Serpent & Dove (Serpent & Dove #1) by Shelby Mahurin - Restarting April 25th 2022

[Aly]

Witch Killer (view spoiler)[ Oh man, that was awful. Estelle wanted to turn Lou in so she could be sacrificed, but it wasn't out of malice. And Lou had to watch her burn because what's she going to do? Out herself as a witch? I do like Ansel more, he's young and doesn't know anything else. But he likes Lou and if she could get him away from the Church, he could change his mind. I also like that she and Reid are forming a bond, but when he finds out she's a witch he will probably still condemn her (hide spoiler)]

[Jenn]

Aly wrote: "Witch Killer [spoilers removed]"

I adored Ansel! He just so adorably sweet!

[Aly]

End of Part 2 (view spoiler)[ Ew, Lou's dad is the Archbishop? He's such a hypocrite, but is that really a surprise? He fights so much against the witches because he loved one. Now for Reid to find out she's a witch. I hope he doesn't turn her in (hide spoiler)]

[Aly]

Harbinger (view spoiler)[ Coco and Ansel are such good friends to Lou. I love that they defended her to Reid. Lots of revelations have happend! Reid is the bastard of the king, his mom is the Madame and actually loves him and didn't want to give him up. The whole plot and reason for sacrificing Lou. (hide spoiler)] I really like this story! It's so crazy and interesting

[Farren]

Aly wrote: "End of Part 1 [spoilers removed]"

It's sad to know that centuries ago that was reality

[Lesa]

Ansel too cute. Lol
Ending part 2...
(view spoiler)[ its becoming so real with lou and reid omg. Even she know who his mom is omg if he finds out lou and his mom are omg. What will he do... Archibishop is a mystery. He knows more than he is saying. Omg what a ending to part 2.. Secret reveiled. (hide spoiler)]

[Aly]

Finished (view spoiler)[ So maybe the sons of witches do inherit some magic? I'm so happy Reid loves Lou enough that he could access his magic and save her. And I definitely don't feel bad the Archbishop died. I liked this a lot and now I'm excited for the next book! (hide spoiler)]

[Krystal]

Starting

[HeatherH]

Ch 10-12/32%/ Consummation*The Interrogation*Forbidden Infirmary

(view spoiler)[ Omgoodness I'm so excited that Coco found a way to be there with Lou! And Lou's mouth... its so fantastic, the way she runs it at every possible turn haha. I am looking forward to more of Ansel as well; his embarrassment when she was singing pub songs was so adorable :) (hide spoiler)]

[Maddie]

6% (view spoiler)[Definitely intrigued so far! So they need to disguise themselves as men because they're witch women and they're being hunted, is that right? (hide spoiler)]

[HeatherH]

Maddie wrote: "6% [spoilers removed]"

Yeah I think in their world, just being women makes them suspects as far as witchery goes. Disguised as men = less attention.

[Maddie]

Yeah thanks Heather!

[HeatherH]

45%

(view spoiler)[ Well, holy heck things just escalated! Estelle's discovery of Lou is going to bring bad things I fear..

I'm digging how Lou and Ried's relationship is progressing - nice and slow.

Coco is phenomenal and Ansel's crush on her is adorable. As is Ansel himself. *sweetlittlecinnamonroll* (hide spoiler)]

[Ashleigh]

@Heather (view spoiler)[agree about Ansel, he's probably the character with the most good in his heart in the whole book and he definitely is a sweet little cinnamon bun! (hide spoiler)]

[Ashleigh]

So everyone loves Ansel. It's literally impossible not to like him haha!

[Farren]

47%

(view spoiler)[ Ansel is so cute, I'm hoping Coco gives him a chance. I like how Reid and Lou's relationship is progressing. I hate when characters go from despising each other to suddenly being in love (i.e. The Cruel Prince 🤮) and I like that they are slowly growing on each other. I was swooning when he gave her that book! lol

Loved the reveal that Lou is running from her own mother after she tried to kill her. Now that she's explained the prophecy I can see how this will be a series. I thought it was a standalone when I started it and now I'm regretting not waiting a few more months to pick it up! (hide spoiler)]

[Farren]

I have a little over 100 pages left that I really want to read tonight but I also don't want it to be over already. I wasn't expecting to like this book so much.

