Take a photo of a barcode or cover
maryandherlibrary 's review for:
Gilded Serpent
by Danielle L. Jensen
I had high hopes for the newest installment in Danielle L. Jensen’s Dark Shores – and I was not disappointed!
After getting Teriana’s and Marcus’ POVs in Dark Shores and Lydia’s and Killian’s POVs in Dark Skies, Gilded Serpent explores both couples’ storylines without actually meeting. This led to one of my favorite parts about this book: the incredible pacing! The stakes are even higher, everyone’s lives are in danger, there’s betrayal and secrets are revealed. With four different POVs, Jensen kept switching back and forth between the storylines just when things got extra interesting which means that almost every chapter ended on a small cliffhanger. Once I was done with the first 100 pages, it was absolutely impossible to put it down. I stayed up past midnight several times because I was just so hooked.
I also really enjoyed the character development and how their relationships with each other grew. There were so many emotional and heartbreaking scenes. I loved how we got some scenes where the characters actually got to talk to each other and tell the other about their past. Some lines also definitely made me swoon – the chemistry between these characters is simply *chef’s kiss*. There is more explicit sexual content than in the prior books so I would say it actually falls more into the New Adult category – the author recommended age 16+ and I agree with that. We also get a good dose of angst and characters stupidly being in love with each other, but I wouldn’t have wanted it any other way. I didn’t read Tarnished Empire but I would recommend that you do if you haven’t picked it up yet. I wasn’t confused but from what I know about the prequel, there were just a couple of references and mentions of characters that I know I would’ve appreciated even more if I had read Tarnished Empire. And there’s one character that I also wouldn’t have minded to get to know better…
The world keeps getting expanded and we learn more and more about the history and the magic and the different people which I enjoyed a lot. It’s such a cool concept and I love how every area is so different from each: the landscape, the people’s clothes, their traditions, their beliefs and problems – everything was so well developed without ever giving an overwhelming amount of information or being confusing.
I only really have one criticism and that is that one plot point felt a bit random. I don’t want to spoil anything but something happens that changes the course of the book drastically. I did end up enjoying it and there were some very gripping scenes because of it, but it still kind of threw me off at first. Maybe I also just missed some characters that we sadly didn’t see too much because of this.
The cliffhanger still makes me want to scream because now we need to wait for at least a year and I need the next book now! However, Dark Shores is quickly becoming one of my favorite fantasy series ever and I’m sure the wait will be worth it.
Gilded Serpent is fast-paced and emotional with scenes that will break your heart and a cast of characters that you can’t help but root for. A gripping new novel in the Dark Shores series that you won’t be able to put down.
I gave Gilded Serpent 4.5 stars.
Thank you to Literary Bound Tours and Tor Teen for providing an eARC!
After getting Teriana’s and Marcus’ POVs in Dark Shores and Lydia’s and Killian’s POVs in Dark Skies, Gilded Serpent explores both couples’ storylines without actually meeting. This led to one of my favorite parts about this book: the incredible pacing! The stakes are even higher, everyone’s lives are in danger, there’s betrayal and secrets are revealed. With four different POVs, Jensen kept switching back and forth between the storylines just when things got extra interesting which means that almost every chapter ended on a small cliffhanger. Once I was done with the first 100 pages, it was absolutely impossible to put it down. I stayed up past midnight several times because I was just so hooked.
I also really enjoyed the character development and how their relationships with each other grew. There were so many emotional and heartbreaking scenes. I loved how we got some scenes where the characters actually got to talk to each other and tell the other about their past. Some lines also definitely made me swoon – the chemistry between these characters is simply *chef’s kiss*. There is more explicit sexual content than in the prior books so I would say it actually falls more into the New Adult category – the author recommended age 16+ and I agree with that. We also get a good dose of angst and characters stupidly being in love with each other, but I wouldn’t have wanted it any other way. I didn’t read Tarnished Empire but I would recommend that you do if you haven’t picked it up yet. I wasn’t confused but from what I know about the prequel, there were just a couple of references and mentions of characters that I know I would’ve appreciated even more if I had read Tarnished Empire. And there’s one character that I also wouldn’t have minded to get to know better…
The world keeps getting expanded and we learn more and more about the history and the magic and the different people which I enjoyed a lot. It’s such a cool concept and I love how every area is so different from each: the landscape, the people’s clothes, their traditions, their beliefs and problems – everything was so well developed without ever giving an overwhelming amount of information or being confusing.
I only really have one criticism and that is that one plot point felt a bit random. I don’t want to spoil anything but something happens that changes the course of the book drastically. I did end up enjoying it and there were some very gripping scenes because of it, but it still kind of threw me off at first. Maybe I also just missed some characters that we sadly didn’t see too much because of this.
The cliffhanger still makes me want to scream because now we need to wait for at least a year and I need the next book now! However, Dark Shores is quickly becoming one of my favorite fantasy series ever and I’m sure the wait will be worth it.
Gilded Serpent is fast-paced and emotional with scenes that will break your heart and a cast of characters that you can’t help but root for. A gripping new novel in the Dark Shores series that you won’t be able to put down.
I gave Gilded Serpent 4.5 stars.
Thank you to Literary Bound Tours and Tor Teen for providing an eARC!