journey, she falls asleep for four weeks and wakes up as they get there. Despite the story being around this alaki army being trained, there’s just one training scene, the narrative then fast-forwards a few weeks/months and they’re all hard as nails. They head out on their first real raid, the city folk are baying for their blood, a couple of pages later they’ve cleared out tonnes of Deathshriek nests, and now the populace have named them the Death Strikers and cheer for them.

Because of this I just wasn’t really invested in anything, it was just too easy. Narratively I love the journey and organic development, but there just wasn’t any of that here. Plot lines and characters seemed to jump from A to Z with nothing between.

Add to this the fact all of the major plot points were heavily telegraphed, it just wasn’t for me on a narrative level.


Despite my negatives, and as I’ve said earlier, the themes are so powerful and I really do believe that this is going to be a fantastic book for a great many people, just not me I’m afraid.

Wonderful book. An exciting read for both Ya and adult. Really able to submerge into the story. Exciting and imaginative story. Will certainly be recommending this book for the library book club i run. Thank you for the advance copy

Did I read this book or did I dream it? 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. I'm going to be pushing this book into the hands of everyone I know. It has completely blown my mind.

I have been eagerly anticipating this book for over a year and I was so excited to pick it up as soon as I could. I have been struggling with fantasy books for a while but this really took me out of that fantasy slump.
The world that Namina Forma created is so magical and you truly get invested in it. I read this book in less than 24 hours because I couldn't put it down. The final 80% of the novel I read all in one chunk which I haven't done in a while. The way the story was written made it easy to understand, even for those who aren't used to reading YA fantasy.
I loved Deka as a character and I think she was really interesting to follow. The side characters were also very well developed though I would have love more focus on some of the guys who were soliders, other than Keita.
I loved the powerful, feminist vibes this book gave me. It truly made me feel incredibly empowered and I can only imagine the impact this would have on a younger teenager. I wish this was one of the YA fantasies I was reading when I was younger, as it is diverse and empowering.
Overall, I loved this book. I was completely satisfied with how it went and I think this is a solid fantasy debut. It almost felt like a standalone fantasy with how everything wrapped up so I am intrigued to see where the rest of the series goes.

The Gilded Ones is the incredibly powerful debut novel from Namina Forna. In a male-dominated world, where women are forced to wear masks to cover their dignity, and must go through a bleeding ceremony in order to prove their purity, Deka is anxiously awaiting her turn to prove that her blood runs red and pure. But when the time of her ceremony comes and her blood runs gold, she becomes an outcast, disowned by her family, friends and community, destined for the Death Mandate. That is until a mysterious stranger whom Deka labels “White Hands” materialises, promising redemption, absolution and even purity, in return for taking up arms to fight for the emperor in a fierce battle against the hideous deathshrieks.

From a scared and vulnerable girl, cowering in a cellar, being used and bled for her cursed gold blood, Deka is taken to the city, to a training ground for her kind and transformed into a fierce warrier, uncovering “unnatural” skills and talents far beyond what is expected of her. As she fights physical, emotional, and mental battles to control her skills and use them wisely, she begins to uncover her true heritage and picks up an unusually protective shape-shifting pet along the way. With her Uruni, Keita, and her blood sisters behind her, brought together by their traumatic experiences, will she uncover the truth about whom she is, and why she has these unnatural powers in time to defeat the powerful enemy enslaving and abusing her kind?

Themes of feminism, sisterhood, belonging, and survival are built into Deka’s gruesome journey from girl to warrior. Namina has created a powerful heroine in Deka, who embodies the strength, power, and leadership she needs to overcome her disastrous circumstances and the harrowing abuse she suffers from the moment she is found to be “impure”. I was absolutely enthralled by Namina’s writing and Deka’s journey from the moment her blood ran gold until the moment where the pieces of her heritage fell into place and she took control of her own choices and destiny. I was totally invested in Deka’s character development and growth, and that of the alaki sisterhood. I am waiting with baited breath to read where Namina takes the Deathless series next.

WOW. WOW.

(Thank you so much to Namina Forna and Netgallery for an Advanced Reader Copy of this book.)

Firstly, this book is not for readers sensitive to blood, gore, violence, torture etc. There is quite a bit throughout the book, including a central theme of war.

