Blood & Honey

Serpent & Dove #2

by Shelby Mahurin

The hotly anticipated sequel to the New York Times and IndieBound bestseller Serpent & Dove—packed with even steamier romance and darker magic—is perfect for fans of Sarah J. Maas.

After narrowly escaping death at the hands of the Dames Blanches, Lou, Reid, Coco, and Ansel are on the run from coven, kingdom, and church—fugitives with nowhere to hide.

To elude the scores of witches and throngs of chasseurs at their heels, Lou and Reid need allies. Strong ones. But protection comes at a price, and the group is forced to embark on separate quests to build their forces. As Lou and Reid try to close the widening rift between them, the dastardly Morgane baits them in a lethal game of cat and mouse that threatens to destroy something worth more than any coven.

Genres: Fantasy, Romance, Young Adult, Witches, Romantasy, Young Adult Fantasy, Magic

536 pages, Hardcover

First published September 1, 2020

About the author

Shelby Mahurin grew up on a small farm in rural Indiana, where sticks became wands and cows became dragons. Her rampant imagination didn't fade with age, so she continues to play make-believe every day—with words now instead of cows. When not writing, Shelby watches the Office and obsesses over her Twitter feed. She still lives near that childhood farm with her very tall husband, semi-feral toddlers, two dogs, and one cat.

Reviews

[✨ A ✨ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Me? *glances around; points at self* Oh I'm total fine after that ending. And by “totally fine” I mean: NOT AT ALL.

“And when everything is a matter of life and death for us, the stakes are higher. The more we gain, the more we lose.”

⚠️ Do not read this review if you have not read Serpent and Dove (Book 1) ⚠️ Other than that there are no other spoilers in this review.

Lou, Reid and Co. have just made it out of Chatteau alive. Just barely.

Enemies are close and they are being hunted from all angles. What they need is allies. But no one is willing to partner up with the daughter of La Dame des Sorcières and her husband, the former captain of the Chasseurs.

While running from their enemies, and seeking allies: Lou and Reid are also running from the things that haunt them. Reid's new found power, the death of his patriarch, Lou almost being murdered by her own mother (again) — to name a few.

“There is nothing comfortable about our situation. This sort of magic—the sort that balances life and death on a knife point—requires sacrifice. Nature demands balance.”

Advice: please reread S&D before starting this book. It will be highly confusing because we jump straight into the story with no explanation. And until publishers normalise recaps at the beginning of books (hint hint) it's up to us to refresh our memories.



Here's what I loved:

• it had the same addictive writing
• heart warming friendships that melted my heart
• more cute banter
• great character development
• introduction of Blood witches!
• werewolves (!!!)
• new and awesome characters, also a travelling troupe!!
• we learn more about the magic system


I truly enjoyed reading this. It was fun and the character development was great.

Though Lou and Reid's relationship issues did start to bother me after a while - even though it really did make sense and I get that they both have things to deal with - I just wanted them to be okay with each other. ((But maybe that's because I want them to be happy so badly.)) There were times I wanted to scream at them: COMMUNICATION IS KEYY GUYS

Coco and Ansel are as always: my favourite munchkins. And I even started to like Beau more. To be honest I found his addition to the crew in Serpent and Dove to be somewhat random. But he's grown on me.


When it was announced that Serpent and Dove will no longer be a duology (like we were all lead to believe) some people were ecstatic. (Yes! That means we get more of this beautiful story and these awesome characters! What's not to love? Right? )

However, this also means that they are purposefully stretching out a story that does not need to be stretched out. I love me a trilogy — but some stories do not require that extra book. Because then we end up with the dreaded Second Book Curse. You know what I'm talking about.

The one where basically nothing happens. The filler book.

Alas, this was the case with Blood and Honey.


Like I said: I enjoyed this book. It has many of the elements that I loved from Serpent and Dove. But when I look back at the book as a whole — I realise that nothing much happened to move the plot along and our characters are basically where they began.

What I'm pointing out will not bother people who will read this book in a few years time, when they can binge all the books in one go. But right now, where I'm sitting, it's highly frustrating knowing that once again we're waiting for the next book when this book hardly did anything to satiate us.

*sigh*

Towards the end things started to pick up and get even more interesting. The ending was........ *stares into camera*

I really can't talk about it without getting upset. So I'll just leave it at that.

I hope no one is dissuaded from reading this book. I don't even know how to put into exact words that I loved this buuuut felt like it wasn't necessary. My hopes for the last book is that it makes up for this one. This is still one of my favourite series and I think Shelby will step up her game and blow us away.

Rating: 3.5 stars

___
Pre-Read

July 2019
Somewhere in an alternate universe there is a Me with a copy of this book in her hand. She's a lucky bitch.


____
My reviews of:
Book 1 - Serpent and Dove
Book 3 - Untitled (pre-review thoughts)

[Nilufer Ozmekik · Rating 2 out of 5]

Arrrghhhhk! No freaking way! Here comes my unpopular review and my ear bleeding screams! WTH happened to my adorable characters? Did body snatchers, ruthless doppelgängers take over Reid and Lou’s bodies?

And why did I read a book which is really long to bleed my eyes and create dark circles under them? I don’t have problem to read long stories but when nothing happens during your read, I get out of my patience!

Yes, my friends, 100 pages: nothing happened, 200 pages: still nothing changes, 300 pages : nope! Nada! I finally reached to the end and finally a good cliffhanger tried to hook me: but it was hopeless attempt. I already fell out in love!

I loved the first installment so much and I was dying to read this second book after that stunning and high tension ending but it seems like the characters do not act like themselves, suffering from acid trip or dissociative character disorder and their love-hate kind of high chemistry vaporized into thin air. What the hell happened to their slow burn blossoming intimate love story?

You know that’s exactly what happens when a story should be written as duality but as an unnecessary decision, the author turns them into trilogy.

I don’t know if I could be patient enough to read the last book because this one killed all my enthusiasm!

I’m giving two blinking, disappointing,dear author what have you done to my characters stars!

I’m screaming more: arrrgghhhhkkkkkkk!

[Alex ✰ Comets and Comments ✰]

All I need is for Reid, Lou and Big Titty Liddy to be okay.

Serpent And Dove: ★★★★★

[Teodora · Rating 5 out of 5]

5/5 ⭐

Full review on my Blog: The Dacian She-Wolf 🐺

Oh wow.
OH WOW.
What the bloody hell was this thing I just read? Because oh wow.

Thank the deity that Shelby Mahurin made a trilogy out of this because if she were to leave the things like that I would’ve been extra pissed off.

That cliffhanger.
THAT BLOODY CLIFFHANGER!

Blood & Honey started off on a high key and from the very first chapters I was sure that this was going to be the vibe of the entire book. And guess what? It was.

When I thought things were about to calm down a bit BAM! Another heart attack hit me. It felt like I was scared for my own life, like I was the one on the run, constantly hunted down, the bounty being on my own pretty head.

The palpitations I got were real, guys. The things became more complicated by the chapter and the mini-heart attacks incoming were so stressful I had to stop from time to time to calm down. The plot thickens because from now on the amount of secrets that are fogging up the entire plot is about to go into overdrive.



The story gets darker, more rushed, excruciating at some point and everything you have to do is sit there and sweat because that action is heart-pumping. Everything becomes more visual, more terrifying. And even so, the main motif of the whole book seems to be the blindness of one’s mind.

“[…] closing your eyes will not make it so the monsters can’t see you. It will only make you blind.”

Now, those who read the first book – Serpent & Dove – know where things were left off with the characters. Well, none of those characters are the same in this installment and I mean it.

