This story has ravaged me and left bits and pieces of my heart littered on the floor for me to put back together. Going into this story, I knew that our beloved characters were getting ready to face something much bigger and darker than they themselves understood, and the devastation that has been left behind…after reading this. I won’t lie, you’ll need a solid few days before starting another story. Roshani’s words always deliver the intensity of physical blows to the body and soul. I honestly can’t get enough and almost wept at the fact that I now have a long wait before the next book in the Gilded Wolves trilogy. I won’t soon forget the last few chapters of that book. Put it on your TBR list, because this absolutely deserves a place on your shelves.
Before I start in on the summary, please be aware that this is a sequel review. If you’re looking to read The Gilded Wolves (which I HIGHLY encourage), I have that review up as well, but scroll away from this one so you don’t inadvertently spoil yourself for the first book!
Let’s get started! So, if you’ve read The Gilded Wolves, we last left Séverin and the team having just defeated the Fallen house. However, it came at a terrible loss that has fractured the group and haunts each one of them. Desperate to fix the situation, Séverin begins a hunt for an artifact rumoured to grant the possessor the power of God. They go from Paris to the icy heart of Russia where they find themselves stalked by icy animal predators lurking in dark palace shadows. They’ll find broken goddesses with deadly secrets, and a string of unsolved murders that make them question whether the myth might actually be a reality after all. As they delve deeper, their own secrets they thought were hidden will surface and they’ll discover new things about themselves that will lead them to paths they never thought possible.
There’s so much ground to cover in this review, and I honestly don’t have enough words to get through it all…but I’ll certainly try. The second part of The Gilded Wolves trilogy begins in a very somber and almost desperate state. Everyone is still reeling from Tristan’s death, and Séverin is having some trouble reconciling some new found secrets that he wasn’t intended to find out. I feel that this story begins and ends very similarly. Everyone is feeling lost, vulnerable, and angry. If there was an emotion that was incredibly palpable in this story, it’s that anger. It permeates the words of this story and makes you just as angry as the characters. They’re still so incredibly relatable, and you long for the innocence before all of this madness happened to them.
In terms of character development, all I have to say is WOW. There’s so much being explored in this second book, that I wouldn’t have minded for it to be longer just so we could get even deeper into it. Of course, Séverin has the most turmoil in his soul and his decision on what seems to be a solution will make readers groan. My heart personally went out to Laila and Zofia! Their inner turmoils are heart-breaking, and every time I read their chapters my heart broke just a little more for them. They’re so used to shouldering a burden rather than ask for help, that it crushes their spirits. Enrique and Hypnos. There’s so much to unravel there, and it just goes so well with the overall themes of the book.
The romance in this book continues to beguile, but will also cause readers quite a lot of stress in this book. There’s also an exploration of being open about sexuality vs. keeping it a secret, and what it means for certain characters. There’s also the prioritisation of family vs. a love interest, and responsibility vs. love as well that are taking place. They are certainly painful, and I felt like they were also relatable.
Roshani recently posted on Goodreads and talked about this book being painful for her to write, and I can feel that as a reader. This isn’t a light frolic through a meadow of a book. It delves into parts of history that aren’t quite as spoken about, and it’s not pretty or neat or comfortable.The substance that she has managed to put in between the pages of this book is very real and very painful to read. The experiences that she shares about each of these characters is cultivated so carefully and so well. Because of spoilers, I don’t want to get too much into it, and while I usually put in trigger warnings and content warnings in books…I won’t for this one. I think that this is a book that you should read and be uncomfortable with what you see because it will make you question and look within yourself.
While there is more of a grim note to this book, there are flashes of humour that tie this book together very well for me. While the story progresses at a fast pace, there’s plenty of time to get acquainted with the surroundings, and I stand by my statement that no one does imagery like Roshani Chokshi. However, unlike the way that it dripped off the page in a sensual way in The Gilded Wolves, it instead has a glass-like quality that is fragile, and holding it the wrong way might shatter everything.
10/10, no question. Get it on your list! Pre-order, request it from your library! Whatever you need to do to read it. And if you’ve read it, please shout at me in the comments how you feel after that ending! Did it wreck you as badly as it did me?!
The Silvered Serpents is available from Amazon, Book Depository, and other good book retailers, like your local bookstore, as of September 22nd 2020.
Will you be picking up The Silvered Serpents? Tell us in the comments below!
Synopsis | Goodreads
They are each other’s fiercest love, greatest danger, and only hope.
Séverin and his team members might have successfully thwarted the Fallen House, but victory came at a terrible cost ― one that still haunts all of them. Desperate to make amends, Séverin pursues a dangerous lead to find a long lost artifact rumoured to grant its possessor the power of God.
Their hunt lures them far from Paris, and into icy heart of Russia where crystalline ice animals stalk forgotten mansions, broken goddesses carry deadly secrets, and a string of unsolved murders makes the crew question whether an ancient myth is a myth after all.
As hidden secrets come to the light and the ghosts of the past catch up to them, the crew will discover new dimensions of themselves. But what they find out may lead them down paths they never imagined.
A tale of love and betrayal as the crew risks their lives for one last job.
I AM IN LOVE WITH THIS BOOK! I’m reading it right now!