Roshani Chokshi’s The Gilded Wolves was not my favorite book of 2019. I loved the world-building and some of the characters, but I found the main protagonist, Severin, mostly unlikeable. But the intrigue of the plot and the heartbreaking ending of that book hooked me enough to want to read The Silvered Serpents.
The Silvered Serpents begins with Severin’s house in disorder. He has hardened his heart after the death of his brother in order to protect himself from further tragedy. Unfortunately, his team – Laila, Zofia, Enrique, and Hypnos – don’t know the reason for this new cold demeanor. And so they keep secrets from him – and each other. Their continued quest for an artifact known as The Divine Lyrics leads them to the heart of Russia and The Sleeping Palace. But they are not alone, and there is a traitor in their midst.
I enjoyed The Silvered Serpents a great deal more than its predecessor. Chokshi is adept at world-building, and the descriptions of the Sleeping Palace and its contents are beautifully-rendered. I also enjoyed the continued development of the rest of the team. Laila was my favorite character in the previous book, but Enrique and Zofia are more fully-developed here. Chokshi’s characters are truly diverse, which is refreshing in YA literature, and her plots are truly complex. While I figured out a few of the plot twists in advance, there were quite a few unexpected developments that kept me guessing.

The Silvered Serpents is far superior The Gilded Wolves in both plotting and characterization. And the book’s ending has ensured that I will be returning for the next installment – in spite of Severin. He still hasn’t grown on me. Maybe he can redeem himself in the next book?

DNF @ 66%
actual rating: 2.5

The Gilded Wolves was one of my favorite books last year but this was so disappointing. I have been trying to read this for a week and a half and just cannot bring myself to spend any more time on it. I'll round it up to 3 stars because I realize that I'm here complaining about YA tropes in a YA book and I think my love of the first book is still coloring my opinion a little, but it is just such a frustrating book. The first book had such a good group dynamic and then I open this one up and find out that literally half the page space to dedicated this awful romance between Severin and Laila. It's Kaz and Inej all over again, except at least the Six of Crows sequel still managed to have a decent plot that encompassed all the characters even though some of them were in relationships with each other.

If the plot in this book was stronger I would probably have been able to get over it here too, but I feel like the other characters don't have much to do except I guess help solve the puzzles to move the plot forward. If you're really into YA and romance then you'll probably still like this but unfortunately, much like I did with Kaz, I rubbed my grubby little aroace hands all over Severin as soon as I saw him and cannot make myself even mildly care about him and Laila as a couple.

An enjoyable sequel to the Gilded Wolves. Sevrin and the group is still reeling from the events in the last book (spoilers!) and struggling to come to terms with the death of Tristan. The never ending quest for the Divine Lyrics takes them to a fantastical ice castle in Siberia in search of the lost treasure of the Fallen House. While the book is packed with adventure, I struggled to grasp the motivations of Sevrin throughout the story. To be plain, he's a jerk to all of his friends, and stops communicating, causing a majority of the problems. Zofia, as usual, was my favorite. Her quirky charm is simply infectious.

TW: anti-antisemitism, child abuse, body mutilation, self-harm, gore, violence.

This was one of the best sequels I have ever read and it only cemented my love and appreciation for The Gilded Wolves trilogy.

There is no question in Chokshi's skill in crafting compelling characters and scenarios where we're on the edge of our seat, hoping for the best. It's impossible not to love them, share in their pain and sorrow, waiting for things to get better. I can see Séverin, Laila, and Zofia so vividly between the lines of each page, I know what Enrique fears and what Hypnos desires the most.

I say it's one of the best sequels due to how action-packed it is, the story quickly continues where it left off and there is no time to catch your breath. Simultaneously, it's a slow narrative where you learn what each character is dealing with emotionally as they try to grow from their experiences. And I was always on the edge, anxious about what could happen next. All I can say about the ending is that I screamed into my pillow and then cried because I have to wait to read the conclusion.

Truly, there's nothing I disliked from this: from the characters to the enigmas, the beautiful writing, and the atmosphere of a cold palace near the Ural mountains. The discussions about colonialism, tokenism, white people's belief that they have a right to strip away another culture's identity and artifacts, and how society pits girls against each other and raises us to hate one another.

I love this so much and I highly recommend reading this trilogy. There are not enough words to explain how incredible it is.

