This book is just as incredible as The Gilded Wolves, although it is a little darker, and incorporates more angst. After the death of one of the main characters, each of the crew is grieving in their own way, and the dynamic of the entire group is changed. Séverin is determined to find a lost artifact that he feels can right his perceived wrongs; and in doing so, it becomes a single-minded obsession.

The world-building is just as incredible in this book, especially since the story takes us into the frozen setting of Russia in the middle of winter. The magic is similar, but we’re exposed to new types of Forged items and different expressions of magical abilities that absolutely blew my mind. Despite reading this book in the heat of summer, the setting made me feel chilled enough to want to put on fuzzy socks and wrap myself in a blanket.

Despite the characters going through their struggles, the clever and witty banter that characterized the first book was still present. I loved the way that they interact, but it also highlighted each of their flaws and the characters even got a little more vulnerable with each other as the bonds strengthened and their trust deepened. Some of the interactions absolutely broke my heart, right up until the end of the book. I couldn’t wait to find out what happened next, while also dreading getting to the end of the book. I almost didn’t want to finish, knowing that I’d miss the characters and have to wait for another book to be written and released. I’m already dreaming of the next book.

This one is a must-read if you like heist books, especially with a diverse and unique flair. This series is one of my personal favorites, and this book absolutely cemented that status!

Solid 4 star read. I love these characters, I love their connections and relationships. The adventure in this one drew me in more than the first one. Will be picking up a finished copy for my shelf, I can see myself rereading these.

if this isn’t sequel of the year on my list, i’m going to yeet all of my braincells.
Don’t get me wrong, I adored The Gilded Wolves. But it just didn’t have that 5-star, ohmygoshilovethisbooksomuch feeling. But The Silvered Serpents????? THAT’S A TOTALLY DIFFERENT STORY FRIENDS.

I’m genuinely still not over Tristan’s death. That is the one qualm I have with this book: there is no Tristan. I think Chokshi did an absolutely fantastic job of writing how each character dealt with their own grief.

Séverin has closed himself off from everyone. He dove to save Laila, only to realize she was never the target all along. Now, with his failure of keeping his promise to always protect his brother, his only goal now is to protect the others. By distancing himself. Smh, Kaz Brekker-esque logic. I truly felt both sympathetic and annoyed with him.

Laila is dying. And oh my gosh, my heart went OUT to her. She’s dealing so much guilt worry. Not to mention, Severin is being a bum so that’s not cool. Her character is so kindhearted, and we really see the strength of her goodness shine through in this one.

Enrique oh my word. He’s still struggling to reconcile himself, and to gain the approval of the Illustrians. There’s so much complexity to his character, and consequently his relationships.

Zofia is honestly one of my favorite characters. Her sister is dying, and she’s dealing with that on top of everything else. Reading from her perspective is also so unique because I believe she’s on the spectrum, and so she sees the world differently.

HYPNOS. He cracked me up in the first book but I was howling with laughter in this one. I mean:

“Normally, responsibility gives me indigestion.

What a mood. I also felt so much for him, because he just wants to fit in, he just wants his old friend back. Seriously, I adore him so much.

Roshani Chokshi has some of the most gorgeous writing I’ve ever read. She creates some of the most atmospheric scenes. A lot of this book takes place in Siberia and Russia, and I swear I could feel the snow, and taste the sugary candy. The magic in this series is so incredible and unique as well. Actually, the magic system is science-based, and a lot of the puzzles are based on historical and scientific knowledge.

I will say that I felt bits and pieces of this story were slow? This series is relatively character-focused, but it totally works. I love these characters with my whole heart and soul, and so I care about what they care about. It’s absolutely brilliant writing/plotting.

