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Blood & Honey (Serpent & Dove, 2) Paperback – July 6, 2021
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The stakes are higher. The witches are deadlier. And the romance is red-hot. The eagerly anticipated sequel to the New York Times and Indiebound bestseller Serpent & Dove is perfect for fans of Sarah J. Maas and is an instant New York Times bestseller!
Lou, Reid, Coco, and Ansel are on the run from coven, kingdom, and church—fugitives with nowhere to hide.
To survive, they need allies. Strong ones. But as Lou becomes increasingly desperate to save those she loves, she turns to a darker side of magic that may cost Reid the one thing he can’t bear to lose. Bound to her always, his vows were clear: where Lou goes, he will go; and where she stays, he will stay.
Until death do they part.
Don't miss Gods & Monsters, the spellbinding conclusion of this epic trilogy!
- Print length560 pages
- LanguageEnglish
- PublisherHarperTeen
- Publication dateJuly 6, 2021
- Grade level9 - 12
- Reading age14 - 17 years
- Dimensions5.3 x 1.3 x 8 inches
- ISBN-100062878085
- ISBN-13978-0062878083
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Editorial Reviews
Review
“In Lou’s world she not only finds her voice, but makes men take notice and change their views of women. With so many twists and turns, this book is a must for fans of the first.” — School Library Journal
“Seductive, steamy, and satisfying. Mahurin has delivered a fearless and captivating sequel that has me hooked. This is officially one of my favorite series ever.” — Adalyn Grace, New York Times bestselling author of All the Stars and Teeth
“Decadent and dangerous, Blood & Honey was exactly the book I needed at precisely the right time. The rich cast of characters captivated me, and I can’t wait to see what’s in store next for this merry band of miscreants.” — Reneé Ahdieh, New York Times bestselling author of The Wrath & the Dawn series
"Blood & Honey grabbed me by the throat. Shining with irreverent humor and brutal heartache, every magical word is rendered beautifully throughout the many twists and harrowing turns. Mahurin delivers a triumphant return to Belterra." — Isabel Ibañez, author of Woven In Moonlight
“A breathless, breathtaking continuation of the magical world Mahurin has created pits the strength of love against the need to protect those one loves…at any cost. Would you lose your soul to save someone else’s? Blood & Honey doesn’t just address this question; it slams the reader into the story - and that existential question - in a brilliant, unending roller-coaster ride.” — Jodi Picoult, New York Times bestselling author of Small Great Things and A Spark of Light
Praise for Serpent & Dove:
“Drips with intrigue and shadow.” — Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books
“A brilliant debut, full of everything I love: a sparkling and fully-realized heroine, an intricate and deadly system of magic, and a searing romance that kept me reading long into the night. Serpent & Dove is an absolute gem of a book.” — Sarah J Maas, #1 New York Times bestselling author of A Court of Thorns and Roses series
“Will cast a spell on romance fans.” — Kirkus Reviews
“Mahurin has taken the witch and witch hunter trope and made it new again. The world-building will draw in readers and Lou’s strong but wistful nature will keep them turning pages.” — School Library Journal
About the Author
Shelby Mahurin is the New York Times bestselling author of the Serpent & Dove trilogy. She grew up on a small farm in rural Indiana, where sticks became wands and cows became dragons. Her rampant imagination didn’t fade with age, so she continues to play make-believe every day—with words now instead of cows. When not writing, Shelby watches The Office and reads voraciously. She still lives near that childhood farm with her very tall husband and semiferal children. Visit her online at www.shelbymahurin.com.
Product details
- Publisher : HarperTeen (July 6, 2021)
- Language : English
- Paperback : 560 pages
- ISBN-10 : 0062878085
- ISBN-13 : 978-0062878083
- Reading age : 14 - 17 years
- Grade level : 9 - 12
- Item Weight : 14.3 ounces
- Dimensions : 5.3 x 1.3 x 8 inches
- Best Sellers Rank: #20,315 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- Customer Reviews:
About the author

Shelby Mahurin grew up on a small farm in rural Indiana, where sticks became wands and cows became dragons. Her rampant imagination didn't fade with age, so she continues to play make-believe every day—with words now instead of cows. When not writing, Shelby watches the Office and reads voraciously. She still lives near that childhood farm with her very tall husband and semi-feral children.
Serpent & Dove is Shelby’s debut novel. You can visit her online at www.shelbymahurin.com or follow her on Twitter and Instagram at @shelbymahurin.
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Reviewed in the United States on September 30, 2020
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I woke up this morning, my bookmark wedged at the end of Act I in Blood & Honey, blissfully unaware of the emotional trauma I was about to suffer. “Just one more chapter,” I said to myself, still nestled in the warmth of my blankets as I reached for it. One chapter turned into the end of Act II, when I realized I desperately needed to get up and feed my cat two hours later.
