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4.09 AVERAGE
4.09 AVERAGE
ARC provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
A lot of the issues I had with this book were the ones that I had with the first. Some issues are new.
We don’t really know how old anyone is (except for like, two characters). The extremely repetitive physical description of the characters (Zofia’s hair and eyes were described as “candle bright” or “blue as candle hearts” way too many times.)
To me some characters also seemed so inconsistent. I feel like the Hypnos in TSS is not the same person I read about in TGW. Séverin is utterly unrecognizable; even when faced in the events of the last book, I couldn’t connect or sympathize with him in this state – but if the goal was to alienate the reader, than it was a job well done.
I still struggle with the Zofia as a Jew. The only way you know she is Jewish is because it is stated multiple times. It’s like she was assigned this as a nationality, not a faith, and it’s only mentioned when talking about pogroms or racism. It is such a wasted opportunity to add something unique to this story like Cassandra Clare’s Simon Lewis of the Shadowhunter Chronicles or Naomi Novik’s Spinning Silver.
I don’t want to say much about the ending until this is out, but it was predictable (but only kind of in a bad way) and some of the details were a bit of a stretch.
Now for the good:
There were noticeably less descriptions of food, to which I was very very grateful.
There’s definitely a lot more action in this one, and we get more glimpses of the promised heist aspect that sparked the comparison to Leigh Bardugo’s [b: Six of Crows|23437156|Six of Crows (Six of Crows, #1)|Leigh Bardugo|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1459349344l/23437156._SY75_.jpg|42077459] but turned out to be non-existent in the first book.
I really enjoyed Laila and Zofia’s friendship, as well as Enrique's character growth.
At the end of the day, I admire the world Chokshi built. Some characters I learned more about and love even more and they are the reason I will come back for Book 3.
A lot of the issues I had with this book were the ones that I had with the first. Some issues are new.
We don’t really know how old anyone is (except for like, two characters). The extremely repetitive physical description of the characters (Zofia’s hair and eyes were described as “candle bright” or “blue as candle hearts” way too many times.)
To me some characters also seemed so inconsistent. I feel like the Hypnos in TSS is not the same person I read about in TGW. Séverin is utterly unrecognizable; even when faced in the events of the last book, I couldn’t connect or sympathize with him in this state – but if the goal was to alienate the reader, than it was a job well done.
I still struggle with the Zofia as a Jew. The only way you know she is Jewish is because it is stated multiple times. It’s like she was assigned this as a nationality, not a faith, and it’s only mentioned when talking about pogroms or racism. It is such a wasted opportunity to add something unique to this story like Cassandra Clare’s Simon Lewis of the Shadowhunter Chronicles or Naomi Novik’s Spinning Silver.
I don’t want to say much about the ending until this is out, but it was predictable (but only kind of in a bad way) and some of the details were a bit of a stretch.
Now for the good:
There were noticeably less descriptions of food, to which I was very very grateful.
There’s definitely a lot more action in this one, and we get more glimpses of the promised heist aspect that sparked the comparison to Leigh Bardugo’s [b: Six of Crows|23437156|Six of Crows (Six of Crows, #1)|Leigh Bardugo|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1459349344l/23437156._SY75_.jpg|42077459] but turned out to be non-existent in the first book.
I really enjoyed Laila and Zofia’s friendship, as well as Enrique's character growth.
At the end of the day, I admire the world Chokshi built. Some characters I learned more about and love even more and they are the reason I will come back for Book 3.
adventurous
funny
informative
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
**I received an eARC of 'The Silvered Serpents' through NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review**
Roshani Chokshi's 'The Silvered Serpents' was such a great read, and it left me wanting soo much more!
This is the sequel to 'The Gilded Wolves', which takes Severin and his crew into Russia in order to find an object that is said to have the power of the gods. This story takes place a couple months after the events of the first book, and the group are still mourning over the tragedy that took place at the end of 'The Gilded Wolves'. Everyone is struggling to move forward. Relationships are severely strained, making the task of working together very complicated. However, they face any struggles encountered in Russia seamlessly, placing the goal of seeking the object ahead of personal conflicts.
I already enjoyed the personalities Severin, Laila, and the crew expressed, but I feel that she added a whole new dimension to their characters in 'The Silvered Serpents'. Each person's conflict was displayed and described beautifully. We dive more into each character's personal struggle with racism and social complications, and how they persevere in spite of said complications. Each person carries their own internal 'flaw', and they grow even closer as the story progresses, building up to quite a huge cliffhanger!
'The Silvered Serpents' is an excellent follow up to 'The Gilded Wolves'! I can't wait to purchase this book when it's released...and anxiously awaiting book 3 of the trilogy!
--Cathleen (Woven From Words)
https://wovenwords.com (I will post my blog review on August 2020)
Roshani Chokshi's 'The Silvered Serpents' was such a great read, and it left me wanting soo much more!
This is the sequel to 'The Gilded Wolves', which takes Severin and his crew into Russia in order to find an object that is said to have the power of the gods. This story takes place a couple months after the events of the first book, and the group are still mourning over the tragedy that took place at the end of 'The Gilded Wolves'. Everyone is struggling to move forward. Relationships are severely strained, making the task of working together very complicated. However, they face any struggles encountered in Russia seamlessly, placing the goal of seeking the object ahead of personal conflicts.
I already enjoyed the personalities Severin, Laila, and the crew expressed, but I feel that she added a whole new dimension to their characters in 'The Silvered Serpents'. Each person's conflict was displayed and described beautifully. We dive more into each character's personal struggle with racism and social complications, and how they persevere in spite of said complications. Each person carries their own internal 'flaw', and they grow even closer as the story progresses, building up to quite a huge cliffhanger!
'The Silvered Serpents' is an excellent follow up to 'The Gilded Wolves'! I can't wait to purchase this book when it's released...and anxiously awaiting book 3 of the trilogy!
--Cathleen (Woven From Words)
https://wovenwords.com (I will post my blog review on August 2020)
The only thing that might make me knock a star off of this is that I spend so long waiting for Book 2 that I kind of forgot what happened in book 1. Still...interesting setting, intrigue, left on a bit of a cliffhanger. All in all, a fun book to read.
adventurous
fast-paced
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
One day I will have a coherent, somewhat intellectual review written for this and The Gilded Wolves about Western hegemony, the preservation and manipulation of history, artifacts stolen from their native cultures, etc. But that day is not today, unfortunately. Also I love these characters a lot, even though all they do is make me sad.