BUT THE ENDING.
Even if parts of the book were slow, the last 20% fully makes up for it. Plot-twists galore, and a heartwrenching moment that nearly made me cry. I loved this.

no no no no NO NO NO NO! I WANT TO GIVE THIS BOOK ONE STAR JUST BECAUSE OF HOW IT ENDED! But Chokshi I LOVE YOU SO YOU KNOW I CAN'T DO THAT😭. THIS BOOK IS AMAZING! THE AUTHOR IS PHENOMENAL! AHHHH I NEED THE NEXT BOOK RIGHT NOW!!!!!
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I am in SHOCK! THAT CLIFFHANGER NOOOOOOOOO!
aHHHHH anyways I have a post going up with the first and second book on my blog!

The Silvered Serpents is the awaited sequel to The Gilded Wolves by Roshani Chokshi. The previous book definitely ended in a bang which made a lot of people excited for the possibilites in this one. I'm gonna start the review saying that I didn't remember a lot from the plot of TGW, and I wish the book made a bit of a recap of a few plot points. It obviously reminded us of the major character death that happened previoulsy because it impacted all the other characters, but I wish some other stuff was highlighted as well.

Once more the treasure hunt was big in this book and that is what the series is known for, after all. In the plot aspect, I enjoyed the sequel more than its predecessor, because the hunt was more fun and the enigmas less confusing. It was fast paced and It didn't take me that much time to finish, which is a bit rare these days.

One critic I have about the POV and the characters is the fact that the Point of View system doesn't give that much insight in each characters' feelings. I think this could have been explored more. With so many characters, there must be a better distinction between POVs.

Speaking of the characters, I thought some of them were quite insufferable in the sequel. Yes, I'm speaking about Severin. It's comprehensive that he's in a bad state after the death of his brother, but the way he kept pushing people away and being rude just to seem like he didn't care was a bit over the top. This was also detrimental to his romantic relationsip with Laila, which lost all flavor after that. I found myself not even rooting for them to be together.

I loved that we got more background on Hypnos, but I wished he had a POV of his own. I think all the characters felt a bit disconected in this book, their dynamic wasn't as easy with each other.

Lastly, I had the most part of the plot twists figured out, and from the begining I thought I knew what was going to be the ending, and I was wrong, but not in a good way. It was a bit underwhelming to me and I ultimately though the stakes could have been higher.

Overall, It was a solid sequel, one that expanded the universe of the first book and had a great plot. The only thing I wasn't much of a fan was the way the dynamic of the characters changed for the worse.

Long story short, a team go on one last job/hunt. They are looking for an artefact that will grant the owner god like powers. I felt like this was less about the quest and more about self discovery and sacrifice The risk of their lives, and love and betrayal. Over all a great combination for a great story I enjoyed the storyline and felt connected to the characters. It was an easy read, but it didn’t change my life. As entertaining as it was I probably would read it again.

I'll be frank: I had a lot of trouble following the storyline in this book. There wasn't much world building going on, not much to explain who was what and with whom or where, etc. I had yo read it very slowly and take breaks to reread and understand. Overall, the story was good. But I wouldn't read another book in this series.

I write this review with my chest bare open after this book ripped my heart out. The Silvered Serpents picked off right after the events of The Gilded Wolvesand as such, it revolves around heartbreak and other kinds of pain. Séverin is haunted by the ghosts of what he couldn't do, and his mourning takes a dangerous shape while the group embarks on the search of an artefact that has the potential of changing the world.

I couldn't put this book down. I read it in less than 24hrs, because I needed to know what was going to happen. I think this was a big improvement from the last instalment: The Silvered Serpents was as magical as The Gilded Wolves, but had none of the confusing descriptions I struggled with. I enjoyed the search and clues so much better, and it was what truly made me enjoy this story.

Sadly, I don't think there was a lot of character development, especially not relationship development. Séverin, mayhaps, was the only one that got an interesting arc, but the rest of the characters stayed more or less in the same place they were at the start of The Gilded Wolves; a little bit more sharpened by pain, but these acute angles were barely given importance; the story, instead, was more action-driven.

There's something about the characters that I could not pinpoint until I saw who my favourites were: Séverin and Hypnos took all my attention, and it was because they are deeply flawed. Laila, Enrique and Zofia were in a safer place, their decisions and thoughts always pure and within reason. This never exasperated me because they were well-written, but it certainly made them felt flat compared with Séverin. While I was rooting for Hypnos and concerned about Séverin, I barely feel a thing for the rest of the group and it saddened me deeply.