Oops.
Praise Jesus I did feed her, too. I only survived Act III because she sat on my leg and purred while I sobbed.
Let me just say, above all other things, Shelby Mahurin is a queen of character development. From the start, I knew I liked where Reid’s character arc was going. I relate to our beloved God-fearing witch hunter on a spiritual level (is that a pun? If it is, totally intended). As someone who studied Bible-Theology in college, he was easy to understand. While personality-wise, I tended to relate to Lou a heck of a lot more, logistically, I really appreciated Reid. And in this book, I knew he’d have a lot of baggage to sort through with the revelation at the end of S&D that he was dun, dun, dunnnnn A WITCH.
First of all, the fact that she had him STRUGGLE with this was beautiful. I loved every minute of him being in denial of what he was, especially since it made the moment when he finally accepted magic so powerful. I do wish there would have been more of a struggle with his faith, though. At the end of S&D, I remember him questioning God’s existence. And since I felt like Woodwose’s confirmed existence at the end was sort of like saying God exists in this universe, it would have made sense for him to struggle with having been a Chasseur, and now knowing he was a witch, to question his faith a little bit more. He questioned magic a lot. He questioned whether it was good. He questioned what magic did to Lou. But he never questioned how having magic changed the faith he’d been raised in. It was just a lot of denial until… he used magic. I felt like this was neglected. But again, this is coming from someone who did study Bible-Theology, talking about a seemingly secular book.
On the subject of a seemingly secular book, can we talk about Lou? Aside from having told my mom I have a second stomach reserved for deserts all my life (something Lou said in S&D that made me wonder if I was Lou in an alternate reality), in S&D, I wasn’t always Lou’s biggest fan. It wasn’t the witchness or the anti-Godness, so much as it was she seemed to be really rash and impulsive. Again, I must say, I still loved her character. She’s headstrong and smart and strong. But I felt like a vast majority of the things that went wrong in S&D went wrong because Lou made a dumb decision.
So, I loved her character arc in this one. It’s rare you see a character who is impulsive and rash suffer so much from their impulsivity. I loved her having this reckoning that she’s been going too far, realizing she’s messed up, and feeling broken. I don’t think enough authors have the guts to break their characters like this.
I also want to say, Shelby Mahurin gutted me with the words, “Reid says I’m… lost,” all the way to, “Don’t abandon me,” (pages 421-423). It’s one of the rawest, most powerful, most beautiful prayer, and for Lou’s character arc to include that was astounding. It was an angry prayer, but it was also filled with so much longing. I don’t think there was a moment in the book where Lou was more honest with herself. With how she feels. And I think, in her final chapter, this feeling of abandonment really shines through. That it’s Lou’s biggest fear, and in the end, she feels utterly alone. Her character arc was beautiful from start to finish.
(Also, bit more about theology/skip if you want more of the review: I found it interesting that the only answer Lou claimed to have received was silence, yet a little while later, it’s Claud Deveraux (a.k.a. Woodwose, a.k.a. Cesarine’s God-figure) who comes to visit her, and they discuss her prayer. He then goes on to remind her that she isn’t alone, because Reid is back and he’s asking for her. Almost like an answer to her prayer…)
Honestly, Lou and Reid were the shining moments of this story, and I absolutely adored them both. But there were a few things that I wasn’t a huge fan of, and obviously it wasn’t enough to lower it from 5 stars, but it was enough to just quickly address.
It’s really dark. Unsettlingly dark. There isn’t a lot of hope, and I felt like, as a reader, the book dragged a little bit because of this. It wasn’t the pacing, it was the content. But the matter that was dark was handled delicately. One of my favorite moments took place at the Archbishop’s funeral, when Reid FINALLY grieved (better than him throwing knives at Lou. Better than almost anything. I adore Reid).I just wish there had been a little more hope sprinkled in, because you need to see light in the midst of darkness.
My biggest gripe with this story was that I felt like there were too many characters to keep straight. I read the entire book and I still don’t know the two twins who traveled with Deveraux. I don’t know their names. I don’t completely understand their importance. I barely managed to keep track of where Madame Labelle was at any given time in the story. It’s a big cast of characters, and that made it difficult to follow the journeys of the characters I loved most. Aside from Lou and Reid, I felt like the only side character who had decent page time was Beau. It’s not that Coco and Ansel didn’t have their own arcs, but it felt overshadowed by the massive amount of characters in the story. I would have LOVED to see Reid and Coco’s friendship grow. Their scenes together, and how much Lou liked them getting along, would have made an interesting addition to the story. Since this was a character-driven book, it needed a smaller cast of characters.