We get to see other faces of the same characters we grew to love in the first book – some of them become better, some – not so much.

Throughout this book, there is something strange happening to Lou, like she is not being herself anymore; she’s just a mere puppet, guided by an invisible hand to do things she isn’t supposed to do by her own volition otherwise.

She doesn’t listen to anyone, she doesn’t think before she acts and is too mischievous and reckless for her own good, let alone other characters’ safety. Lou’s not one to be controlled from the outside at this point.

The thing is, Lou is not the only character that annoyed me to no limits from time to time.
Her hubby, Reid, was right up there with her, teaming up to make me beat them both with a flip-flop.
No kidding. I wish I could’ve slapped some sense into them both like 80% of the time. Please learn to communicate! Thank you!



But even so, the two of them still manage to share a beautiful moment of complete understanding and trust. They still remember how it feels to love each other without any pressure and they are now to teach each other how to be there when the time comes. They need to learn how to be a strong team.
Lou needs to learn how to control all of the power and thirst for it that runs through her veins and Reid needs to understand that the world is neither black nor white. And they need each other to balance things out when there is too much to deal with on their own.

“I’d chosen my fate, and I’d done it with my eyes wide open. I’d chosen this life. This love. And with my fingers trembling in hers, with her heart beating alongside mine, I still chose it.”

I didn’t really like some other characters either though, the ones I used to love so much in the first book (and it wasn’t their fault, it was more like because of the environment they found themselves in). Poor Coco was one of those characters.
In this book, she’s somehow more passive and too easily annoyable. She doesn’t seem like herself either. And the proximity of her own coven doesn’t help her cause too much.

There are new characters entering scene that I just felt like I couldn’t trust from the beginning. It was (at first) a hunch of mine but then it just became more and more obvious that they are no good. By the end, all my brain can do was like er, yeah, I knew that, I was right, it’s good you never trusted that bitch anyway.

But even so, some others really surprised me throughout the reading.
First off, Madame Labelle is not as bad as she seems after she just lets her hair down and allows herself to be herself. Even though she still suffers from a severe cause of stick up her bum.

Second, Beau and I share a birthday!! Oh my god, I giggled at that.



I started loving him more and more after I got to see who he really is. He is a hilarious smart-mouth with a deep love for his mother and sisters and a feeling of loyalty towards his true friends. How can one not love him anyway?

Full-on honesty mode right now, the only character I cared about in this book (like truly cared about) was my pure baby Ansel.
I thought at first that this sweet duckling is going to become more and more important, you know, achieving a nice coming-of-age transformation and all. And oh, I was right, he really became more important. But boy…I didn’t want him to be that important.
I mean, I truly wanted to wrap this precious puppy in a blanket and love him forever because everyone was treating him like shit – and he was the purest kind of pure and did not deserve those plebeians’ offence.
YOU DON’T TREAT MY BABY WITH SUCH DISRESPECT…without breaking the shit out of my heart.



By the end of this book, everything goes directly to the seventh ring of hell and I’m not even trying to sugar-coat anything right now. It's that bad.
You get exactly what you thought was going to happen and it still hurts. Badly.
You prepare yourself for the worst thinking that nothing is going to hurt you like that anymore – well, just think again.

That ending broke my fucking heart to pieces even though I was sure that this is going to happen. But the thing that makes it even worse is the unfairness of it all.
That bloody ending is so unfair I want to curse it to the wind.
NOT. COOL. BRO.

Little disclaimer here though: that Célie lass is going to have some serious screen time that I could care less about. I never liked her and in this book she just proved everyone that she is the wrong kind of nun. Ugh.



Oh well now. With that being said, this is so, so good, in conclusion. But it is stressful. And it hurts. And by the end it’s terribly unfair. And it ends in a cliffhanger!!

But it’s such a good book, I definitely recommend it.
Just go ahead and read it. Go for it. Go! It’s definitely worth it, in my very humble opinion.

“The world didn’t end in a scream. It ended in a gasp. A single, startled exhalation. And then–
Nothing. Nothing but silence.”

[Chelsea Humphrey · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 "Should have been a duology but was extended to a trilogy" stars



No one is more disappointed that I am that my MOST anticipated 2020 release didn't work out the way I had hoped, but here we are. Serpent & Dove was a surprising favorite last year; I've read a good bit of YA fantasy, and it offered unique glimpses at some of my favorite tropes, a cast of characters with diverse personalities, and a slow burning romance to die for. Jumping into Blood & Honey, I wasn't exactly sure what we would get, but I didn't think it would be 600 pages of absolutely nothing happening but Reid and Lou fighting. The previous installment worked so hard to organically bring this couple together, and I was excited to explore some of the bombshells dropped at the ending of the first book while seeing our two main characters grow as a couple, but alas, this didn't happen. I found myself truly missing so many of the supporting characters who took book 1 from being a good read to a fabulous one. Right on schedule, 80% of this book was slow and I trudged through hoping for something big to happen, and of course we're left with a wild cliffhanger to ensure that, even if you were mad at the lack of substance in this book, you'll probably check out the last book to wrap things up. I have no desire to be mean in this review, so I'll just say that I hope this installment works better for you than it did for me. The cover art is stunning, and it will look gorgeous on any shelf!

*Many thanks to the publisher for providing my review copy.

[Alana · Rating 2 out of 5]

“What you are now is not what you’ve always been, nor is it what you always will be.”

Is there anything worse than one of your most anticipated reads of the year being an absolute flop? I’ll be completely honest that going into this I was not expecting to enjoy it more than Serpent & Dove but I also wasn’t expecting to want this to be over so badly while reading it. So where did it all go wrong, you ask?
Let’s just get straight to the point.

⁉️For the love of God give me a recap. Do yourself a favor and either reread Serpent & Dove before picking this up OR try to find a spoiler filled review to recap the events in book one for you. Blood & Honey picks up pretty much right where book one left off and gives you little to no refreshers. For a good majority of this book my head was spinning as I tried to recall the details of the first book and that definitely dampened my reading experience. If you need an example, at the very end of the book there’s a plot twist that involves a character I legitimately had zero recollection of – needless to say Google was my best friend while reading this.

👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Where are my favs? The characters in this book felt so off. Granted, after how the last book ended character growth was bound to happen. However, this was more like character regression? Reid and Lou felt like entirely different characters – not the ones I fell in love with in the first book and it got to the point that I actually started to dislike them and become more invested in the side characters.

😴 Get to the point please. This baby comes in at over 500+ pages….and nothing worthwhile happens until about the last forty or so pages. It took me well over a month to read this because it truly felt as if the story was going no where. To put it bluntly, this book is just filler and it absolutely should have stayed a duology.

💑 No love here. I loved the romance between Reid and Lou in the first book, that slow burn enemies to lovers type of love just fuels my soul. Obviously, since their feelings for one and another had been declared and were out in the open I knew it wouldn’t be the same but I wasn’t expecting it to be so lackluster. For the first 10% of the book I was here for it because I was just so happy to be back with these characters but then as the rest of the story went downhill so did the romance.

🥀 Reid is emo. We all know Reid is one extra soft boy. But in this one? I don’t even have the words to describe how weird it was to hear him moping around for the entirety of this book.

🗻 Even the cliffhanger couldn’t save it. As mentioned above this book is no longer a duology but will now be a trilogy, so yes, this ends on a cliffhanger. Is it a big one? Yes. Do I care? Not one bit. It’s kind of sad when that huge “haha gotcha” moment of reading a cliffhanger is met with a sigh of relief because at least the book is finally over.

