Serpent & Dove Kindle Edition

I feel like I can’t even begin to describe just how pleasantly surprised I was by this novel. I am not a big fan of romance-heavy stories and one of my least favorite tropes of all time is hate-to-love relationships—so basically the two things the entire plot hinges on. Needless to say, I went into this very hesitantly. Very intrigued to learn how Lou and Reid end up in the position they do and to experience this story everyone has been raving about, but also keeping my expectations as low as I could. I did not for a second expect to come out of it knowing it will, without a doubt, be on my list of favorite books of the year. This is one of those books that I believe truly lives up to all the hype surrounding it.Serpent & Dove is a dual perspective narrative following Lou le Blanc, a witch, and Reid Diggory, a Chasseur, or witch-hunter. Lou has escaped from her coven and has taken refuge in the city of Cesarine. She lives in hiding. giving up magic and surviving as a thief. In Cesarine, witches are seen as a danger to all of society—they are hunted and burned, and no woman is above suspicion.Reid is sworn to the church and charged with the hunting and capture of witches, sworn into a role that demands he will not let a single witch live. In a surprising turn of events, Lou’s and Reid’s paths cross in a way neither of them could have ever expected. A way that leads to their marriage, that forms a seemingly impossible love, and that brings Lou under the roof of the people who could be her source of protection—or her death.The writing in this book is absolutely superb and cements Shelby Mahurin on my list of favorite authors. Her writing is gorgeous and so easy to fall into. It is incredibly clear how meticulously she formed every aspect of this novel. Both the plot and the setting are incredibly intriguing and captivating. I loved the French influences in all aspects of the story—it makes for a very vivid and enticing atmosphere and Cesarine is the perfect backdrop for everything that takes place. She also does a wonderful job with the dual perspective narrative and creates two very individual voices for our two main characters.Even though the romance is the main focus of the story, the fantasy aspect is very strong as well and is of almost equal importance. The fantastical elements, though more of a side plot for now, don’t really take a backseat in terms of detail or how significant they are to the overall story. Mahurin crafts an interesting and intricate magic system as strongly as she crafts the romance. It’s something I’m particularly looking forward to seeing in more detail in the next book.The only minor issue I had plot-wise was the event that sends Lou and Reid down the path toward their marriage. Though my opinion shifted by the end of the novel, as I was able to see every event throughout in a different light, the scene still felt a little bit clumsy and heavy-handed and also completely random, maybe a little too much so. It wasn’t at all what I would have expected and was a bit of a letdown for me, so I sort of wish it had been done differently. But overall, this barely affected my enjoyment of the story as a whole.This novel holds one of the most brilliant and beautiful casts of characters I’ve ever come across. Lou is everything. She is one of my new favorite characters of all time—I fell completely and utterly in love with her right from the very start of the novel. She is so strong despite the pain she has been through and the terror and uncertainty of her life now. Lou is sassy and sarcastic and absolutely hilarious. She’s tough and guarded much of the time, but underneath, she is so intensely loving, caring, and loyal—just an absolutely beautiful person. I connected with her so easily, and it was an absolute joy reading from her perspective and following her journey.It took me a while to warm up to Reid, but I definitely had by the end of the novel. He’s quite set in his ways and his prejudices against women, always acting in a very traditional way toward Lou. They are living in a time when women are little more than the property of their husbands and this is something that is clearly ingrained in Reid. He is protective of her and chivalrous to a fault, but it takes a while from him to sound anywhere near loving, even after it’s clear he has feelings for her. At first, I struggled a bit reading his chapters because his attitude and initial inability to be open-minded frustrated me so much. However, there is one major reason I noticed that I think prevented me from connecting with him sooner.Yes, he is very close-minded in many of his beliefs and his actions, but I felt that there were a few times where things sort of got lost in translation in a sense. There would be scenes from his point of view where his actions and words felt a bit confusing to me and I took them as negative. But later on, something would cause me to realize what exactly he meant by what he said or did and that it wasn’t in fact negative. I don’t think I explained that particularly well, but basically, I think there were times where his point of view could have been written more clearly. In the end, though, I did end up really liking him and it does become very obvious how much he truly cares and would do anything for Lou.I ended up absolutely adoring the relationship between Lou and Reid. It unfolds and transforms in such a natural way. As I said before, hate-to-love is one of my least favorite tropes, but it is done so well here that I didn’t really mind it. It’s still not something I enjoy reading about and that obviously does impact my rating of the novel slightly. However, few people can get me to like a novel that features this type of relationship, and Mahurin definitely nailed it. My problem with the trope tends to stem from the tension being completely nonsensical and feeling like it’s just thrown in to create drama, and you will not find that in this book.The tensions between Lou and Reid feel so realistic and necessary—they have every reason to be wary of each other. Understandably, that they sometimes overlook what they truly know about the other as a person in favor of ideas and prejudices that were hammered into them from a young age. They are both strong characters that are unapologetically themselves and, while it causes them to butt heads at first, it turns into a mutual respect for each other and, of course, love as well. The issues that create conflict, in the beginning, are what come to be the things that pull them together rather than drive them apart. And the sum of both of them individually—the strengths and the flaws—is what brings them each to love the other wholly.There are also some stellar side characters in this story. Coco was, by far, my favorite—she is totally someone I’d love to be friends with. The friendship between her and Lou is so lovely and I’d gladly spend hours just reading about them. They have such a fun dynamic and they always have each other’s backs no matter what. They are the definition of found family and their story warmed my heart. Ansel, a bit like Reid, took me a while to start really liking, but he turns out to be an absolutely wonderful person and a great addition to that lovable found family.Suffice it to say, I really enjoyed this book. It is so beautifully written and captivating—it is very easy to fall into and get lost in. Shelby Mahurin has created a magical and emotional tale, both heartbreaking and heartwarming that, at its core, brilliantly demonstrates the power of love of all kinds. The story and especially the characters will definitely stick with me for a long time. I’ve honestly been thinking about it constantly since I finished it a few months ago. And, of course, I am absolutely dying to get my hands on the next book in this series. I love how this ended and I cannot wait to be back with these characters once again and see their story continue.