And Ansel. My baby. My favorite character. I felt like he was done dirty. My boy was basically treated like crap the entire book ONLY TO DIE? ONLY TO BE THEIR MARTYR? He didn’t deserve that! I am so upset with how it ended. I mean, of course, it had to end like that. I get that. It was a great ending. BUT IT HURT. SO MUCH. I do wish he had gotten more page time. It felt like his only purpose in this book was to die. Sure, he had his heroic moment saving Gaby and Celie, but couldn’t he have gotten more page time? I would have loved to see him and Coco interact more after they kissed (I think Coco needed more page time, too).
This sort of leads into that ending. Because I want to hate it. I want to hate Shelby Mahurin for the emotional trauma she has caused me. I’m definitely not going to sleep tonight, and it’s her fault. But I can’t. It was a fantastic ending. It really was. I read some reviews that said it ended too quickly, but I actually disagree. I think the ending pace was wonderful. I didn’t have time to catch my breath, which is part of what made it so devastating (in the best possible way). They accomplished their goal. They saved Celie and Gaby, but it was totally a pyrrhic victory when they lost Ansel. As Coco said, he’s the best of them. To lose him is devastating. It still sucks.
But I’ll be honest, that part was nothing compared to La Voisin and Nicholina betraying Lou at the end. I said this before. I’ll say it again. Lou’s character arc was *chef’s kiss*. The fact that she feared being abandoned, that she spent the book pushing people away to protect them (sometimes, even to protect them from herself), and the fact that she prayed because of how afraid she was made this ultimate abandonment, being left to La Voisin’s plan, was both beautiful and shattering. Like I said, I commend Shelby Mahurin for breaking Lou the way she did. And I do wonder if her breaking Lou in the final book to come will have any impact in Lou’s view of faith.
Remember how I said most of the book seemed really dark, and lacked hope? I felt like that about the end until I got to one of the last lines (Reid’s perspective). “I frowned. I hadn’t seen her grin since–since–“ (531). I won’t say why that single line gives me hope, but if you’ve paid attention to Reid’s analysis of Lou’s grins, you’ve probably guessed.
I don’t think Lou’s as abandoned as she thinks she is.
I think Mahurin just wants us to believe she is.

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on September 30, 2020
I woke up this morning, my bookmark wedged at the end of Act I in Blood & Honey, blissfully unaware of the emotional trauma I was about to suffer. “Just one more chapter,” I said to myself, still nestled in the warmth of my blankets as I reached for it. One chapter turned into the end of Act II, when I realized I desperately needed to get up and feed my cat two hours later.
Oops.
Praise Jesus I did feed her, too. I only survived Act III because she sat on my leg and purred while I sobbed.
Let me just say, above all other things, Shelby Mahurin is a queen of character development. From the start, I knew I liked where Reid’s character arc was going. I relate to our beloved God-fearing witch hunter on a spiritual level (is that a pun? If it is, totally intended). As someone who studied Bible-Theology in college, he was easy to understand. While personality-wise, I tended to relate to Lou a heck of a lot more, logistically, I really appreciated Reid. And in this book, I knew he’d have a lot of baggage to sort through with the revelation at the end of S&D that he was dun, dun, dunnnnn A WITCH.
First of all, the fact that she had him STRUGGLE with this was beautiful. I loved every minute of him being in denial of what he was, especially since it made the moment when he finally accepted magic so powerful. I do wish there would have been more of a struggle with his faith, though. At the end of S&D, I remember him questioning God’s existence. And since I felt like Woodwose’s confirmed existence at the end was sort of like saying God exists in this universe, it would have made sense for him to struggle with having been a Chasseur, and now knowing he was a witch, to question his faith a little bit more. He questioned magic a lot. He questioned whether it was good. He questioned what magic did to Lou. But he never questioned how having magic changed the faith he’d been raised in. It was just a lot of denial until… he used magic. I felt like this was neglected. But again, this is coming from someone who did study Bible-Theology, talking about a seemingly secular book.
On the subject of a seemingly secular book, can we talk about Lou? Aside from having told my mom I have a second stomach reserved for deserts all my life (something Lou said in S&D that made me wonder if I was Lou in an alternate reality), in S&D, I wasn’t always Lou’s biggest fan. It wasn’t the witchness or the anti-Godness, so much as it was she seemed to be really rash and impulsive. Again, I must say, I still loved her character. She’s headstrong and smart and strong. But I felt like a vast majority of the things that went wrong in S&D went wrong because Lou made a dumb decision.
So, I loved her character arc in this one. It’s rare you see a character who is impulsive and rash suffer so much from their impulsivity. I loved her having this reckoning that she’s been going too far, realizing she’s messed up, and feeling broken. I don’t think enough authors have the guts to break their characters like this.
