Serpent & Dove

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.

This just... really wasn't my cup of tea. Felt terribly generic, and I honestly didn't want to invest three books worth into reading this story.

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.

Love a good enemies to lovers and an overprotective man! The buildup of the relationship was perfect and done in a way that had me rooting for them wholeheartedly. 

I love how it ended with holier than thou, Reid, swearing. It's very symbolic, especially with his discovery

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.

 Serpent & Dove by Shelby Mahurin

“Wicked are the ways of women—and especially a witch. Their guile knows no bounds.”

Synopsis:

“ If she was destined to burn in Hell, I would burn with her.”

My Thoughts:

• The world-building was interesting but felt incomplete. There is a heavy French influence, which makes a change from the vaguely mediaeval England default of much fantasy, but it was hard to determine the differences between the setting of the story & historical France. The religious institution, which has a heavy presence in the story, appeared to be a direct copy of the Catholic church with the addition of the Chasseurs.
• The characters would often say something in French and then translate it, which struck me as odd, because why were they translating their native language to themselves, in their thoughts, or their fellow native speakers? 
• The main crux of the book is the enemies-to-lovers element between Lou & Reid, and the danger of Lou's situation. I would have preferred more build-up of the romance & more UST. They married, spent a few nights sniping & sleeping separately, then they were in love.
• The magic system seemed interesting - the Dammes Blanches see ‘patterns' they can manipulate. This is somehow different from what the Dammes Rouges do, who use blood. I wanted to know more about this but that's all we learn.
• I wasn't clear on why there was a persecution of the witches by the Church, aside from misogyny perhaps, how long this conflict had been in place & it if was the same the world over - there isn't a sense of the world outside of Cesarine & surrounding villages/towns.
• Overall, it was pleasant enough book but I didn't feel it lived up to it's potential.

“I knew who you were. I knew what you believed... and I fell in love with you anyway.”

This might not have been the best book I've ever read, but it was a lot of fun. It deserves 5 stars for keeping me interested, which is hard to do these days. Lets see if the rest of the series will do the same.

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.

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!)

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!!!

La lectura es rápida y envolvente, los capítulos no son muy extensos así que es fácil avanzar. El enemies to lovers está bien desarrollado al igual que los personajes. Algo que me encanta de todos ellos es que ninguno es completamente bueno o malo, no hay un área delimitada para lo que está bien o mal, todo está en una gama de grises y te hace cuestionar constantemente qué tan correcto es el pensamiento y las motivaciones de cada bando. Llegué a conectar con muchos de los personajes, e incluso pude entender a los “villanos”. Los plot twists están bien colocados y pensados, y ayudan a la comprensión de la historia, sin dejar de sorprender cada vez.
Disfruté mucho esta lectura, no puedo esperar a continuar la trilogía.

4.5

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

DNF at page 460
Literally could not stand to finish the last 50 pages.

Not unreadable but not worth the read. Will definitely be skipping the rest of this trilogy.

3.5

The series is overhype, I gave it 3 stars for the funny dialogues & sarcastic comments, but the worldbuilding and the magic system are confusing for me.

I absolutely loved this book!! Usually when books are really hyped I tend to put off reading them for a while. I don't do this on purpose it just kind of happens. That was the case with this book and now I am wishing I had read it sooner and I am also wishing I had the rest of the books in this series because I want more. I can't believe this is a debut novel. I loved absolutely everything about it. The world, the plot, the magic, the characters. Especially the characters!! The banter between the two main characters was amazing and I found myself having to hold back laughter because I was in public when reading it and I didn't want people staring at me. There were some reveals all throughout the book that I never saw coming but once they were revealed I was like oh yeah that makes more sense now. Also I loved the character growth in this book especially with Reid I just hope his faith isn't shaken too much. I can not wait to get my hands on the second book because I need more of these characters.

I adored this book. 

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.

What to say about this book.... I almost stopped listening several times because the plot/characters pissed me off. That said, I enjoyed the world-building. I've read many books involving witches, werewolves, fae, etc., and I thought the author did a good job here with bending/up-ending expectations. But....at the same time, it was predictable AND the characters were often inconsistent in annoying and unrealistic ways.

I'm going with a 2.5 rating rounded up to 3 stars. Despite my problems with the book, I was entertained and interested enough to finish the book and continued on to the next.

I enjoyed the audiobook, but the male narrator was a bit nasal-y at times (enough that it distracted from the story).

“Una vida por una vida. Un amor por un amor”

Me hubiera gustado tener un poco más de los personajes, pero en general una historia muy linda. Me encantó el enemies to lovers de este libro. Muy tierno y a la vez gracioso. El libro se me fue volando. No sé si continuar con la trilogía, si es que se explican más cosas del mundo mágico. En resumen una lectura rápida, bonita, con un mensaje, con unos personajes divinos y una pareja muy dispareja

2,5/3 ⭐️
Przez większość książki dobrze się bawiłam ale nie było to nic szczególnego czy trzymającego w napięciu.
Rolled my eyes quite a few times