Book Review :: Serpent & Dove, by Shelby Mahurin

Serpent & Dove by Shelby Mahurin
ISBN: 0062971131
Series: Serpent & Dove #1
Also in this series: Blood & Honey, Gods & Monsters
Published by HarperCollins
Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult
Pages: 519
Source: HarperCollins NZ
Find at Harper Collins NZ
Goodreads

Bound as one, to love, honor, or burn. Book one of a stunning fantasy duology, this tale of witchcraft and forbidden love is perfect for fans of Kendare Blake and Sara Holland.

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.

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My thoughts on Serpent & Dove

This was a spectacular book, and I enjoyed it so much that I added it to my Top 100 Favourite Books of the Decade list. It had everything a good fantasy book should have; superb characters, mysteries, magic, brilliantly written minor characters, and a whole lot of sass.

Louise (or Lou) and Reid are so different but somehow fit wonderfully together. Lou is this sassy witch with an appetite for sweet baking, is wanted by her ex-coven and is constantly in hiding in a city that would have her dead. Reid is a staunch rule-following Chasseur, a man who hunts out witches and disposes of them. When he meets Lou, he obviously doesn’t know that she is a witch, and yet still their relationship is strained and not of the ordinary.

The plot follows Lou as she is wed to Reid and made to live where the other Chasseurs live. There’s this constant tension between the witches and the church, a tension which really becomes a war, with Lou at the heart of it. While the ending was a little odd and left me with some Googling to find out what others were saying about it, on the whole this was an awesome book and I loved falling into this beautifully crafted world that Mahurin has created.

The second book in this duology is called Blood & Honey, is has an expected release date of September 2020. I’m definitely looking forward to it!

Have you read Serpent & Dove? What did you think?

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Thank you to Harper Collins NZ for this review copy. While I received the book for free this does not sway my thoughts, and all opinions are my own.