In general, I'm devasted because even if there was certain development between two members of the group, the relationships between each other didn't feel as important, and it's a thing I really wanted from a found-family story.

On the other side, I keep loving how diversity plays a role in these books, exploring colonialism especially, and the little bits we took from Laila's and Enrique's culture were beautiful. I'd love (and for the course this book took, it certainly feels like a possibility) if the next books talked more about Hypnos' and Séverin's heritage, and the lack of connection they must feel because of their mother's backgrounds.

There is also the plot twist. Boy, was it a plot twist. I did not expect it at all but made so much sense I'm still thinking about how big and cool it was. I can't wait for the third book!

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the arc!

Roshani Chokshi's books are always amazing, and this one didn't disappoint! I love the gilded wolves ensemble and I can't wait to see what comes next.

DNF 12% - This book just isn't for me. I think if you really loved the first book, then you'll probably love this one as well. The first book was just okay for me and at this point I've forgotten almost everything that happened. The characters discuss something at the beginning of the book that apparently happened at the end of the last one regarding the dead birds. I made a specific note during the first book that they kept referring to the dead birds but nothing came of it? So I'm just really confused at this point and I didn't like the first one enough to want to continue muddling through this one. It's gotten to the point where I'm avoiding reading because I'm just not enjoying it.

Note: I received a copy of this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

4.5 stars!
The Silvered Serpents delighted me quite unexpectedly. Unlike a lot of other readers, I was not a big fan of the first book of the series, The Gilded Wolves. Hence, I went into this book hesitantly, more because I cannot leave a story unfinished.

The Silvered Serpents was an amazing read!! While its pacing was fast enough to keep me on my toes, a lot of the twists and turns were quite unexpected and had me gasping. While the first book was a heist, this second book of the series has the flavour of a treasure hunt. I loved how all the hints were very cleverly placed throughout the book, but in such a manner that the final reveal was almost impossible to guess. The ending of the book was simply breath-taking. I think its quite accurate to say that the last 10% of the book almost gutted me but then revived me.

The overall mood of The Silvered Serpents is much darker than the first book, with each of the characters dealing with the grief of Tristan's death in their own way. As I am an ardent fan of all things dark and heart-breaking, this had me cheering throughout the story. The dimension of grief and mortality gave a whole new angle to character development, which was marvelously done. At the same time, well-placed banter between characters provided comic relief in the story.

While the relationships within the "found family" remained ever-strong, the individuality of each of the character was much more pronounced in this book, as we see all of them coming to terms with the darkness in life and becoming more hardened and mature. Severin recedes into his own shell and pushes everyone away, Laila comes to terms with her impending death, Zofia worries about her sister's failing health, Enrique grapples with his identity as a biracial person, and Hypnos tries hard to become a part of the group and cope with his loneliness.

While I loved each character's unique journey, I still think the character of Hypnos deserves more attention and development. I would love to see him becoming more important to the group and his personality not limited to a lonely and vain but adorable patriarch of House Nyx.

I'm going to be honest, I was a bit nervous going into The Sivlered Serpents, because while I enjoyed The Gilded Wolves, I didn't seem to love it as much as others and my favorite character met an unfortunate end. But I'm happy to say, the darker tones and themes of this story really pulled me in. - I'm always here for a hero taking a darker turn. The story is electrifying and had the 'Can't-Put-Me-Down' factor that book one was missing. I'm all in for The Silvered Serpents.

5/5 for breaking my heart

Amazing sequel, I loved this as much if not more than The Gilded Wolves, and can't believe the torturous wait I have ahead of me.

I'm off to go collect and bottle my tears to remind myself of the pain, yay.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an eARC in exchange for my honest review.

