Rating: 10/10
Oh wow, I have to begin by saying that I thought that this book was going to be even better than the first one. And you know what? I was 100% right; this book took all of the elements from the first book and made them even better. The angst was incredible, the yearning, the secrets, good ol' fashioned treasure hunting, and my GOD was Séverin feral. Like this man was determined to ruin his whole career (but I was here for it). The angst was so severe that I had to make a playlist for Séverin/Laila (it will be coming eventually). Anyway, lets get into the story, my thoughts will likely be abrupt as I don't really have any negatives and I always find it harder to review sequels.
Summary:
"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 rumored 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."
In this book, we have the thief buddies™ coming together for their "one last mission." And let me tell you, Chokshi really took everything that she established in the first book and built on it spectacularly. There were so many more things at stake in this book and you can feel it in the characters' behavior. Everyone is just having a terrible, horrible, no-good, very bad day in this book. But, that's what made it so good. The high stakes and the tension between the characters, particularly between Séverin and the rest of his team. Séverin has really evolved into this almost morally grey character. He's willing to do anything he can to reach the ending that he wants. Quite frankly, I think this made him an even more compelling character than he was before. Chokshi also took the time in this book to let us get to know the characters a little better. We find out things we didn't know (particularly about Madame Kore and somewhat Tristan) and we get a look into the evolution of their relationships with other people in the group. This is, once again, especially true of Séverin. The person that he has turned into in this book is almost unrecognizable, but at the same time it makes sense.
I said it the last time in my review of the Gilded Wolves, but Chokshi has such a mind for vivid storytelling. The way that she is able to put you in a time and place just using words is dazzling. It felt like I was in the frigid palace in Siberia, or at the Russian ballet with Séverin and Laila. She is also fantastic at imparting the emotion of the characters so that you completely understand what they are going through. It is because of this, that the characters felt human. Gone are overpowered protagonists who seem to experience the world shallowly. It was all just very well done, and I really do applaud Chokshi for her knack for description.
In short, if you read the Gilded Wolves and you weren't sure if you wanted to read the Silvered Serpents, don't hesitate! This book is everything the last book was and more. The changes we see taking place in the relationships of the characters, coupled with everything that is at stake make the story incredible. Authors need to take note, this is how you write a sequel that isn't boring. I don't think that this book ever dragged like the first one did at times. I enjoyed the first book, but I loved the sequel. I'm so excited to see where she takes the premise of the next book! I can promise you that I will be reading it, and I'm really looking forward to it.
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