You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
katieelise602 's review for:
The Silvered Serpents
by Roshani Chokshi
ARC provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you!
**Spoilers ahead for The Gilded Wolves**
"Love did not always wear the face one wished it would. Sometimes it looked downright monstrous"
Roshani Chokshi has taken the beautiful, enthralling world from The Gilded Wolves and built upon in to create this masterpiece of a book! Fans of the first book will have their hearts broken, rebuilt, and broken again as they follow our beloved characters on their next adventure.
So what is this book about?
Following the rise of the Fallen House and the death of Tristian, Séverin and his team have drifted apart. After pursuing any leads on the Fallen House and The Divine Lyrics, the case has grown cold and their hope has dried up. But when a surprise lead pops up, the team will get back together for one last acquisition in order to avenge Tristian and stop the Fallen House. Journeying to the cold heart of Russia, Séverin, Laila, Enrique, and Zofia alongside Hypnos and his House, will learn exactly how far they'll go and how much of their souls they are willing sacrifice to save the ones they love... and maybe the rest of humanity.
In the first book, Chokshi introduced us to this beautiful, Forged world and to the wonderful characters that make up our team. I particularly loved how the POVs changed in order to introduce us to each character, their story, and to see their perspective of the story as it unfolds. In The Silvered Serpents it is no different, and Chokshi takes us even further into the depths of these beautifully complex and diverse characters. This way, we see the ice that has surrounded Séverin's heart after the loss of his brother, and his twisted and heartbreaking resolution to protect his friends further. This way, we see Laila as she approaches her birthday, and possibly the end of her life as well. This way, we see Zofia as she struggles to reconcile her natural family, with her sister sick, with the family she has created amongst her friends. And this way we see Enrique, still struggling to make his voice heard in the world and to gain respect for his work, all the while figuring out the state of his heart.
In this breathtaking sequel, Chokshi takes our team and their world and turns it on its head. The grief of their loss has changed each of them in their own way, affecting their work and relationships, while the world of the Order may be flipped upside down as well with the discoveries that they are about to make. What I enjoyed so much about this book was that Chokshi really leaned into the darker sides of each character and their personal struggle. She doesn't shy away from from the heavier emotions or the moral ambiguity that creeps into their lives. This lended an extremely human and realistic aspect to a world where everything seems Forged and made our characters all the more relatable.
Pushing further into this darkness, the lines between the "good team," i.e. Séverin & his crew, and the "bad team," i.e. the Fallen House, become blurred. The power that the Divine Lyrics offers is desired by all...what will they do to get it? What does it mean for the ends to justify the means? And who will they be at the end of it all?
Yet while this world is beguiling and beautiful, I wish that we could learn more about the art of Forging. This magical, god-like affinity that is so integral to the world Chokshi has built here is something that, even at the end of the second book, feels like it is under-explained. The art of it, how it comes to manifest in a person, and the extent to which Forging can be used are all things I want to know more in-depth....and this book doesn't necessarily give me the answers I wanted. However, this flaw, while important, doesn't impact the book as a whole, as the Forging concept is used as a mechanism for our characters' adventures, as they are the most important piece.
All in all, this is a character driven book that happens to be set in a beautiful, magical world. One of the things I love the most is the sheer diversity that Chokshi has brought to her characters. Biracial characters in the time where colonialism is still cool, a Jewish & ASD character when Anti-Semitism is on the rise and ASD isn't understood, and bisexual characters in 19th century. Readers will be hard-pressed to not find a character that they relate to in the slightest, and that is one of the many strengths of this wonderful series.
To put it lightly, I am in love, I am so sad this book was over, and I am dying for the next one. RIP my soul.
**Spoilers ahead for The Gilded Wolves**
"Love did not always wear the face one wished it would. Sometimes it looked downright monstrous"
Roshani Chokshi has taken the beautiful, enthralling world from The Gilded Wolves and built upon in to create this masterpiece of a book! Fans of the first book will have their hearts broken, rebuilt, and broken again as they follow our beloved characters on their next adventure.
So what is this book about?
Following the rise of the Fallen House and the death of Tristian, Séverin and his team have drifted apart. After pursuing any leads on the Fallen House and The Divine Lyrics, the case has grown cold and their hope has dried up. But when a surprise lead pops up, the team will get back together for one last acquisition in order to avenge Tristian and stop the Fallen House. Journeying to the cold heart of Russia, Séverin, Laila, Enrique, and Zofia alongside Hypnos and his House, will learn exactly how far they'll go and how much of their souls they are willing sacrifice to save the ones they love... and maybe the rest of humanity.
In the first book, Chokshi introduced us to this beautiful, Forged world and to the wonderful characters that make up our team. I particularly loved how the POVs changed in order to introduce us to each character, their story, and to see their perspective of the story as it unfolds. In The Silvered Serpents it is no different, and Chokshi takes us even further into the depths of these beautifully complex and diverse characters. This way, we see the ice that has surrounded Séverin's heart after the loss of his brother, and his twisted and heartbreaking resolution to protect his friends further. This way, we see Laila as she approaches her birthday, and possibly the end of her life as well. This way, we see Zofia as she struggles to reconcile her natural family, with her sister sick, with the family she has created amongst her friends. And this way we see Enrique, still struggling to make his voice heard in the world and to gain respect for his work, all the while figuring out the state of his heart.
In this breathtaking sequel, Chokshi takes our team and their world and turns it on its head. The grief of their loss has changed each of them in their own way, affecting their work and relationships, while the world of the Order may be flipped upside down as well with the discoveries that they are about to make. What I enjoyed so much about this book was that Chokshi really leaned into the darker sides of each character and their personal struggle. She doesn't shy away from from the heavier emotions or the moral ambiguity that creeps into their lives. This lended an extremely human and realistic aspect to a world where everything seems Forged and made our characters all the more relatable.
Pushing further into this darkness, the lines between the "good team," i.e. Séverin & his crew, and the "bad team," i.e. the Fallen House, become blurred. The power that the Divine Lyrics offers is desired by all...what will they do to get it? What does it mean for the ends to justify the means? And who will they be at the end of it all?
Yet while this world is beguiling and beautiful, I wish that we could learn more about the art of Forging. This magical, god-like affinity that is so integral to the world Chokshi has built here is something that, even at the end of the second book, feels like it is under-explained. The art of it, how it comes to manifest in a person, and the extent to which Forging can be used are all things I want to know more in-depth....and this book doesn't necessarily give me the answers I wanted. However, this flaw, while important, doesn't impact the book as a whole, as the Forging concept is used as a mechanism for our characters' adventures, as they are the most important piece.
All in all, this is a character driven book that happens to be set in a beautiful, magical world. One of the things I love the most is the sheer diversity that Chokshi has brought to her characters. Biracial characters in the time where colonialism is still cool, a Jewish & ASD character when Anti-Semitism is on the rise and ASD isn't understood, and bisexual characters in 19th century. Readers will be hard-pressed to not find a character that they relate to in the slightest, and that is one of the many strengths of this wonderful series.
To put it lightly, I am in love, I am so sad this book was over, and I am dying for the next one. RIP my soul.