Moving the story forward after losing Tristan. This book kept you guessing about true feelings and the ways we interact when we are defensive or hurt. Severin seems to be closed off while fighting his idea of protection of others. He is also battling with his want to be a god and his human wants.

This is the second book in the Gilded Wolves series. It is even better than the first and focuses more on the specific characters and the heist they are attempting. The initial book had spent a lot of time setting up the convoluted world of Houses and the Tower of Babel storyline. Here, Severin and his band of thieves are definitely centerstage.

Severin has turned into a cold, unfeeling automaton after losing his only brother Tristan. His childhood is explored a bit here, making his behavior a little more understandable. Severin’s crew of geniuses, old friends and a temptress with special abilities, will do whatever they must to find a book that will give them ultimate power. They are a fascinating mix of lovable oddballs, with intriguing new characters added to the mix, as the group heads to Russia for their heist.

Chokshi has made the story more engaging and the connections between the characters are more complex. The subtle nuances of the characters are masterfully woven into their interactions and that speaks volumes. This is a great sequel that raises the series up a notch and should encourage readers to acquaint themselves with this lovable band of thieves.

I received an electronic ARC from St. Martin's Press through NetGalley.
Often a second book in a series does not hold up. Chokshi's certainly does.
Severin and his team continue on their quest. Each character reveals more about themselves and the dynamics among them change as they grow. More is revealed about the Fallen House as well as the reasons why Severin was not made the head of his house. The theme that love has many guises circles through each character's actions and responses. So many are trying to protect someone else and that does not always come through kind and loving actions.
The cliffhanger ending makes it hard to wait for book 3 to come out in 2021.

4.5 Stars

STORY

Characters | 5 stars
I do not remember connecting with one of these characters in The Gilded Wolves, but oh how I adore so many of them now. Perhaps it is the mental and emotional struggles each faces here, the strain of previous loyalties being tested, the countdown on a fatal clock, how greif has twisted each of their goals...whatever it is, I need more of it. Enrique, Laila, Hypnos, Severin, Zofia...we saw so much more into their very souls and it was mostly heartbreaking, which is why I love it?

Plot | 5 stars
Glad to have moved past the standard "heist" novel. The main plot of finding a secret location and item within is standard, but it is all the emotional subplots that really grab you and hold on.

Setting | 4 stars
A hidden ice palace deep in Serbia? That was an excellent surprise. Russian scene description unfortunately ended at the sugaring of snow for the most part, but I still enjoyed it.


TECHNICAL

Writing | 4 stars
I have not enjoyed Chokshi's writing in previous books, though I love the ideas she creates. Either there was development on her part as a writer or I just clicked with this book, but I felt the writing significantly improved, both in pacing and structure.

Editing | N/A
As an ARC, this is not a final version and editing will not be rated.

Execution | 5 stars
I was hooked from the start, and I did not expect it at all. Very glad to have given this a chance, as truthfully I did not enjoy The Gilded Wolves at all. I picked this up as I received it as an ARC and I could not remember much of anything at all from the first book, and am happy to have enjoyed it so much.

Emotional rating | 4 stars

I truly enjoy following this author and love the ideas she creates, but I have struggled to connect with her writing up to this point. This is the first book where I felt immersed in her telling, connected emotionally to the characters and invested in the mystery of their mission and the torment of the secrets that are pulling them apart. I will read on now that I am hooked on these characters!

The Silvered Serpents finds our gang of inventors, historians, and treasure hunters heading to Russia in pursuit of the Divine Lyrics, encountering blood magic and living ice sculptures, and in some cases, descending into god-complex madness!! Chokshi’s writing is lush and lyrical, painting palaces out of paragraphs. If you have ever wanted a YA fantasy version of the show Leverage, this is it but with more magic and diversity. I especially loved getting to know Zofia better. The Silvered Serpents does suffer slightly from pacing issues common to 2nd books in a trilogy, but only slightly.

Even better than the first installment. As always, the word building is phenomenal and the author’s prose is lyrical and beautiful. Fans will enjoy learning more about the characters and seeing the dynamics change. Highly recommend

I thought Gilded Wolves was nice, but was not as in love with it as most readers so I was considering skipping The Silvered Serpents, but after hearing so much amazing buzz about it, I had to give it a try.