The gist: After a tragedy at her patriarchal village, Deka is recruited into an army of powerful warriors to fight for an emperor wanting to rid the land of monsters. There she bonds with the other women taken from their different backgrounds as they head into a bloody world of fighting and accepting their awakened gifts and identity.

A strong highlight of this book is the friendships and strong bonds between the girls; there's a beautiful attentiveness to the girls becoming warriors and also growing closer and allowing themselves to be truly accepted and loved by each other. There's a real sense of family and community between the main characters; the girls are filled with a ferocious hunger to change the world for the better and they really win you over from early on, making the rest of the book gripping and nerve-wracking for the reader as they're thrust into more danger.

Namina Forna writes with a wonderful balance of dialogue and description too, creating a pace that's both enjoyable and filled with easy to follow world-building and enough mystery to keep you hooked for the answers.

My only personal gripe with The Gilded Ones is the romance; I imagine some readers will enjoy Deka's interactions with the love interest and others will be 'meh'. The book was filled with such power and strength that the romance felt a bit flat and unnecessary. I think it'll depend on each reader however because I didn't dislike their bond at all, I just didn't feel much towards it after the emotional intensity in the girls' journeys.

This is one of the few covers a year that entirely sells the book, before a single word is read.

However, how many of those stories live up to their covers? Few. This story didn’t only live up to its cover, it succeeded it, and I enjoyed every waking moment.

Because girls with gold blood, often don’t die.

In a world where the colour your blood runs pertains to your purity, patriarchal leaders dim the light of those whose blood runs gold. Demons they say, impure. And so they kill them, sell them or leave them to rot.

Except girls whose blood run gold aren’t easily killed. They are powerful and it’s that power that threatens the very men who treat them so horrifically .

One day one of these girls is freed, allowing her to join the fight against monsters that threaten all’s existence.

Get ready for some bad ass warrior ladies, be ready for your stomach to momentarily reside in your throat, to cry, scream, throw your cup of tea because this book is bloody brilliant.

Thank you to the publisher for providing me with an ARC of this awesome tale.

This was everything it promised to be. An epic fantasy with wonderous world-building and character development and a plot that had me on the edge of my seat. Deka is everything I want from a main character, she's strong, brave and the journey of self discovery that she goes on is inspiring. I loved reading about her arc from a farm girl, to a warrior who could take down armies. The side characters are likeable with enough depth so they don't feel two dimensional. The descriptors throughout brought this world to life, I could see the images of this story in my mind as clear as day. Although the plot lagged a little around to 60% mark, it quickly picked back up again and was action packed from there until the end. Also, quickly, the plot twist was mind blowing! Normally, I'm able to predict things like this but this one came at me out of no where, it completely threw me through a whirlwind and I cannot wait to see where Forna takes it in the next instalment.

This book surprised me a lot. It is not simply about women and girls fighting the patriarchy but about these powerful beings who demolish it whilst dripping in golden blood. There are quite a lot of traumatizing parts to it and the trauma is never forgotten. I found the Gilded ones very interesting and look forward to reading more about this mythology in future books. The thing that struck out to me was how feminism can be taught to young men and boys and change their way of thinking whilst older generations typically are not able to be educated as such which felt like a very realistic and well made point. I genuinely found myself drawn to Deka's transformation from a shy unsure girl to a powerful and fierce Nuru. Looking forward to any sequels that follow and Deka's continued journey.

Amazing, humbling and an awakening.

Namina Forna weaves a world that parallels our own in so many ways but also one that is layered in magic.

From the start Deka is a girl after my own heart and one whom I would be proud to call my daughter, sister or friend. She and her friends, Britta, Belcalis, Adwapa, Asha, Katya and of course Keita (amongst others) show the meaning of true friendship and unconditional love. I grew to love them as though they were my own friends.

I asked the Author Namina for any questions she would like to ask of her readers and she returned with these:

“Oh my goodness, that’s amazing! I would ask that you look at the culture of the world and how women are treated and see if there’s any parallels to ours. Also, the obedience to the Infinite wisdoms, what are the parallels for our world? And what do the masks represent?”

I won’t spoil your reading by giving you my thoughts on these, but as you read, maybe keep these questions in mind and see what answers you draw from your reading experience. I’d be interested to hear them.

I cannot wait for the next instalment 💛