I shall write this review in the form of a list of the things I liked (and things I didn't like, which is literally only two things, and only my own personal opinion, really, because I LIKED THIS BOOK A LOT).Things I liked (no spoilers):Lou and Reid's dynamics!Despite the seriousness and craziness of the situation they both found themselves in, their dynamics was just so fun from the start. I couldn’t wait for those two complete opposites to finally fall in love. And when they did it was just... 🧡How Lou is just unapologetically herself. Granted, I was sympathizing with Reid when she was cursing because much like Reid I'm also a prude 😂 but Lou just had such a vibrant personality and she never tried to make herself different for anyone's sake. I loved that about her. And I loved her.Reid. I love Reid too. Aside from a very annoying thing he did, but we'll get to that in the things I didn't like. Aside from that though, I loved Reid! I related to his prudish personality a lot, and I think the author definitely managed to sell me on the whole "serious and stoic" love interest. Who needs a bad boy when you can have a Reid who will honor and protect you forever?STICKY BUNS 🧡 I am not usually the type to be taunted with foods in books (even though I LOVE food and especially sweets), BUT OMG was I taunted here! I want a sticky bun, the author found my weakness!At one point during all those revelations at the end, my heart was beating out of my chest and I literally had to put the book aside to compose myself.Lou and Reid together are just so precious and I want SO MUCH MORE of them in the next book.Things I liked (with spoilers):The gang! I just loved our gang at the end, their dynamics was such fun. I'll be so sad if they part ways in the next book because I just love all of them together - Lou, Reid, Ansel, Coco, Madam Labelle, Beau (yep, Beau was a surprise because I didn't think I'll like him but now I really like him!)Madam Labelle being Reid's mother - so cool! I liked that he started caring for her in the end, and I hope to see him come to care for her more. I know they have a long way to go, but I hope they do because it would be so precious. I was so scared at the end there when it looked like she died, and PHEW that she didn't!Reid killing the Archbishop. Okay, so I didn't want the Archbishop to die at the end. Granted, I wanted to punch him in the face repeatedly in the beginning, but after we found out he was Lou's father it was just... O_O . But wow wow wow wow, Reid killing him to save Lou's life SO DARK and also HECK YES at the same time? I don't even know, but I'm just glad Reid is willing to do anything to save Lou. Love it.Which brings us to, Reid is a witch! He wasn't just born to a witch, he can do actual magic!We still don't know how it works - can he really do it all the time? Was it just a one time thing because Lou almost died and so he almost died too? Is it something that awakened in him in those moments of darkness? I personally hope it's something he'll still be able to do in the next book and not just a one time thing!Reid cursing like 3 times at the end of the book 😂 Never thought I would be so delighted by a character cursing, but boy this was good.Lou reading that book about those two lovers from warring countries! Loved it! And how it was like a nod to us readers to our own fangirling situation with Reid and Lou.Things I didn't like (with spoilers):There are only really two things that I had personal issues with.The whole "past love interest" trope. And yeah, I'm talking about Celie and Reid. I mean, it's not that I don't understand what Reid found in her. It makes sense that he would fall in love with someone like Celie, especially since they've known each other since they were children. But it just made the whole "falling in love with Lou" a bit less realistic when he was technically still in love with Celie in the beginning of the book. It is a bit jarring that he could just move from his so called love to Celie and right to Lou. Don't get me wrong, I'M SO HAPPY he fell for Lou, the love of his life, so I'm assuming when he said he loved Celie, he did love her, but he probably wasn't in love with her for some time now. But in general, yeah, I always had trouble with the past love interest trope, when one of the protagonists is still half in love with said past love.Reid rejecting Lou when he found out she was a witch. Haha... yep, that moment. I nearly threw the book aside when Lou was just about to tell him she's a witch in their room and they were interrupted in a classic interruption scene just when someone is about to reveal something really important 😂 I didn't know whether to laugh or cry, but I just knew then and there Reid was going to find out Lou is a witch in the wrong way. And yep, he did. And yep, he BROKE HER HEART. AND I WAS SO MAD. SO MAD I TELL YOU. I understand. I understand Reid was practically brainwashed since he was born. You can't just erase brainwashing of years and year, DOESN'T MEAN I STILL CAN'T BE MAD THOUGH. I am glad, however, that he apologized at the end. That he even cried and blamed himself. At the very least he's repenting about it. So I'm glad.In conclusion (with spoilers):What will happen now! Our gang is so not our of the woods yet. If anything, they're in even deeper woods. Madam Labelle and Beau are said to go talk to the king, persuade him not to act rashly. As for Lou, Reid, Aansel and Coco, they must seek sanctuary with Coco's aunt, now that they're all fugitives. Everyone would want Lou dead, especially her mother - who is still alive and probably the biggest threat - and everyone saw Reid kill the Archbishop, so he's wanted too. And Ansel, of course, who aided them both. Not to mention Coco, who also aided and is known as a witch.How will Reid deal with the PTSD he probably just got from killing the Archbishop, finding out the love of his life his a witch, he's the son of a witch and probably has magic too, and his wife is still threatened by practically everyone?Now I really want to read Blood & Honey.Fun times ahead, people ;)