Once more we get to face the challenge of a heists/treasure hunt wit the amazing group (family) under Severin's command and this time, the stakes are extremely high!

In this second installment of the Gilded Wolfs Trilogy, we star by following our 5 main characters in the aftermath of events of the previous book, dealing with loss, frustration and secrets (a ton of secrets!!!) that threaten to break the family apart (or is it to bring it together? it all depends!)

The group will then have to face a new challenge as treasure hunters (starting with a heist off course) and travelling to the Russian capital St Petersburg , meeting new and stingy characters, rejoining old relatives and traveling to the coldest depths of Siberia, where a new riddle awaits to be decoded in hope to recover a godly treasure that might provide the answers to all needs.

Along the story, Roshani Chokshi grace us with her amazing writing, taking us as spectators of the personal struggles, weaknesses and innermost secret fears of each of the characters, making us care more (as if we did not lock our hearts with them in the first book) for this broken found family and hoping they could see better times (which obviously will not happen since this is the second book in the trilogy)..

I very fast read that will snarl your senses and keep you to the edge of your sit until the last page (and then leave you hanging on an unexpected cliffhanger)!!!

All in all, and excellent read!

A copy of this book was kindly provided by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Losing Tristan has devastated Séverin and his team but their grief must wait as they are facing another tragedy, Laila is running out of time. Séverin has recalled the group for one last mission: discover the location of the Sleeping Palace, find the lost treasure of the Fallen House, and hopefully find The Divine Lyrics along the way. Lured by the possibility of reclaiming his true inheritance, Séverin has placed his needs and desires above those of his friends, and this time, he may have finally gone too far. Long held secrets come to light as the group forms an unlikely alliance with someone from Séverin’s past, and many players are far from whom they appear. Full of magical adventures, ancient puzzles, and incredible feats of Forging, The Silvered Serpents is an intensely compulsive read that shouldn’t be missed. 

I absolutely loved this book. I curled up in my new reading nook with the pups, brewed a pot of tea, and didn’t get up until the book was finished. Reader friends, there are magical animal ice sculptures that come to life to help serve a fancy dinner. What more do you want? Roshani Chokshi’s ability to give readers an immersive reading experience with her gorgeously imagined and intricately described world, complete with all the glitz, glamour, and magic of Paris. Her characters are rich and full of life and you are immediately invested in their story and I spent the whole book with my fingers crossed that everyone would come out safe and sound. 

I am a sucker for a found family and this book does this trope perfectly. Séverin, Laila, Zofia, Enrique, and Hypnos love each other fiercely, are incredibly loyal, and no one is capable of hurting them more than each other. Grieving Tristan in their own ways has led to some fissures in their relationship and the stress over the possibility of losing Laila is almost more than they can bear.  Add to that their own personal struggles and you have a group of people at the end of their rope desperately trying to hold on. 

It’s all so well done. So good. 

Thank you to Netgalley and the Publisher for the opportunity to read and review this title. All opinions and mistakes are my own.

Warning:

This book ends on a massive cliff hanger. It’s incredible.

My struggle with The Gilded Wolves did not transfer over to The Silvered Serpents. I started reading this book a couple days after finishing Gilded Wolves because I wanted to keep everything fresh in my mind. Which is a solid plan if I do say so myself!

The book picks up two months after the end of Gilded Wolves. Two months of grief, of distance, and of utter sadness. Our boy Séverin is not doing well.

One of the things I loved the most about this book, was more Zofia and more Enrique! Two of my favorite characters, I 100% ship them together, and I got more time with them! It was so refreshing. Especially as a break up from gloom, doom Séverin and our poor Laila. Their POVs were pretty heavy.

But one of the things I liked the most about book 2 is the ice palace. I loved the imagery of the palace, the animals that guard it, the moments inside. It sounds so beautiful and majestic that I just wish I could live in it! Well, kinda. Maybe take a vacation there!

Overall, the plot was wayyyy better than The Gilded Wolves honestly. Gilded Wolves felt crowded and rushed compared to The Silvered Serpents. I didn't have to try and follow along ten separate paths with different missions all at once, instead, I could focus on one place at a time. It was easier to follow in a way.

But the action is no less. In fact, the magic and the craziness that our characters endure is insane!

This book felt cleaner and even crazier than the first book and it made it a more enjoyable journey to follow!