While still dealing with the consequences of the events of The Gilded Wolves, Séverin and his team travel to Russia in search of an ancient artifact that legends says will grant a person god-like powers. After his failures, Séverin is desperate to find it, hoping that it will allow him to protect his friends from every possible danger. But his attempts to save them may drive them farther away, for the ghosts of the past linger on in every possible way, and Séverin is only beginning to learn how those ghosts can still hurt the future. Meanwhile, the rest of the team members have their own secrets to keep, and though sharing those secrets could save them, trust is as scarce as warmth is in the frozen Russian landscape. And the closer they get to finding the artifact, the more they find that their secrets could be as dangerous as the ghosts pursuing them.

“Empty bookshelves covered nearly all the wall space, and yet, when Enrique breathed deeply, he caught the scent of books. Of binding and pages and tales eager to be known. Knowledge was coy. It liked to hide beneath the shroud of myth, place its heart in a fairy tale, as if it were a prize at the end of the quest. Perhaps whatever knowledge was here was similar. Perhaps it wished to be wooed and coaxed forth.”

Though fantasy sequels often have a reputation for being a step down in quality from the first book, they have their advantages. Dozens– or hundreds– of pages are not given over to character introductions or worldbuilding. The reader gets to plunge into the story straightaway without asking a thousand questions about why the magic works the way it does, how it is used, and how it can change the characters’ world. By the time book two comes around, these things are known, and so are the characters. The reader often has a favorite one or two or three, and is dying to know what will happen to them. Will they fall in love? Will they find the artifact? Will they make it to the next book? The story is allowed to unfold without interruption, and if the author knows what they’re doing, the reader is swept up in the whole affair.

Fortunately for fans of The Gilded Wolves, Roshani Chokshi knows what she is doing and tells another sweeping tale of intrigue and magic that will grab readers from the first page and not let go until they’ve turned the last one.

Because the heavy lifting of worldbuilding was a major part of The Gilded Wolves, The Silvered Serpents is free to expand upon the ideas introduced in the previous book, as well as focusing more specifically on the characters, their inner conflicts, and the interpersonal strife between the crewmembers. Their conflicts do as much to propel the story as the plot itself does– a bit of a rarity in YA fantasy, which too often relies on deus ex machina devices and random plot twists to get the story moving. And while Chokshi is an obvious believer in the plot device of Chekhov’s gun, she knows better than to deploy it at every turn, and so while mentions of spider venom or magical mechanical animals might go overlooked by the casual reader, a perceptive reader will know to be on the lookout for them, and then be delighted when– and by how– they are put to use.

But for all the cleverness of the magic and devices in The Silvered Serpents, its greatest strength is the characters, who come alive in their disparate ways. Their strengths complement each other even more this time around, while their fears and weaknesses lead them to make mistakes and put their trust where they shouldn’t. And in a genre that relies on snarling boys and sneering girls who can’t be bothered to use their words, Séverin and Company know how to have a conversation. Whether they’re imparting historical tidbits or trying to figure out how they feel about each other, these characters sound like real people who are just trying to figure out what they want from the world while dealing with world-changing events.

The Gilded Wolves laid down a foundation of myth and magic. The Silvered Serpents builds upon it, letting personal stories intersect with legendary ones to create a layered narrative that doesn’t let up until the last page. And even then, readers will be left wanting to find out what happens next.

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Thank you to NetGalley and Wednesday Books for providing me with a free ebook in exchange for an honest review. This did not affect my opinion in any way.

It's amazing how this book can be so different from book 1 in how it develops yet still evoke the same feelings of wonder.
Having already introduced the complex mythology of the world and the characters in The Gilded Wolves, Chokshi jumps in headfirst into book 2. We start off seeing how the death of poor Tristan has affected everything about the lives of the rest of the characters. Everyone is separated and not really dealing with things properly. Severin in particular. They come back together for a final attempt at finding the Divine Lyrics and the Sleeping Palace where the treasures of the Forgotten House lie. But things are far from back to normal and as many secrets separate them as unite them.
New characters are introduced, old characters are shown in a new light, and the character development remains some of the best I've seen in a while. As much as there are conspiracies, secrets, and magic in this book, it's in the characters and their interactions where it shines.
Overall, a great action-packed sequel that brings all the excitement of the first book while adding a whole new layer of welcome complexity.
Be warned, the ending is a massive cliffhanger. I can't believe I have to wait who knows how long to know what happens next.