And there you have it, friends. To say I’m bummed is definitely an understatement. I really wish that this just been published as a duology and not dragged into a trilogy because this had so much potential and lived up to none of it.

br w/: Sol – TheBookishKing

Thank you HarperTeen for sending me an e-ARC in exchange for a honest review!

Blog | Twitter

[jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

PSA: for all of you eagerly waiting for this to be released in a few weeks, please do a reread of ‘serpent & dove.’ you have time. i desperately wish i did - i forgot so much and was confused because of it.

that being said, those who really loved S&D will for sure enjoy this. and those who found S&D to only be okay will probably find this sequel to be disappointing. and heres why.

this is 100% a filler book. nothing really happens! the ending of this sequel leaves the characters in the exact same position as the ending in the first book. sure, little things happen throughout 500 pages, you meet new characters, you learn a little bit more about the world and magic system, and you see more lou/reid together, but there is no progression to the overall story/plot.

so for those of you who are like me and enjoyed S&D just for the sake of enjoying the story/characters/world, i think you will find this sequel to be pleasant. but those who wanted more from S&D, you unfortunately wont be finding it in this installment.

a big thanks to harpercollins for the ARC!

↠ 3.5 stars

[chan ☆ · Rating 3 out of 5]

i'm not saying i loved this, but i am saying that i really really disagree with the reviews for this book

[isabella · Rating 1 out of 5]

serpent & dove : 4 stars
blood & honey : 1 star

honestly.. i don't even know how to start this review because i don't think i've ever been this pissed over a book before. i literally don't know how people enjoyed this?? there seriously wasn't one part that i genuinely enjoyed. but,, basically, in this rant review i'm going to talk about how much this book sucked and analyze what went wrong in three different categories : the good, the bad and the ugly.

i'll start out by saying this is literally one of my most anticipated books of the year. i loved serpent & dove and had incredibly high hopes for this book because of how amazing the characters and plot of the first book was. sadly this book really should've just stayed in the drafts <3

THE GOOD

the writing style : .......

the plot : *crickets*

the characters : there were only two good characters in this book and no,, it wasn't lou and reid

coco : although she was a little ooc at times she was overall a really good character and i enjoyed her backstory. however, i hate how she was sidelined especially in the beginning of the book for beau (we'll get to him later).

ansel : literally my baby!! in my opinion he's the best character in this book and i hate how he was sidelined as well. besides that he was probably the best character in this book.

THE BAD

the writing style : the writing is just immature and inconsistent. a sentence will start very simple but then she'll just throw in a random big word (actual examples : sanctimonious, surreptitiously, magnanimous etc.).
she also has a habit of repeating words multiple times when it's not necessary (example : "she'd started her performance already. distracting them from—from me."). this constantly happens throughout the book probably on every single page. it's so unnecessary and cringy it literally hurts.
there is also constant swearing throughout this book. i usually don't mind it but when you have a character swear by using "mother's tits" or have them say "tit's up" then i'm sorry but i can't take that character seriously anymore.
in conclusion,, this book just feels straight out of wattpad and i literally don't know what happened because i remember enjoying the writing style from the first book.

the plot : it's literally just them trying to find allies the entire time and i don't know about you but that's fucking boring. there are plot holes throughout like when lou dyes her hair white as a disguise even though madame labelle can literally change their appearances. also side note,, the white hair chapter that shelby shared on her ig live is one of the most unnecessary chapters i've ever read and was only put in for the purpose of lou to "not be like other girls."

the characters : besides the characters mentioned above, all of the rest were awful. i won't be including the new side characters because i honestly couldn't give two shits about them <3

reid : he was probably the worst out of them all. i could barely even recognize his character due to how ooc he was. he swears too much for someone who hates swearing and is overly possessive towards lou which got annoying very quickly. i literally don't know what happened but miss mahurin must've read acotar right before writing this book because reid really be giving me rhysand energy

lou : she was meh at best. i found her really annoying at times but she wasn't the worst character here.. n e ways she did feel ooc and i'm like 98% sure miss mahurin self inserted herself into this book through lou. whether it was just because she couldn't write anymore character with a personality that wasn't as bland as stale bread or so she could live out her fantasy and marry rhysand reid i don't know

beau : i still don't see the point in him. he doesn't have an arc and is just... there. he serves no purpose to the story and is just there for "comedic relief" which get's extremely annoying after awhile. he was also pushed to the forefront of the story and got a lot of dialogue while the best characters (ansel and coco) were pushed to the back

madame labelle : i'm literally laughing because i still don't understand the fucking point of her?? she does absolutely nothing and serves no purpose to the story. not to mention she's boring as fuck <3

the romances :

lou and reid : what the actual fuck happened to them?? i really liked their romance in the first book but they literally turned to shit. the angst arc wasn't even angsty and i never knew when they liked each other and were going to dry hump again or if lou was going to slap him. also,, if you're going to hype up the smut at least make sure it's decent

coco and ansel : this technically wasn't really a romance but i just thought that it really wasn't a necessary subplot. i got more platonic vibes from them so what happened just made me.... uncomfortable

coco and beau : ....literally nonexistent

THE UGLY

the sexism : this is something i noticed right away and i find it so disgusting. first of all, miss mahurin seems to normalize girl on girl hatred throughout the book. for example, here's a quote from page 89, "the barmaid—equally filthy, missing her two front teeth—bustled off to comply. across the bar, beau mouthed something to lou, tapping his own teeth, and she snickered." like i'm sorry but i find this extremely unnecessary and just fucking rude. a final example comes from out dear boy rhysand reid on page 124 : "she might've been attractive, but heavy cosmetics—kohl around her eyes, rouge on her lips—hid her true features." maybe it's just me but this made me very uncomfortable and it's, again, very unnecessary. this is marketed as a young adult book and the message it's giving is plain disgusting and wrong.

anyway this book was one of the biggest let downs ever and there are more things i can rant about but i'm not about to spill some major spoilers here,,

but if you can take one thing away from this book, always remember, tit's up :)

[zuza_zaksiazkowane · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.8

[Lucy Tonks (the invisible life of a reader) · Rating 2 out of 5]

I finally finished this book and I am so disappointed. It took me so long to actually finish it. I flew through the first book, but this was just painful to read. I wanted to love this book so much. It was one of my anticipated releases of this fall since I loved Serpent & Dove so much, but it seems that my hope were way to high.


First of all, this book could have easily been shorter. There were so many unnecessary things that happened in this book and I really didn't understand why Shelby Mahurin decided to add them in the book. I wasn't the biggest fan of the plot either. I found it pretty boring. Just why? Why did this need its own book. I feel like this trilogy could have easily been a duology, but noooo let's write more books cause why not.


The pacing was really wired, sometimes it was extremely slow and sometimes it moved so fast I barely understood what was happening. Also what the hell happened in those last two chapters? WHAT THE HELL?! The ending was just there so we could have a third book. This book could have been written differently, in a way so this would only be a duology and in my opinion that would have been much better.


Lou annoyed me so much in this book. The way she was acting. Yeah, there was kinda a point to that, but again was it necessary to the plot? The answer is no. Absolutely not. Her impulsiveness was getting on my neves by the end and I just wanted to knock some sense into her. Reid annoyed me too, but I liked how we see him not being okay because of what happened at the end of the first book. Seeing him still qiestioning everything he knew before he met Lou. Were there times when this annoyed me? Yes. But this part of the book I felt like it was necessary, unlike the way Lou acted. His protectiveness of Lou was what felt unnecessary tho. I don't want a Rhysand 2.0. One is clearly enough.