This book takes Séverin and his team on a high stakes adventure to find a magical book. After the events of The Gilded Wolves, there's trouble in this fractured little found family. Laila's life is at stake, Enrique wants to prove himself, Hypnos wants to be accepted and Zofia is doing what she can to help her sister. I have to say I really found myself rooting for Enrique to be happy and find love in this book. I also just want to see more of Zofia, she became my absolute favorite in this book - there's always a crazy trick up her sleeve.

As the "family" drama plays out we see a world of strange creatures, ice palaces and crazy magic. By the end of the book we realize that many things are not what they seem and the stakes are even higher than we thought. But you'll have to hold on to another epic cliffhanger and tune in to the next book to see that get resolved.

I absolutely loved this book so so much, it was even more enjoyable than the first book, I loved everything from the characters to the plot to the world, I didn’t expect what happened to happen but what happened was even better and the ending had me on the edge of my seat, I cannot wait for the next book in the series.

This is a fun read but it feels very much like an in the middle of things book, so it's hard to fully evaluate it on its own. I love these characters and this world and their trip to explore a hidden Russian ice palace is a remarkable change of pace from the first book. However, Severin becomes deeply unlikeable in this story, so it's difficult to root for him to succeed at anything, particularly since his ultimate goal here - though admirable from a certain perspective - is also dark and, well, vaguely evil feeling?

Plus side: Love Laila getting more to do on her own in this book, and Enrique is a perfect cinnamon roll.

Full review will run on Culturess closer to release.

In this sequel to THE GILDED WOLVES, we see the merry band of misfits turn into something much less merry as each one confronts and examines their personal demons in the wake of the tragic event that ended the first book. While each character has been affected differently, Severin is the one who, logically, concludes that the answer to all their problems is to achieve godhood.

If you just yelled SEVERIN NO, boy are you in for a ride.

Roshani Chokshi's beautiful characterization of each truly unique character really shines in this installment, seeing the individual character arcs play out in a way that complements the overall adventure. Some of the foreshadowing was a little heavy-handed and the true villains were easy to guess (although the precise details of their villainy were not) but in its entireity, THE SILVERED SERPENTS was a stronger book than its predecessor, and will leave you counting down the days until the release of the third book.

"Hope. It felt like the flicker of newly made wings, thin and chrysalis-slick, dangerous in its new power. Hope hurt."

Our favorite babies are back with a vengeance in this sequel. TGW was considerably more light hearted than this sequel as they all are processing the grief from the previous book. Severin is seeming more and more distant from his team, especially Laila. Zofia is trying to make sure her sister is okay, and Enrique and Hypnos are navigating a new relationship of sorts. The Fallen House continues to thwart them, and the Book of Divine Lyrics may be the thing to save them all.

Reviewing this book without giving away any spoilers is tricky. Let me start by saying these two books are possibly the best books I've read this year. It's like the National Treasure meets Six of Crows crossover of your dreams. Everything about this book, from the plot, to the characters and the world, keeps me on the edge of my seat.

"If surviving meant cutting out her heart, then at least she could do it by her own hand."

All in all, this book was an amazing read about found families and heists, in a world of magic and secret societies.

Full review posted on 7/31/2020

Amazing sequel! I loved the first instalment The Gilded Wolves so much. The story, characters and the representation shown was really well done.
This second one had a much more serious tone after the events of the first book.
I care for these characters so much that it was hard to seem them all a bit broken.
I feel like this one just took it up a level and I can’t wait to where the next book takes us.

I was actually so disappointed by this book. But to first mention some pros, there were some backstories about the characters that were really beautiful- particularly Enrique's. The ending hits hard and I love the realization that Severin comes to.

To get into the cons, a big problem for me was the characterization. Hypnos was one of my favorite characters, and it was heartbreaking to see him to turn from someone who just wanted friends to someone who only cares about his own feelings. Severin was also so cold here. All of the other characters would talk about good memories they had of him, while he would be downright cruel to Laila. The text started losing me with the actions that we were seeing. I was hoping for Laila to stand up for herself, but this was never treated as that serious of an issue that warranted this.

There's also a lot of moments where a character would repeat a worry or hope that they have over and over again throughout the book when it wasn't necessary. I'm hoping for more impactful scenes that take place on page or between characters in the next book. I think this book ended on a good note for the characters to grow in terms of development and interaction, so I'm still anticipating to enjoy the finale as much as (if not more than!) the first book.