I picked up Serpent & Dove by Shelby Mahurin as my fantasy read of April 2021. This was in my TBR list for very long following so much hype everywhere in booksta community. The cover & books one liner are kick-ass! What else I need to start jumping into a fantasy world?Lou is a fiesty witch-turned-thief forces to marry a witch hunter called Reid. The witch hunters work for church which has ultimate goal of killing all the witches & wizards. Witches release a smell whenever they perform magic. They are very careful not to perform magic when they are around witch hunters as they would get burned alive. Reid & Lou falls in love with each other & ends up getting married with Reid having no knowledge that Lou is a witch.The thing about fantasy novels is that they take us to a whole different world.The author not only builds the characters but also the world surrounding them. Shelby fails miserably in transition us to the world she attempted to create.I could guess the next scene with ease as the author seems to use all the cliche needed to make this horrible novel an apt YA book. At one one point , I was like where is this story going ? I was happy when I reached last of the book. Am I going to buy second book of this trilogy? Nooooooooooooooooooooo! How did this book got traditional publication anyway??Only thing I like about the novel is casual inclusion of a LGBT romance.Lesson learnt : Never fall for forewording by famous authors. Sarah J Mass forewarded this book!

A WITCH & A WITCH HUNTER BOUND IN HOLY MATRIMONY, THERE WAS ONLY ONE WAY SUCH A STORY COULD END A STAKE AND A MATCH."You're to be my wife." Catching up to her in two strides, I reached out to grab her arm, but stopped short of touching her. "That means you'll obey me."Does it?" She raised her brows, still grinning. I suppose that means you'll honor and protect me, then? If we're adhering to the dusty old roles of your patriarchy?"I shortened my pace to match hers. "Yes."She clapped her hands together. "Excellent. At least this will be entertaining. I have many enemies."Serpent and dove written by @shelbymahurin ,a 2019 YA romantic fantasy fiction revolves around a witch, Louise le blanc and a witch hunter,Reid diggory. Louise has fled from her coven and took shelter in the city of cesarine forsaking all magic and is stealing for livelihood, her life takes a dramatic turn when an unforeseen event Leads to her getting married to Reid diggory,a chasseur sworn to church, they aren't meant to be together yet when fate plays a cruel game, Louise has to choose between love and Life. I have always been a huge fan of fantasy fiction and as I was devouring page after page of serpent &dove, I fell in love with the lucid and dreamy writing, the bold and beautiful Lou, the precise and pious Reid, daring and dauntless Coco, it was like a movie unfolding before me, I have never quite enjoyed a YA romantic fantasy fiction as much as I did Serpent and dove, its not just a love story,it's the story of survival, resilience, faith and the fact that love conquers all. Anxiously waiting for the second book, blood & honey, for another Ride full of Fun,adventure and hopefully a happy ending(I have always been a fan of tragic endings since it makes love more meaningful yet I don't want to take chances for this book I might just have a myocardial infarction).Keeping my fingers crossed for more magic to fill my existence.Thank you for such a gem of a book

If in 2019 you are going to pick up a single book, let it be this. Seriously. I forgot sleeping eating breathing everything as soon as i read the first page. The characters are so so freaking interesting, and you will FALL IN LOVE with Louisa. You will. Mark my words. The author has done such a great job on her debut book, i am definitely looking forward for her future work. Loved this one