I'm going to include some spoilers below, but if you can't tell, this book is a 5 // 5 stars for me!

I'm very grateful to NetGalley & Wednesday Books for providing me with this book in exchange for an honest review.


“When the devil waged war in the heavens, even angels had to fall.”

Well, I'm very happy to tell you that I enjoyed this one more than the first one, but sadly I'll not be able to share much because this is obviously a sequel, so I'll try to do my best to transmit everything to you without spoilers. I like it, I still don't feel like it reaches my heart, maybe because I still feel disconnected from the relationship of the characters and there is a lot of that in here. But I liked the plot more, I think it was more dynamic and the surprising effect was there, I also loved the setting so much, Russia is fantastic, I think it's magical and beautiful, but it also has a lot of danger and that kept me wanting to know what will happen. This is a solid sequel for me, but it's not like THAT impressive.


This time I've noticed a greater commitment to giving us a much more intricate and full of feelings plot, which I appreciate, I enjoyed most of it, even though certain moments seemed to be kind of draining and slow, I think it was resolved very well towards the second half, where I felt much more committed to it and I was all-in in the plot. The author has an undoubted talent with words, so this time I enjoyed the dialogues much more, which I didn't find remarkable in the first book & once I completely loved each atmosphere created and the construction of the world was more solid which I appreciate.


As I've already mentioned, I think that there's a huge emotional weight in this book, largely due to hard and tragic events that occurred in the first one, and all of this gives a kind of gothic and melancholic vibe to this fantasy story. I think it's much more focused on the characters, part that perhaps continues to be a challenge for me in terms of feeling committed or interested in it, yet I can see that there's a growth in it which I appreciate as well. I think if you loved the first book, this will be a great sequel for you.

I try to be very honest with my thoughts about this book, but I want you to know that my opinion is unpopular, so if you enjoyed the story in the first book, I think you'll love this sequel, although it may be a bit slower in pace, I think this one is better balanced in terms of construction and everything feels more coherent to me. I still would have liked more information on magic, for example, but it's okay, I think I should have understood it in the first book lol. Even so, it's all very original and there's no doubt about that.


As I said before, the characters take a step forward in this sequel to bring us many feelings and a dense vibe of secrets, lies, and betrayals, which I love, and all this I think gave a greater dimension and a greater weight to their personalities. Even so, I don't love any of them, but Laia is still my fave in the group and I think she's always the one who has the most to give, her conflicts felt very real to me and I was able to put myself in her place and feel her pain. Severin's plotline got a little more interesting, this character makes me doubt a lot especially in regards to his relationship with Laia, I don't like that, but just as a character, I think he has more to give and it was interesting to know his inner thoughts after everything he had to go through. Zofia is a sweetie and I really like her as a character, I love how her mind works and how she transmits her emotions and I really enjoy following her. On the other hand, I'll have to bring you the most unpopular opinion of all and that's that I didn't like Hypnos here, I think the author wanted to take the character into another level and I'm not sure about it, especially with regard to a possible "ship" that I had about him and Enrique, which didn't work out very well for me. I'm also unsure about Enrique, there's something that seemed quite flat in this book, and I would also highlight none of the secondary characters since they lack weight as such.

Is there a general growth in them? Yeah sure
Was it enough to make me love them? Sadly, not.
I think that this story in general, even when it has very original factors, falls into some cliche with respect to the characters, and I think that to a large extent that prevents me from being able to love them and feel closer to them.


The plot-twists had a very appropriate effect to accompany the story and give it an element of greater commitment and surprise for me, I saw some revelations coming, but there was one that really took me by surprise, so the author could surprise me again, as she did in the first book, which I appreciate very much, I love having that "WTF" effect! and that happened here... so YAY!

Something that I really love about this sequel and clearly it's my favorite thing is the vibe while reading it, I think the author has discovered exactly where she wants to take the plot, which I like, but above all, I love what you feel while you read it, It has a very dark, mysterious, almost dense vibe that makes you wonder what will happen next and manages to keep you on the edge of your seat.


I liked this sequel, I think it's pretty solid, it's still not my favorite thing in the world, and I don't know if I'll read the latest book, to be honest with you, but I'm still glad I read what I read, I think the author is extremely talented, and this plot has incredible potential to explore. I know that if you like the characters and want to know more about them internally, you'll love this book and, above all, you may feel committed to wanting to continue reading about them. It's important to me to have that connection with the characters, so if you had it with the first book, go for it! you'll love the sequel. On the other hand, something that I think everyone will be able to enjoy in these books is the creepy atmosphere at times that it gives, but also that beautiful and almost whimsical fantasy aesthetic that it has at times, as well as that beautiful writing style.

