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!

The battle was won at a great cost and the scars cut deep. A high concept fantasy, but somewhat hard to follow, and I kept getting distracted or setting it down for awhile. In the end, this book just wasn't my style, so I will not be posting publicly.

Loved this book! World building was amazing! I highly recommend this book! This book has hit one of my top books that I am sure to remember. This book never let me down. The action and the plot kept me on my toes!

Thank you to the publisher and to Netgalley for the review copy. All opinions are my own.

I’m hesitant to give a full review as I know the release date has been pushed back. I don’t quite know the reasons, but if there are going to be changes, I’ll reserve final judgement until the finished copy arrives.

I will say that I absolutely loved it, though! This crew is all lovable.

I'm putting it out into the world, best YA release for 2020. This book took everything that I loved from the first book and elevated it to the next level. The characters are a bit edgier and darker. They are all dealing with their grief from the first book while at the same time trying to solve the mystery and discover the Divine Lyrics. We are also introduced to a couple of new characters, Eva and Ruslan, who add to the mystery. Several twists had me gasping aloud as I was reading. But nothing was as heart wrenching as the last few chapters of the book. I can only hope that Laila and the others understand Severin's actions and  are able to help him on the next task. Now that I'm finished, I'm upset that I have to wait so long for the next one to come out!

I’m not sure what happened, I enjoyed The Gilded Wolves (even if i found a few characters annoying) but this book just didn’t do anything for me. It was just ok. I think the characters just didn’t pull me in this go around. I do hope the next one pulls me in and keeps me entertained as this one I had to put down and pick up a few times to finish.

I was provided with an electronic ARC through NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Still reeling from the tragedy, grief and the loss of one of their own, The Silvered Serpents wastes no time in picking up right where we left off deep in the hunt for The Divine Lyrics. The Wolves have broken up, moving on with the lives they had before everything happened. Until, a singular missive from Severin reels them back into the fray with a new lead. Haunted by the ghosts of the past, his actions and the denial of his emotions, Severin was tireless in his search for the next clue and with a promising lead, he needs his star team back with him. Whatever, the cost. 

"Gods made choices. Gods burned cities and spared a child. Gods put gold in the palms of the wicked and left that miserable currency of hope in the hearts of the good."

Gripping with excitement and breathless for what comes next, The Silvered Serpents is a well-written sequel. The atmosphere is as dark and heavy as The Gilded Wolves but where the former was filled with wickedness, The Silvered Serpents reads like a heavy fog of grief and sadness. Every inch of it was suffused with tragedy and it is so cleverly woven that you don't logically realise it but you can feel it. But, that doesn't mean that The Silvered Serpents sacrificed wit and humour for grief. The banter is still witty, snarky and sarcastic as the crew slowly pulled themselves out of the fog of sadness and once more, fell into the easy rhythm that they had developed.

We're thrown right into the fray of uncovering the mystery of The Divine Lyrics and getting one step closer to Severin's desired godhood. The plot, although peppered with unnecessary romances, never dulled and had me on the edge of my seat. Imagine a spiral staircase and with each turn of the page, you're going deeper and deeper into the mystery: that's how I felt reading The Silvered Serpents. But that doesn't mean that character development suffers because I didn't think it was possible to fall even more in love with every single one of the characters.

Where I previously disliked Laila because of how one-sided her character seemed to be, I developed more of an appreciation for her character with The Silvered Serpents (I still don't like her but I like her role in the story) and fell more in love with Zofia, Enrique and even Hypnos. They are more mature in their ways and you can tell that the past has changed them for the better. Each of them now has their individual stakes, their individual talents and quirks fully developed. This was an issue I previously had with The Gilded Wolves, that the characters barely had any room to grow but they've finally filled in their boots and personalities.

Except Severin, that is. 

Perhaps he was intended to be written as brooding and tragic but it's hard to feel sympathy, or even empathy, for him when Severin is constantly playing victim. From Tristan's death to his awful upbringing and his relationship with Laila, Severin grows more cruel, callous and unfeeling. While the others band together in their grief and seek comfort and support from each other, Severin pushes them away. Instead of seeking support and allowing himself to be vulnerable, he becomes a tyrant. He believes that if he can achieve godhood with The Divine Lyrics, he can right all the wrongs against himself and his crew. 

"Maybe for girls made of snow, love was worth the melt. But she was made of stolen bones and sleek fur, grave dirt and strange blood—her heart wasn't even hers to give."