Many happy thanks to NetGalley and Wednesday Books for the early read!

The Silvered Serpents is the sequel to last year's "The Gilded Wolves" (Reviewed Here). The Gilded Wolves was a novel a lot of people I trust seemed to love - a heist novel featuring an alternate early 20th Century Paris/France, featuring a with a secret Order of Magic behind the scenes, and a crew of outsiders (due to race, class, and other reasons) aiming to pull off a series of heists regarding hidden and lost magics for both fortune and recognition of their own worth. Unfortunately, I just couldn't find myself to love the novel as much as others, especially as its magic system and one major character were so close in nature to that of another novel I loved (Robert Jackson Bennett's Foundryside) that it was distracting. Still, there was enough here between the characters, and the very strong setting (which dealt with themes of race and colonialism) to make me want to see where the series would go from the end of the first novel, and I applied for an e-ARC of this sequel as soon as I saw it on NetGalley.

Unfortunately, I honestly found The Silvered Serpents to be an inferior novel to its predecessor, to the point where I actually had a bad taste in my mouth by the ending. The book takes its predecessor's biggest fault - its least interesting character being its primary protagonist, who was honestly a little annoying in his motivations and actions - and makes it far worse, turning that character into an utterly unlikable person in response to the prior book's happenings. The rest of the cast has some highlights, but otherwise this novel turns into a heist novel in which the characters just aren't fun or interesting to read, the themes of the setting aren't really explored too heavily, and certain plot elements are both predictable and lead to a cliffhanger ending that is utterly unsatisfying. There are some highlights where I can see how I might've loved this book otherwise, but they're the exception not the rule.

NOTE: A Major Spoiler as to The Gilded Wolves' ending is unavoidable in further discussion, so it will not be hidden in the rest of this review. You are forewarned.


---------------------------------------------------Plot Summary-----------------------------------------------------

Séverin Montagnet-Alarie has spent the time since Tristan's death on a single-minded quest to rediscover the legendary book "The Divine Lyrics", a book whose power the Fallen House once sought, which had long been sought lost....until Roux-Joubert, the Fallen House murderer, had revealed that it still existed inside the Sleeping Palace of the Fallen House. With the power of the book, he could become a god, restore Tristan, and ensure that nothing ever happened again to his friends. Unfortunately, months of searching by Séverin and the Order have revealed no clue to the Sleeping Palace so hope seems dim....until one last lead reveals a possible clue.

Of course, since that fateful day, the team has been separated. After Séverin's monstrous words, Laila has been living out her life as the dancer L'Enigme, knowing that without the book, her artificial life will soon come to an end on her 19th birthday, with only weeks left to go. Enrique has been attempting to show his scholarship, and the importance of bringing back colonial works to the colonies, to the Ilustrados, all the while carrying out a secret affair with Hypnos. Zofia has returned to Poland to care for her sister, who is dying - all the while without knowing the truth of what Zofia has done.

But this one lead brings them all back together, as it leads them to Russia, in a race to find the book before the Order can get there first. But the agents of The Fallen House are still out there, hunting for the book - and them - as well, and time is running out. And what exactly the team will find as they hunt for the book, and what they will have to, may be more than they could possibly imagine.....

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As with the first novel, The Silvered Serpents is told from the perspectives of the four remaining members of the team: Séverin, Laila, Zofia, and Enrique (sixth ranger Hypnos, who is now the fifth ranger, does not get a POV). It's a team of outcasts for various reasons - Laila is Indian in a colonial European power, to say nothing of her dark origins, Enrique is half Filipino and thus isn't trusted by either the locals or by the greater Filipino community, and Zofia is Jewish in a very antisemitic setting as well as autistic, and very uncomfortable with other people, to say nothing about expressing herself (even to herself). It's a cast that I really should like, and with Laila, Zofia, and Enrique, I kind of do.

