Gilded Wolves felt like a magical pony ride compared to Silvered Serpents. The fantasy felt more fantastical, the ride was more roller coasterish, and pony was definitely more serpent-like.

And I am saying all this feeling still slightly drunk from this book hangover.

“Zofia nodded and had the irrational desire to wish that some words could be solid and picked up off the ground and held close, so that she could reach for them whenever she needed.”

Although I loved the plot, and the heist, and the world, to me, the characters and their relationships with each other, make these books. My heart broke over and over for each character, Hypnos and Zofia, Laila and Enrique. A sad Severin. I was angry and frustrated, and yet wanted to hold each one, and let them weep into my shoulder. Then I would laugh as Hynos would be flippant or Zofia dry, or Laila biting. My emotions were thrown around like at a ride at a carnival, and whether my dizziness comes from being intoxicated on the book, or spun on the coaster, I’ll take that drink or ride that ride again.

I have liked roshani chokshis books in the past but I don't think this series is for me. I wasn't a big fan of the first installment or this one to be honest.

I haven't read the first book in this series and I think you should first, while I enjoyed reading it I had some trouble following the plot.

The disadvantage to having an ARC of The Silvered Serpents is that I'll have a long wait for the next book! I loved this sequel to Gilded Wolves, which picks up a few months after the end of that book. You really need to have read it first to understand The Silvered Serpents, as the fractured relationships in here only really make sense when you know the back story.

That said, Severin, Laila, Enrique and Zofia are on a new quest, with the help of Hypnos (who has some great character development in this book), this time going to Russia in search of the secret treasure of the Fallen House - which has the potential to save Laila's life, although Severin has other hopes. The loss from the end of the previous book is damaging them all in different ways, particularly Severin as he seems to be turning into the bad guy. There are puzzles to be solved, and fabulous social situations to be navigated, an Ice Palace to be explored and new allies to be trusted (or not).

It's quite a twisty story, but beautifully written and with sympathetic characters that you want to get to know and be friends with. Definitely worth reading and I look forward to the next book after that ending!

Okay, so it's taken me several days to get my thoughts together enough to write a review 😀. Thank you firstly to NetGalley and Wednesday Books for the eARC, which was actually the first ARC I was lucky enough to receive and which I've sat on for months, until I got around to reading The Gilded Wolves first. Which was just amazing. And I was so happy that I was able to immediately pick up where that left off, and start on The Silvered Serpents.

Roshani Chokshi has the most beautiful way with words and her world building was just wonderful in these books. It took me a few chapters of The Gilded Wolves to get everything in place in my head, but by The Silvered Serpents I was fully immersed in the world of course.

Imagine a mix of all the best parts of The Da Vinci Code, Indiana Jones and Ocean's 11 (and 8, 12 and 13!), with a smidge of Harry Potter thrown in for good measure, plus the amazing imagination of the author in creating so many plots and subplots and more plots within those plots. Then put all of that together with the most incredibly diverse, lovable, flawed, misunderstood characters, with so many interwoven, overlapping, angsty relationships and you have some idea of what you're getting with this sequel.

Darker than The Gilded Wolves, with the expected CH ending (and certainly no HEA for any of our favourites, but there is hope so don't despair....), The Silvered Serpents is a MUST READ recommendation from me - but do read The Gilded Wolves first 😍.

Five ✨✨✨✨✨ all the way!

#NetGalley #TheSilveredSerpents #WednesdayBooks

The second book in Chokshi's Gilded Wolves series is a maddening blend of mesmerizing settings, stellar writing, her amazing cast … and utter depression. Somehow the grim mood and vibe seething through everything and everyone just left me at the end with nothing more than, "well, wasn't that utterly dismal."

Maybe there's hope somewhere for these peeps.

*Review to be posted on my blog on 8/22/20**

*4.5 STARS*

Thank you to Wednesday Books and NetGalley for giving me a chance to read this eARC.

I don’t know what I was expecting from this book but wow, I waited to read this arc because the publication got pushed back but I’m glad I finally did read it!

