Serpent & Dove – Shelby Mahurin

Publication Date: September 3, 2019
Publisher: HarperTeen
Genre: Young Adult Fantasy
Pages: 513
Dates Read: August 25-26, 2020
Format: Hardcover & Audiobook

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GoodReads Synopsis

“Bound as one to love, honor, or burn.

Two years ago, Louise le Blanc fled her coven and took shelter in the city of Cesarine, forsaking all magic and living off whatever she could steal. There, witches like Lou are hunted. They are feared. And they are burned.

Sworn to the Church as a Chasseur, Reid Diggory has lived his life by one principle: thou shalt not suffer a witch to live. His path was never meant to cross with Lou’s, but a wicked stunt forces them into an impossible union—holy matrimony.

The war between witches and Church is an ancient one, and Lou’s most dangerous enemies bring a fate worse than fire. Unable to ignore her growing feelings, yet powerless to change what she is, a choice must be made.

And love makes fools of us all.”

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My Review

4 STARS
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I initially went into this one pretty skeptical, which is fairly normal for me when reading super hyped books. I have actually owned this book since it came out last year, but like I said… skeptical lol.

BUT I actually did end up liking this one. Lou and Reid were great characters, and I loved the “enemy to lovers”/”forced proximity” troupe. I really loved the character building in this novel, and I enjoyed how opposite Lou and Reid are. They both felt very real and genuine to me, which is always a nice change.

The plot was also very interesting and flowed very well. I was able to read this in only a day and a half, so the pacing was great and held my attention the whole time. I really liked the witch vs. religion plot line throughout and the push and pull between the two ideas.

The only complaint I have is that I felt the world-building lacked. I was never quite sure about the time/place/location of anything in the novel. It was extremely vague, which bothered me. I understand that it was a character-driven novel, but there should at least be a small amount of world-building involved, and I didn’t feel like it quite hit the mark.

Overall, I enjoyed this one though, and I look forward to reading Blood & Honey, the second book in this trilogy.