I gotta ask. How is this book considered YA? This book had some scenes that were so vulgar. I was so shocked seeing some words in this book, that I really do not want to repeat. Not even Sarah J. Maas's books are so vulgar, not even her adult book! And this is consider YA. How did this got approved as an YA book? Just how is beyond me.


This is the perfect example of middle book syndrome. I really wished this book lived up to my expectation, but in the end it didn't. Most of the book I was just annoyed and wanted it to be over. Hopefully, the third book is going to be better and I won't be going through this same emotions when I will get to read it.

[ELLIAS (elliasreads) · Rating 3 out of 5]

BYE

[Lia Carstairs · Rating 5 out of 5]

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

SHELBY.
You—you—
YOU DEVIL.😭💔

HOW COULD YOU DO THIS TO ME?!?!
I trusted you—but you went ahead and broke my heart anyways. You did EXACTLY what I BEGGED you not to do. I SWEAR AND I CALLED IT. I JUST KNEW SHELBY WAS GONNA GO AHEAD AND KILL SWEET ANSEL
I can't stop crying. This is one of the worst cliffhangers ever. Fall 2021 is just too far.

🛑WARNING: SPOILERS FROM S&D BELOW🛑

Blood & Honey literally picks up right after the events in Serpent & Dove and I am so happy I did a reread of S&D or I definitely would've been so lost.

Against all odds, Lou & Reid have fallen in love and now have to deal with the aftermath of incurring both Morgane Le Blanc and Auguste Lyon's wrath. They're all on the run—Lou, Reid, Beau, Coco, Ansel, and Madame Labelle—and let's just say from page 1......things are tense .

No more is the light and funny atmosphere that was previously in the first book. Everyone is one edge, fearful of an attack from the Chasseurs or worse........Lou's mother, Morgane. The only solution they can think of is gaining more allies to fight back against Le Dames Blanches, but that's not as easy as it sounds. And thus, the adventure begins.

"You see magic as a weapon, Reid, but you’re wrong. It simply . . . is. If you wish to use it for harm, it harms, and if you wish to use it to save . . .
It saves."

Reid was probably most affected from what happened in S&D. He finds out that he's a witch—the creatures he'd spent almost all his life hunting down and killing, believing them to be abominations to this world—AND he'd murdered the Archibishop—the man he'd looked up to as a father and the only person who actually cared for him growing up...... That's gotta be traumatic :(

Although Reid was hurting everywhere, he still acted like an idiot sometimes and it was pretty annoying BUT I understood where it was coming from. And after that ending.......oh nooo I'm scared.😬

“What you are now is not what you’ve always been, nor is it what you always will be. You are a snake. Shed your skin if it no longer serves you. Transform into something different. Something better.”

Haha this might be weird, but I honestly just loved Lou's decent into darkness . It's nice to see some change when the MC is struggling to find the good within themselves and slowly loses it. Okay, okay, that sounded so evil of me, but I just found it so cool. *cackles*

I mean, after almost getting killed by her own mother twice, she's bound to be a teensy bit on edge and a little crazed. Anyone would. This darkness within is calling out to her, changing her, and you know what happens when someone uses too much power.......it'll turn them into a completely different person. Well, such things start to happen here.

Also, Lou's white hair......omg the way she got it was pretty hilarious actually and I shouldn't be surprised that's how her hair changed colors.🤣 I did feel bad for her though. It's the same color as that twisted monster. 😤 Lou still looks as beautiful as ever!

Gorgeous art by @morgana0anagrom!!!

"Only a fool would cross my aunt."

Learning more about Coco and her past was just perfect👌 In the previous book, we didn't really know much about her except that she was Lou's best friend and part of the Le Dames Rouge. Here, we learn all kinds of things. Some jaw-dropping and some......sad. She's definitely not the flirty and carefree girl I thought she was in book 1. And after what happened in the cliffhanger.......oh boy I can only imagine what's gonna happen next.

“It’s a real pity,” Beau finally muttered, shaking his head and looking at each of us in turn. His eyes shone with disappointment. “I know you’re all too preoccupied with your pining to notice, but I just caught my reflection in that last puddle—and damn, I look good.”

Omg I just love Beau.😂 He remains to be one of my favourite characters in this world. While everyone else is on edge, Beau is the only one still cracking up jokes and trying to lift the mood that they're all bringing down. Of course, he can be such a bully to my sweet Ansel which is totally unacceptable. Still, he wasn't in any of the huge dramas that happened between the others.

Oooo but learning about his sisters— twin sisters —was so adorable. Victoire & Violette......I hope to see more of them. BUT NOT Auguste Lyon. I've had enough of that guy. What a jerk of a father. Don't worry Beau, I love you.😘

“I’m sick and tired of everyone needing to protect me. I’d like to protect myself for a change, or even—"
“I just want to contribute to the group. I don’t want to be the bumbling idiot anymore. Is that so much to ask? I just . . . I don’t want to be a liability.”

Oh Ansel🥺 You're not a bumbling idiot. I love Beau, but sometimes he just needs to shut the hell up . Ansel made me hurt the most. He felt so worthless the whole book and my heart was just breaking for him. Everyone else was worrying and dealing with their own problems, but they were forgetting that Ansel was the youngest of them all and was struggling with his own self-worth and contribution the the team. He felt so alone, I just can't😭💔

I loved that he got some more screen-time and we learned more about his past. Lou was just amazing for knowing when Ansel was feeling troubled and needed someone to talk to. She made sure to be there for him most of the time and protect him. Ansel is another favourite of mine.

Now of course, with a new book comes new characters. Some of these guys I just loved and automatically became a favourite and some.........not so much. *I'm looking at you, Nicholina*

“Love. The most elusive of mistresses. In all my years, I must confess to finding her only twice. The first was a headstrong young shepherd much like your Reid, and the second . . . well, that wound is not quite healed. It would be foolish to reopen it.”

I immediately loved Claud Deveraux the moment I saw him. He's just so cool! And such a wise, wise man. His charm is irresistible and I had a feeling that he'd be a HUGE help to the others. Like I seriously can't think of anything to hate about him.

Oh yeah and he's also the leader of the Troupe de Fortune with it's members Zenna, Seraphina, and the twins—Thierry & Toulouse. Deveraux loves to collect all sorts of people. As Zenna said, "He adds only the best and brightest talent to his troupes. The rare and unusual. The exceptional."

And by Reid's words, he considers Claud to be mad.😂 He probably thinks that especially because he was forced into leather pants by the one and only Deveraux. Reid in leather pants......imagine that.

"Call him, call him, let the trees maul him, boil and butter and split and saw him—”
“The trees in this forest have eyes, little mouse. She spies, she spies, she spies, little mouse—”

I need only one word to describe Nicholina and that is.........CREEEEPYYY. *shudder* The way she talks is soooo disturbing. All I think of her as is a maniac who is apparently the personal assistant of La Voisin (leader of La Dame Rouges). I didn't understand how or why until the end and just........wow. Too many thoughts are going on in my head right now. I really, really don't like Nicholina smh.

There were of course, some other new characters like Blaise, Gabrielle, etc, etc but well ehhhhh this review is already long enough so I'll stop there.

One more thing that must happen in S&D3.......
MORGANE LE BLANC MUST DIE IN THE MOST GROTESQUE WAY.🤬👿 I HATE HER SO MUCH. ARGHHHHH SHE BETTER NOT DIE IN A PEACEFUL MANNER OR ELSE—


That ending seriously destroyed me.😭💔 I've never been so thankful to have entered the preorder campaign for B&H as I am now. It'll include a sneak peak to S&D3 and that is SO what I need right now.