We return to the world of The Gilded Wolves, but the crew has been torn apart by the death of Tristan, Severin’s brother. They come together again for another mission to find a mythological artifact – The Divine Lyrics. This time their quest takes them to Russia and Siberia. Severin wants it badly to make him and his friends, gods. Yet Laila needs it to stay alive. Once again we have the amazing characters I came to love in book one, but this time they are dealing with grief and questioning their self-worth. The heists, puzzles, riddles, action and surprises make this sequel so much more exciting to me than the first book. But this one also broke my heart! 🥺

What I Liked:

*The characters are what make this series. They are awesome and diverse! I love how they are all different and have fascinating back stories. Enrique is my favorite, but Hypnos really shined in this one too. They are all smart and skilled in their own ways but in this sequel we see their vulnerabilities and it got me in the feels. I am heartbroken for all of them, for losing Tristan. But Enrique and Zophia kept this mission afloat – they had to since Severin and Laila were falling apart.

*The clues, riddles, high stakes, and heists are so much fun to me. I love, love, love Enrique’s inquisitive mind and capacity for memorizing historical information. But there are dangerous moments in this sequel as well and the twists in the story were good too!

*There is so much emotion in this book: grief being a major part of it for Severin and all of them really, but Severin most of all. Also the wall between Severin and Laila was hurting my heart. They love each other but Severin fears love because it can be lost, like how Tristan was. The same for Laila – why love Severin when knowing her life could be lost soon, she doesn’t want to hurt him. They all want love and to be loved yet there is so much fear in it too. The ending gutted me, when love is explained as something that looks different to people – I felt that strongly.

*Hypnos…I mentioned him earlier, but thank goodness he brings such humor to this story. I love him.

Things That Made Me Go Hmm:

*Severin takes a back seat in this story…and he is COLD hearted in this one. He is dealing with grief but wow…he is not the same guy from book one – and I was scared how far he’d gone at the end! We shall see what happens to him in the next book.

*Sometimes there is so much information that Enrique is spewing out, I get lost LOL…which is funny because he mentions he feels like no one cares or listens to him. He is my fave but even sometimes his incessant talking goes over my head…and why am I talking about him like he’s real?! 🤣😍

*Triggers: blood (a new character, a blood forger is introduced), violence, grief

Final Thoughts:

I loved this book more than the first one! It was faster in pace, with another high stakes quest but with the crew falling apart at times. Yet there were funny moments too especially with Hypnos helping them out. I loved seeing the characters deal with their vulnerabilities, which was so relatable. And the thing I take away from this book is love – how it looks different to every one of us but we all want love. Love from family, from a friend, or from a partner. ❤️ But love is scary too because the pain of losing a loved one is hell. There are a few quotes from this book that I absolutely adore but can’t post since it’s an arc…but it made me want to weep, for Severin and the rest of the crew. Definitely looking forward to the next book!

The only book that you need on your To Be Read list is here! And when it comes out, get it ASAP. Chokshi followed one masterpiece (The Guilded Wolves) with, you guess it, another masterpiece!

In The Silvered Serpents, Severin’s desire to become a God-and other things- lead them to a beautiful ice castle in Russia. There is no disappointment in the way that this book is written. Artfully written, it takes you to another place. Sometimes, you’ll hate that place and it will make you sad, but you will love it even more. Absolutely recommend!!

Searching for an elusive, and perhaps mythic, treasure in a secretive manner leads the fractured crew of treasure hunters to Siberia in Roshani Chokshi's The Silvered Serpents.

After the tumultuous exchange with the Fallen House, Séverin and his assorted team of treasure hunters dispersed into their own worlds to grieve the loss of one of their own as they try to get on with their lives. But when a lead surfaces that might just direct them to a long-lost and vastly rumored artifact that could provide the powers of a god, Séverin manages to pull the team back together to follow it. Leaving behind the glamour of Paris for the icy tundra of Russia, the team investigates an abandoned hidden mansion filled with ice animals, handless goddesses, and Tezcat portals in pursuit of the mythic artifact that seems to become less mythic and more real as they delve deeper and reveal surprising truths. 

Jumping quickly back into the lives of the team members, the story picks up and starts running headfirst into the next adventure, which has has much higher stakes. The world-building and the development of the characters and their interpersonal dynamics within this novel was better than the first, though it was still quite localized to specific places and situations rather than all-encompassing; the more descriptive, introspective, and emotional nature of deepening the investment in crafting the characters reduced the amount of witty banter throughout the story but it's still there - just in smaller doses. There was quite a lot of repetition within the text, especially regarding the muses and their various remits, which felt over explanatory without an appropriate payoff for doing so. I appreciated the independence and choice afforded to Laila throughout the story as she was provided the agency to determine who knew about her life's secrets, and, more generally, the enhancement that some of the characters had toward asserting themselves and advocating for their desires was well-done and a fitting inclusion within the heavily emotional tone of this novel. 