So many secrets revealed at the end of Part 2 and beginning of Part 3! But I have a question about the Archbishop. (view spoiler)[ How did he know Lou was his daughter if she was using a fake name? I'm not sure if I missed that (hide spoiler)]

[HeatherH]

58%

(view spoiler)[ So Ansel knows Lou's truth and I adore that he is able to see through his teachings and be accepting. I hope they can get Reid there as well. I just read the scene where Lou asks Reid to sleep in the bed with her and he taunts her by taking off his shirt and refusing to leave the bed - cracking up laughing. I love their banter and how slow and sweetly their relationship is building! (hide spoiler)]

[HeatherH]

Up to Oblivion

(view spoiler)[ those parental reveals were shocking! Completely blindsided by both. The moment Lou told him that witches abandon their sons I suspected his mother was a witch but not Madam Labelle :o

Super disappointed in Reid right now and hoping he redeems himself quickly.. also that Ansel survives. And where is Coco during this attack?! (hide spoiler)]

Not gonna lie... Kinda wanna keep going with this one and ignore my other books haha. But also, I don't want this one to end!

[Heather]

Starting today

[HeatherH]

finished

(view spoiler)[ guys! I can't right now!

Lou's dad is the archbishop. Reid's dad is the king and his mom is a witch and HE HAS MAGIC!!!!

This is definitely my favorite fantasy read of the year and my mind is truly blown that it is a debut.. like, what?! Ima need the sequel like ten minutes ago.

The character growth, especially with Reid, is so friggin incredible in this one. I love how slowly their relationship developed as well - it was enemies-to-lovers done right.

And in book two ya'll - WE NEED TO PROTECT ANSEL AT ALL COSTS! He is just such a sweet little cinnamon roll! (hide spoiler)]

[Farren]

Heather wrote: "finished

guys! I can't right now!

Lou's dad is the archbishop. Reid's dad is the king and his mom is a witch and HE HAS MAGIC!!!!

This is definitely my favorite fantasy read of the year and m..."

She dropped all these bombs on us and was like okay see you in 2020 like we're just supposed to survive until then! This debut novel is loads better than many novels I've read from popular experienced authors

[HeatherH]

@Farren - AGREED!

[Jenn]

Ashleigh wrote: "So everyone loves Ansel. It's literally impossible not to like him haha!"

^^THIS

[Maddie]

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Date changed. Restarting November 5th & December 15th 2019. Happy Reading ☺

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[Neha]

I'll be joining this, if that's ok :D

[Claire]

End of Part 1
(view spoiler)[Reid is such a pure little brainwashed soldier, aw. Can't wait for him to find out that Lou is a witch! :D

The pacing so far is a bit slow for my taste but I'm sure it will be worth it~ (hide spoiler)]

[Maddie]

Sure is Neha! I've got so many books on my plate already it's so stressful

[Claire]

The author made Spotify playlists if anyone wants to check them out! I've been listening to them and I think that the songs are wonderful <3

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/32p...
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6Mt...

[Maddie]

Oh wow that's great! Thank you! I love Spotify playlists relating to the books! Although I prefer them when they're just instrumental/orchestral

[Claire]

Yeah music with lyrics can be distracting for reading ><

40%
(view spoiler)[Things are starting to heat up, plot wise and looks like also romance wise soon! 👀

I'm nervous now because that is some hella meta feeling foreshadowing right there with the romance novel.

We got our first bed sharing scene ohoho~

How I feel about Lou and Reid tbh:
(hide spoiler)]

[Maddie]

Especially if it's not a song I already know

[Neha]

Thanks for the playlist links Claire! I'll put them on while I read.

Read about two pages of the book this morning. Hopefully more later tonight haha

[Claire]

End of Part 2
(view spoiler)[I really like that the situation with Celie was done without any unnecessary name-calling or girl-hate on Lou's end. I actually feel really bad for Celie, imagine giving up on marrying a guy who you love, only for him to marry someone else, oof.

Lou being the Archbishop's daughter is so ??? but I guess now his behaviour makes more sense.

Lou and Reid are so friggin cute together 😭

Also I didn't expect to love Ansel as much as I do, what a sweet cinnamon roll 😚 (hide spoiler)]

[Claire]

Heather wrote: [spoiler removed]"

(view spoiler)[Ansel is actually a max level cinnamon roll omg, I love him so much and I need for him to have a happy ending 😭 (hide spoiler)]

[Claire]

Finished!
(view spoiler)[Lmao wow wtf, so many people are related to each other 😂

So that was pretty cray, I hope that we get a really good explanation for Reid being able to use magic because ?????????

It was pretty random how Beau joined the group at the end there but I'm starting to warm up to him, I guess he'll be important when we get back to dealing with the royal family?

So proud of my bby Reid for finally swearing, I can't get over the fact that the final word of this book is just "Shit." what the actual heck 😂 (hide spoiler)]

[Neha]

40% (view spoiler)[ I like the world building and the concept, but some of the events/plotting feels forced and contrived to me. Reid's character setup is interesting, but I wish we'd gotten more backstory and scenes in his POV that are about how he relates to the world, or how he grew up - rather than how he sees Lou?

