The Silvered Serpents

By: Roshani Chokshi

Narrated by: Laurie Catherine Winkel, P.J. Ochlan

Length: 12 hrs and 19 mins

Publisher's summary

Locus Awards - Nominee - 2021

Returning to the dark and glamorous 19th-century world of her New York Times instant best seller The Gilded Wolves, Roshani Chokshi dazzles us with another riveting tale as full of mystery and danger as ever in The Silvered Serpents.

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.

A Macmillan Audio production from Wednesday Books

©2020 Roshani Chokshi (P)2020 Macmillan Audio

Critic reviews

“Chokshi’s lavish sequel to The Gilded Wolves (2019) is as stunning as its predecessor. From ice castles, to tragic goddesses, to worldwide hunts, Chokshi takes readers on a whirlwind adventure that will steal their breath." (Booklist, starred review)

"The Silvered Serpents is devastating and delicious, brimming with wit and daring and heartbreak." (Holly Black, New York Times best-selling author)

If you can replay the events in your head...

...then you are a better listener than I. Unlike book 1, not a quick read. I feel the need to listen again to figure out what happened in the first 11 hours and the twisted trajectories of the personal relationships. But I am not sure I care about the characters that much, even though most of them do seem to achieve a greater self-understanding by book's end. One take away is, if you are on a world-saving mission, ditch the romance. The other take away just about everything that the characters know is probably wrong. And what gives with the auction? Who auctions off all the historical artifacts the very same day that the trove is discovered? Finally, I think the bad guy is a bit over the top in his maniacal personality.

Imaginative. Incredible. Indescribable.

What a great sequel! There were few bumps along the way, but it was so fabulous overall that I can’t but give it 5 stars!

⚖️ Plot: You’re in for a treat with how big the plot is growing. It may be their last job, but it’s a job for godhood! So many books I’ve read have parts of these mythologies intertwined, but I was so happy to see it play out in full here, paying homage to them all.

🗺 World: The world here grows from stunning to sensational! So much fabulous writing and imagination packed into one book. From the artifacts, to the goddesses to the landscapes, they are truly a pleasure to explore.

💑 Characters: Severin’s backstory continues to unravel and it’s impossible not to empathize with him. I love how Laila is now the rebel. It’s a great twist in their story and definitely builds up the stakes for me. I can’t wait to read the finale!

not for the faint of heart

this is intense and painful, but good.
While I had trouble with the pacing of the story at times, it was still engaging and entertaining.