Overall, I'd give it a 3.5 out of 5 stars.

This follow up to The Gilded Wolves finds the team processing their grief and on a mission to redeem themselves from their loss. The team dynamics have changed since they are in many ways reeling. Will this adventure bring them closer together or tear them apart?

I love THE GILDED WOLVES so much and I was ecstatic when I received an early copy of THE SILVERED SERPENTS for review! I love the way Roshani Chokshi is able to weave her words together and all her books are just so lyrical and just absolutely stunning. I, of course, love all my characters. I love my crew of nerds trying their very best. We have Séverin, Laila, Enrique, Zofia, and Hypnos, plus a few new characters we meet within the pages. I love the heists that the characters go on, and all of the antics and situations. I also absolutely adored the setting and world-building of this story. While I loved the Parisian setting of book one, I fell head over heels with the icy, frozen feel of the sequel. The descriptions of St. Petersburg and the winter vibes were AMAZING. I loved each and every scene and I NEVER wanted to stop reading. This is definitely in my top two favorite books of the year (2019) along with it's predecessor. I cannot wait for more people to read this story so I can discuss!

The Silvered Serpents pours out emotion. Roshani Chokshi's writing always hits me in the perfect way.

In the second adventure everyone is dealing with emotional fallout from the previous book. Severin can barely keep his cool, Laila is barely managing to hold herself together... almost literally, Enrique needs something no one seems to be giving him, Zofia struggles to share herself and feels like a burden, Hypnos just wants a family and all of these wants and needs intertwine with desire and anger and fear and bravery in a beautiful way.

I like how in this story you can feel even the quiet stakes. Each characters emotions are there and the writing makes it so easy to understand them. There were so achy moments that I adored and the ending is done in such a way that it is satisfying, but also leaves the reader in a moment of suspension. Readers will really feel the stretch of time waiting for the next book!

I need a third book now.
I was lucky enough to get this book early, and I practically devoured it! I started it just yesterday guys, and I’m already done! I loved the first book, and this one has the same tone and style, but I was far more gripped with this one. I definitely recommend this book to everyone.

I was able to get my hands on this book early, and I am SO glad I was. I hadn't heard of this series until I was offered an opportunity to get an advanced copy of the second, so my review is a bit delayed due to having to work the 1st one into my reading schedule.

Let me tell you, the first was marvelous and the second was even better. Chokshi has the ability to grab the reader's attention and just run with it. Still reeling from their loss in The Gilded Wolves, the crew takes on Russia and discovers WILD secrets and mysteries that make the book too good to put down.

Seriously, if you don't already have this book pre-ordered, do it NOW. It's a GREAT sequel to a GREAT first novel.

I have received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Please tell me there is going to be another book?? I absolutely devoured The Silvered Serpents! From beginning to the very end, I was hooked. Completely freaking hooked. I was even surprised by some crap because holy shit.. I didn't think this gang would go through so much. Or even become more likable and level up in bad-ass-ness.

Again, it was amazing. I loved each chapter and all the characters reuniting again. I still have my ship going strong and I seriously need it to freaking happen. Then there's that god damn cliffhanger.. that slowly killed me. No idea how I can recover from that but I will definitely see the light at the end of the tunnel if and when I get the next ARC of this series.

I don't think I can say it enough but I absolutely love this series and I'm so very grateful that I've gotten the ARCs for it. Definitely need to woman up and buy the physicals - just so I can stare at these beauties!

Chokshi is such a fabulous writer and Guilded Wolves is phenomenal. This sequel was solid, no middle book slump feeling, which was my biggest worry.

The shining star of this book is the characters. They are rich, dynamic and interesting. The reader can feel the bongs between them and invest in them.

Thank you to Wednesday Books for the gifted review copy!

I present to you my first favorite read of the year! It’s still early to say but I know that this one will be on the list. I don’t think I have enough words to describe how much I loved this book aside from the fact that I did a lot of screaming, and I might have sobbed (might have). Roshani Chokshi has managed to squeeze my heart throughout this story, and I still feel the squeeze when this book comes to my mind at random.

