A review by in_love_with_bookish
The Silvered Serpents by Roshani Chokshi

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

 #1 : The Gilded Wolves (The Gilded Wolves, #1) : 4 Stars

Honestly, I was worried this sequel won’t live to the greatness of the first book, fortunately, it did that and more.

Love does not always wear the face we wish,” she said. “I wish my love had been more beautiful. I wish … I wish we had more time.


The book starts with the team reunited for a new dangerous mission that will take them from Paris into Russia searching for a lost artifact that can grant the power of God to its owner. But the danger is at every corner and secrets can prove as deadly as any weapon so Séverin will do anything to find the artifact and protect those he loves even if it means losing them.

This story is really different from the first one especially in tone and I appreciate how the author managed to main the same feel of danger and suspense with a totally different mission in a setting that adds to the story and its darkness.

Séverin Montagnet-Alarie knew there was only one difference between monsters and gods. Both inspired fear. Only one inspired worship.


The atmosphere and the setting are great in this sequel even though I still prefer Paris and how tantalizing and charming the setting of the first book was. I totally understand the change as it really reflects what’s happening to the characters and the coldness that’s seeping inside them as they struggle with the mission, their dynamics, and their personal feelings.

Also, the characters are different in this book and its’ totally understandable, I still found them well written and well developed. I still see them as fascinating and complex and real but They’re going through more in this sequel and it shows. They struggle to keep their friendships alive, they struggle to contain their pain, they struggle to communicate and move on from their grief and loss and It’s reflected in their inner thoughts, in the decisions they make, in the things they say, and the things they hide. Their trauma plays a huge part in their stories and how the dynamics are reshaped.

Then again, the names we are born with can end up meaning so little. The names we give ourselves, well, perhaps that’s the truth of us.


It was heartbreaking seeing them struggle so deeply and so painfully after their tragic loss in the first book. Right from the start, as we witness how the friendship between them is torn apart, we understand this is a darker journey for them as well as us. The author is brilliant at communicating the inner thoughts and feelings of each character in a way that creates this intimate and deep connection between readers and characters.

The plot is also brilliant with so many twists and turns and secrets. I was really invested in the story and where it’s going. I admit I didn’t see some of those events coming and the ending left me speechless, It was brutal, hard to read, and completely unpredictable.

Depending on who you ask, sometimes ghost stories are all that is left of history. History is full of ghosts, because it’s full of myth. All of it woven together depending on who survived to do the telling.


The Silvered Serpents made me understand the characters more and feel them on a deeper level and it also managed to make me more invested in this dangerous, dark and twisted journey of heists, magic, and deadly secrets. I can’t wait to read the finale and see how Roshani Chokshi will make everything come together.
 
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