Serpent & Dove
Ratings202
Average rating3.7
I had a great time reading Serpent and Dove. The first chapter didn't convinced me but the more you discover the characters the more you know about the story, the more you want to continue reading !!
This Book does have nice surprises, expected plot twist and less expected ones. Most of the surprising things at the beginning actually make a lot of sense when you finish your reading.
I especially enjoy the magic in this book and the fact that it is not a black and white vision. Everyone has it dark sides. There is not good or bad sides.
I def recommend this reading even though I have a real issue with the use of french in the book. It doesn't add anything to the story. It doesn't make sense at all... I expect they just stop it for the next book.
And again... Lou is not a boy name.
4.5 Stars
This was going to be a five-star book but the “big reveal” at the end was too cliche so I had to dock 1/2 a star. I love this world and the characters and cannot wait for the next book and to see what this gang of witches and witch hunters gets up to!
Enjoyed MANY parts of this book. The enemies-to-lovers trope verges on being a cliche by now (and cliches and tropes are a pet peeve of mine), though when they are done correctly, I don't entirely mind them. Lou and Reid are great characters - Lou is sassy (it got a bit annoying to be at times but she was also witty as hell, which I appreciated), and Reid's banter with her is hilarious.
2022 is the year we recognize that 3 stars isn't a bad rating
i had a fun time with parts of this book, and i really loved lou as a character, as well as her friendship with ansel and coco. she's pretty much the only reason i enjoyed the book lmao
i wasn't sold on the romance with reid for most of the book, and as more twists got revealed in those last ~200 pages i grew more and more exasperated. it just felt a tad ridiculous at the end, and not 100% well executed
i'd be interested in reading the rest of the series but i heard the second book drags and it's even longer than s&d
Another example of “don't believe the hype.” I was in it for the enemies to lovers trope that gets me every time, and I was super let down by characters who annoyed the crap out of me, a world that confused me (is it France? Is it made up fantasy dimension France?) I might have liked the book more if it was like, 200 pages shorter. I could keep going with this but I don't even really want to devote any more time or energy to this book.
actual rating: 4,5 stars.
re-read before blood & honey. Still really loved this book
2,5 stars, maybe.
I really don't know how to rate this book. It was decent, it didn't live up to the hype.
Uhm, so some random thoughts:
- I did not like the romance. It didn't feel like it was very well executed. It felt so sudden and I cringed most of the time whilst I was reading about it.
- I ADORED Lou. No hard comments towards her, she's great.
- I did not like Reid. He was cringey.
- The humour felt unneccessary. It felt like the writer was trying to be funny, but just couldn't execute it, or something.
- I expected way more of the story and I was hoping something would happen, something I wouldn't see coming, but nope, that didn't happen.
This review is also featured on Behind the Pages: Serpent & Dove
Louise le Blanc fled her coven and took residence in the one town she thought she'd be safe, Cesarine. Hiding in plain sight, Louise gave up her magic and became a street thief. But the atrocities of the Church will never let her forget she is a witch. The Chasseurs hunt any who would dare show magic in the city, and she is reminded time and again why she must never use her power. But when a public incident involving Louise and Chasseur Reid Diggory threatens to bring embarrassment to the Church, they will find their fates woven together. Bound by marriage, witch and Chasseur must find a balance, and Louise will have to be ever so careful.
Serpent & Dove is one of those books I picked up and put down time and time again at the bookstore. The cover lured me in, the premises sounded interesting, but I was worried it would fall into the repetitive young adult tropes. Then I received it as a secret Santa gift and decided to give it a try. And I am glad I did.
Do not expect a magic heavy story. If anything the magic accents the storyline instead of being the main focus. Yes, Louise is a witch, but using magic in Cesarine is a death sentence. In this world, magic evokes a smell that is impossible to miss. However, Louise is not defenseless without her magic. She has a sharp wit and survival instincts that save her in some of the most precarious situations.
Reid is set in his ways, as can be expected, and watching Louise unnerve him time again with her behavior is hilarious. While he tries to be in a constant state of control and seriousness, Louise breaks out into bawdy tavern songs and embarrasses him for the fun of it. With the two being complete opposites, it makes their story all the more entertaining. And Shelby Mahurin has a knack for putting her characters in compromising situations, ramping up the tension, and switching points of view in the next chapter, leaving you to wonder what happens next.
