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A review by aliceinbooks
The Silvered Serpents by Roshani Chokshi
5.0
It's way too late right now but I have many thoughts so a proper review will come, but listen: I LOVED THIS I LOVE THEM I WOULD DIE FOR EVERY SINGLE ONE OF MY DISFUNCTIONAL BABIES.
ROSHANI CHOKSHI PLEASE LET THEM BE HAPPY (AND ALIVE)
***
All right, I've calmed down, and I have a lot of things to rave about, so let's get into this.
(Yes, this will be long. Sorry not sorry)
The world and plot
Roshani Chokshi has something amazing here. The way she builds this intricate plot full of mysteries and puzzles while tackling so many social issues in the background, I was in awe. There is just so much to unpack. Because in the middle of this magical 1800s, with the existence of Forging and divine objects and magically-created animals, the very real problems of the world still exist. And Chokshi doesn't shy away from it. There's a dialogue going through this book on colonialism, antisemitism, imperialism, sexism, racism... It's all there. And even if we're talking about a historic setting, the way these issues reach us until today can be seen as they are explored in the novel. So, basically, kudos.
As for the plot, it's amazing. While we're a bit more tied to the one place in this book than we were on The Gilded Wolves, the hunting for The Divine Lyrics, the solving of puzzles, the going into dangerous, booby-trapped places is still there, walking hand-in-hand by amazing character arcs and the repercussions of the ending of the first book. There's new players in the game that bring a lot to the book (some I was very interested in, others I just truly wanted to punch in the face) and it feels like everything is expanding. I was hooked every step of the way.
The characters and relationships
So, here's the thing: I'm a sucker for the found family trope. Give me all the disfunctional characters with tragic backstories that find a home in each other and I'm SOLD. And the way Roshani Chokshi did that in this book... I was having way too many feelings the whole way through. Every single one of our five main characters (and also Tristan, because I'll never get over Tristan) are so complex and well built throughout the novel, you can hear their different voices, the things they're struggling with, the things they're trying to achieve. It's all there on the page, and you feel it, and you root for them the whole way through. Even Hypnos, that we don't have a POV from, made me emotional way too many times with his struggle trying to fit in and regain Séverin's trust, I'm just— I can't.
And then there's their relationships with each other. Look, I'm a huge romantic and I could probably spend hours talking about the angst of Laila and Séverin and the softness of Enrique and Zofia mixed in with the Enrique and Hypnos situation, but I just want to focus on the platonic relationships first. Because they were so well developed. There was obviously Séverin still juggling his grief over Tristan because he was his brother, but there was also Laila and Enrique and Zofia missing him all the time and remembering how he affected their dynamic and what he meant for them. There was Enrique and Zofia acting so incredibly protective over Laila while Laila is constantly taking care of all of them (the scene where she worries if Zofia is eating and then proceeds to give Enrique a back scratch? I've never read something so precious), and the way they all love each other so deeply, the way they truly feel like a family and worry about each other, I just...
And then there's Séverin, who is obviously trying to pretend he has absolutely no feelings and acting cold, but every time we're in his head he's remembering how he met Enrique and Zofia, his past with Hypnos, their happy moments when they were all together, and the way that everything he's doing is for them. It meant something for me that his situation wasn't delegated completely to his feelings for Laila, because while she's still his biggest weakness, he also loves all the others and he would die for them a hundred times over. Every single scene with them was adorable and gave me so many feelings, I just love them all and I love this family they built. And I truly hope we'll get Hypnos's POV in the next book because I feel like now he's truly part of the crew.
Now, I do want to touch on the romance as well, because oh my God. Honestly, was Roshani Chokshi trying to kill me? I was screaming over every angsty interaction of Laila and Séverin and the way they were both acting like such idiots. Like, I get the reasoning behind it all, even though I wanted to punch Séverin every time he acted like the world's biggest jerk, but still. Get it together, you dumb idiots, if you worked together everything would be so much easier. And then there's the Hypnos and Enrique and Zofia situation. Hypnos, my lonely baby, I get it. And I was sad to see how it all played out, but also pleased at how they dealt with it maturely. And then there was Enrique and Zofia. I can't deal with these two acting soft towards each other and solving mysteries together and completing each other so well, I'm... JUST KISS, YOU KNOW? Anyways, I can't wait to see how it will all go down in the third book.
