The Silvered Serpents by Roshani Chokshi

They are each other’s fiercest love, greatest danger, and only hope.

Séverin and his team members might have successfully thwarted the Fallen House, but victory came at a terrible cost ― one that still haunts all of them. Desperate to make amends, Séverin pursues a dangerous lead to find a long lost artifact rumoured to grant its possessor the power of God.

Their hunt lures them far from Paris, and into icy heart of Russia where crystalline ice animals stalk forgotten mansions, broken goddesses carry deadly secrets, and a string of unsolved murders makes the crew question whether an ancient myth is a myth after all.

As hidden secrets come to the light and the ghosts of the past catch up to them, the crew will discover new dimensions of themselves. But what they find out may lead them down paths they never imagined.

A tale of love and betrayal as the crew risks their lives for one last job. 

My thoughts:

The Silvered Serpents is an incredible follow up to The Gilded Wolves and a book that is full of heart, adventure and is so much darker than its predecessor. Sequels can be hit or miss sometimes but I have to say, this book struck all the right chords for me and not only is it a great sequel but I think it’s a great book in its own right and stands alone very well.

I loved that that the story picks up a few months after the end of the last book, and we get to check in with all the characters and really feel the passage of time as well as how the crushing loss they all faced has affected them individually and fractured this tight knit group of people who are each others family. The difference between how the group were in the first novel and in this one is so stark and striking, and it leaves a much more grim tinge over the novel. The divide between Laila, Enrique, Zofia and Hypnos and Séverin was genuinely painful to read at times, you just want them to COMMUNICATE but sadly, they’re all dealing with their own burdens and issues and thus the angst continues. I think this book also cemented for me how much I care about these characters and how emotionally invested I am in the story.

As well as the characters themselves, I enjoyed how the quest narrative continues and how this time the stakes are so much higher and the sense of urgency is so much deeper. While there’s definitely a lot of references and clues and puzzles mentioned and I had to re-read certain passages to really comprehend what they meant, I was so enthralled by how all these complex pieces linked together. I especially enjoyed how the idea of the Greek muses fit into the story and how intricate the plot was, drawing together so many elements from history and culture, from all over the world. I think this entwining of world myths and legends, folklore and stories just speaks to the fascination with religion and the divine in general and it’s fascinating to see it in a fictional tale this way. Roshani Chokshi has such an immersive writing style that it’s easy for me to get lost in her lush descriptions, the banter between the characters and feel so much when her characters are in emotionally charged or fraught moments.

These cultural or historical elements are always done in such an excellent way and with such respect and thought and I believe this genuinely sets apart Chokshi’s work from some other Y/A. You always get the sense that every little moment is intentional and considerate and all the messages about colonisation and marginalised identities especially adds so much more depth to the novel and these characters, in a way which provides actual commentary and nuance rather than being a sloppily inserted element. As I mentioned in my review of The Gilded Wolves each characters back story is given this care and the room to really showcase how bigger issues have shaped them as individuals and this is just furthered in this book.

Overall, The Silvered Serpents was an exciting sequel which sets things into motion for the next book, while we haven’t got a title or any information about book 3, I’m already looking forward to it. If you’re looking for a new fantasy series and characters to get invested in, then I can’t speak any more highly of this series.

Until next time,

Rumaanah x