The romance in Serpent & Dove takes an extremely long time to develop, as it should. Most of the tension and conflict built into the story does not surround the relationship, but the outside forces opposing Louise. And by the time the plot starts to edge the two towards one another, there is enough history between them to make it work. I loved every moment of it, and I am not the type to root for romance in a novel.
Serpent & Dove is a well crafted story of enemies to lovers. There is a little bit of everything mixed into the storyline, daring heists, action, friendship, sisterhood, proof that love can be a powerful magic all it's own and so much more.
Not unreadable but not worth the read. Will definitely be skipping the rest of this trilogy.
“Such a love was not something of just the heart and mind. It wasn't something to be felt and eventually forgotten, to be touched without it in return touching you. No . . . this love was something else. Something irrevocable. It was something of the soul.”
Is it the worst thing I've ever read? No. It was fast-paced and mildly engaging a couple of times. But, overall, it was just so bland. Like boiled unseason potatoes. I adore potatoes, not without salt though.
For me, the world-building was weak. The magic system is barely explained, we have just one massive info dump in the middle of the book. The characters were no better. Lou was just simply annoying. Loud, over-the-top snarky, obnoxious. Reid just didn't make sense. He switched sides awfully fast. I don't see why he cared about her. Or her about him. My husband this, my wife that. Who talks like that when they've just gotten into a marriage of convenience? They are virtually strangers. They fall ‘in love' in a matter of days. The character I enjoyed the most was Coco, I wish she has more space in the book. The rest of the characters felt like decor.
The plot felt kind of ridiculous too, just as the twists. The language, modern and crass is an unpleasant choice considering the action is taking place in medieval-like times. Also, the French random inserts were cringy.
I don't get the hype around this one either. Eh, what else is new?
I was surprise by how much I loved this book. It had some of my favorite tropes, enemies-to-lovers, arranged marriage, forced proximity, slow-burn romance. The enemies-to-lovers trope was definitely a true enemies to lovers. There was a lot of risk for both characters involved in pursing a relationship together (being mortal enemies), and it made their budding romance much more bitter-sweet.
I loved Lou and the chaos she creates anywhere she goes, I felt like Reid (being a man of the church) had to clutch his pearls at half the outrageous things she said and did and that made for a very entertaining read.
[9/10 Rating] [spoiler-free review]
I LOVED THIS. First of all, the writing was fantastic. It was clear, easy to follow, as well as wonderfully descriptive. I was able to visualise the setting and characters very well. The plot was really well done! I thoroughly enjoyed reading and following Lou, and laughed extremely hard at all the ‘big titty liddy' parts. I loved the slow burn– to me, it was so well done. Even though I already knew Reid and Lou were gonna be together, it was still so nice to see them slowly fall for one another. I love the side characters (coco and ansel!!!) too! Coco and Lou's dependable friendship was so nice to read about.
OVERALL: If you want an enemies to lovers (aka witch x witch hunter) fantasy-ish novel with great side characters and witches, this is for you! I really enjoyed the novel, and I'm hoping to read the next one soon! (Please give it a try even if ‘witch x witch hunter' sounds too cliche to you. Their relationship development was such a nice journey to follow through and I loved it a lot!)
This wasn't a new favourite however I enjoyed this book. There were problems and I can imagine many people not liking it as much, if at all, however this was everything I was hoping for.
I love both romance and fantasy so this was a perfect mix for me, and I love the arranged/ forced marriage trope so this ticked those boxes.
Got to be honest, it was a slow start for me. But I am so glad I stuck it out. This book pulled me in quickly and deeply. The story and characters are so enjoyable. I love seeing strong female leads compared to so many other similar books!!!
I was skeptical about picking this one up. I am so glad that I did. I absolutely loved it! Lou, Reid, Coco and Ansel are some of my new favorite characters. I loved the story. I'm not a romance fan, but this book was so good that the romance didn't even bug me.
DNF
i didn't finish this and i wanna think it's because of the audiobook and not the book itself. i might pick up a physical copy in the future and try again. i'm bumbed that i didn't enjoy it more.
Interesting world building, strong female lead, but the male lead felt pale by comparison. Glad I read it, but I don't I'll read the others in the series.
To be fair, I dropped this at 15% but it was excruciating to even reach that far. The beautiful cover was what got me curious.
I later watched a review video about this book from Cindy and it sounds horrible. Can't believe it got more than 4 stars on Goodreads.
I knew this was a hate-to-love before I went in, but I didn't expect it would be that way for me with the characters as well! I kinda hated them both at the start, then loved them by the end. Pretty neat.