I remember reading the first book two years ago and thinking, "man, it can't get much better than this." Well, I was happily mistaken. The Silvered Serpents picks up after the events of the first book, and we jump right in. The characters continue to be amazing. The writing is dynamic and FUN. And overall, I really loved that I got to come back to creations that I loved so much the first time around.



The Silvered Serpents definitely quenched my thirst from the first book.....and now I can not WAIT for the third!



5/5 Stars

Séverin and his team succeeded, but at a terrible price that still haunts them. He wants to make amends, so the plan is for one last job to find an artifact capable of bestowing the powers of god. Leaving Paris for Russia, there are mysterious ice animals, forgotten mansions, lost goddesses and unsolved murders. The crew questions if the ancient myths are actually myths, and their pasts are catching up with them.

This Russian job is mentioned at the very end of "The Gilded Wolves," along with the haunting loss and secrets that Séverin knows nothing about. While you can read this book without having read the first, it would be a lot more difficult because there isn't as much detail about Forging and the types of Forge magic in this one. We have the new blood forging type, and more ice magic, as the bull of the story takes place in Russia and Siberia. There are more pieces of history sprinkled throughout this heist, upping the ante from the first book; the team is after the Divine Lyrics, a book that would supposedly give the reader the power of God.

Following the first novel, Séverin is a cold shell of his former self and everyone else scattered. The reader knows that he shoulders his guilt by pushing others away, not wanting to rely on them or be relied on. Unfortunately, how he goes about it is painful to read. Everyone else is hiding something as well, from the countdown to Laila's death, one sided infatuation, the need to belong, and the need to appear independent rather than a burden. I wanted to squish them all because of the emotional pain underlying the heists, and the dramatic effects of ice magic and the sacrificed girls that were left behind. The tension kept ratcheting up, and I was in for another shocking conclusion.

I really hope the next book comes out soon. These people are all so shattered by these events, and the world is at stake. Séverin might have a plan, but we don't know it, and he's lost a lot of trust along the way.

Hey there, bookworms and dragons! I loved The Gilded Wolves by Roshani Chokshi SO MUCH that when I heard the sequel, The Silvered Serpents, was available on NetGalley I knew I had to request it. When I was approved, I involuntarily screamed and flailed a bit. It was great. It did take me a bit of time to read the book though, simply because I had already started my semester so I read as much as possible during what I’ve started referring to as “stolen time.”

I didn’t note down any trigger or content warnings while reading this one, but that doesn’t mean they weren’t there. If you’ve read The Silvered Serpents and noticed something that might need a trigger or content warning, please let me know in the comments or anonymously via this form. Without further ado, let’s jump right into this review!

The characters I got to know and love while reading The Gilded Wolves are all back, but they’ve grown and changed so much that for some of them reading The Silvered Serpents was like getting to know them for the first time all over again. Each of the returning characters still receive beautiful development throughout this story. I especially enjoyed getting to know a bit more about Delphine’s character and past. There are also a few new characters that joined the cast in The Silvered Serpents who are each developed beautifully. Each of the characters’ story arcs wind seamlessly and beautifully into each other and the development of each of them is masterfully done.

The rules of the world in which this series takes place was built up beautifully in The Gilded Wolves, so it wasn’t surprising not to see any building up of the world itself in The Silvered Serpents. Instead, the world building is put into the new possibilities and locations explored through the story. Roshani Chokshi is masterful in her world building and this book was no exception. She manages to build up the world in the reader’s mind piece by piece without being info-dumpy at all, allowing for a smooth and fully immersive experience.

The Silvered Serpents picks up shortly after The Gilded Wolves left off. There is no explanation at the beginning of the book before the story begins its first arc as I have seen the second book in some other series do and I really enjoyed that about it. No space in the story is left for explaining the previous events of the series beyond the major events that are still weighing on some of the characters. While some of the story flows smoothly, following my expectations while I was reading, there were some parts of the story that left me surprised–both pleasantly and unpleasantly. There are plenty of twists and turns throughout the story, some meant for the reader and some meant for the characters, and each of them build on each other beautifully. The only story-related complaint I could possibly have is HOLY CLIFFHANGER, BATMAN!

