Georgia Kostopoulou

 

This book… Oh, what can I say about this book? It nearly killed me! That bittersweet feeling at the end brought me to my knees! I love these characters and once again I was forced to see one of them die. Oh, but why?

“I don’t think you’re lost. You’re just searching for the thing that fills you with light.”
― Roshani Chokshi, The Bronzed Beasts

“The Silvered Serpents” left us at a state were all was lost. The team was no longer a team. Everyone seemed to want different things and that one that used to be the heart of the team, the person everyone looked upon as their mentor, the glue that was holding everything together, was no longer the same person. Priorities have shifted. Wills have changed. Needs were no longer the same. The losses they suffered were too much to handle and none of them was in a state to understand the hidden meanings. Laila acts out of spike and destroys the only message that was left for them, the message that explained everything, without even bothering to take a look first. She has other, more pressured matters to attend to and she only has ten days! Her friends will be on her side, and they will try to help her, any way they can.

“She wanted to let in the moon and the clouds, the roofs of the cathedral and dim stars, and let it all burn and scrape inside her.”
― Roshani Chokshi, The Bronzed Beasts

This time, the gang needs to head to Venice, which will be the stage of the last act. Will it be Godhood they will try to achieve, or will it be life? Will their actions save the world and their beloved ones, or will they create another tyrant? To find the answer, you need of course to read the book, as I will not have spoilers on my review! What I can have mentioned here, is my impression of the book overall!

“Growth and remorse are rather like stars: the surrounding dark makes them vivid enough to notice.”
― Roshani Chokshi, The Bronzed Beasts

I enjoyed reading about a favourite gang, doing what they do best. It might not be an acquisition, but it’s kind of an actual job like the ones they’re used to. They experience masquerade balls, and gondola rides and they play with fire and explosives, as they uncover what history has hidden so well. They have come to realize that they can no longer be the squad they used to be, only to change their minds the moment they really needed to team up for good.

“If you think what we are doing is impossible, then let us rewrite what possibility means. Together.”
― Roshani Chokshi, The Bronzed Beasts

In this third book we experience so many different things and feelings. We have the ever-present magic that never fails to captivate us. We have the ingenious squad that finds unexpected solutions to tricky problems, hidden artifacts and feelings they never knew existed inside them. We have a villain, because what is a story without a villain that aims to kill those we keep close to our heart? Only this villain is not one I fell for. I really hated him because he was so powerful in all different aspects. I can’t say more! No spoilers, remember?

I’ll leave you with this last quote from the book, that is so representative of the story and the characters I loved so much:

“We’ve got hope, a flimsy plan, and a great deal of explosives. We’ve gotten by on less. Let’s go.”
― Roshani Chokshi, The Bronzed Beasts