Serpent and Dove is the start of apparently a trilogy set in an alternate universe where witchcraft is real where they are hunted down by the church because normal humans took their land and fear the power of the witches.In all this mess Louise - better known as Lou - has to marry Reid Diggory - a huntsman of the church. And while these two are like water and fire they soon feel a strong attraction to each other. But Lou has a secret that could not only cost her her forced matrimony with Reid but also his love for her since Lou is the one thing Reid despises the most; a witch.The book is set in a time comparable to maybe the Renaissance under french influences with witches. A very traditional interpretation of witches as the total opposite of the Catholic belief. And while this setting in a time with new definitions of supernatural beings might be refreshing the implementation led to a story with not many likable characters. If not for Ansel and Coco this book would've been a total torture. But the story isn't about them, it is about Lou and Reid, who both have very, very exhausting characters. They both are stubborn and interact with each other showing off how much witches and huntsmen can hate each other. In a non pleasant or even funny way.On top of it witchcraft and the church are portrayed so black and white and solid in their belief systems that it is hard to stand or read about it.Over great lengths nothing or not much happens but the bickering between Lou and Reid until they fall in love with each other. On the last 100 pages the action is stirring up but it is not enough to save the overall impression of the book since everything important is pressend into the last pages with too much going on that could've also been put into the whole story told beforehand.The world building could have been fleshed out more but it is on the most basic level to serve the plot and - more important - the love story. With more backstory on the history of the witches and the hate of the church and the story of Angelica and Constantin it could have been so much more fascinating to explore the world but it is all toned down to the minimum knowledge. The characters also lack of development, even Lou and Reid are lacking of it although they are put in many situations to grow. And since the whole thing is told from their perspectives it was a test of patience to follow the plot.But the book also has its pros: Ansel is probably the sweetest secondary character ever created and Coco and even Beau are far more interesting in their backstories than the main protagonists. If not for them the book would have been torture. Also the style the book is written in is rich and very detailed and the basic idea of it is interesting.Some things don't make sense - the use of French for example but it can be overlooked although it takes a bit of uniqueness away from the whole world. As does using the Bible instead of creating some own belief systems for the own world. It still works because it is known but it is not very creative.All in all Serpent and Dove is an okay story with exhausting and arrogant and annoying main protagonists who lack of any sympathy. The world building is basic but can be explored more in the following books - hopefully - and the secondary characters Ansel and Coco are lovely and a nice addition to the plot.

Guter Schreibstil, lässt sich flüssig lesen und ist dabei sogar unterhaltsam.Ich mag unsere Protagonistin sehr, vor allem, da sie nicht auf den Mund gefallen zu sein scheint. Und vor allem, das muss man wirklich mal hervorheben: sich selbst und ihrem Handlungsstrang treu bleibt und nicht 10.000 mal ihre Meinung, Haltung und Handlung ändert. Das scheint nämlich eine neue Mode unter Indie-Autoren zu sein.Nein, dieses Buch besticht durch einen roten Faden, einer guten Handlung und wenn ich ehrlich bin sogar durch Originalität. Bin gespannt, wie es weitergeht.