Roshani Chokshi has definitely maintained her status as an auto-purchase author with The Silvered Serpents. Even so, I had a lot of trouble deciding what rating to give this book. In the end, I decided to wait until after I finished writing and editing this review to help me process my thoughts and feelings about this book. I’d like the next book now, please and thank you. 🙂

Overall, I rate The Gilded Wolves 4 out of 5 bookworms.

Severin and his gang of talented accomplices are back and moving in an unexpected direction in The Silvered Serpents, sequel to The Gilded Wolves!

After a tense and exciting heist turned wild confrontation with the darkest figures in 19th century Paris, the team lost one of its own and the effects are pulsing through them. Scattered and broken, it seems they won't ever be the same again. But when the chance to find an ancient artifact that could right their wrongs presents itself, Severin manages to cobble together the group once again for a potentially deadly mission on the Russian tundra, where a hidden manor could reveal the world's most powerful secrets.

The vibe of The Silvered Serpents is much different from The Gilded Wolves. These characters no longer have a witty repertoire (though there are still some zingers) or a positive outlook. This is especially true of Severin, who is thoroughly broken by their loss. This bleakness is prevalent throughout the book, perhaps holding on a little longer than it's welcomed. There's also a half-developed plot point around Tristan having been a murderer, unbeknownst to the crew, that didn't work for me. I'm not sure what Chokshi was trying to achieve with this-- I mostly just found it distracting. However, it works with the overall tone shift of the adventure.

Where The Gilded Wolves was a bit madcap and steeped in fast-paced cleverness, The Silvered Serpents is all about solving a very dark mystery. It's a series of traps and puzzles to be solved, all of which uncover a haunting story and a glimpse into the dangers of power. I thoroughly enjoyed watching all the pieces click together, many of which felt unique and unpredictable. Overall, I think I may have liked this slower, more careful mystery better than the first book.

Different characters stuck out more this time around, particularly Zofia and Enrique, both of whom need to be protected at all costs. We also learn much more about Delphine, head of House Kore and Severin's "aunt" who disowned him years ago. We also get a couple new characters, Eva and Ruslan, that add some new blood to the mix (even if the team doesn't necessarily want them there.) These two were a little too repetitive and not as fleshed out as they could have been, but they were still effective.

If you liked the first book and can handle some pessimism as part of the overall story arc, you'll still get a lot out of The Silvered Serpents and it's encounters with magic, myth, and machine alike. If nothing else, it's a great setup for what's to come!

Love this author. Thank you, Netgalley, for the ARC! Can the next book come out already? Please???

First of all, I want to thank the publishers for providing me with the digital arc for an honest review.
The Silvered Serpents is the sequel to The Gilded Wolves so I am going to do my best to not leave any spoilers. I should admit that I was a fan of the author before reading this book or even the first book in this series. That's the reason I requested this arc. I was hoping I would enjoy it as much as I did the first book and was not disappointed..
The plot carries over from the previous book with a few variations but has kept it's excitement and the edge of the seat mystery with twists and turns mixed in. There may have been some tears and heart break thrown in there too. The characters are remarkable even when they're being unlikeable. They are so well written that I feel like I know them well enough to shoot them a text. They're relationships are complex to the point of being cute or even dysfunctional. And the tortured love story is my absolute favorite kind. Of course there's action and magic. There is literally everything, but none of it compares to the world this author creates. I'm not just talking about the city, or the lush hotel, or the enchanted gardens, or portal mirrors...I am talking about the way it makes the reader feel when they imagine it. Roshani Chokshi is a writer whose books I can't read as fast as I do others books. Her words and writing is so beautiful and elegant, but also whimsical. I feel almost enchanted and I want to be alone in a quiet space when I read her worlds. It's hard to explain how I felt while reading this one in particular, but I'll try. I was sitting in a magical grand palace, wearing monogrammed silk pajamas, being cuddled by the softest forest creatures, with warm chocolate chip cookies and tall frosty glass of milk.
Why yes I enjoyed this book and of course I recommend this to everyone I know. Read It!

The Silvered Serpents is an incredible follow up to The Gilded Wolves and a book that is full of heart, adventure and is so much darker than its predecessor. Sequels can be hit or miss sometimes but I have to say, this book struck all the right chords for me and not only is it a great sequel but I think it’s a great book in its own right and stands alone very well.

