The Silvered Serpents (The Gilded Wolves #2) by Roshani Chokshi
- Publisher: Wednesday Books, September 22nd 2020
- Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Historical Fiction
- Format: Ebook (eARC)
- Page Count: 416 pages
- My Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ (4/5)
CW: dismemberment, torture, blood Forging, off-screen killings, emotional abuse, alcohol, (possible) panic attacks, antisemitism, racism, suicide of a very minor character, bombing, manipulation
I love the tagline, “They are each other’s fiercest love, greatest danger, and only hope.” Upon finishing, I realized just how true it is.
“We debase ourselves for the ones we love.”
Laila
To avoid spoilers for The Gilded Wolves, I am only lightly touching on the plot of this second installment. Séverin is now colder and more distant because of the events in the first book. With the group disbanded at the beginning of the story, Séverin calls Laila, Enrique, Zofia, and Hypnos back together for their newest heist of retrieving The Divine Lyrics. Laila, being Forged, needs the book to stay alive past her nineteenth birthday, but Séverin does not know that. He wants it to make the group powerful.
Again, I am amazed by Chokshi’s storytelling and incorporation of multiple cultures as well as identities. Though some world-building aspects were very random, I am hoping to see everything come together in the next book.
The patriarch had grabbed the girls too dark to be visible in the world’s eyes; whose languages fell on deaf ears; whose very homes at the edge of society pushed them too far into the shadows for notice.
There are a lot of secret yearnings going on for one another within the group, and it was somewhat sad to read. Though I cannot seem to care much about some of the characters, I am rooting for Zofia and Enrique. I love their quirkinesses as I share their love for patterns, mathematics, languages, and literatures. I also adore Laila for her softness and resilience.
Being a trilogy, the story arc is very long, and in The Silvered Serpents, the character growths are minimum. All of the mains are extremely stubborn and at times seem to have one-track minds. I internally groan for their lack of communication and repeating careless actions, but they are only human after all.
One thing I find especially intriguing was Laila’s making, aka the Forging of her body. Zofia had thought, “Anatomically, the body was a machine whether it was born or built. What lay inside was no different,” and I find this as a trans allegory. There was also one mention that Laila wasn’t born with the name, but rather chose it for herself. Her father had looked at her with disgust and I see it as a parallel to transphobia and familial rejection. Maybe it is just me, but I think this is something worth considering.
If you enjoy fantasy books with thrilling plot and a group of ethnically diverse friends on a mission, this series is just for you. Though I had expressed that the ending of The Gilded Wolves was painful, nothing has prepared me for the ultimate cliffhanger in The Silvered Serpents. If unresolved main plot makes you anxious, maybe reading the whole series once it has concluded will be better for your heart and your head. I am going to worry about everyone, especially Laila, until the third book is out.
I received an e-ARC from Wednesday Books via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
