Summary:
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.
Thoughts:
The sequel to The Gilded Wolves hits the ground running with the crew getting back together and continuing their search for The Divine Lyrics. I had a lot of fun with this one, even more than the first book if I’m being honest. Although, watch out for a bit of a cliffhanger of an ending.
So first let me talk about this one compared to the first one. I didn’t love the first book although I thought it was perfectly serviceable, I didn’t rave about it. Which is a shame because I’ve loved Chokshi’s previous books. But the things that didn’t work for me there (mostly caring about the characters and their fates) was all fixed here for me. I don’t know if we actually got more insight to the characters and their thoughts or if it’s just me–I did read the first one via audio and this via print–but I was able to empathize with them much better in this sequel.
I will say that Severin’s character is both one of my favorites and also one of my least favorites because of his traits haha. He’s a bit mysterious and also in charge and sets himself apart from others for reasons. Mostly he doesn’t want to get close to people. But then he also does the thing where he’s lying to himself about his feelings. I get not wanting to get close but don’t lie to others and hurt them in the process! Anyway, I did love all the characters this time around. They’re all proving to be more complex than they were at first glance. They each have their own things going on and their reasons for wanting to join in the gang and pull off this heist.
Speaking of, all the heisting! There was a good amount of planning and then heisting and solving all kinds of riddles and putting together clues. The overall plot of this one as the story moved along was quite fun and kept up a good pace. There was plenty of time for those moments between characters but those were interspersed with great action scenes which I really appreciated. I enjoyed the flow of the story a lot in this one. It made it feel like a quick read! It also had some great twists and turns and some things I did NOT see coming. Also. That ending. THAT. ENDING. Aaaaaah. I’m going to be a bit on pins and needles until book three now!
Underneath the fun heist crew story are some pretty heavy themes, most notably colonialism and its effects on the world and its people. All of the characters here are essentially of two or more worlds and some of them struggle with that and where to fit in–Enrique especially has feelings on that. I feel like the way these themes are explored in the story are interesting as it’s more than just the characters and their backgrounds.
Overall, I had a lot of fun with this sequel and I’m so glad I stuck with the series even though I was mostly ‘meh’ about the first book. Can’t wait to see what happens going forward! 4.5/5 stars.
Way Too Fantasy 
I reaaaally need to read this series !
I’ll be honest, the first book was kind of disappointing for me, but I’m glad I stuck with it because I loved the sequel. Hope you get the chance to check it out!
I’m such a fan of this series. And you’re right – that ending!
Book 2 was really fun! I can’t wait to see what happens next. 🙂
I love it when the second book improves on the first one. This is a series I’m so curious about. I hope you love the next book too!
Thanks, Tammy! I agree. There’s many a series I might not have continued with but I’m glad I did because the sequels really stepped it up–this is one of those! I can’t wait to see where the next book takes the story.
Ugh. I still need to write my review for this book, too, but it’s so hard to word. xD I actually loved the first book, but I totally agree that the second was so much MORE, for whatever reason. I DON’T EVEN HAVE WORDS FOR THAT ENDING. *sobs in the corner* I’m super excited for book three, too, and it feels too far away right now!
Yeah, I don’t know exactly what it was, but I just feel like this one gave us so much more of the characters, let us inside their emotions… I’m also super excited for book 3 now!
Great review, Lisa!
Thanks, Paul!
Great review! I’m so excited for this sequel!
(www.evelynreads.com)
I hope you enjoy it!
I’m glad you liked the sequel even more than the first book! I don’t read a lot of YA but I have heard great things about The Gilded Wolves so I might give it a try one day! 😀
It’s a pretty fun series. It does have that ‘ya’ feel to it, but I’m having a good time with it. 🙂
Ahhh, I’m happy you enjoyed this one!! I agree, I think the sequel dives deeper into the characters themselves, and fleshes them out more. Great review💜
Thanks, Kaya! Yeah, I’m really excited to see what happens next now. I’m so glad I decided to continue on with the series. 🙂
That cover is absolutely beautiful, and your review piqued my curiosity for this series – particularly because you mention a heist, which is one of my favorite themes…. 🙂
This series does have really interesting covers!
Yeah, the group are basically con artists. There’s a heist in the first book as well, but it’s MUCH better heist stuff in this one, in my opinion. I also love a good heist!
Good to know this one is good. I’ve yet to try her books although I have Star-Touched Queen on my shelves.
I think of all of them The Star-Touched Queen is my favorite. These books have quite a different feel to them but are also good!
I have to say that I wasn’t completely sold on this series but now I am curious! A lot! And I can’t resist heists and the like!!
I felt the first book was pretty ‘meh’ but book 2…it was sooooo much better. Now I can’t wait for book 3! The heist in book 2 was better too imo. 🙂
This book was very intense, but so GOOD! After that ending umm, very true yes we need book 3 asap!! 😭💕
Yeah, it was pretty intense! I’m hoping there’s not a long delay before we get book three. 😀
So glad to see you loved this one and it improved greatly from the first. I will keep my eye on your thoughts for the next book. It’s a series I’m curious about (and I love the covers) but I’m trying to complete some old series before starting too many new so it will be interesting to see how this one concludes.
Lynn 😀
The covers are great! I’m curious to see where the last book takes us. I’m sooo glad I stuck with this series though…I could have easily have given up after the first one. Totally get wanting to complete series–that’s always one of my low key goals. 🙂
I enjoyed The Gilded Wolves but I REALLY enjoyed The Silvered Serpents. She did a much better job with the characters, especially Enrique, who I barely remembered from the first book!
Yeah, I was pretty meh on TGW but WOW…The Silvered Serpents really stepped things up! I was impressed. I also think it was the character work she put in there, you can definitely see the difference. Now I’m excited for book 3!