There, I'm done.
I feel dead on the inside.

  "The world didn’t end in a scream.
It ended in a gasp. A single, startled exhalation. And then—
Nothing.
Nothing but silence."

P.S. BIG TITTY LIDDY IS REAL😂

| Blog |

[megs_bookrack]

**I'm officially pulling the plug at 45%.**



I'm done with this series. I was listening to the audiobook and hadn't a clue, nor care, what was going on.

There was no refresher and having not really enjoyed the first book, I didn't recall a lot of the details.



You may be wondering why I picked it up if I didn't really enjoy the first one. The last 20% of Serpent & Dove did get interesting for me.

I wanted to see what would happen next. After reading close to 50% of this, I can say, a whole lot of nothing.



This is a long book. When I noticed I had around 8-hours of the audiobook left and didn't care one way or another what happened, I decided to call it quits.

There are so many books on my TBR that I know will be a better fit for me.



For those who care about such things, I did alter the dates that I read this, so it would not count towards this year's reading goal, as I didn't actually complete the book.

On to the next!

[Melissa ♥ Dog/Wolf Lover ♥ Martin · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 Stars - Reread 2022 - I didn’t love this one this time. I don’t even know if I feel like a 3 star, maybe a 2 star. I’ll reread the last book and see about that one. I’ve made a decision, I loved the first book and if I don’t love the second and third books in a trilogy and love the first one… I’ll just keep my hardback of the first book. Why, because I can…..


************
FairyLoot Blood & Honey Collector’s Edition Box. Click link under the pic to see the goodies.



GOODIES LINK:
https://melissa413readsalot.blogspot....

4.5 Stars ⭐️

I loved it so much but for a couple of things and a death!! I love these characters! Looking forward to the next book!

Mel 🖤🐶🐺🐾

[Arini · Rating 3 out of 5]

#1 Serpent & Dove — 4 Stars
#2 Blood & Honey — 2.5 Stars
#3 Gods & Monsters — 1.5 Stars

Somehow I expected this, but still.

WHAT IN THE WORLD?!?!?!

I don’t even recognize these characters anymore. This is basically Serpent & Dove but with characters (new and old) ten times more insufferable, a shitty plot (cause what do you call a book that doesn’t have one?), and an even shittier romance.

Well, okay, it’s not as bad as I made it out to be cause I still kinda enjoyed it. But still, it’s bad. So, what the heck? How did I deserve this? As if 2020 doesn’t taste like your worst nightmare already. I don’t need this. We don’t need this. The world doesn’t need this.

🚨 SPOILERS FOR THE FIRST BOOK AND POSSIBLY THIS ONE. 🚨

This book starts off right where the first one ended. That means, the crew (Reid, Lou, Coco, Ansel, Beau, and Madame Labelle) are on the run and hiding from Morgane Le Blanc (Lou’s psycho bitch of a mother who unfortunately isn’t dead yet) in the woods. While they are regrouping, they come up with the idea that they should gather allies to defeat Morgane.

So, that’s what this whole book is about. After altering their appearances to disguise themselves, they go their separate ways. Lou, Coco, and Madame Labelle visit Coco’s aunt, who’s the leader of the La Dame Rouges coven, to ask for their help. Meanwhile, Reid, Beau, and Ansel are tasked with convincing the werewolves pack to join their cause which is not an easy feat because Reid has an unpleasant history with the alpha’s son.

Tell me that doesn’t sound like fun! I mean, we’ve got ✧ werewolves ✧ now. They’re like the peak, top tier creature that makes paranormal fantasy what it is. The book even mentions mermaids and other more bizarre mythical creatures.

The plot twists aren’t half bad. There’s this new cool wise dude (Claud Deveraux) who’s like the forest God or something. Also, a creepy manic doll like woman (Nicholina) who I believe is a wraith and speaks with little girl’s voice and sounds like a haunted broken music box.

So, what’s the problem? The problem is the fact that instead of going ten steps (or even just one) forward, Blood & Honey is either staying in place or regressing ten steps backward in almost every aspect. Maybe in order to grow, we need to go through this regression stage. Still, IT. WAS. NOT. FUN.

— Characters

Lou

The characters are clearly not themselves. That said, Reid and Lou both have sticks up their asses. Granted, who wouldn’t be when you spend your whole life knowing you’re going to be a sacrificial lamb? A fate from which you only manage to escape by the skin of your teeth after having your head almost chopped off.

Lou, she’s blonde now (shoulder length platinum white, which IMO not a lot of people can pull off but she totally did). She has issues, the least of which is her awakening magical prowess. I feel like she’s more self centered and impulsive now (which both thrilled and annoyed me).

Reid

Lou’s become consumed with using her powers (which was kinda weird to me considering how she tried to conceal it in the first book). Watching her sort of descent into villainy (which I was lowkey rooting her to be) worries and spooks Reid, who’s having an existential crisis of his own.

Coming to terms with the reality that you’re a witch, the very thing that he was taught to hate and kill, is HARD for Reid—which okay I can understand. But he’s being a party pooper more so than usual and drowning in self loathing. Ain’t nobody need that shit, least of all me. I do that to myself at least twice a week.

Supporting

As for the side characters, am I the only one thinking Coco and Beau are not as awesome and funny as they were in the first book? I feel like they’re rather passive and kind of fade into the background in this book. And their absurd love triangle with Ansel really pissed me off. Especially after what Coco did, leading him on and jerking him around.

He’s (was) my precious baby who must be protected at all cost. He’s (was) my favorite character and probably the only good thing out of all this godforsaken mess. Except, I’m not even allowed to have that reprieve because HE WAS KILLED in this book.

WTF IS YOUR DEAL, DEAR AUTHOR?!?!? YOU CRUEL MAD CRAZY WOMAN.



— Story & World Building

There’s a lot of nothing happen in this book. Sure, we go to places, we meet new people, we have someone getting abducted and another one killed, we have one team being captured by the King while the other has to deal with Morgane on another face off. See, lots of actions. However, those are just fillers.

Because at the end of the day, the threat of Morgane has not yet fully passed. In fact, we might even have a new problem in the shape of that lunatic Nicholina (whom I assume has either possessed or magic tricked herself into becoming Lou’s clone judging from the cliffhanger at the end) and the entire La Dame Rouges coven which begs the question . . .

What happened to Lou??? Where did she disappear to???

It also didn’t escape my notice that this book would likely confuse the heck out of you if you didn’t re-read the first book because the author obviously thinks that recaps are useless beyond her capabilities and getting discombobulated from all the new details is YOUR problem.

In terms of the setting, I feel like it could’ve been anywhere and not particularly set in France. Though who knows, maybe I didn’t recognize it cause I’ve never been there myself and barely know anything about the culture. As for the magic, it’s quite an improvement from the first book which is appreciated.

— Romance

This part sucks. :( How could any relationship not when both parties are slowly drifting apart from each other because of their own inner demons? Reid and Lou spend the first 30% being horny, the next 50% being ticked off by each other’s actions, and the rest (when they finally snap out of it) being mellow. That might not be an accurate calculation.

The point is, I missed their witty banter and fun, adorable hate to love dynamics from the first book. One can say the romance between Reid and Lou is trying in this book which I can understand as that’s probably a realistic portrayal. But, it was also trying for me, the outside party, who had to witness and endure it alongside them. 😥

“The world didn’t end in a scream. It ended in a gasp. A single, startled exhalation. And then–Nothing. Nothing but silence.”

Let’s wrap this up.

