By Samantha Pak
NORTHWEST ASIAN WEEKLY
The Gilded Wolves
By Roshani Chokshi
Wednesday Books, 2019
The year is 1889. And in a city filled with secrets like Paris, no one is better at finding out what people are hiding than treasure-hunter and wealthy hotelier Séverin Montagnet-Alarie. When the Order of Babel, an all-powerful society, seeks his help in finding an ancient artifact, Séverin hesitates. But then they offer him the one thing he’s been after for as long as he could remember: his true inheritance.
So Séverin turns to the band of experts he’s been working with for years: An engineer with a debt to pay; a historian who can’t yet go home; a dancer with a sinister past; and a brother in all but blood, who might care too much. They’ll have to work together to find the artifact before darker forces find it and use it for their own nefarious purposes.
“Gilded Wolves” is a classic heist story—complete with specific roles for each person involved—with a bit of magic thrown in for good measure. In addition, there is a world-saving element to the group’s job, raising the stakes beyond their personal reasons for taking on the task and pulling in readers to become more invested in their success.
Told from multiple points of view, Chokshi does a great job of creating a diverse group of characters, each distinct from one another. I really enjoyed getting to know each character, and learning their backstory, how they came to work with Séverin, and why. I really appreciated this as a reader as this showed how that they’re more than colleagues. They tease each other and bicker and sometimes they’ll get into big arguments. But they’re also there for each other when they need it. They’re a family. And I love a good family story—especially a ragtag family filled with underdogs.
I also enjoyed the world building in “Gilded Wolves.” From the historical setting, to the societal and magical systems that shape the world, readers get a real feel for the time and place of what’s happening and are excited to see what’s going to happen next.
The Good, the Bad, and the Aunties
By Jesse Q. Sutanto
Berkley, 2024
After their honeymoon across Europe, Meddy Chan and her new husband, Nathan, are meeting her mom, aunties, and the rest of her extended family in Jakarta to celebrate Chinese New Year. Already a huge celebration, things get even more festive when Second Aunt’s childhood sweetheart shows up bearing gifts—with the hopes of rekindling things with Second Aunt.
But things go south almost immediately when a gift meant for a business rival, to cement an alliance, is accidentally given away in the chaos. And because it’s Meddy and her family, what should have been a simple retrieval quickly turns into a disaster as the Chans find themselves caught in the middle of a decades-long war among some of the top business factions (not mafia leaders) in Indonesia. Then things get personal when Nathan and the aunties are endangered, and Meddy has to come up with a plan to save them.
In this final installment of Sutanto’s aunties series, Meddy and her family are just as chaotic as ever. I’ve been a longtime fan of this series and Sutanto doesn’t disappoint, continuing to showcase the aunties in all their glory—from Big Aunt’s strong presence and Second Aunt’s obsession with tai chi, to Meddy’s mom’s ongoing drug habit and Fourth Aunt’s knack for stirring trouble as the youngest of the bunch.
As funny as the aunties and their antics are, and as crazy as they drive Meddy, one thing I have always appreciated about this series is how much Meddy loves her family and how she would do anything for them. After all, as illogical as their actions might be, they’re more than willing to do the same for her. When Nathan and the aunties are in danger, readers can feel Meddy’s fear and frustration, especially when she tries to get a straight answer from the “business” tycoons (since when does conducting business include holding people hostage and kidnapping?). It’s been great to see Meddy grow as a character, from someone who is constantly exasperated with her family, to still being exasperated by them, but accepting of and loving them for who they are.
Women of Good Fortune
By Sophie Wan
Graydon House, 2024
Lulu is about to marry into one of Shanghai’s most prominent families. But as lucky as she might seem on the outside, her big secret is that she doesn’t love her fiancé and only agreed to marry him to solve her family’s financial issues.
While her future nuptials may seem bleak, Lulu’s best friends Jane and Rina see the wedding as an opportunity: Why don’t they steal all of the red envelopes filled with gift money? The cash would help them all get what they need—independence for Lulu and financial stability for her family; a divorce and the plastic surgery she’s wanted for years for Jane, who’s been stuck in a loveless marriage; and to freeze her eggs for the career-minded Rina who still wants a family.
With the additional help from a mysterious luxury counterfeiter and a snarky getaway driver, they hatch their plan. But as the big day approaches, they begin to see cracks in more than just the heist. Relationships become fraught and the women are forced to consider whether the money is worth the cost of their friendship.
While on the surface, this appears to be a fun heist story, “Women” is a story about love, friendship, family, duty, and doing what’s right for yourself. Told from the perspectives of Lulu, June, and Rina, Wan does a great job of showing these three women’s very different life situations and how—despite how great things may look on the outside—they are stuck. She really shows what women are still dealing with today, the prejudice and discrimination they face, all because they’re female. All of the characters have been underestimated and undervalued throughout their lives for different reasons (and even by each other) and it’s great to see them grow throughout the story and realize their true power, and find their voices to stand up for what matters to them. And that’s a lesson readers of all ages, genders, and backgrounds can learn.