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!!!

it's even possible, I think I loved this book as much (if not more than) Gilded Wolves! It kept a great deal of the same feel as the first but upped the emotional stakes to new heights...not to mention the physical stakes.

I love these characters so much. I'm so glad Zofia got a bit more time in this one. And Enrique's character arc keeps getting better.

BUT THAT ENDING!

I feel personally attacked by that cliffhanger of an ending. So the next book needs to come out, like RIGHT NOW.

I can't wait to see where this story goes and how the heck Roshani Chokshi is going to save all my babies!

Yet again, Roshani Chokshi has taken my breath away with this story full of adventure, betrayal, heartbreak, and shocking revalations. Sprinkled throughout this book are the stories of how Severin met each member of his motley crew and behind it the reason for his distorted sense of needing to save them by whatever means necessary. Severin's coldness is beyond saving with every word he speaks being colder than the last. There are some incredible quotes in this book, many shirts and bookmarks waiting to me made! With the memory of Tristan looming over everyone's head we learn some new and disturbing truths. We get some great cat fight scenes when a new femme fatale comes on the scene with secrets all her own that I am hoping to learn all about in the next book! There are some definite Aladdin vibes with a chase scene through a bazaar and a mobile "Cave of Wonders" so to speak. And then there of course the beautiful wardrobes, longing looks, and extravagant parties!! Then there's that ending that left my heart aching and wishing I could fast forward time to read the next chapter of this saga! This was another 5 star read for me, as is everything I have ever read by Chokshi.

This review will be posted on my blog and Instagram, September 21, 2020

The Silvered Serpents is the sequel to The Gilded Wolves.
I enjoyed this chilly adventure into 19th century Russia in search of an ancient artifact that will grant them the power of God. The Fallen House though not as in your face in this book is laying in wait for them to find the key to the treasure. As usual the villain waiting for the good guys to do all the work, (ugh they are the dead weight in the school group project).
The relationships of all of the team form and shift and change throughout as they are constantly trying to find their place. Since the death of Tristan, Séverin has been colder, different and distant. Making decisions on behalf of everyone for his benefit to further his purpose. He was a bit of an ass up until the end when he kind of snapped out of it, is it too late to salvage the relationships he had left? Grief is a living thing it's hard to process death or know how to live without an important person or to live with those that survived.
I loved all the new ice gadgets and ice creatures in this book. There was lots more of the history, love stories, mythology, equations, and mystery that I loved from the first book. It was different than the first since their team is now working in a way with the Order not behind their backs.
Now I seem to not have the best attachment to ice and the specific torture that was used, I mean who would be, no one really.
I was worried just about them falling in and getting trapped under ice but there were so many other dangers to come. And that torture ugh I have two daughters my daily nightmare the only good thing about the SIP is that I don't have to worry about abduction.
Shout out to Zofia, I love her and how her mind works! I'd love her to have her own book! ❤️

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐💫

Thank you @wednesdaybooks, @stmartinspress and @netgalley for the ARC for my honest review.

PS Nick Cage is the muse we all didn't ask for! 🤣

Severin makes me so mad. Stop being such an a** to Laila. This sequel was not as strong as the first book. I am looking forward to see how this all ends and if Laila gets a happy ending.

The Silvered Serpents is the second book in The Gilded Wolves series by Roshani Chokshi. I enjoyed it, probably even more than the first book. In The Silvered Serpents, Severin and his team travel to Russia in the hunt for The Devine Lyrics, a long-lost book that rumored to grant the powers of God.

After the events of the first book, Severin's team is fractured but they need to work together to succeed and stay ahead of the Order and the Fallen House, who are also hunting for The Devine Lyrics. I was glad to be back in The Gilded Wolves universe, revisit the characters, and learn more about their pasts. I loved that the story is set in Russia! This book has ended on a cliffhanger, and I am very eager to read the final installment.

I think it’s more of a 3.5 again but I’m rounding up.

As this sequel release got postponed by a long period, I’ve actually had the ARC for months now but I just didn’t feel like reading it too early. And I’m always apprehensive about Roshani’s writing because it doesn’t always work for me, and with this weird year and my raging reading slump, I didn’t wanna take any chances. But I finally felt the urge to pick it up and I’m glad I did before the release date, though I’m still processing my thoughts about what I ultimately feel about it.

Roshani’s writing is always exquisitely beautiful and poetic but as a reader who loves simple straightforward prose, I’m not always in the right mindset to enjoy her work. But it didn’t feel that way this time. I found this sequel much easier to read and I finished it in just two sittings which surprised even me - maybe I’m just used to her style now or maybe it was slightly less flowery this time around. I also didn’t find the pacing to be slow like many other readers seem to have; I actually thought it was pretty fast even though I agree that it’s not as action packed or tense as The Gilded Wolves. The descriptions of the Sleeping Palace, the withering cold in Russia and just everything that they found in that palace was all very lush and vibrant, and I could totally feel the chill in my bones.

