Review: The Silvered Serpents by Roshani Chokshi

Series: The Gilded Wolves #2

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 the 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.

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Book two of The Gilded Wolves was quite an adventure, much like the first. Another exciting adventure and more or less a heist once again, we follow our team of protagonists as they journey into seemingly nowhere to uncover lost treasure.

The Silvered Serpents takes places after they successfully thwart the Fallen House’s plan from book one (albeit at cost). Desperate to recover losses, the main character, Séverin, pursues what he feels is the only way to change everything: the power of God. Together he leads his team on a search for a long lost treasure, right out of the hands of the Fallen House no less. Will his team manage to find something that has been lost for so long? As things progress, more secrets emerge and the ancient past resurfaces – how will the whole team be affected?

I really have to first of all honestly say that it wasn’t looking too good for this book at first. Séverin’s new obsession with divine power really didn’t sit right with me – although logically I guess I could reason out why he might have felt that way. Although it was a legitimate cause for searching for the lost treasure, the balance between his being stuck in the past and undervaluing the present almost felt a bit forced. But something about the ending really made up for it for me.

The plot and the heist itself was once again well done again. The world is well-built and so the adventure that the characters embark on is quite exciting. Even just exploring the new areas along with the characters felt interesting, and the way things were described suited me. Once again, the mix of historical and fantastical elements were great, and I think it really gave great life and depth to the plot. The elements of realism were woven in very well, and this is the kind of fantasy that I really enjoy reading.

The story is once again told in multiple POVs. Due to the huge events in the first book, many of the characters have been scarred a bit or now see the world through a slightly different lens. As a result, the perspectives that they offer are a little bit different from the first book. In that sense at least it wasn’t repetitive, which I enjoyed. I found that some of the characters outside the main cast also came into some importance this book, which added some additional interest and plot development to the story.

The ending is quite the cliffhanger. Not unresolved or anything, but definitely leaves me wanting for the third book to come out already. Without spoiling anything, I felt like the sequence of events close to the end really tied up the story in a way that I liked, and kind of rescued the story from where I thought it was headed. Overall, I can say that if you enjoyed the first book, you’ll almost certainly like this one too. If you have read both, let me know what you thought of it as well!

Overall Recommendations

The Silvered Serpents is book two in The Gilded Wolves series. A historical fantasy novel with a plethora of biblical references, this story really has the gamut of interesting characters, magic, and historical references. Told through multiple POVs, the same band of friends work together to accomplish an even more impossible heist than last time. Will they be able to succeed looking for long lost treasure? Those who enjoyed the first book are almost guaranteed to love this second one, which leaves us all wanting for the third book too, which should be coming out later this year.