The problem is Séverin, whose response to his brother's death is to not just close himself off to others, subsuming his feelings to his drive to become all powerful so that he can fix everything, but also to just become an utter asshole. At the end of the last book, he drove Laila away by calling her not a person, which is not only insanely rude but literally picking at her ultimate fear, and while that might have been in the moment of grief (but still honestly unforgivable), he's only worse here months after the fact, manipulating others but especially Laila in totally cruel and cold ways. And this isn't a momentary thing that he eventually is forced to get over as you might expect, with the team being forced to come to a reckoning to work together and to realize that they each depend upon the others - no this happens FOR THE ENTIRE NOVEL. Given that he's the leader of the team, this is just painful and utterly infuriating to read - and the novel never manages to make up for it at all.

The rest of the team is mostly better, with Laila being incredibly sympathetic, Austistic Jew Zofia being incredibly easy to like and root for, and Enrique's unstoppable curiosity towards histories being utterly charming, but they never really stand out, and the fun dialogue you might expect in a heist novel is mostly suppressed by the darkness hanging over Séverin. Extra team member Hypnos is mostly sympathetic as well, but he acts like an utter ass regarding his relationship with Enrique - which only is worse to read given how that relationship hurt Zofia at the end of the last book - and when finally called upon it, acts like he didn't know what he was doing. Two new temporary team members aren't particularly interesting, and the book teases where its going with them from the beginning in such an obvious way you'll see it coming throughout, which doesn't help it all.

And then the plot ends in the most unsatisfying way possible. The story leaves Paris and moves to Russia, but its a Russia that isn't very specific and just feels generic, as our characters search for the special book that could lead them to godhood. So it gives you an impression that certain events will eventually happen in this book, with the implications of them being dealt with either at the end or in the next novel....except they don't happen at all here, being left entirely to the next novel (contrast the ending of the first book, which had its climax early and then what felt like a long epilogue section). It's utterly unsatisfying as a way to end a book I was already not enjoying and almost reading on at that point only to see how things would be resolved (and they're not). I should point out that again the book does touch on the issues of colonization and its impact, and the horrors of treating people as non-persons, but none of this winds up mattering to the plot in the end.

I'm sure there's a way to write a heist novel with characters so suffering from trauma that they act poorly to one another and without the levity and quips for the most part you see within such a novel. I'm sure there's a way to write a such a book in a way that it brings up serious relevant themes. But The Silvered Serpents is not that book, and I cannot recommend it.

A somewhat somber sort of sequel, which just makes emphasizes the tender appreciation of these characters and their found family. The plot sometimes felt drawn out and the tenseness of the final scenes were a bit undercut by some fairly obvious clues, but the world was nicely rendered, and the characters compelling. This continues to be a series offering appeal to fans of Six of Crows and The Raven Cycle as well as historical fantasy like Iron Cast, The Diviners, Dread Nation, and Leviathan.

The Silvered Serpents is an imaginative, wildly original, and magical adventure. I started this book and quickly realized you need to read the first one to know what is going on. There's no jumping right in on this adventure. A lot of things happened in book one and this story starts from there. I had to go on a wait list for The Gilded Wolves at the library (the first book is really popular for good reason). In a world where God's powers were placed inside magical objects and scattered around the world after the fall of Babel, an order divided into ruling houses protects the magical objects. Séverin and his band of unlikely misfits is looking for the ultimate object that turns the user into a God. But danger is on every corner, blackmail and double crosses are the name of the game when everyone wants a piece of the action. The characters capture the imagination and the story fuels a wild ride that keeps the pages turning right up until a cliff hanger of an ending that will keep you coming back for the next installment. Action packed and unpredictable, the story is a fantastic romp. My voluntary, unbiased review is based upon a review copy from Netgalley.

Full review will be on my blog on September 17th 2020.