As I discussed in my review for The Gilded Wolves, one of the things that frustrated me the most about the story was the reliance on the romantic relationships for drama. And in The Silvered Serpents, it's no different. The Wolves are the cringiest characters I have ever come across. For a bunch of murderous folk , they are surprisingly cheesy and have multiple pet names for everyone and are more concerned about who is dating whom rather than the adventure at hand. Most of the time, the story seems to treat the characters more like adults than young adults, except in this very aspect.

Laila and Severin are still at it with their on-again, off-again relationship that is no longer fun or remotely sexy. In fact, there's now a third player thrown in the mix to incite drama and cue, eyerolls! There has to be a better way to introduce the changing tensions in Laila and Severin's relationship, never mind that the new character plays an important role in the plot. And, if Laila and Severin aren't enough, there's the growing tensions between Enrique, Hypnos and Zofia. While I loved how the latter relationship has been developing with it's such a cute, queer one, it seemed so trivial and irrelevant to the overall story and characterisation!

For once in my life, I wanted the characters to not be in relationships with each other.

Although the stakes are higher, the action more vivid and the tension heavier with The Silvered Serpents, it is clear now that Chokshi has broken up the series into obvious segments of The Wolves' journey. Despite significant development in the plot and mystery with many questions getting answered and new details revealed, there still leaves much to be desired in terms of worldbuilding. The story never leaves the ice palace believed to be the dwelling place of The Divine Lyrics. While we do learn much about the location, it's inner workings and how it ties to the plot, we don't learn much else about the world beyond Paris and the ice palace. The worldbuilding is so focused on this one location that it feels a little claustrophobic and the world feels, small. Instead of expanding outwards, everything congregates at the ice palace. Perhaps, that was the intention. 

The heart of The Silvered Serpents is it's characters and the steadily developing plot. Where most series falter at the sequel, The Silvered Serpents deliver on both the most important components of a story: amazing characters (except for you, Severin), deepening plot and delicious mystery and fantastic writing. Roshani Chokshi knows how to write emotion and wrap that perfectly into a plot that keeps you on the edge of your seat.

I received this ARC in exchange for my honest review

This book was amazing and I believe it was better than the first one. All I can say is AMAZING!!

In a dark followup, The Silvered Serpents takes Séverin's broken and tormented treasure hunting crew across Russia. Sometimes follow up novels lose momentum, but that isn't the case here. This is a fast paced book that packs in a lot of plot, but also expands on the emotive character development of the first entry into the series. Séverin's quest for godhood is heartbreaking and disturbing, especially paired with Layla's struggle for survival. Their motivations are complex but clear, bringing a depth to the characters that sticks with the reader. Layla's realization that she can't save Séverin from himself, a storyline that's common in YA, is rendered haunting here by the quality of the prose. All of the characters shine, but the relationships are what keep me coming back.

Review to be posted to goodreads and instagram upon release.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.

I just couldn't get into this novel. Something was lacking for me, I'm not sure if it was the characters being very one dimesional or the story. But I couldn't finish

That ending!!! THE SILVERED SERPENTS is an engaging YA historical fantasy that picks up after the first book ended, and presents another slow-burning tale that ends with a bang. You definitely need to have read the first book to be able to understand this one, and it does not include much recap, so it would be helpful to read a synopsis or have recently read the first book.

After the first book, which had a major character death, the group is in taters, trying to cope with the loss however they are able. All of the characters seem a little more broken in their grief, but their personalities again shine from the pages. Each main character feels fully formed and realized, completely unique entities. Here, they are searching for the treasure of the Fallen House with urgency, due to Laila's impending doom.

Severin has decided to eschew personal relationships, further alienating the group that is very in need of his guidance. Zofia and Enrique particularly become key in this book, as they feel lost within themselves and must carry forward with the missions at hand. The adventure really picks up the pace of the book, and the ending was incredible.

Although the beginning was a bit slower, the second half really makes this book incredible. This is once again a beautiful tale of friendship and love, filled with the families we create for ourselves. This sequel also portrays the brutality of grief and loss, as well as the difficulties in coping. I would highly recommend for anyone who enjoys dark YA fantasy with incredibly deep characters.

Please note that I received an ARC from the publisher through netgalley. All opinions are my own.

