The last time I picked up a book because of the Bookstagram hype I did not like it that much. When I started Serpent & Dove by Shelby Mahurin I was a little afraid that this would happen again. However, I was pleasantly surprised. I flew through the book and enjoyed it a lot! I even gave it 5 stars on Goodreads and I am already looking forward to the second book in the trilogy Blood & Honey. I postponed reading it a little because I want to finish Frankenstein first for my Monthly Classics post. Since I started this blog and my bookstagram I have started to plan out the books I read, which, I don't know why, really motivated me to read more. So Blood & Honey is next on the planning, I can't wait!
Okay, let's get into Serpent & Dove. The entire set up made me think of the Middle Ages, when it was a common practice to burn (innocent) women because people thought that they were witches. From the first moment in the book, you step into the medieval, French-inspired world, where this practice is common. Serpent & Dove has 2 main characters, Lou (short for Louise) and Reid. Lou is a witch, she is on the search for a ring and on the run for someone (only in the end you find out who). Lou wants to find the ring for protection. Reid, on the other hand, is a Chausseur, aka a witch hunter. He is trained, from childhood and onward, that witches are unnatural and should be eliminated. This is his worldview.
Not far into the book the two meet, and because of some events they are forced into a marriage. Reid is unaware that Lou is a witch, which makes it a little ironic (for the reader). From their first interaction they hit off, yet both have a very different way of living. I really enjoyed reading both of their povs in the story, in many novels (that I read), the story is always focussed on the girl's perspective in a relationship, so it was very fun to read the thoughts of Reid. Something else I also found refreshing was the fact that the book is written from a first-person perspective. It has been such a long time and I had gotten so used to reading third-person perspectives that I really liked the change! I don't know why I find it so much fun to read a story as if you are the main character, but it just is! I think that because of the first-person perspective as a reader I can personalize myself even more with the characters. You experience their feelings and thoughts even better.
I really liked the plot of the novel. I found the world set up nicely and not everything is told directly at the beginning of the story. In the course of it, you slowly find out more and more about the world and its magic. Because so also read from Reid perspective, it is also easier to understand him and his thoughts. He is, obviously, learned that magic is wrong, just as the witches. Yet, he slowly learns that Louise is not like that at all.
The romance between Reid and Lou starts slow, yet their chemistry is so addicting to read as are their conversations. One (steamy) scene between them was so well done and makes me want to read more of these two!
The pacing of the book and the flow are well done. I flew through it and I read it in little more than a day! This does not happen often, but I just could not put it down. When I wasn't reading I was thinking about the characters and the plot, it just stayed with me. Before I knew it, I had finished the book and enjoyed it through and through.
While I will not go into the ending specifically, it did leave me full with questions on how the story will evolve from there. I am so glad I had also bought the sequel Blood & Honey, so I can get started in it as soon as possible! If you read the Six of Crows duology by Leigh Bardugo (and liked Nina and Matthias in those books) I am sure that you will enjoy these books too. Many people say that Reid and Lou remind then of Nina and Matthias and I totally agree! I hope that you enjoyed this review and I will see you soon in my next post!
Keep reading,
Julia
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