Since I first read The Gilded Wolves I knew that there was no way for the author to ever disappoint me. The book picks up after the events of The Gilded Wolves and in all honesty it was painful from the very beginning. I got attached to these characters like no other and there are no words to explain it. The book is told from the points of view of all the main characters and I just love how in depth we go into each of their narratives.

The characters are possibly the best thing here. The cast is diverse in every way you can imagine. The relationship and bond between the characters is stronger than ever. I thought I couldn’t love them more than I already did but I just ended up proving myself wrong after reading this. I love that you get a glimpse of every characters and their thoughts and feelings. It simply makes you feel like you’re a lot closer to them and with it comes the understanding of each individual which I absolutely appreciated.

The writing is spectacular! If I could use every fancy word from the dictionary in this sentence I would, believe me. The writing is so captivating and rich and I just fell in love with everything about it. For someone who was in a major slump at the begging of the year, this book really got me out of it. Of course that depends I know a lot of readers who found the information a bit too much to handle or absorb but I personally loved it. It added so much to the story and it’s obvious that the author put so much effort into researching.

The plot was tricky and there was a lot of twists and turns which I enjoyed. There were some things that I truly never expected (some that I did) and that made the story a lot more interesting. The ending was like a blow to be completely honest with you and all I’ve done since I finished the book is think about the characters and what will happen next. The fact that I’ll have to wait until next year for the next book is absurd! but I trust that Roshani Chokshi will bring us the most amazing book yet again.

I recieved an ARC of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. I loved this book and will recommend it often!

Atmospheric, immersive and tragically beautiful the followup to The Gilded Wolves will leave you begging to know what happens next.

Where do I start on how amazing The Silvered Serpents is? I gush often on The Gilded Wolves with all the nuances, atmosphere, world building and incredibly flawed but beautiful cast of characters.

This sequel just takes it to the next level. This cover gives me life💞 That aside what's important is whats below that beautiful cover. I love how the atmosphere has gotten darker. The need to aquire all the pieces to keep whats left of everyone together is getting dire. I love Roshani's writing and use of puzzles, mythology, math, and so much more to flesh out the story. Even if we do not get to see them in the ARC I could imagine well enough to not lose any momentum. The issues I had about the settings feeling constrained in the first book were not an issue at all.
Our characters are struggling to find a solid ground mentally, emotionally, spiritually after the events of the first book. I appreciate that after everything that happened, there is no shying away from the aftereffects of what a person goes through. We see all that ugly and how people react to it in different ways. You really get attached to these characters. There is so much believability in their actions and the way they process things you sometimes forget how young some of them are. They accomplish extraordinary things.

My only complaint is that I'm not gonna make it having to wait for a third installment after that ending.

Thank you to Roshni, the team at St. Martins Press/Wednesday Books, and Netgalley for an advanced chance to read the second installment in a series that has become near and dear to my heart. I received a free ARC in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

WOW.

This book doesn’t even come out until September; I have no idea how I will be able to wait until the final book because that CLIFFHANGER had me dying on the inside.

4.5 stars. This was way better than the first book. It was a slow start for me, but once the group made it to their treasure-hunting location, the pace picked up. I liked the introduction of the new characters, but I am still salty that Hypnos doesn’t have a POV until the epilogue. I want Hypnos to get his own POV chapters, dangit!

I spent a lot of this book feeling indifferent about Séverin, because he is not my favorite character and was basically the biggest jerk until towards the end of the book. But then I left the story feeling that he was redeemed in my eyes, and I am going to be so sad waiting for the third book to come out. I was thrilled to receive an eARC of this one, and will be preordering the book. Hopefully there will be some cool incentives!

Laila was my favorite in the first book, but I am pleased to report we got a lot more of Enrique in this book, and I fell in love with him and Zofia even more.

The way the characters deal with grief separately and together is worth mentioning too, and I appreciate that the author took time to let the characters work through that.

The treasure-hunting aspect was spectacular! As someone who loves National Treasure and recalls that the movie was part of Chokshi’s inspiration for The Gilded Wolves, I love the puzzles and traps and false hope and renewed hope drama.

I still can’t get over how this book ended, and will be impatiently and anxiously awaiting the final installment . . . which will be a long wait since I had the opportunity to read this one early!