Serpent & Dove by Shelby Mahurin Series: Serpent & Dove #1
Published by HarperCollins ISBN: 9780062878045
on September 3, 2019
Genres: Fantasy, Wizards & Witches, Romance, Fairy Tales & Folklore
Pages: 528
My rating:
Check it out in Goodreads
Synopsis
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.
As a huntsman of the Church, Reid Diggory has lived his life by one principle: Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live. But when Lou pulls a wicked stunt, the two are forced into an impossible situation—marriage.
Lou, unable to ignore her growing feelings, yet powerless to change what she is, must make a choice. And love makes fools of us all.
Set in a world of powerful women, dark magic, and off-the-charts romance, book one of this stunning fantasy duology will leave readers burning for more.
I took way too long to finally pick up this book. I was cautious because I didn’t want to be disappointed. I’m so, so happy to say I enjoyed it so much.
There’s really not a whole lot I need to say about this book -I totally recommend it. But, I do want to talk about two things that really stood out to me. One is what made it such a great read, and the other, something I hope the sequel improves on.
Oh my freaking gosh, the romance
Be still, my heart.
I think you already how hard it is to find a fantasy, or fantasy-esque YA book with romance, in which the romance is paced reasonably and it doesn’t make you want to tear your hair out in frustration. It’s something that bothers me in any kind of story with a romance element: Things like silly misunderstandings, non-existent romancing, and my personal favorite, the characters admitting their feelings for each other at the end (GODDAMMIT WHYY).
There was none of that here, so it was definitely a good weekend.
In the midst of the external conflict tension, the book makes space for the development of the two characters’ relationship. Moments of teasing, some tentatively tender ones… That is so important. Because they add up. And it makes all the difference.
And when the time comes, it’s just all the more rewarding.
Reid and Lou by themselves are pretty awesome
It does help that the characters on their own have well-established arcs and it’s easy for the reader to quickly grasp the conflict between them. One is a witch, the other is a witch hunter. It’s bound to create a lot of opportunities for the reader to get lost in.
But beyond that, both of them have their own problems and motivations. I totally rooted for them.
I would have liked more attention to the worldbuilding
No, you can’t slap some french words on your book and call it a day.
Unfortunately, it felt a lot like that’s what happened in this book. I get that there’s a lot of french but… there’s little else that explains this world to the readers.
I’ve seen reviews that have already discussed this issue, and yes, I was worried it’d hinder my enjoyment. It didn’t, but it was still something that could have been so much better and brought so much more depth to this story. It’s already a good one. But it could’ve been great.
There are mentions of different kinds of witches, but it’s never really explained how many they are, or what they do. How the magic itself works is pretty fascinating though, if not a bit confusing.
Overall, I had to do a lot of filling in with my imagination to get a sense of this world.
A word on the ending
No spoilers, don’t worry.
But there’s something that happens in the ending that I feel like it’s a bit abrupt. I don’t think it was properly foreshadowed, so it isn’t as satisfying, or even as clear as it could’ve been. It’s awesome, don’t get me wrong. But it did come a bit out of the blue?
[divider]
This one got most of the elements right, and my experience as a whole was very positive. I had a great time, so I’m taking that into account first!
I totally agree with you! I love how the romance is paced; everything just builds up really well, from their fights to their tentative friendship and tenderness. And since the characters themselves experience growth throughout the journey, it’s really easy to root for them as both individuals and couple <3 I do hope the author expand a bit on world building and the ending, I hope we explore more of this in the sequel!
Tasya @ The Literary Huntress recently posted this awesome thing…The Superlatives Book Tag
Late response, but still, thanks so much for stopping by! So excited about this book. The only sad thing is that we have to wait for the next one! I mostly read standalones now, but for this kind of books I’m willing to wait for a sequel ♥