I find that this series was everything I hoped Six of Crows would be. I love this world and the characters so much and it’s a wonderful read.

This was a solid sequel that built upon the intricacies, dynamics, and twists of THE GILDED WOLVES. Chokshi doesn't pull any punches and that ending had me gasping for the final book in the trilogy. Fast-paced, magical, and highly recommended!

This book progressed at a much slower pace compared to the first book. I also didn't find the story line quite as gripping although it was a faithful continuation of where we were left off. I think the character development was the part that was vaguely unsettling as they felt so different from the first book, but not in a way that was a positive progression, but a progression that I can see is important to the storyline. I look forward to see how the third book wraps up the story and brings the character progression back into the positive light.

"The Silvered Serpents" by Roshani Chokshi is the sequel to "The Gilded Wolves," and as a casual fan of Book One, I was curious to see where the story would go next. Similar to the first book, I had some mixed feelings about this one, and I'm wondering if it's just that I prefer plot-driven fantasies.

Chokshi's writing continues to be beautiful and immersive, creating a stunning world filled with magic and puzzles. The focus on the emotional struggles and relationships among the characters is a highlight, as they grapple with love, loss, and the dangerous combination of pain and power.

However, while the book is character-driven, the plot is not as complex as its predecessor, and some readers may find it less engaging. Still, "The Silvered Serpents" is a solid addition to the series and fans of the first book will likely enjoy revisiting these characters and their adventures.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this advanced reader's copy and the opportunity to read this early. Review has been posted on Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

I really enjoyed this book. There was the right amount of intrigue and mystery whilst the pace was quick and exciting. It’s a great book for those who enjoy working out the plot in advance and then being surprised

THIS BOOK IS A MASTERPIECE!
I absolutely loved the story and the characters. The whole universe is so magical and enchanting that I wanted to read it in one go!

If I thought The Gilded Wolves was a real treat, then The Silvered Serpents hit it out of the ball park!

Quick bullet review:

1) Absolutely loved the growth of each and every character. Each of them are deeply traumatized by the events of the previous book, and yet they all have started on their journey of healing, as they must do. Everyone except Severin.

2) I was quite pissed at Severin in this book. He went down a dark, downward spiral. While he had always been power-hungry and greedy in the first book, his traumas brought out his ugliest side in this book. I loved how Chokshi pretty much made him mirror the same greed and madness and arrogance that he had despised in his enemies.

3) The only character who disappointed me was Laila. She had so much potential in the first book, but here, she has been reduced to play mom to the group and strangely hypersexualized by the author, which completely went against her efforts into showing Laila as more than a consort.

4) The world building. Chokshi never fails to amaze.

5) The lore. I cannot imagine the amount of research Chokshi had to do, but we dived deeper into the lore and I was all for it.

Full coherent review coming soon.

I received a review copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley for my honest review. The opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.

I really enjoyed this but I think the first book is still my favorite. The atmosphere and world building were really magical. This author is so gifted at setting the scene in such a luscious and captivating way you feel like you're there with them. Along those lines, the characters are all written so well and you fall in love with them and empathize with them immediately. The story itself was also developed really well with a pacing that kept me engaged the entire time.

The Silvered Serpents (The Gilded Wolves Book 2) by Roshani Chokshi

414 Pages
Publisher: St Martin’s Press, Wednesday Books
Release Date: September 22, 2020

Fiction, Sci Fi, Fantasy, Teens, Young Adult, Magic

Severin and his friends are on the search for the Sleeping Castle and the secrets it holds. When they discover its location and go inside, they are amazed and horrified at what they find. There are statutes of the nine muses but with severed hands. What does this mean and who is behind all of the secrecy?

The book has a steady pace, the characters are developed, and it is written in the third person point of view from different perspectives. Since this was the second book in the series, I missed out on some of the background on the characters and their previous adventure with Fallen House. If you like young adult sci fi and fantasy books, you may enjoy this book. I do recommend reading the first book in the series first, so you have the full knowledge of the characters.

I will not be giving feedback on this book as I couldn’t really get into it but I think others may enjoy it.

What an imagination. Roshani Chokshi is an amazing world builder and storyteller. I loved this novel and am completely excited about jumping into the third installment of this series.

Highly Recommended.

