Serpent & Dove Buddy Read (Starting on the 1st week of June 2020)

[yanitta☏]

We will be reading Serpent & Dove by Shelby Mahurin on the first week of June. (Dates are not completely confirmed, yet. You can suggest a day we can start in the comments.) You can read as much as you want and comment your discussions below.

If you are joining this Buddy Read, comment below! Everyone is welcome! If you have already read it, you can join the discussions as well.

We can talk about Serpent & Dove as long as there is a spoiler tag, or it's kept spoiler-free.

Enjoy!

[Mahi]

I'm in.

[Mahi]

Can we start the read from June 6th?

[yanitta☏]

Yeah sure!

[Mahi]

The more the merrier :)

[☀︎El In Oz☀︎]

Hope you guys love this book- it’s really good!

[Mahi]

Can we have a brief discussion about the pacing of the read?

[yanitta☏]

Sure. How many chapters do you want to read per day? They're 41 chapters so about 4-5 per day?

[Mahi]

I'm good with 5 per day for now. If the book is captivating, we can alter the speed accordingly. Let me know when you gaze at the first page of the book :)

[yanitta☏]

I listened to the audiobook for about 15 mins yesterday, and it sounds great! Happy reading :)

[Liz (Quirky Cat)]

Is it too late to join in?

[Mahi]

Liz (Quirky Cat) wrote: "Is it too late to join in?"

You joined the conversation just in time. We are starting the read from tmrw :)

[yanitta☏]

Oh I reread the message I sent, and I guess I said it started today. It's a typo, sorry. It's starts tomorrow. :)) Maybe I was sleepy at the time haha

[Mahi]

ahh...french in between is distracting :(

[yanitta☏]

I know a bit of French, and most of the words aren't so relevant to the story, though. They're mostly curse words. But yeah, they're distracting.

[Mahi]

Finished chapter 5. The entire setup feels like lifted from Leigh Bardugo books and i'm sensing a striking similarity between Nina and Matthhias, and Lou and Reid characters. I hope the similarity ends there :(

[yanitta☏]

I’m a bit behind because I had 2 essays due tomorrow, but I wasn’t so fond of Nina + Matthias. And I don’t feel that attached or connected to the characters yet...

[Mahi]

np, let me know when you are done with 5th chapter, so we can read together. I didn't liked Nina and Matthias too, especially the later who is an annoying halfwit.

[yanitta☏]

I’m done with Chapter 5, now!☺️

[yanitta☏]

How did you find the first 5 chapters? For me, I still feel quite neutral, and Lou isn’t my favorite. I enjoyed reading Reid’s POV though, maybe he may not be so similar to Matthias.

[Mahi]

So far, every thing is just okay for me except that gold cord and blood magic concept which i liked. I'm assuming a tedious love track between Reid and Lou, and i hope my assumption is wrong. I still didn't started 6th chapter :(

[Mahi]

Finished chapter 10. Writing is bad and pages are painfully boring.

[yanitta☏]

I agree with your point about the writing. The prose is quite annoying, but I actually like the story. I just want to finish this book because I think the pacing is great.

[Mahi]

Finished chapter 17. some parts are good, but i'm not sure if there is some story in this book haha..

[yanitta☏]

I'm at Chapter 25. Let me know when you're there. The story is getting a bit better, but I guess the main point of this book is the romance.

[Mahi]

Finished 25. Yeah, it's at least readable now. Though romance part is filled with cliches, it's charming :)

[yanitta☏]

I now have 3 chapters left! I’m feeling much better with the book now, but since the start is not so good, the rating is probably gonna be about 3 stars.

[Mahi]

I'm going to start 26 and will probably finish the book by tmrw. I don't think i am kind enough to rate this book 3 stars, but i still have some hope on the remaining chapters :)

[yanitta☏]

Yeah, sure. I hope you enjoy the end! I'll keep my spoiler-thoughts to myself until you finish the book. ;)

[Mahi]

What happens when Reid knows the Lou's secret is one thing i'm interested in. Are you willing to read the second book of the series??

[yanitta☏]

Yes, I am! I can't wait for it to come out. :))

[yanitta☏]

I want to get a better explanation of the magic system and more of Coco in the second book.

[Mahi]

Only person who is having a brain in this book is Coco. I've read some ignorant characters but never faced a character as brainless as Reid. I pity Lou not for having a tough life, but for having Reid as the husband. I'm crawling towards last page and there are still 5 chapters :(

[☀︎El In Oz☀︎]

oh, sad you don't like it that much.
anyway, I loved Lou so so much and Reid was so adorable! I won't say more until everyone is done, but I'm very excited so see more of Coco's family!
(view spoiler)[ I am so excited to see her mom! and I want more of Lou's mom as well, I love how evil they are! (hide spoiler)]

[yanitta☏]

Well, I hope the second book gets better. I agree about Coco being the only one with a brain in this book. I feel quite neutral about Reid and Lou, though...I think they’re better than Nina and Matthias.

[Mahi]

Done with the last page. I want to do a research on how to find a mother and child by looking the eyes..haha

[yanitta☏]

Yes!! That is my least favorite part of the book. (view spoiler)[Revealing that Madame Labelle was Reid's mother was so...cringey? There was no evidence to justify that claim at all except for the color of their eyes! Honestly, I am fine with the 'I am your mother/father' reveal, but if the author added more foreshadowing, it would be a much more powerful twist. (hide spoiler)]

[Mahi]

Apart from loving Lou, only things Reid done in this book were clenching his fists, counting numbers and drawing his magical knife which was never used to fight with a witch. there are some turns which i found unnecessary..Reid is a bastard, he might be the first male witch and most of the things were placed conveniently and forced. Thanks for the buddy read :)

[Mahi]

I have a question ...For how many days approximately do you think Lou and Reid were in the tower after marriage?

[yanitta☏]

Thanks, too!

I would say a week or two? I am not so good at detecting the amount of time that has passed...

[Mahi]

a fortnight max. So after a fortnight both are willing to sacrifice their lives to others and Reid is willing to follow Lou to other worlds. i can't even finish a tv series or book series in a span of 14 days, but everyone is willing to give up their lives haha... sorry if i'm talking nonsense :)

[☀︎El In Oz☀︎]

Yeah but sometimes you meet ppl and u have this connection with them and I think that’s what they had

[Mahi]

Though i have issues with the first book, I would like to read the second book of the series as the title "Blood & Honey" hints more about Coco and her clan :)

[yanitta☏]

I can’t wait to meet Coco’s aunt.