It took me a bit longer than I'd like to get into this book, so I reread the first to reconnect with the characters, stakes, and plot. I'm glad I did. It helps dive into the well crafted, elaborate world the author creates. The characters are so three dimensional, and we see so much more of them in TSS, including the dark and often unpleasant sides of them. Once I got a few chapters in, I was hooked. The stakes and plot were paced in such a way that I didn't want to put it down until I finished. Now I have a book hangover.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. My opinion was not affected by the free copy.

Even though I wasn't in love with the first book, I still requested the sequel. I thought I might end up liking this just as I ended up liking Girls of Storm and Shadow. But where that one felt like it took out a lot of the things I didn't like in the first one, this book pretty much kept the same stuff that irritated me and even pulled back on stuff that I would've liked to see more of.

Did you guys know that Severin had seven fathers but only one brother? Because this book repeats that several different times. The love angst between Severin and Laila continued to be shoved in my face all the time, and adding to that was love angst between Hypnos and Enrique. Because that's sure what I wanted to see after the end of the first book. Then of course there was the stuff with Zofia and Enrique. I love being told how a couple feels about each other over and over without actually being shown any of it /sarcasm. What makes this more irritating is that the group laments over how they should've reached out more to Tristan or communicated with him, yet they still don't communicate with each other sometimes. Good grief.

Maybe because it's been a while since I read the last book, but I didn't really get Severin's motivations to being so cold and aloof to everyone. While I did love the opening scene with him, all his other chapters were just him being distant with everyone "to protect them" except I don't know from what. It might've said in the text and I missed it, who knows. We get introduced to this character named Eva who hates Laila-- and Laila hates her back-- for no reason that I could tell.... except they were both women who were interested in Severin. There's also a lot of weird emphasis on the state of Enrique's hair. I'm not sure why but it was repeated a lot. As is this one character's weird obsession with their own hair and other people's. There's a reason for it, I guess, but I was tired of reading about it after a while.

The heist parts were still enjoyable to read and there were some downright creepy moments that were really cool to visualize. It just got bogged down with repeating and relationship drama, just like the last book. The relationships didn't even feel like they built up at all. Severin and Laila were basically treading in the same water as the first novel, except with some added resentment from the oath Laila made Severin take in the first book. I don't usually like giving out spoilers but I'll go ahead and say that Hypnos and Enrique go nowhere. In fact, Hypnos's whole character was a little odd, and again I'm not sure if it's because it's been so long but I don't remember him being that way in the first novel.

So I'm most likely not going to conclude this trilogy. The constant repeating gets on my nerves, and I was about to scream from all the Severin and Laila angst. It's a shame because I do actually like these characters and the plot interests me. Maybe I'll read a Wikipedia summary.

The Quick Cut: A man looks to find a lost artifact after losing a team member.

A Real Review:
Thank you to St. Martin's Press for providing the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Everyone copes with death differently. For some, they appear unmoved on the outside while they crumble internally while others get angry, hostile, or depressed. Have you ever found yourself on a journey in response though? For Severin, that's exactly what he does after losing a team member.

In "Gilded Wolves", a team member dies, which sends ripples of pain through the everyone involved. In an attempt to recover and find a way to change what's happened, Severin goes looking for an artifact long lost. Will this lead to redemption or instead bring more pain?

There are so many complexities and moving parts to this story. If you enjoyed this complicated aspect of the first book, you're bound to enjoy it in this one. I didn't, so when that continued on here? My interest continued to dwindle. By the time I got to the end, I was more than happy to never return to this world again.

Severin and all his team members go through an intense loss and I understand that. However, the grieving process never ends in this story and that's a little gratuitous in my opinion. It leads to a dark story with very little character development.

A pained story that goes further into the detailed journeys the characters take.

My rating: 3 out of 5

Loved it! I thought I loved The Gilded Wolves but Roshani managed to exceed my very high expectations and keep the story and excitement up. All my favorite characters are back and yes that means Zofia!!! Although the tone of the book is a lot darker and grittier, the gang is still amazing and their adventure exhilarating. I know I'll be re-reading this one again and again, it was THAT good!

The ending had that distinct flare of book one and I'm again left dying to know what happens next! If you're looking for humor, action, danger, simmering romance, magic and friendship, I highly recommend this book and this series.