Enjoy and happy reading.

After reading both the first book and this sequel, I've come to the realization that this series is unfortunately just not for me. This book had many of the same issues for me as the first one did. I still wasn't able to emotionally connect to the characters, the puzzles felt clinical/quickly solved with little fear/excitement, and I found some of the main plot arcs of this book frustrating rather than intriguing. While I like that this book is clearly driven by grief and how we got to see how different characters handled it differently, it led to many tropes that I never quite like, even when they can be explained away by grief (like miscommunication). I also felt like this book also suffered from being a middle book as well, where it feels like we're largely just building up to the big finale, instead of the book standing strongly on its own. While I'll read more books from this author, I don't plan on continuing this series further.

Added to the Trigger Warning Database here: https://triggerwarningdatabase.com/2022/09/01/the-silvered-serpents-by-roshani-chokshi/

➸ Trigger warnings for ableism, racism, misogyny, antisemitism, classism, colonialism discussed, sex work-shaming, sexual assault (attempted rape by coercion), child abuse recounted, self-harm (for magic), suicide mentioned, alcohol consumption, stillbirth & infertility mentioned, blood depiction, physical injury, terminal illness (mc & mc's sister), grief & loss depiction, death of a brother & friend recounted, murder, poisoning, kidnapping, psychological torture, explosion, vivisepulture (being buried alive) mentioned, kidnapping recounted, and animal death mentioned.

This copy was kindly gifted to me from the publisher in exchange for an honest review (submitted on Instagram)

This was SUCH a good book! I devoured it and couldn't wait for the next one. I love everyone soooo much! I also love the writing.

The Gilded Wolves was a book that felt like it was lightning in a bottle, so I was worried about Silvered Serpents being able to keep that pace up. I shouldn't have worried. Roshani Chokshi nails it and if you loved Gilded Wolves, you'll love Silvered Serpents as well.

Please note, this review will contain The Gilded Wolves spoilers. I was so eager to pick up The Silvered Serpents by Roshani Chokshi after completely enjoying The Gilded Wolves. I love a good heist. Plus, I wanted to see what happened next with such an interesting cast of characters. As it turns out, I obtained an ARC of The Silvered Serpents at one of the first summer 2021 library book sales I attended. So, I was thrilled to dive right into this sequel via a hard copy and my Kindle (my favorite way to read — alternating media forms).

The Silvered Serpents picks up somewhat where The Gilded Wolves leaves off. Severin is morning the death of Tristan. The group doesn’t feel quite as cohesive as it was. However, they hear rumors of The Divine Lyrics being essentially in Moscow and so, depart from France to obtain the priceless artifact. Enrique finds he wants people to listen to him as he’s got some interesting theories about politics and history to share — no one shows up to his lectures though. Zofia remains herself — a little awkward but such a genuine person.

Hypnos is kind of at the edge, not really an important character I felt. Then there’s Laila who is at odds with Severin. Oh, she’s also about to die in about twenty days or so, as her body clock winds down. Severin doesn’t know this, however. And so, the hunt for the Divine Lyrics is on, but with the caveat that the whole group is not as close or bonded as they were in The Gilded Wolves. We also do not get a real clear resolution in this book.

Overall, I found that I enjoyed The Silvered Serpents. The thing I notice about Chokshi’s books is that for me they aren’t the kind of books I can read in a single sitting or tear through the pages. That’s fine. These are more the sink your teeth right in and let the prose carry you along type of books. I found that I am so invested in what happens to Laila and Severin and Enrique and Zofia. I don’t really care about Hypnos. The setting and cast of characters are very interesting to me. The pacing is really slow, but that didn’t matter because I was really into unraveling this story as I read along. This was a four star read for me.

I made the error or waiting much too long between reading the first book of the series and this one. There was enough about the characters themselves that I remembered who did what generally, but I never did entirely remember the plotline, which did leave me somewhat confused throughout the story. But once I'd made it about a quarter or a third through, it was fine. And it did get exciting and drama-filled! Because I made that original error, I can't speak as far as development between books, but I did enjoy it enough that it would probably be just fine read my way, or even without reading the first one. There would be some general confusion, but I think there's sufficient explanation and the world building is amazing enough that it works out. I am going to need to immediately grab the third one before I forget again.