If you liked the first book, you will probably like this one as well. I was lukewarm on the first book--I found it enjoyable besides the unorganized mess that was the ending--and felt this was similar in terms of quality. But ultimately I did not like this one as much as book 1.
Plotwise, Severin and friends regroup in this book and pursue the treasure the Fallen House was after, The Divine Lyrics. (Yes, the "The" part is capitalized. Every single time it's mentioned.) Most of the first third is spent figuring out how to locate the Lyrics, and then the other two-thirds takes place the icy Russian palace where the Lyrics are hidden. The format is fairly similar to the last book, as well as heist books in general. Besides the ending, I didn't have any major problems with the plot. It's fine. The ending, though, looked like it was going in a bold, surprising new direction, and then crushed all my hopes and dreams as it decided to not go in that direction. Since it's the ending, I can't really say more here unless a spoiler tagging system gets added, but I was thoroughly angry and disappointed with it once it was over.
The worldbuilding didn't change much either. Forging is described a bit more in the beginning, but then it faded into the background, which I didn't mind. Without the book trying (and failing) to explain why Forging isn't just magic, I was able to forget it and somewhat take in the wonders of all it could do. This became a problem in the last half, though, where Forging is used to some unorthodox ends and we get no explanation for why it works. There are attempts to flesh out the world more--we get some more Houses and bits of history--but most of it does not enhance the story beyond the plot in any meaningful way.
After the events of the first book, each of the main characters have changed in some way (barring Zofia), but most of the time it wasn't for the better. I did like Enrique a lot more in this book, and he was probably my favorite PoV. His relationship with Severin and eventually Hypnos start fracturing, so we got to see more of is character. Zofia did not really change, so I continued to feel neutral on her. She does do some more exciting things on her own in this book, though, and that's a plus. Hypnos again does not get a PoV, so we see some of the development he gets through the eyes of the other characters. I don't get why he still doesn't have a PoV here. Finally, there's Laila and Severin, who both got actively worse in this book.
If you've seen any reviewing site for The Gilded Wolves, you've probably seen the book compared to Six of Crows. Severin is close to Kaz in the first book, but he fully becomes a bad Kaz knock-off in this one. While Kaz is interesting and cool to watch, Severin is just a cruel jerk in this book. I found myself actively disliking his chapters. He gets better towards the end, somehow, but this was executed so quickly it felt forced. I like that book 1's events have lasting consequences on him, but he grieves for the whole of book 2, and I quickly got tired of his moping.
Laila is caught up in Severin's bubble. Her whole shtick is that she wishes Severin would go back to being nice like he was in book 1 but she can't ask him directly. She's also slowly dying, and confides in her other friends rather than Severin, which makes her conflict with him feel like a big misunderstanding instead of a legitimate conflict. I didn't look forward to her chapters, but they were at least better than Severin's.
Ultimately, though, my biggest issues with this book were in the writing and storytelling decisions. Will they be fixed in the official release? I sure hope so. It felt like the author didn't learn anything in terms of writing or storytelling from the first book.
Backstory is once again dumped in the reader's face, some of it repeats of backstory the reader has already gotten in book one. The writing is now filled with an annoying amount of ellipses; I don't remember there being this many in the first book. The similes are still mediocre at best. Every PoV character still feels the same, even if their dialogue patterns are a bit different. Some things, like Zofia's nickname(?) of Zosia, are flat-out never explained. Most egregious of all, though, a lot of action or connecting phrases are just...not there. Characters will often have time skips over what should be exciting parts, or be thinking about doing something and then have the narrative skip right to them doing the thing they're going to do without any in-text indication of them going there, so it just feels like they teleport to where they need to be. Other things happen so suddenly the reader ends up confused or jolted out of what little flow some of the parts have. There is quite a bit of lazy fading to black near the end of the book. And many, many things are still told instead of shown. It kills the impact that a lot of scenes should have, and makes the pacing feel choppy as a result. There's a LOT of wasted potential here.

Again, if you liked book one a lot you'll probably like this one too, but if you were iffy on the first book I wouldn't recommend this. I will most likely not be picking up book three. I didn't hate this book (besides the ending), but it's not worth your time.

Thanks to the publisher, author, and NetGalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review!

I thought The Gilded Wolves was amazing until I read the sequel! Oh my goodness! Be still my heart!

