Serpent And Dove by Shelby Mahurin

*Spoiler free*

Two years ago, Louise le Blanc fled her coven and took shelter in the city of Cesarine, forsaking all magic and living off whatever she could steal. There, witches like Lou are hunted. They are feared. And they are burned. Sworn to the Church as a Chasseur, Reid Diggory has lived his life by one principle: thou shalt not suffer a witch to live. His path was never meant to cross with Lou’s, but a wicked stunt forces them into an impossible union—holy matrimony. The war between witches and Church is an ancient one, and Lou’s most dangerous enemies bring a fate worse than fire. Unable to ignore her growing feelings, yet powerless to change what she is, a choice must be made. And love makes fools of us all. 

I had heard so many amazing things about this book. People had said it was more upper YA, and I definitely like those types of books, so I wanted to give it a shot. Plus, it was about witches and it sounded dark. I love witch books and a dark one sounded fantastic. And fake dating taken to the next level, kind of fake marriage!

The hype surrounding this book is definitely true. It’s such a solid, fun, and intriguing book. And it’s definitely upper YA. There’s a very explicate sex scene and I was not expecting how in depth it got. The characters are also older, so it feels more mature in a way. That isn’t to say it isn’t good! There is so much good stuff in this book.

I loved Lou. I don’t think I have enough words to express how much I adore her. She’s sharp and she’s snarky and she uses sarcasm as a shield to hide behind. She has a quick wit and a foul mouth. She was so easy to fall in love with. She holds her emotions so close and doesn’t let anybody get too close. She’s like sour candy, which I am personally a huge fan of haha. I just adored her chapters a lot.

I also really liked Reid’s character! While his morals might be a skewed, he’s so passionate about what he does. He loves so deeply. He’s awkward and it’s just really easy to fall in love with him.

All the characters in this book were really strong. The side characters were also super awesome. Ansel was so awkward and clumsy with everything he did, and I honestly just want to give him a hug and let him know how amazing he is. Coco was such a great best friend, but she’s more than just a best friend character. I’m looking forward to seeing how her story progresses in the next book. And then the characters that popped up towards the end were really awesome. I was not expecting to like a character as much as I did, or for him to be as hilarious. Even the villainous characters were so well done. There motivations fit so well and made them so compelling.

The magic system was not what I was expecting. It was more tedious than I thought, but I managed to get adjusted to everything really quickly. I loved how the witches played in. How they had their villains just like the Chassuars did. Not all of them were good and they used their magic for evil if it suited them. It made them darker and I really liked that about them. How the witches lived was so fascinating to me. There inner workings are only shown briefly, but I found them to be so cool.

I found the settings to be really, really gorgeous. It takes place only a couple of places, but the way things are described are so beautiful. It’s written so well and it made everything so much more amazing.

While this is a morally gray book, it doesn’t focus on the question of morality. Lou is trying to stay alive. And Reid is just trying to do what he thinks is right. They do things they never thought they would, but they do it to live. The fight so they can live and they love so they can live.

I found that the romantic relationship moved a bit too fast for me. I felt it was moving along, and then suddenly they were in love. I thought there could have been more development and more interaction in between those two things. Nevertheless, the relationship between them was really amazing and I loved when they snarked at each other. They’re from two completely different worlds and they’re two completely different people. They handle things so differently. It was hilarious trying to watch them get along at first.

Overall, I really, really liked this book. It had a dark edge to it and it was filled with characters that I adore. It’s a super solid witch book and the magic system leaves nothing to be desired. I can’t wait to see how things progress in the next book and see more of all the characters and what new things are thrown at them. I can’t wait to see how they grow and change.

Serpent And Dove comes out September 3, 2019! You can add it on Goodreads and pre-order a copy in the meantime!

Thank you for reading!