Honestly, what am I doing? I’m wasting time spewing shit over a series that I don’t think I care about anymore. 🤦‍♀️ I’m not even sure how many of you or why any of you would bother reading this rant. If you by some miracle make it to the end, congratulations, thank you, and I’m sorry as I probably just knocked five minutes off your life.

Anyway, what’s my verdict on this book?

I think Blood & Honey is completely unnecessary. Don’t waste your money and time on this book unless you don’t mind doing so and/or you’re very fastidious about your commitment to finish and own a series. My suggestion would be to skip this book and just read the summary version on Wiki Fandom or something in preparation for when Gods & Monsters is released.

(Read as an Audiobook)

[Kiki · Rating 2 out of 5]

Honestly, this book was awful, and I’m struggling to justify giving it two stars instead of one. Between the total lack of plot (not an exaggeration; at no point during this entire book is there any semblance of a plot. Nothing fucking happens except people wandering around. I’m almost impressed by the author’s commitment to NOT telling a story) and the terrible characterisation (not a single person stayed in character, the worst of which was Coco, who went from being a funny, capable, menacing witch to being a fucking weepy little sad sack) and the nonsensical magic system (what they fuck does any of it mean?? The magic just does whatever it needs to in order to nudge the characters around), I mourn the death of everything that made the first book fun. One thing is clear: this should never have been a series. It would have made for a great standalone, but the sequels read like fanfic, because this world simply isn’t big enough or interesting enough to support a series. The characters don’t have far enough to go and the relationships aren’t nuanced. You played through the enemies to lovers marriage of convenience thing in the first book (two excellent tropes) but with that arc completed, there’s nowhere else for the story to go.

To quote that Vine where the kid has the aerosol can and a lighter, and his terrified family is screaming at him: You better stop! STOP!

[✨ Helena ✨]

I received this complimentary ARC from the publisher, in exchange for an honest review.

Buddy read with Laur!!! :)



HERE WE GOOOOOOOOOOOO!!! :O

[NickReads]

this cover is too much.

[Victoria Resco · Rating 3 out of 5]

⭐7/10⭐

qUÉ FINAL IMPRESIONANTE ALV. Estoy en shock. Estoy desesperada. Necesito el tercero ya.

[⋆˚୨ৎ˚⋆ Kim ⋆˚୨ৎ˚⋆ · Rating 3 out of 5]

જ��➴ 2.5 stars

“What you are now is not what you’ve always been, nor is it what you always will be. You are a snake. Shed your skin if it no longer serves you. Transform into something different. Something better.”

✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧ ✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧ ✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧ ✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧ ✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧ ✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧ ✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧ ✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧
...oh. Oh. Now I see why Blood & Honey was rated lower than Serpent and Dove. I had this rated at a 3 stars when I immediately finished it, but after a LOT of reflection, I lowered it down to a 2.5. I think this was SO awkward to read. It felt like I was intruding on a conversation that I had no business knowing about or hearing. Has anyone on the phone with someone and they have to mute themselves for a second because someone else is trying to talk to them, but they don't end up hitting the mute button, and they're arguing with the person in the background while you're still on the phone listening to everything happening? That's how I felt reading this entire book. One of the hardest things about reading and reviewing books in a series is not being able to go in a whole ton of depth in the reviews because I'd risk spoiling the events of the first book, so I'll try my best to convey my thoughts while keeping this spoiler-free.

Right away, you can tell that Shelby Mahurin improved her writing skills between her publishing Serpent & Dove and Blood & Honey. I remember opening up the book, reading the first couple of pages, and was shocked because the writing in Serpent and Dove was already good, and somehow it felt as if she took on a different voice and writing style with Blood and Honey. However, I feel like it improved almost to a fault. To put it simply, it felt as if any sort of character development and personality got sucked out of all of the characters, specifically Lou and Reid. I can't go into more specifics without spoiling events from both Serpent and Dove and Blood and Honey, but it felt like we took a MASSIVE step back in both their character development and their storyline together. The only things I will say I liked in terms of the characters are that we got to see Coco and Beau play a more prominent role in the plot; they felt like true main characters rather than just side characters. It was something I wish we got to see more of in Serpent & Dove, so I'm glad Blood & Honey delivered on that!

For example, I distinctly remember opening up the first page and thinking, "Wow, the writing's good!" but then I remember that we're reading in both Lou and Reid's POVs and when I realized it was Lou's POV, I had that *freeze frame, record scratch* moment. The unapologetic, fearless, sassy, funny, crude personality we see with Lou in the first book completely disappeared. Granted, I understand that after the events of the first book, I'm sure the last thing on Lou's mind is singing a crude pub song to rile people up, but the Lou from Blood & Honey is a complete 180 from Serpent & Dove Lou. As for Reid, any sort of progress he's made in accepting that not all witches are bad--all things considered, he did marry one--flew out the window. It also didn't help that I felt like almost every chapter was Lou, Reid, Beau, Ansel, and Coco all fighting amongst themselves, and it was driving me up a wall. It was super awkward to read; I know these characters are fictional, but I'm being dead serious when I say that it felt like I was intruding on their arguments and bickering.

(Also, Lou and Reid? Yeah, they were giving Nara and Lucky Smith vibes. If you know, you know.)

As for the plot, I felt like this was very much a "filler" book in a series. You know how in a trilogy, the first book is usually the "worldbuilding" book where you spend a lot more time learning about the magic system and how everything works, and then right at the end, you get some action that sets you up for the second book? Then the second book is the book where the characters are trying to figure out how to fix everything, but it's usually a "filler" book because the characters are traveling around trying to figure everything out, and then the third book is usually the finale where the final showdown takes place? Blood & Honey is that filler book. The pacing was slow at times, and coupled with the fact that everyone was yelling at each other for a good chunk of the book, there were times when it felt like I was intruding on something. The tension was just so awkward at times and made it a difficult read in some areas.

Once again, like I did with Serpent & Dove, can we take a moment to talk about that ending?! But this time, it's not in a good way. If I took a shot every time I said, "bruh" to myself reading this book, but especially at the end, I wouldn't even be here right now. The ending of Serpent & Dove kept me on the edge of my seat like I was reading a thriller, and the ending to Blood & Honey just left me angry and with more questions than ever before (which, obviously, sets the stage for Gods & Monsters, which I have not started yet at the time of writing this review). I did feel like some of the elements of the ending of the book were entirely unnecessary and added in for shock effect--there was one scene that legitimately made me gag--but I'm not going to go into depth with that for the sake of avoiding spoilers. All I'll say about it is that if those things weren't included or presented differently, I probably would've enjoyed the ending a lot more than I actually did.

All in all, while I felt the writing improved and Shelby Mahurin made strides in finding her writing style, I believe Blood & Honey suffered from the sophomore slump of a trilogy. The pacing was off at times, any progress on character development from the first book went out the window, and I honestly felt like I was intruding on a private conversation the entire time, and the vibes were just so awkward. Here's to hoping Gods & Monsters will be better!

(If you want to read my review of Serpent & Dove, click here!)
✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧ ✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧ ✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧ ✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧ ✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧ ✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧ ✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧ ✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧
Trigger/content warnings (thank you to Trigger Warnings Database for providing these!): Nonconsensual drugging, blood and gore depiction, death of a child, death of a sibling, murder/attempted murder, torture, kidnapping, animal attack

⋆˙⟡ 𝒫𝓇𝑒-𝓇𝑒𝒶𝒹: Yup, I'm diving right into the second book. There's no way I couldn't after the way Serpent and Dove ended. The Goodreads rating makes me nervous though. Serpent and Dove having an almost 4-star rating and Blood and Honey having closer to 3.5-star rating...I know it's not a HUGE drop but what happened that made people rate it lower?! I guess I'll find out soon. I'm hoping this is still good🤞🏼✨

[che · Rating 1 out of 5]

i shouldn't have read this :)

[Maryam Rz. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lo and behold: the Middle Book Syndrome strikes again. Sigh. Made for a great playlist (Spotify URL) but oh the mess that this was...