This was an epic addition to the first book in the series. I mean, The Gilded Wolves received four stars from me and I expected The Silvered Serpents to be just as good or better, and I was not disappointed. This installment follows Séverin and his team members on their next adventure for treasure. This installment was definitely more dark than the first and it was a nice treat to reality. Without giving away spoilers, the characters battle mortality, wits, emotions, and sanity all throughout the story. This one will absolutely appeal to those who like fantasy with morbid twists throughout. The characters are dealing with a lot of things personally in this book, and we get to see more into their personal lives than in The Gilded Wolves. Also, just an extra tidbit, one of the characters goes into full villain mode, and I AM HERE FOR IT!

You do not want to miss out on this one! I, for one, am looking to fill a void in my heart now until the third installment comes out!

Roshani Chokshi has done it again. This follow up to the Gilded Wolves has all of the action, adventure, fun, and romance that made the first book such a delight. The highlight of the book remains the found family dynamic between the four POV characters, and we see that bond challenged in interesting ways as the mystery unfurls. The clues were a bit difficult to follow at times, but the overall strength of the characters and the world more than made up for it. The ending left me breathless and desperate for the finale!

I was cautiously optimistic about this book. I was intrigued by the first volume, but didn't love it. There was a lot of good stuff with world and character building in Gilded Wolves, but I just wasn't as engrossed in it as I wished I could be. Not so with Silvered Serpents; it had me hooked almost from the start. It took me a few pages to remember characters and plot points from the first, but once I jogged my memory I was entranced. The writing and imagery is just so beautiful. The characters are so real and amazing. I felt like I got to know the characters a little in Gilded Wolves, but I fell in love with them in Silvered Serpents. I was just rooting for all these guys - Severin and Laila, Enrique and Zofia. They are quirky and interesting and real. I feel for them and am rooting for them. I wanted more. Though this book ended on the mother of all cliffhangers (which I normally HATE when I have to wait a year or more for the next volume) this one made sense and I just cannot wait for another story to bring me back to that world and those characters.

Roshani Chokshi just gets better and better at building lush, vivid worlds full of complicated, appealing characters, witty dialog, and fanciful landscapes.

Continuing the tale begun in Gilded Wolves, Chokshi spins a tale that wraps around you like a dark, soft blanket that nonetheless contains sharp little frissons of electricity. The story is as imaginative as Gilded Wolves, and the character development skillfully done. While this *could be read on its own, I recommend reading Gilded Wolves first, then savoring every moment of this wonderful story.

I wasn't as enchanted by The Gilded Wolves as I'd wanted to be back when I read it, but I decided to give its sequel, The Silvered Serpents, a chance, largely because many of the problems I'd had with The Gilded Wolves were things I thought could be fixed by virtue of this one being a sequel, such as how much the characters' relationships felt underdeveloped and forced. To some extent, I was right. While reading The Silvered Serpents, I already knew this crew, these people, and their various dynamics and relationships and history together. But they all still felt a little artificial, a little inorganic, in their reactions and the ways they moved through their world and dealt with one another. It often felt like trying too hard to do a bit - land a joke, get in a heist trope, etc. And though I was more invested in the problems of Enrique, Zofia, and Laila, I couldn't bring myself to care about Severin at all, largely because his motivation felt so...forced. Unfortunately, Severin's motives and actions drive the bulk of the plot.

That being said, there is a lot of good in The Silvered Serpents to balance out these issues, and the opulent fantasy world, rich with glamorous ballgowns and steampunk-esque 'Forged' artifacts that blend treasure and tech, will certainly appeal to many readers, along with the found family trope that brings this motley crew together, and the sincerely laudable and rich diversity among the cast of characters that feels genuine and enhances the story and personalities, rather than being at all tokenizing. The final revelations were sufficiently surprising to be fun, and, as with the first volume, The Silvered Serpents ended on an exciting enough cliffhanger that I put down the book with a sigh of "...well, I guess I'll just have to wait and read the next one, then."

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the advance review copy!

Roshani Chokshi is an amazing talent. I have been a huge fan of hers since The Star-Touched Queen. Her prose are decadent, gorgeously depicting her fantastic worlds. The main setting of The Silvered Serpents was beautifully drawn thanks to her lush descriptions. The plot propels the characters forward, while they mourn the losses of The Gilded Wolves. Even in the midst of a treasure hunt with dire consequences, all of the elements I loved from the first book were taken to the next level—romance, humor, heart. I adored this book and savored every page. I can’t wait for the next one!