There's really none of the sparking friction I expected from the whole enemies forced to marry on Reid's end - possibly because he doesn't know she's a witch yet? He pretty much makes up his mind about protecting her the second he decides he's marrying her. He's... SWEET tbh. It isn't hard for me to see him deciding that he doesn't care about her being a witch.

I definitely think that the archbishop has other motivations, because that marriage definitely didn't need to happen. Maybe he knows who's daughter she is and is trying to keep her safe for reasons of his own? (hide spoiler)]

[Claire]

@Neha - (view spoiler)[Lol yeah I think I already mentioned this to you but the plot of this book was a bit ??? for me, definitely some contrivances. I still can't decide if I like it or not (I avoided commenting on the plot in my review lol) and I reckon I won't really be able to tell for sure until book 2 :< (hide spoiler)]

[Neha]

@claire - (view spoiler)[ I think the author could have done a better job tbh, I'm thinking say SoC or Winner's curse. Both books had that delicious chemistry going with two people who should be enemies falling in love and some really well plotted story lines, which was what I wanted from this book.
I think we'll find out about the archbishop's real motivations in this book, but even then I think keeping it from us/not hinting at it more makes everything seem silly and forced?
OBV I haven't finished this one yet, but I already feel like I won't be able to really tell if I like the story until I read book 2 hahahaha (hide spoiler)]
Do we know how old Reid and Lou are? I don't remember reading anything, but maybe I just breezed right past it haha

[Neha]

70% (view spoiler)[Finally some actual witch killing in the book. I'm not really buying the Ansel/Coco thing, but I do like Ansel.
I'm having issues with the plotting and Lou's thought processes really, but I like Reid and Lou together * u * (hide spoiler)]
Got really busy and moving really slow on this one :((

[Neha]

Finished!
(view spoiler)[I went into the last part expecting to be underwhelmed as I'd been so far, but I really enjoyed that! I think I'm going to be reading the next book after all!
I still don't really understand why some things happened other than... plot setup. I feel like the book really suffered from a lack of detail about the other characters, like Beau showing up at coco's side and joining them in the final arc felt so odd to me? We don't hear nearly enough about him to justify him suddenly being a big part of the plot.
This feels like a great idea that could have really benefitted from not being... in character POV + having more actual visible world building and less contrived plot. It annoyed me, but the last part (and the cute couple at the centre of the book) is going to bring me back for the next one haha (hide spoiler)]

[Krystal]

Putting this on my list for the 15th.

[Lizz (Beer, Books and Boos)]

I am listening to it right now

[Klancy]

I'm listening to the audiobook! Not gonna lie, I'm hoping the story will pick up soon. I'm maybe 10-12% into the audiobook (why doesn't Audible have a feature to tell you how far you are in an audio?), so I'm still holding out hope that I'll get sucked into the story at some point. (view spoiler)[Is anyone else confused about who Lou is hiding from? Is it the old hag/pregnant woman she's hiding from? I guess we'll find out more later but I want to know what happened between them lol (hide spoiler)]

[Klancy]

I have 7h 41m left, which I think is around 49%? 😬 The story has definitely picked up! I wasn’t the biggest fan of the men in the book at the beginning because of their treatment of women...I’m still not the biggest fan except for Ansel and Reid. They’ve grown on me for sure! I also really like Lou!

(view spoiler)[So Lou is hiding from her mother because in order to save the lives of other witches Lou has to die...I'm still not really sure why it's Lou's life that will save all of the witches. Is it because she's her mother's sacrifice for balance? (hide spoiler)]

[Krystal]

Ugh, My ebook version hold won't be available for 4 weeks so I put a hold on a physical copy that should come Monday/Tuesday of next week.

[Klancy]

Oh no! Hopefully you get a copy soon :)

[Krystal]

I should since I'm first in line and they actually had it at another library. Now just to wait for them to transfer to my library but shouldn't take more than a few days :)

[Klancy]

Awesome! :) I'll still be around when you start the book so we can discuss it!

I have 6h 5m left and I just finished the chapter called A Dangerous Game.

(view spoiler)[The romance between Reid and Lou is heating up and I'm living for it. I was a little worried for a second there when Ceelie (ugh, I'm awful spelling names when listening to audiobooks xD) is trying to win Reid back. My reaction the whole time was just:
(hide spoiler)]

[Krystal]

My hold came today! They transferred that quick, lol. So, I’ll go pick that up today.