B&H was both better and worse than its predecessor—no longer underdeveloped yet bearing a plot that is hot mess incarnate, sprinkled with lots of filler aaanddd not much of anything else, plus daring to reverse all arcs back to ground zero.

I mean, Reid was practically intolerable.



I enjoyed it (thus the 3 stars that, according to GR, translate to “I liked it”) because (a) I loved seeing Lou finally live up to her I’m dark claims and (b) the writing was fantastic and much improved and (c) world, relationships, and concepts were better developed and of course (d) Beau is bae.

Lost potential shall always be my greatest woe.



Full review to come.

[Mariah · Rating 1 out of 5]

Thinking back on this book and I can't help but wonder if it was a giant prank.
I wish someone had warned me this was almost 600 pages of filler.
I thoroughly enjoyed S&D (4 stars) and even reread it beforehand to make sure it was fresh in my mind... I think that only made things worse for me.

I just had so much fun during that first book and it was a feeling wholly absent for me in this one. And there was no plot to make up for it.

I also found myself growing colder towards Lou and Reid as individuals. I'm still so confused.
Also, good job on ruining Coco forever. 0/10 would cry BAD TOUCH, every time she shows up on the page.
I haven't felt this alienated by a sequel in a long time.
Praying for Book 3. But coming to terms with the fact that Serpent & Dove will forever be a standalone in my head.

[em · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh. You guys are not ready for this.


“And if I had to run, hide, and fight for that love, I would. For the rest of my life, I would.”

Honestly, I am in disposition to confirm that I'd die for these characters. And to some extent, I did. Because guys, I have finished Blood & Honey. And I can't help but feel like Blood & Honey was the one finishing me.

That’s exactly how it feels, at least.

Anyway. If you are anticipating the sequel to the acclaimed Serpent & Dove—the book that has brought back witches and stronger than ever—as much as I was myself, I must warn you. Clear your agenda. Make sure to leave a few days—or weeks—free of any commitment that will require the possession of a heart. Because B&H will squeeze that organ in your chest so tight, that you’ll need some time to recover from it.

That, if your heart survives at all.

And just for the sake to repeat myself, know this: you are NOT ready for B&H. Shelby Mahurin not only tugs at all these golden threads herself, twisting and tangling our hearts and souls with wordy magic. She is definitely out for our emotions—FEELS, so many bloody feels—too. These characters have never felt THIS REAL. Lou, Reid, Ansel, Coco, Beau, and the ones you are yet to meet. Hold on to them. And hold on tight.

Because you guys are in for a f*cking ride and you’ll want to grab on to something. Anything really.

Until then, I’ll be here. Getting the support group y’all need ready for when you need it.

As for the rating (4/5), well... I couldn't bring myself to give it 5 stars because of a certain event. This is me trying to make myself feel better by keeping a star as a sign of my [redacted].

My review of Serpent & Dove

*eArc from the publisher in exchange for an honest review

[aly ☆彡 (on vacation) · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am too in love with Serpent and Dove to be disappointed with this one and I'm not sure if this goes to show that the author should stick with the plan of making this a duology, instead of trilogy. And as much as I enjoyed the quarter half of the book, it gets deplorable later on. The middle book syndrome is too apparent and the stories seemingly to exist purely as a bridge, considering it lacks in terms of pacing and plot. My heart is just... broken

A thing about Shelby Mahurin is that she writes her book simply competent. Therefore, as much as I am disappointed with this second book, she still managed to make it a page-turner and it's probably the only reason why I rated this higher than I should.

On the other hand, Lou and Reid's character development is probably the most substanstial ones compared to the rest. As much I love to see the other characters grow (especially Coco), the shift in Lou and Reid is not something I fond or anticipate as much. I used to say if I have to choose a character that is close to myself, it's Lou. But Blood & Honey Lou feels like a totally different person, I don't think my point still stand.

Now, if romance is a person, it's ME. I love romance and I love Lou and Reid. Unfortunately, I couldn't feel any sense of connection between the two in Blood and Honey. Everything they worked for in Serpent & Dove was trampled and undone in this instalment, which was such a pity. Shelby Mahurin went far-fetched with the realism that the enjoyment from before simply gone.

The romance did not come as spectacular even when it gets bittersweet. The shift in characters made me miss of what the characters were/should be as portrayed in the first book. With the change of dynamic between the couple, it just became entirely flat.