The Silvered Serpents follows our favorite band of treasure hunters from the first novel except the stakes are much higher. On top of that everyone is coming fresh off the death of Tristan and our heroes are not really their normal selves. They all want to leave and do their own thing but Severin will not let that happen. He needs to find The Divine Lyrics because he feels like it will protect everyone he loves. But Leila needs to find them for a much more pressing reason: her demise fast approaches and this book is the only thing that can save her. Severin gets the crew together for one last hunt and it is much trickier than any of them expected.

The Gilded Wolves was very much more of a heist novel whereas The Silvered Serpents was really a big treasure hunt. There was one small heist in the beginning of the book but the rest of it was only about finding The Divine Lyrics and unpacking the mystery of where it could be. I really enjoyed this book but like with all Roshani Chokshi books it left me very confused at times. With Roshani Chokshi it is like her writing flows well but then some parts have a disconnect. As if something was deleted that helped explained how something got from point A to point B. I was often asking myself the question, "Wait...how does that even work???" I, being a fan of her books, have grown used to it and it is just something I expect so it really does not bother me as much as it does other people. Even though the plot was not as exciting in this book I did understand the world better and I think that helped me to enjoy it as much if not more than the first one.

The characters are my favorite part of this series because I adore all (three) of them so much. Zofia is my favorite character by far...actually she is one of my favorite characters of literature period. Seeing things from Zofia's world is so fascinating and by far the best POV of the novel. Laila is such a sweet, kind soul and she deserves so much more than her circumstances. Enrique is an absolute delight and his presence in a scene makes it so much more entertaining. Severin is NOT my favorite in this book. Tristan's death twisted him into something ugly and he is not the same from the first book. Frankly, I didn't care for him that much in this book. He has truly gone mad in my opinion. Hypnos becomes more of a main character in this one and it was interesting to see how desperately he wants to be accepted and belong to the group. He was not a favorite of mine either but at least he was not as bad as Severin. Eva is a new character in this book that I actually really liked! There is a bit of girl hate that goes on with her and Laila but it is addressed and I think Eva comes around by the end of the book. Laila was always the better person in the situation because she did not want to be part of this feminine rivalry. Eva is very interesting and I am really excited to see what she does in the next book.

If you read The Gilded Wolves I would definitely read The Silvered Serpents. It was fun, adventurous, and every bit entertaining as the first book. I cannot wait to see what the next book holds. I believe the next book will be the last but I am not 100% certain of that.

The Silvered Serpents is an innovative fresh take on fantasy. It’s like Oceans Eleven, meets Indiana Jones. I love the fantasy genre, but the settings are often predictable. Chokshi, has created an incredible world mixing history, science fiction, fantasy, intellect and humor. I felt captivated from the second I began reading this sequel. I was expecting a similar heist plot like in The Gilded Wolves, but I was pleasantly surprised with plot of this story. It was unexpected and beautifully written. Another favorite aspect of this story was the continued character development. I grew more in love with each character as I read this story, and literally cannot wait until the next book. This series is a must read, it’s

4.5 stars

Series Info/Source: This is the second book in the Gilded Wolves series which sounds like it’s going to be a trilogy. I got this as an eGalley from NetGalley.

Story (4/5): I also thought for some reason this was a duology, but given the ending there needs to be at least one more book in this series. Up until the ending this was a 5 star book for me. This story mainly sends our characters on an adventure to the north, Russia. There they hope to finally find a very special book that Severin hopes will grant him godhood and Laila hopes will buy her more time to live.

Characters (5/5): The characters pretty much make this whole book. Every single character in this book is incredibly well done and the rotating POVs work wonderfully for this book. These characters have such depth and such complex histories, they pull you in and make you love them. So well done!!!

Setting (4/5): This book is set in an alternate version of our own world, it feels like it’s set in the past. The majority of this story took part in Northern Russia. While I enjoyed the wintery setting, I didn’t feel like the world building here was truly exceptional.

Writing Style (5/5): After the characters, it’s the amazingly beautiful writing style that makes this book work so well. Chokshi writes beautifully and has such an excellent imagination. I was a bit disappointed in the ending because it felt so rushed, I left feeling kinda like "Uh, okay I guess we're done??"

Summary (4.5/5): Overall I loved this book even more than the first book in the series. I love the characters, the adventure, and the amazing imagery here. These are very creative books and you never know what’s going to happen next. Although I enjoyed the big twist at the end, I thought it felt rushed and was disappointed in where this book left off. Part of that was because I thought this was a duology, they do say in the synopsis that “the crew risks their lives for one last job”.