Name: Serpent & Dove
Rating: 4.13 (70 reviews)

Full review on my blog coming soon!

I enjoyed this book a lot, and I'll go into detail on the hows and whys in a moment. Before I want to address a rather big issue I had with Serpent & Dove that made me feel rather uneasy through most of the novel.
While I can enjoy well-written enemies to lovers stories, the fact that here the main guy is basically a religious fanatic out to hunt witches and then ends up with a witch somehow didn't sit right with me. The way they referred to witches as "it" instead of "she" and how they saw himself as the savior almost made me sick to my stomach. For a big portion of the novel, I actually questioned whether I would be able to enjoy this at all.
At some point Shelby Mahurin managed to win me over, but that slightly uneasy feeling in my stomach never fully went away.
After that rather depressing note, let's talk about the things I liked.
First of all: witches. I'm always down for a book about witches. Ever since I was a kid I've been fascinated with magic and witches in particular. The concept we get here with different kinds and how they can or can't use their powers was amazing. It's also nice that nothing is ever black and white here.
Furthermore, I liked our main characters! Lou is wild, she doesn't take shit from anybody, and she can take care of herself. On top of that, she also funny and sarcastic as hell, so what's not to like about that?!
The story is just the tiniest bit far-fetched in some moments but still unfolds nicely. There are a ton of twists and turns. Surprises are peppered in at every turn and I thoroughly enjoyed experiencing the story (well, apart from what I mentioned above).
There's only one additional point of criticism I want to address. We get chapters from two perspectives: Lou and Reid. I've read other books where we get multiple perspectives and often (e.g. with George R. R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire novels) you read two sentences and know which character is speaking without even paying attention to the name under the title of the chapter. Here that was not the case. Oftentimes I was a page and a half in when I read a sentence that didn't quite make sense only to realize that we're dealing with Reid instead of Lou. It got a little better the further along I got but overall I had wished for better differentiation in writing for both characters.

I was a little nervous to read Serpent & Dove due to the hype that surrounded the debut novel. I was afraid it would be another over-hyped YA fantasy novel that actually was not any good when I finally got around to reading it. Thankfully, however, that was not the case with Serpent & Dove at all. I was surprised to find a strong-willed heroine who was witty, resourceful, and hilarious, an interesting magic system, and a well-handled romance of the mortal-enemies-forced-into-marriage-by-circumstances-out-of-their-control-trope. The only things lacking for me in this creative, fun novel which takes our own history of witch hunts and burnings at the stake and transforms it into a whole new, fantastical world at war was that it took me a little to get into the novel and figure out what was going on, and the fact that almost everyone in the main cast of characters is secretly related to different, but extremely important people, something that becomes quite stale after it is done so often. I also found the main villain to be a bit of a letdown as well.

Despite these minor downsides, I read half of the book immediately in one sitting. I did struggle quite a bit at first to figure out what was going on in Serpent & Dove in the beginning. I knew that main character Louisa “Lou” and her best friend Coco were thieves and disguised as men, but beyond that, I was confused by the time period, where the world-took place (I’m still not sure about this, but I know the characters speak French), and why the characters were in a brothel. Though I wished a little more about the world had been explained right away, other readers might find the mystery and slower reveal of information enticing. Despite initially considering putting the book down due to my confusion at what was going on, I quickly got swept up in this unique world full of witches and witch-hunts, the interesting magic that involved the use of patterns and equivalent exchange, and mostly, my love for main character Lou, who is quite frankly, a freaking riot.

"'Don't pretend to know me.'

'I know if you aren't swearing or singing about well-endowed barmaids, something is wrong.'"

Lou has been in hiding for years, making a living as a thief, and using her magical witch powers very sparingly to avoid detection. So when she finds herself forced into marriage to a very pious, but attractive witch-hunter named Reid, things go anything but smoothly. But instead of letting her new circumstances get her down, Lou stubbornly rebels. She refuses to buy dresses with the money she is given and has pants tailored for her, sings “Big Tiddy Liddy” to horrify the staunchly religious witch-hunters who don’t even usually marry and are celibate, and investigates a forbidden part of her new home in the Witch-Hunter’s Tower to find out what they are doing against witches. There, she is able to secretly practice her magical abilities to gather strength, for the witch that is hunting her is coming.

"That was the trouble with magic. It was subjective. For every possibility I considered, another witch could consider a hundred different ones. Just as no two minds worked the same, no two witches' magic worked the same. We all saw the world differently."

I really liked how magic is portrayed in Serpent & Dove. Magic lingers in the air as a sickeningly sweet smell, which I thought was very unique. As was the imagery that witches have to use golden cords in the air to manipulate patterns, that each witch actually sees differently. The use of these patterns also require equivalent sacrifices. It was like a mixture of Full Metal Alchemist and the threadwitches of The Witchlands series. What’s more is that the novel presents two different types of witches, ones that use their own blood and combinations of other substances to cast their magic, Dame Rouge, and others that use the magic of their ancestors, Dame Blanche. I really like that Lou and her friend Coco are each different types of witches, so that readers got to see both of these witchcrafts in action. I also enjoyed that they not only used these powers to look out for each other, but also were extremely supportive and protective of one another’s well being and feelings. It was a great portrayal of female friendship between two strong female characters, which I always love to read.