But the historical references, the puzzles and riddles, and the theme of grappling with colonialism that seeped through the words in the first book, didn’t have the same affect in this sequel. I guess we lost a bit of that newness and it became something expected, and the author didn’t really expand on the magic system much in this book. Literally my only major complaint from the first book was that Forging wasn’t explained properly, and I felt like despite the presence of many Forged objects this time around, the art of Forging itself took a backseat and we got to know nothing more about it. In that sense, this sequel was much more character focused than plot focused.

And the characters are where I’m unsure how to react. I really do love them all, especially Laila and Enrique and Zofia. But I didn’t feel much of a connection to Severin in the first book and while Hypnos is interesting, I wish we got his POV too. But this time, every single one of them is wallowing in their own grief, keeping secrets from each other, there’s hardly any open communication between any of them - making it all feel like an overblown angst fest which I didn’t wanna deal with. It’s obviously not the book’s fault because even the first book had a lot of angst and pining, but I’ve really lost the taste for that sort of tropes these days and it made my enjoyment of the book not very satisfactory.

To conclude, this was a good middle book which I thought had great writing and created a beautiful atmosphere. You’ll definitely enjoy it more if you prefer character driven stories with a lot (and I mean a lot) of angst. While I found the identity of the villain to be pretty predictable, I did not see the twists at the end coming and that was a nice surprise, and a good way to keep my interest on for the finale.

What can I say, this book lived up to The Gilded Wolves and made me love the world and characters so much more.

The Silvered Serpents began with our group being separated, but that was to be expected after the events of the first book. This book dealt with grief by showing the different ways each character dealt with it. Even though it had this element, Roshani Chokshi managed to add some humor and have a lighter mood.

The characters are written beautifully. The author delves further into their pasts and helps us understand the motives behind their actions. The relationships are built upon more in this book but I still think that there was not enough character interaction on-page. I wanted more scenes with just the characters without the plotting or action scenes to cut in between their time together.

Two new characters were introduced in this book, Eva and Ruslan. I immediately distrusted them, but I did not like Eva in particular. She came in immediately hating Laila for no apparent reason, and while it was later somewhat explained, I didn’t like how it was handled.

There was a lot of poor communication between the characters, whether it was side characters or main characters. Everyone spoke over each other and left no room for explanations, which led to needless drama.

Zofia and Hypnos are two of my favorite in this series, any time either of them is in the scene is a treat.

Roshani Chokshi’s writing is stunning with descriptions that make me visualize every scene and setting. I love how much detail she puts in every sentence.

The magic and the tools that the group uses are also better explained in this installment of the series. I still have some questions, but I’m sure they’ll be answered in the next book.

The ending was exciting and heartbreaking at the same time. There were so many plot twists, some I saw coming, some I didn’t. I cannot wait for the next book!

My initial thoughts upon reading The Gilded Wolves was that it reminded me way too much of Six of Crows, but less dark. I feel like this sequel separated it from that duology a lot more and was less heist like and more puzzle solving, which is what I needed.

I really enjoyed this sequel. The characters were recovering from the tragic events of the first book and I felt like I got to delve into who they were a lot more. I felt all of the emotions in this one and I enjoyed the journey, the puzzle, and the mystery of the Fallen House.

I definitely recommend this one and I can’t wait to see what will happen next after that ending!!

Why do second books in a trilogy always fall a little flat? I loved Gilded Wolves and loved Silvered Serpents as well. But at times the pace felt lacking! And the cliffhanger.. oh my god. I can’t wait another year to know what happened! Severin is bae and what he went through just made him so much more relatable than the first book!’ And I love Laila and Zofia! Just wish Hypnos could have been fleshed out a bit more?!

When I pick up The Silvered Serpents, I was expecting something similar to the first book. Instead, I got more–more thrill, more dark, and more pain. Even the heist and the riddles featured in this book are more complex, and personally, I found it more interesting. Compared to the first book, I definitely like this one more.

The Silvered Serpents follows Séverin and the rest of the team as they now try to find The Divine Lyrics, a book rumored to contain the knowledge to achieve God’s power. Unbeknownst to Laila, Zofia, Enrique, and Hypnos, Séverin actually has his own purpose to find the book. This journey takes them deep into the heart of Russia, where they meet old enemies and allies, and face the truth about their past.

Just like in The Gilded Wolves, what I love the most from this book is the characters. Still reeling from the loss of one of their own, we now see each one of them grieve in different ways. It’s really heartbreaking to read about it since I miss their dynamics from book one, but it made this book feels more real and I appreciate it. I’m especially intrigued with Séverin’s darker turn in this book, since I didn’t expect it at all. But at the same time, it’s not unrealistic, as grief could tear people apart.

As mentioned above, the heist and the riddles are also more interesting for me. Once again I’m in awe with Roshani’s geniuses–how she incorporated myths and legends into this book. I also love how she tackles the colonialism issue that’s practically rampant in that era. My main issue with the world-building in book 1 is also resolved, eventhough not fully. There were some things I still didn’t understand, but overall it didn’t hinder my enjoyment toward this book.

In conclusion, The Silvered Serpents is a great and solid sequel. If you haven’t start this series yet, I highly recommend it!