Book Review :: Gods & Monsters by Shelby Mahurin

Gods & Monsters by Shelby Mahurin
ISBN: 0063038935
Series: Serpent & Dove #3
Also in this series: Blood & Honey
Published by HarperTeen
on 27 July 2021
Genres: Fantasy, Magic
Pages: 612
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After a heartbreaking loss, Lou, Reid, Beau, and Coco are bent on vengeance more than ever before—and none more so than Lou.
But this is no longer the Lou they thought they knew. No longer the Lou that captured a chasseur’s heart. A darkness has settled over her, and this time it will take more than love to drive it out.

Evil always seeks a foothold. We must not give it one.>

Last updated on 13 February 2023

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What is Gods & Monsters by Shelby Mahurin about?

Gods & Monsters is the final in the Serpent & Dove series by Shelby Mahurin. It continues on from the second book, Blood & Honey, as Lou and Reid continue to battle against witches and family … and family witches.

“Hope isn’t the sickness. It’s the cure.”

After losing one of their own, Lou and the group is ready for revenge. Determined to avenge her friend, Lou is adamant she’s marching straight to Chateau le Blanc to burn it down, and hopefully with her mother inside. But something seems a bit off about Lou, and Reid and the others are starting to notice. Something is ripping her apart, something deep and grief-filled. And once they figure it all out, the squad make plans to get their Lou back.

My thoughts on Gods & Monsters

The first in this series, Serpent & Dove was one of my favourite reads of early 2020. I loved it a lot and even went as far as putting it into my list of Top 100 Fave Reads of the Past Decade. That’s how much I enjoyed that book.

Blood & Honey was disappointing, to say the least. It was slow going, and even though I did end up enjoying it (3.5 stars from me) after it picked up, I definitely wanted more from it and it felt like a filler book.

Did I have big expectations for Gods & Monsters? Yes. And no.

Yes – I wanted it to full circle back to the awesomeness that was the first in the series. I wanted to be reminded why I loved these characters and the story and to just accept that book 2 was a filler book. So yes, I expected to enjoy it. I expected to finish the trilogy, satisfied with how it ended.

No – But at the same time, I was a bit sceptical that the final book would actually do that. I think I was thinking it would go further downhill, and while I really didn’t want that to happen … unfortunately, for me, it really did.

There was a lot going on in this book that I didn’t really think needed to be there (and when a book is over 600 pages, being ruthless with your scene cuts can be really beneficial). The characters were still good and for the most part, I enjoyed reading them, but at the same time, they’ve changed so much since their sassy bantering selves from the first book, that they’ve lost some of their sparks by the time we get to this, the final book.

“Fear was inevitable. We all made our choices, and we all suffered our consequences. We all felt fear. The trick was learning to live with that fear, to continue forward in spite of it.”

The perspective of the book alternatives between Reid and Lou (and Nicholina, who is possessing Lou at the beginning of the book), and I did find myself skim reading a lot of Lou’s chapters. Even though I loved her in Serpent & Dove, Reid was more enjoying in this one … and only just. There’s a whole section of the book where Reid can’t remember who Lou is (what was the point of this, really?), so those chapters were really frustrating to read. I hate it when characters lose their memories and the others have to catch them up – it seems like such a waste of words.

The ending (or rather, the Epilogue) was the cutest part of the book but even then it left me (and others, I’m sure) with so many more questions about what’s going on that it felt a little incomplete.

As you can probably tell … I didn’t love this book. I actually had given it 3 stars on Goodreads, but having written out this review, I’m dropping it down to 2.5 stars.

Which is really sad because I loved the first one a lot.

I’m not saying don’t read it. Definitely read it if you like fantasy, witches, sassy characters, drama and romance … but just a warning that, in my opinion, it starts off with a bang and then declines from there.

Eek! I don’t know! What did you think of this book? Did you like it? Hate it? Let me know in the comments!