"A witch and a witch hunter bound in holy matrimony. There was only one way such a story could end--a stake and a match. I cursed myself for being so stupid--for allowing myself to get too close."

It wasn’t just the female friendship that was portrayed well, but also the romance. I was a little anxious by how well a debut novelist could pull off a witch and witch-hunter romance, but she does it exceedingly well. Though Reid and Lou are on the opposite sides of a very deadly war, they manage to get to know one another beyond their differences in lifestyles and beliefs, and gain mutual respect for one another over time. So when they do finally fall in love it was well-established and believable. It didn’t happen too slow or too fast in my opinion either, which was a welcome relief in light of so many insta-love young adult books in the market. Plus, Lou and Reid’s banter and their different perspectives, combined with Lou’s infinite sass, and along with the bumps in the road they encounter, made their falling in love a really fun read that I enjoyed. Reid’s past love interest was also fairly well-handled, as she is a fully-rounded character who doesn’t exist solely to torment Reid and Lou with her very existence, unlike in A Promise of Fire.

The only things, other than the rough pacing at the beginning of the novel (which may not even bother some readers), was that ¾ of the way and even further to the ending of Serpent & Dove we find out that two more characters are related to very famous and important people, on top of the one character that we already knew had a famous mother (and later find out has a famous father too, to top it off). It was just a little ridiculous that all of these people with important genes found themselves together and that it was all revealed in such a short period of time. I pictured the Oprah meme, “you get a famous relative! AND YOU get a famous relative!” Like come on, at least spread all the reveals out a bit more if you really have to make all these characters related to the famous and powerful.

The only other gripe that I had was that the main villain of the novel, La Dame des Sorcières, the leader of the White Witches, wasn’t that scary or intimidating. In fact, I felt kind of letdown by her characterization. I expected her to be insane in a I’m-as-sweet-as-sugar-until-you-get-in-my-way kind of way. And I do feel that the author attempted to do exactly that, but it was a misfire. I found the witches in the beginning of the novel in the parade using citizens as meat shields against the witch hunters, or Chaussers as they are known, more intimidating than their leader, who is also known as Morgane Le Blanc. I also found the Chaussers in their religious zealousness and burning of witches, and the referring to them as “it”s and not “she”s (there are no male witches), pretty intimidating. Perhaps the author will up the ante for La Dame des Sorcières in the sequel to Serpent & Dove, but she certainly didn't unnerve me like her followers did in this novel.

Despite the famous relatives and weak villain, the rest of Serpent & Dove was an extremely strong debut novel, with interesting magic, solid character development, and a promising romance. If you like young adult fantasy, this is the book for you. I needed the sequel to Serpent & Dove like yesterday and I honestly cannot wait to see what else the author writes next.

Bloggingwithdragons.com
My Book Review Policy

jen20

Written on Apr 9, 2021

*4.5 stars*
Very fun and entertaining book, though I cringed so hard at times at Lou's immaturity when she would sing "Big Titty Liddy" and at the modern day dialogue and phrases that contrasted the medievel time period of the book (ex: tight little a**). Overall, the plot, the trope of enemies to lovers and the shift in the demeanor of the characters kept me very entertained and engaged with the book.

writehollydavis

Written on Mar 7, 2021

The story took me a bit to get into because it was hard for me to connect to Lou's POV, though I was able to connect to Reid right away. It irked me more than I wanted it to when Lou read Reid's journal despite his protests. I pained for his privacy!! I warmed up to her more as the plot thickened and the last 25% really picked up the pace for me! Plenty of twists and surprises, so I'm interested to find out what will happen.

Jo

Written on Oct 19, 2020

Review to come.

thepunktheory

Written on Sep 11, 2020

chillywilly

Written on Jul 7, 2020

Loved this book. Can't wait for sequel.

Cocktails and Books

Written on May 28, 2020

Slow going at first, but it quickly picked up speed. I can’t wait to see what happens next with Lou and Reid.

Kate (Blogging with Dragons)

Written on Apr 30, 2020

Emma (SCR)

Written on Apr 21, 2020

This review was originally posted on Star Crossed Reviews OMG I LOVED THIS BOOK!

I love these two narrators so when I first started listening to this book I was already hooked. If you haven't listened to books by these two then you are seriously missing out! These two make this story even more magical than it already was!

The book is written from 2 POV, Lou and Reid. Lou is read by Saskia and Reid by Holter. I raced through this book. I was absolutely hooked. Lou is very funny and so is Reid without knowing it. This book is full of unexpected love, friendships and magic.

It's addictive and easy to read. It's a light fantasy which focuses on the romance as well as the magic. I liked that there were different types of witches yet the guard were so unaware of the differences. I thought the exchange system was interesting and makes a witch think about if using magic is worthwhile. It shows that everything has consequences.

This book is very well written and thought out. It's surprising that this is Shelby's debut as it reads much more like a seasoned author. I can tell that Shelby is going to be a favourite for m e for years to come. I cannot wait for the next book which is not out until September!

tylerrosereads

Written on Apr 16, 2020

3.5 stars

I liked this. I'm interested in continuing. Kind of typical of what we are seeing in YA right now but I'm digging it.

bgsbooks18

Written on Feb 1, 2020

Umm I need more of this now. I loved this story and can't wait for the next book!!

Serpent & Dove (Serpent & Dove, #1)

by Shelby Mahurin