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Serpent & Dove (Serpent & Dove, #1)

Shelby Mahurin

Start date: November 19, 2022

Finish date: December 19, 2022

Discussion: Buddy Reads 2022

Why we're reading this: November Buddy Read
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What Members Thought

Oct 18, 2019 Emma rated it really liked it

Shelves: magic, fantasy, re-read, witches

September 2020 Reread.
Well I’ve actually knocked this down from 5 to 4.5 stars on a reread because I found one part of the book particularly angst Laden. I still loved it though. Ready for Blood & Honey.
October 2019
This was literally magical! I liked the magical world described and the counterbalance of the chasseurs and how this meant the monarchy, the witches and the Church were interwoven. The author took care to develop all the characters and by the end had created a wonderful motley crew wh ...more

43 likes · Like · see review

Apr 08, 2020 Jamie (TheRebelliousReader) rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, e-book, look-at-the-pretty-cover, romance, young-adult, 2020, for-a-challenge, 3-stars, was-expecting-more, read-on-my-kindle

3 stars. This review ended up being longer than what I planned but here we are. No turning back now.

The beginning half of this was great and pulled me in immediately but then the entire middle section bored me to tears and I thought for sure this would end up being a book I wouldn’t enjoy but then the ending came around and saved it a little bit.

I like Mahurin’s writing. It’s impressive for a debut novel and the story itself is quite ambitious. I will say though that the way the characters spea 3 stars. This review ended up being longer than what I planned but here we are. No turning back now.

The beginning half of this was great and pulled me in immediately but then the entire middle section bored me to tears and I thought for sure this would end up being a book I wouldn’t enjoy but then the ending came around and saved it a little bit.

I like Mahurin’s writing. It’s impressive for a debut novel and the story itself is quite ambitious. I will say though that the way the characters speak and act is very modern and kept pulling me out of the story. It also doesn’t read like a fantasy but more like a contemporary which was kinda odd. This didn’t have to be placed in the 17th century because the author does nothing of significance with the era except for the witch burning thing but even that was lackluster. The world building and the magic system were pretty much nonexistent which made figuring out how everything worked a hassle. This book is 500 pages, definitely more than enough pages to flesh those things out but I get that the romance was the main focal point, not all of that other stuff.

Also, Lou and Reid are some of the least interesting characters I’ve come across lately. My goodness. Lou was the typical YA heroine and Reid was just there. He existed but his personality was about as interesting as a root canal. The romance was enemies to lovers but they jump from one to the other pretty quickly and it feels so empty. I felt nothing for their romance and I didn’t get why they were attracted to each other so suddenly. The one sex scene was pretty decent in this though so there’s that I guess.

I was way more interested in the side characters because I feel they had a lot more going on than our hero and heroine. The ending was cool though and I’ll probably read the second book when it comes out but I really hope we get a more developed world and characters. It was entertaining enough though especially the beginning.

Overall, I’d recommend it if YA fantasy is your jam but sadly for me it’s a genre that I’ve fallen out of love with (with the exception of my favorite series ofc and a few gems). 3 stars for the solid start.

Also, if Mahurin could get rid of the cringe worthy song, ‘Big Titty Liddy’ that Lou loves to sing so much in the second book I would send her a wine basket because big yikes.

{Challenges completed:
✔All Challenges All the Time: The Big Bang Theory Challenge
✔The Lost Challenges: Most Iconic Album Covers Challenge
✔The Lost Challenges: The Best Snack Food From Every State Challenge (Book 8 out of 100)} ...more

16 likes · Like · see review

Nov 08, 2020 Librarian Jessie (BibliophileRoses) rated it really liked it

Shelves: who-did-this-to-you-trope, arcs, 4-stars, enemies-to-lovers, one-bed-trope, grumpy-x-sunshine

**ARC REVIEW**

I own the Advanced Readers Copy, however, due to the negative reviews, I was very hesitant to begin reading it. I was extremely pleased to discover that the book was actually quite good. I loved the unique plot line, and while I felt the ending was entirely rushed, I am dying to read the second book.

Honestly, I love the relationship between Lou and Reid. Their enemies-to-lovers, Christian x Witchcraft, who-did-this-to-you romance that just gives you warm and fuzzies. Oh, and not to ...more

4 likes · Like · see review

Sep 04, 2020 Kelsey rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

“Love makes fools of us all, darling.”

I read this book twice in anticipation of the publication of "Blood and Honey." I am so glad that I did this as I needed a refresher.

The protagonist is Lou, a foul-mouthed, stealing, brave, and loyal witch. She lives in a perilous time where it is dangerous to be a woman, let alone a witch. The Church runs the kingdom of Belterra, and its sole purpose is to eradicate magic. The Church funds a group of highly trained warriors called the Chasseurs. They are r ...more

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Jul 16, 2021 Frances rated it liked it

I enjoyed it. A good popcorn YA/NA book. Some explicit content is the only reason I hesitate to call it YA, but it was a super fast, easy read. I saw a few reviews calling it problematic, but I think enemies to lovers is generally seen as problematic/toxic because... they're enemies. They're mean to each other. It's the whole point. It's also fiction, don't fall in love with your enemies in real life, you're probably not very good for each other. ...more

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Sep 05, 2020 Lawona rated it really liked it

A solid 4.5 stars! What could go wrong with forbidden love? I knew eventually they would come to the conclusion of their love for each other, but why did it have to take so long.

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