I am expecting more from this instalment and I didn't get what I wanted. However, the cliffhanger at the end counteracts the deadening of the book flow. And as much as I am quite disappointed, but I have to say, I still hope for the better on the last book and I can't wait for Gods & Monsters.

~~~~~
[Second Read: 2.5/5]
Reading this book after recently finished reading Serpent and Dove kind of feel like a slap in the face. All the things that I was disappointed from my first time reading is still the same thing I am disappointed when I read it for the second time. Except it's becoming more evident.

I want to love Gods and Monsters please- (SPOILER ALERT: I don't), I just hope I'm not in for another disappointment (already am). May Lou and Reid would restore my faith in the series <3 (not so much now).

[AJ · Rating 5 out of 5]

“I loved her. And if I had to run, hide, and fight for that love, I would. For the rest of my life, I would.”

I stayed up for 6 straight hours reading this and do I regret it? Not one damn bit! Whew, this book sucked me in from the very first page. We are instantly reunited with the characters we grew to love (and maybe even hate) from book one. We are also introduced to a few new characters who I really enjoyed.

I enjoyed the world setting in this book so much. On the run in the woods, a traveling circus—yes you heard me right— a witches camp, etc. The world itself made this book impossible to put down.

Reid’s inner struggles with himself were so wonderfully written. I felt his pain, his confusion, his desperate need to figure out who he is now. His head is in a rough space and everything that he learned and did at the end of Serpent and Dove is haunting him. His character arc was one of the best I’ve ever read! And holy smoke, Reid’s attitude was just super sexy in this book. I had to fan myself quite a few times because of Reid! Haha

Lou? Well let’s just say I was worried about Lou pretty much the entire book. And I don’t just mean her safety. I didn’t care for her much in this book, and I’m thinking that might’ve been the authors intent. Lou is changing and Reid notices which takes their relationship on a bumpy ride but it was great seeing how everything played out. Lou is trying so hard not to be like her mother, but—- *sighsss*

The ending? Well the ending made me cry. And I mean CRY! That ugly cry where you have to stop reading and catch your breath. The kind of cry where you just know rereading this amazing story will be difficult because it’ll make you sob every time. It destroyed me.

Book 3 is for sure going to be phenomenal and even though it’ll be a whole year before it’s out, I’m counting down the days! Now I’m off to grab more tissues because I’m crying, AGAIN!!


5/5 ✰’s

[Isa Cantos (Crónicas de una Merodeadora) · Rating 3 out of 5]

“Ask me no questions, mon amour, and I shall tell you no lies”.

Si siguen mis reseñas, sabrán que Serpent and Dove fue una completa decepción para mí y que, si leía Blood and Honey, lo haría con expectativas negativas… y creo que mi estrategia funcionó, pues este libro me pareció bastante más entretenido que el primero.

Después de las revelaciones locas del final de Serpent and Dove, este segundo tomo de la trilogía empieza con los protagonistas apenas habiendo salido con vida del Chatteau y con absolutamente todo en su contra. No solo ahora están aislados de todo, sino que Reid tiene magia (la cual detesta), ha perdido a su figura paterna (aunque era un asco), Lou acaba de sobrevivir a que su madre la matara (de nuevo) y necesitan desesperadamente aliados (cosa difícil de conseguir porque nadie quiere ayudar a un ex chasseur que ahora tiene magia y a la hija de Le Dame de Sorciéres).

Si bien Blood and Honey se sigue sintiendo como el típico segundo libro que se alargó innecesariamente porque la editorial descubrió que el primero estaba siendo un hit y decidieron prolongar lo que iba a ser una bilogía y convertirla en trilogía, creo que el ritmo mejoró con respecto al primero, y eso dice mucho. En esta entrega la trama no se centra tanto en la dinámica de Lou y de Reid conociéndose, sino que gira mucho más en torno a persecuciones, momentos de acción y, sobre todo, muchos conflictos internos.

En este libro, Reid se detesta a sí mismo por ser poseedor de eso que le enseñaron a detestar toda su vida, así que el odio por la magia surge de nuevo y, por ende, también los conflictos con Lou. Ella no solo está harta de que Reid desprecie lo que puede ser un don, sino también de que la restrinja tanto en sus habilidades, las cuales, si bien se están saliendo de control, le podrán dar una ventaja contra sus enemigos.

En general, Blood and Honey ya no pretende ser un libro de romance, como lo hacía el primero, y creo que por eso esperé menos en ese aspecto y me centré más en la trama de la magia, los conflictos con el aquelarre de la madre de Lou y sus planes diabólicos. Aunque sí hay unos cuantos momentos sexy, pero tampoco esperen mucho de ellos.

Ahora, a pesar de que, a la larga, siento que esta es una saga que va a quedar clasificada como “sin más” en mi cabeza, este segundo libro logró que decidiera leer el tercero y no dejar todo abandonado, así que ya les contaré mi veredicto final dentro de algún tiempo. Lo que sí diré es que, para ser esta una saga de fantasía, se nota a leguas que Shelby Mahurin detesta todo lo que tiene que ver con el worldbuilding y los sistemas de magia, pues son precisamente esos dos puntos los que son más flojos de toda la trama.

PD: ¡NO LE CREAN A NADIE QUE LES DIGA QUE ESTE LIBRO ES PERFECTO SI ACABAN DE LEER A SARAH J. MAAS! ¡ES UNA TRAMPA!

[Lucie V. · Rating 3 out of 5]

✅ Hate/love and angst
✅ Action
✅ Witches
✅ Found family (kinda)
✅🆗 Plot
🆗 Characters
🆗 Romance and interactions
❗️❗️ Kind of cliffhanger

“Tell me you didn’t steal it,” he said. “Tell me you found it in a hole somewhere.”
“All right. I didn’t steal it. I found it in a hole somewhere.”
He folded his arms across his chest, leveling me with a stern gaze. “Lou.”
“What?” I asked innocently.

I missed Lou and Reid's banter too much to rate this book higher! It's one of the things I loved the most in Serpent & Dove, how they would be sarcastic and exasperated at each other, yet we could feel the romance building between them (and the sexual tension). I laughed out loud many times while reading the first book because of their dialogues, but this part was absent from the sequel.

The story picks up right after the end of Serpent & Dove. Lou, Reid, Ansel, Mme Labelle, Coco, and Beau are hiding in La forêt des Yeux, they need to find allies to fight against Morgane and they need to do it fast. They want to talk to the blood witches, the loup-garou, and even the king.

“How old are you?” I asked again, louder this time.
“Very old.”
Odd, indeed. I stared at him. “ What are you?”
He chuckled, his eyes cutting to mine. “I simply . . . am.”
“That’s not an answer.”
“Of course it is. Why must I bind myself to fit your expectations?”

They also encounter new characters and even though I was wary of Claud at first, I admit that I really loved him, he is an interesting and intriguing character that I wish to see in the next book.

“It’s a real pity,” Beau finally muttered, shaking his head and looking at each of us in turn. His eyes shone with disappointment. “I know you’re all too preoccupied with your pining to notice, but I just caught my reflection in that last puddle—and damn, I look good.”

I also really like Beau, much more than in the first book. He is willing to sacrifice his status in court and even his place as a prince to help his friend do what is right, and what will help the whole kingdom. His snark and humor were also welcome in the darkest moments of the book.

This book is more serious and also darker. Reid is trapped in his dark thoughts most of the time, he hates himself for killing the archbishop, he hates magic but he loves Lou. We could feel anger between them for the first 300 pages or so. Sure it added drama (and I love drama), but I still missed their funny and sarcastic dialogues. Honestly, Reid's drama was getting on my nerves at some point.

“What you are now is not what you’ve always been, nor is it what you always will be. You are a snake. Shed your skin if it no longer serves you. Transform into something different. Something better.”

Lou is also trying to remain herself but feels the pull of the magic more and more as the story progresses, and we also see how reckless she can be. She is willing to do anything and sacrifice anything to protect those she loves, and it's not always a good thing.

“I’m a witch , Reid. A witch. I have the power to protect the ones I love, and I will sacrifice anything for them. If that makes me a monster—if that makes me aberrant —I’ll don the teeth and claws to make it easier for you. I’ll get worse, if that justifies your twisted rhetoric. Much, much worse.”

The storyline is good. The beginning is a little slow, and some parts were a little long, but the book as a whole is enjoyable. The ending was heartbreaking even though I expected it a little. There is also a kind of cliffhanger and I can't wait to read the next book (hopefully it will be better than Blood & Honey). There are many action scenes and overall I really liked this book, but it was definitely not as good as the first one.


1. Serpent & Dove ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐


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[Lamaleluna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Terminado
ME ENCANTÓ

Asesino de brujas se transformó rápidamente en una de mis trilogías favoritas. Y eso que aún no leí el tercer libro 🙈 que nerviosss

Había escuchado mucha crítica negativa en cuanto a este segundo libro y por eso entré a él con las expectativas un poco bajas. Sin embargo me encantó. Si me di cuenta que funciona como típico del libro 2 de la trilogía. El libro donde los personajes se preparan para el gran final. Pero eso no me molestó para nada y hay muchas cosas que rescato de este segundo tomo.

Vemos una evolución en la historia, ya no tenemos a nuestros dos protagonistas encerrados en una habitación sino que los vemos deambular por el mundo. Vamos a conocer el entorno, la magia, las ciudades y bosques. Además de una amplia variedad de criaturas mágicas.🙈

A su vez este libro se enfoca mucho en los personajes. En el primer libro sólo teníamos desarrollo de nuestros dos protagonistas.
Pude ver en Lou y Reid un crecimiento. Asimilar la magia, cuestionarse las cosas, crear planes y aceptarse el uno al otro.
Los personajes secundarios cobran más importancia ya sea los que ya conocíamos por el libro anterior como todos los nuevos que se introducen en este libro.😌

Es un libro cargado de acción, magia y una bella historia de amor. Obviamente al final tenemos escenas épicas, llenas de adrenalina que nos van a romper el corazón y nos van a dejar muchas ganas detener en nuestras manos la tercera parte. 😱

Recomiendo mucho esta trilogía si buscan algo atrapante, con mucha acción, muchos plot Twist, romance, enemies to lovers, pasión, secretos, brujas, asesinos y más!!!

Yo leyendo los hijos del rey: 😭😭😭🤣🤣🤣😱😱😱🤩🤩🤩🤩😝😝😝😝🥰🥰🥰🥰😍😍😍😎😎😎😎