ROSHANI CHOKSHI PLEASE LET THEM BE HAPPY (AND ALIVE)
***
All right, I've calmed down, and I have a lot of things to rave about, so let's get into this.
(Yes, this will be long. Sorry not sorry)
The world and plot
Roshani Chokshi has something amazing here. The way she builds this intricate plot full of mysteries and puzzles while tackling so many social issues in the background, I was in awe. There is just so much to unpack. Because in the middle of this magical 1800s, with the existence of Forging and divine objects and magically-created animals, the very real problems of the world still exist. And Chokshi doesn't shy away from it. There's a dialogue going through this book on colonialism, antisemitism, imperialism, sexism, racism... It's all there. And even if we're talking about a historic setting, the way these issues reach us until today can be seen as they are explored in the novel. So, basically, kudos.
As for the plot, it's amazing. While we're a bit more tied to the one place in this book than we were on The Gilded Wolves, the hunting for The Divine Lyrics, the solving of puzzles, the going into dangerous, booby-trapped places is still there, walking hand-in-hand by amazing character arcs and the repercussions of the ending of the first book. There's new players in the game that bring a lot to the book (some I was very interested in, others I just truly wanted to punch in the face) and it feels like everything is expanding. I was hooked every step of the way.
The characters and relationships
So, here's the thing: I'm a sucker for the found family trope. Give me all the disfunctional characters with tragic backstories that find a home in each other and I'm SOLD. And the way Roshani Chokshi did that in this book... I was having way too many feelings the whole way through. Every single one of our five main characters (and also Tristan, because I'll never get over Tristan) are so complex and well built throughout the novel, you can hear their different voices, the things they're struggling with, the things they're trying to achieve. It's all there on the page, and you feel it, and you root for them the whole way through. Even Hypnos, that we don't have a POV from, made me emotional way too many times with his struggle trying to fit in and regain Séverin's trust, I'm just— I can't.
And then there's their relationships with each other. Look, I'm a huge romantic and I could probably spend hours talking about the angst of Laila and Séverin and the softness of Enrique and Zofia mixed in with the Enrique and Hypnos situation, but I just want to focus on the platonic relationships first. Because they were so well developed. There was obviously Séverin still juggling his grief over Tristan because he was his brother, but there was also Laila and Enrique and Zofia missing him all the time and remembering how he affected their dynamic and what he meant for them. There was Enrique and Zofia acting so incredibly protective over Laila while Laila is constantly taking care of all of them (the scene where she worries if Zofia is eating and then proceeds to give Enrique a back scratch? I've never read something so precious), and the way they all love each other so deeply, the way they truly feel like a family and worry about each other, I just...
And then there's Séverin, who is obviously trying to pretend he has absolutely no feelings and acting cold, but every time we're in his head he's remembering how he met Enrique and Zofia, his past with Hypnos, their happy moments when they were all together, and the way that everything he's doing is for them. It meant something for me that his situation wasn't delegated completely to his feelings for Laila, because while she's still his biggest weakness, he also loves all the others and he would die for them a hundred times over. Every single scene with them was adorable and gave me so many feelings, I just love them all and I love this family they built. And I truly hope we'll get Hypnos's POV in the next book because I feel like now he's truly part of the crew.
Now, I do want to touch on the romance as well, because oh my God. Honestly, was Roshani Chokshi trying to kill me? I was screaming over every angsty interaction of Laila and Séverin and the way they were both acting like such idiots. Like, I get the reasoning behind it all, even though I wanted to punch Séverin every time he acted like the world's biggest jerk, but still. Get it together, you dumb idiots, if you worked together everything would be so much easier. And then there's the Hypnos and Enrique and Zofia situation. Hypnos, my lonely baby, I get it. And I was sad to see how it all played out, but also pleased at how they dealt with it maturely. And then there was Enrique and Zofia. I can't deal with these two acting soft towards each other and solving mysteries together and completing each other so well, I'm... JUST KISS, YOU KNOW? Anyways, I can't wait to see how it will all go down in the third book.