I loved that that the story picks up a few months after the end of the last book, and we get to check in with all the characters and really feel the passage of time as well as how the crushing loss they all faced has affected them individually and fractured this tight knit group of people who are each others family. The difference between how the group were in the first novel and in this one is so stark and striking, and it leaves a much more grim tinge over the novel. The divide between Laila, Enrique, Zofia and Hypnos and Séverin was genuinely painful to read at times, you just want them to COMMUNICATE but sadly, they’re all dealing with their own burdens and issues and thus the angst continues. I think this book also cemented for me how much I care about these characters and how emotionally invested I am in the story.

As well as the characters themselves, I enjoyed how the quest narrative continues and how this time the stakes are so much higher and the sense of urgency is so much deeper. While there’s definitely a lot of references and clues and puzzles mentioned and I had to re-read certain passages to really comprehend what they meant, I was so enthralled by how all these complex pieces linked together. I especially enjoyed how the idea of the Greek muses fit into the story and how intricate the plot was, drawing together so many elements from history and culture, from all over the world. I think this entwining of world myths and legends, folklore and stories just speaks to the fascination with religion and the divine in general and it’s fascinating to see it in a fictional tale this way. Roshani Chokshi has such an immersive writing style that it’s easy for me to get lost in her lush descriptions, the banter between the characters and feel so much when her characters are in emotionally charged or fraught moments.

These cultural or historical elements are always done in such an excellent way and with such respect and thought and I believe this genuinely sets apart Chokshi’s work from some other Y/A Fantasy. You always get the sense that every little moment is intentional and considerate and all the messages about colonisation and marginalised identities especially adds so much more depth to the novel and these characters, in a way which provides actual commentary and nuance rather than being a sloppily inserted element. As I mentioned in my review of The Gilded Wolves each characters back story is given this care and the room to really showcase how bigger issues have shaped them as individuals and this is just furthered in this book.

Overall, The Silvered Serpents was an exciting sequel which sets things into motion for the next book, while we haven’t got a title or any information about book 3, I’m already looking forward to it. If you’re looking for a new fantasy series and characters to get invested in, then I can’t speak any more highly of this series.

2,5 stars

The Silvered Serpents has all the symptoms of a middle-book syndrome.

Thin plot. Check

Slow pacing. Check

Characters who don’t truly communicate with one another. Check

I still don’t fully grasp how Forging works. Check

The story continues with Severin and his crew trying to cope with all the things that occurred in The Gilded Wolves while he obsesses over an artifact that promises godly powers.

Grief is the strongest element in this one. All the characters are extremely sad and miserable and for a good reason. Do I think this feeling of loss and despair was far-fetched? Definitely. Chokshi focuses so much on her chartacters’ emotions that forgots all about giving the reader a specific route to follow in terms of plot. Everyone keeps spinning around Severin while having their own sadness to deal with and a lot of secrets to protect.

And at this point, I want to clarify something. One of my main issues with The Gilded Wolves was that I couldn’t connect with the majority of the characters so maybe that’s why I found this whole situation with their feelings to be so over-dramatic and tiring. Maybe it’s more of a ‘me thing’, really.

The ending felt a little obvious and unfulfilling as I had guessed early on what was going to happen.

I don’t know if I’ll continue with the series, but I’ll certainly read another book by the same author.

I received this e-arc from NetGalley for review purposes. All opinions are my own.

Holy shit!

That’s it. That’s my review.

No, but really, holy shit! That ending really caught me off guard! My heart is racing again, just thinking about it. It’s been a while since I’ve been that blindsided by a book. And I’m already dying to read the next book in the series. I hate cliffhangers!!

The Silvered Serpents picks up a little while after the events of The Gilded Wolves. There have been some changes as everyone is struggling to cope with everything that happened. Poor Séverin has not been handling it well, and that’s trickling down to the rest of the team. It was insightful to see the group dynamics change and how it affected the individual friendships within the group.

It was also lovely to dive deeper into everyone’s backstories and see how their personal histories affect who they are today. The development they all go through really helped drive the story and the emotions behind it, in my opinion. The treasure hunt and unraveling all the mysteries associated with it wouldn’t have been as enjoyable without the individual characters’ distinctive personalities and inner thoughts and feelings. Reading from their different point of view added another level of intrigue to the story.