I enjoyed The Gilded Wolves a lot – enough that I finished it in pretty much one go – but it’s safe to say that The Silvered Serpents does not suffer rom second book syndrome. If anything, The Silvered Serpents is significantly better than the first book. The stakes are higher, the consequences harsh and rough and everyone is going through an absolutely terrible time. Suffice to say, it’s exactly the kind of book I love. The ending of The Gilded Wolves was painful as hell. I read it this morning, as of writing this review) and was fortunate enough to have The Silvered Serpents to leap straight into. But The Silvered Serpents did not ease my troubled soul. Instead it hurt me twice as bad, and now I’m ready to go feral to get my hands on the final part of this trilogy.

The classic heist sections were still very much present in this book, and so were the puzzles and logic aspects that I absolutely loved from the first book. It was one of my favourite things about the ensemble, that they all very clearly had different strengths but also that we got to see them work together, and there’s more of that here. Enrique and Zofia are the best duo and I want to watch them team up together forever. The characters go through absolute hell in this book. All of them are handling the grief of Tristan’s death and subsequent discoveries about what led him to that point, and it’s pulling the team apart. I spent this whole book so conflicted about all of them. There were moments where all the characters were truly toxic to each other, and I wanted to separate them as much as I wanted to smack their heads together and make them play nice. Hypnos remains my absolute favourite, a hilarious hero, and I’m glad that he got to be more involved in the team. It’s hard to go into the character dynamics as much as I’d like to, as I don’t want to spoil significant moments in the book, but it’s safe to say that if you love complex character relationships and trauma-fractured-families, you’re going to love this as much as I did.

The setting was pretty interesting. I think I still prefer the cool-as-hell Forged Paris over the depths of snowy Russia, but the ‘forgotten palace’ mentioned in the summary is an unbelievably cool setting and I hope it spawns a lot of fan art (I want people to draw David, okay?). The Forged ice creatures were unbelievably cool and there were plenty of moments that delved into the idea of Forging a little more than the first book. The pacing in this book was even better than the first one, and it was so unbelievably easy to read. I read this over a few hours because every time I picked it up I couldn’t put it down without having read at least 20% of my eARC.

Overall this was an incredible read, and I highly, highly recommend it. I kind of regret reading an eARC, because now I have to wait forever for the next book to arrive.

*Thank you to Netgalley, Wednesday Books, and Roshani Chokshi for providing me with an arc for an honest review."

Summary: The continuation of The Gilded Wolves picks up months after the fallout of the catacombs battle. L'Eden is nothing more than the ghosts haunting Severin as everyone has moved on to their own things. When a clue to the Sleeping Palace is discovered the group reunites but they've all been changed by loss and their own motivations to complete the job.

Review: I should probably wait to write this as I just finished the book and have a lot of feelings but that might be the best time. First, the dedication which for the life of me I could not understand Nic Cage and then it hit me at midnight "We're going to steal the Declaration of Independence." This may seem like a total head scratch that I would put this in the review but this book has that same energy. We're going to do the impossible and it's going to be messy, but every clue solved is going to be a jolt of energy and light in a very dark world. While each chapter is a different person's pov the story flows ever forward. This format also lends, at least in audio and ebook format, to having no clue if you're close to the end or who it will end with. In terms of character development everyone has a chance to get more of their backstory fleshed out and gets the opportunity for self discovery and bravery. Without spoilers I must say Zofia had the best character growth out of the group. Laila had the best quote with Severin coming in a close second.

I have seen a lot of reviews that compare this series with Leigh Bardugo's Six of Crows and get turned off by it thinking it's some form of knock off. I ask anyone reading this review who has been on the fence because of this to give it a chance. The similarities are that its a diverse group of people each with a particular skill set and a heist. The story is entirely it's own based on a compilation of mythology, history, and the author's imagination. It's got action, it's got mystery, it's got doomed romance, and a cliffhanger that will make you want to rip your hair out while casually offering anyone at Wednesday Books with the power to let you read an arc of book three whatever they want. (If anyone from Wednesday Books actually reads this I'm dead serious even if it means tracking down a mythical book lost for 20 years.)