In a way, The Silvered Serpents feels like a more refined version of The Gilded Wolves. It has most of what I enjoyed about the first book and improved upon some of the issues I had with it. One of those issues was the predictive nature of the plot and characters. Unlike the last book, when I was able to put the pieces of the puzzle together too soon, I started drawing predictions right before they happened while reading The Silvered Serpents. The improved timing/dispersal of clues led to more unexpected twists and boosted their shock factor by a lot. I’m still reeling from the shock of the ending. After I finished reading this book, all I could think was “holy shit!” over and over again, hence the start of this review.

Ugh, my heart still hurts thinking about it.

The Silvered Serpents is also told at a faster pace, which I appreciated. I think it suits the story a bit better and helps amp up the emotions a bit. However, it comes at a cost. It’s not as poetic or magical as the first book. Part of what made the first book so magical was all the worldbuilding, but the second book has less of it. But the worldbuilding also made the book slower to read, so I guess it’s a give or take.

In conclusion, I massively enjoyed reading The Silvered Serpents, even more so than I enjoyed The Gilded Wolves. I loved learning more about each character, and the twists at the end really caught me off guard. But it lacks a bit of magic compared to the first book, and there’s some questionable Indian representation. I can’t wait to read the next book, though!

This book was absolutely magical. After reading the first book The Gilded Wolves last year when it first came out, I knew then and there this next book was going to be packed with action, twist and turns and confusing romance. This book definitely lived up to everything I was expecting and then some. While so many of my questions were answered I was definitely left wanting more and I am so eager to read the next and final book in this trilogy when it comes out hopefully next year.
The cover art is also almost too stunning. Side by side they are breath taking. I am so eager to see what the third installment will hold for us!!

The Silvered Serpents is the action-packed sequel to The Gilded Wolves which I read last year. In this installment, Severin, Laila, Zofia, Enrique and Hypnos travel to Russia. In Book 1, they were able to thwart the Fallen House's plot but did not find all of the House's treasure. Among it, as rumor has it, one will find The Divine Lyrics, the book which Laila needs in order to prolong her life.

I did re-read The Gilded Wolves right before I started the sequel, and I am glad I did as I definitely forgot many of the details. The book was just as enjoyable upon re-reading as I remembered. The Silvered Serpents is definitely darker and grittier. Severin painfully suffers the loss of Tristan. His grief consumes him. He truly thinks he can never let anyone get close to him and risk such pain again. He and Laila barely speak to each other even as Laila starts counting down the days to her 19th birthday - the day of her foretold death. As our friends rush to the lake Baikal in search of the Sleeping Palace, prepare for more secrets, betrayals, unexpected plot twists and heartache.

As usual with fantasy based in Russia, I know some readers will find fault with Chokshi's use of Russian names, geography and history. Mistakes of this kind do not bother me in fantasy. It is her world and the author definitely has the creative license to do whatever she wants. But I admit, it is a bit annoying when the Ural Mountains suddenly pop up near Baikal (imagine if the Rockies were said to be located in Virginia), or a character's last name is constructed as a patronymic (Efremovna instead of Efremova).

Overall, I really enjoyed the book. It does end on a bit of a cliffhanger. It is not a bad one. Many things are explained and we know what is happening but the book definitely does not have a self-contained ending. At this point, I am not sure when book 3 is going to be released, but I would imagine, at least a year from now.

5 out of 5 stars. Definitely recommend. An e-ARC was provided by NetGalley.com

***4.5/5 stars***
My heart was trembling the entire time I read...I haven’t been this touched by characters and their respective storylines and motives in a long time. Séverin, Laila, Zofia, Enrique, Hypnos--they're all fighting their own inner conflicts as well as struggling to stay on top of this impossible quest to find a valuable artifact that may make amends for the terrible cost of their last mission. The angst in this book was insane. The pure heart that was so clearly poured into each character's development is what sets this book apart from the others I have read this year. It's impossible not to root for everyone and love everyone, even as they make questionable decisions and stumble through the repercussions of their own mistakes.
There wasn’t a dull moment in this book and they way everything came together in the end was wonderful, though heart wrenching. Roshani Chokshi's writing stole my breath throughout the entirety of this book--it is so beautifully written. I cannot wait for the next book!!!