I also want to say, Shelby Mahurin gutted me with the words, “Reid says I’m… lost,” all the way to, “Don’t abandon me,” (pages 421-423). It’s one of the rawest, most powerful, most beautiful prayer, and for Lou’s character arc to include that was astounding. It was an angry prayer, but it was also filled with so much longing. I don’t think there was a moment in the book where Lou was more honest with herself. With how she feels. And I think, in her final chapter, this feeling of abandonment really shines through. That it’s Lou’s biggest fear, and in the end, she feels utterly alone. Her character arc was beautiful from start to finish.
(Also, bit more about theology/skip if you want more of the review: I found it interesting that the only answer Lou claimed to have received was silence, yet a little while later, it’s Claud Deveraux (a.k.a. Woodwose, a.k.a. Cesarine’s God-figure) who comes to visit her, and they discuss her prayer. He then goes on to remind her that she isn’t alone, because Reid is back and he’s asking for her. Almost like an answer to her prayer…)
Honestly, Lou and Reid were the shining moments of this story, and I absolutely adored them both. But there were a few things that I wasn’t a huge fan of, and obviously it wasn’t enough to lower it from 5 stars, but it was enough to just quickly address.
It’s really dark. Unsettlingly dark. There isn’t a lot of hope, and I felt like, as a reader, the book dragged a little bit because of this. It wasn’t the pacing, it was the content. But the matter that was dark was handled delicately. One of my favorite moments took place at the Archbishop’s funeral, when Reid FINALLY grieved (better than him throwing knives at Lou. Better than almost anything. I adore Reid).I just wish there had been a little more hope sprinkled in, because you need to see light in the midst of darkness.
My biggest gripe with this story was that I felt like there were too many characters to keep straight. I read the entire book and I still don’t know the two twins who traveled with Deveraux. I don’t know their names. I don’t completely understand their importance. I barely managed to keep track of where Madame Labelle was at any given time in the story. It’s a big cast of characters, and that made it difficult to follow the journeys of the characters I loved most. Aside from Lou and Reid, I felt like the only side character who had decent page time was Beau. It’s not that Coco and Ansel didn’t have their own arcs, but it felt overshadowed by the massive amount of characters in the story. I would have LOVED to see Reid and Coco’s friendship grow. Their scenes together, and how much Lou liked them getting along, would have made an interesting addition to the story. Since this was a character-driven book, it needed a smaller cast of characters.
And Ansel. My baby. My favorite character. I felt like he was done dirty. My boy was basically treated like crap the entire book ONLY TO DIE? ONLY TO BE THEIR MARTYR? He didn’t deserve that! I am so upset with how it ended. I mean, of course, it had to end like that. I get that. It was a great ending. BUT IT HURT. SO MUCH. I do wish he had gotten more page time. It felt like his only purpose in this book was to die. Sure, he had his heroic moment saving Gaby and Celie, but couldn’t he have gotten more page time? I would have loved to see him and Coco interact more after they kissed (I think Coco needed more page time, too).
This sort of leads into that ending. Because I want to hate it. I want to hate Shelby Mahurin for the emotional trauma she has caused me. I’m definitely not going to sleep tonight, and it’s her fault. But I can’t. It was a fantastic ending. It really was. I read some reviews that said it ended too quickly, but I actually disagree. I think the ending pace was wonderful. I didn’t have time to catch my breath, which is part of what made it so devastating (in the best possible way). They accomplished their goal. They saved Celie and Gaby, but it was totally a pyrrhic victory when they lost Ansel. As Coco said, he’s the best of them. To lose him is devastating. It still sucks.
But I’ll be honest, that part was nothing compared to La Voisin and Nicholina betraying Lou at the end. I said this before. I’ll say it again. Lou’s character arc was *chef’s kiss*. The fact that she feared being abandoned, that she spent the book pushing people away to protect them (sometimes, even to protect them from herself), and the fact that she prayed because of how afraid she was made this ultimate abandonment, being left to La Voisin’s plan, was both beautiful and shattering. Like I said, I commend Shelby Mahurin for breaking Lou the way she did. And I do wonder if her breaking Lou in the final book to come will have any impact in Lou’s view of faith.
Remember how I said most of the book seemed really dark, and lacked hope? I felt like that about the end until I got to one of the last lines (Reid’s perspective). “I frowned. I hadn’t seen her grin since–since–“ (531). I won’t say why that single line gives me hope, but if you’ve paid attention to Reid’s analysis of Lou’s grins, you’ve probably guessed.
I don’t think Lou’s as abandoned as she thinks she is.
I think Mahurin just wants us to believe she is.



by Shelby Mahurin
Fantasy Magic Romance
Book two of the Serpent & Dove series picks up pretty much where the first book left off, with Lou, Reid, Coco, and Ansel, running from Lou's mother, Morgane, and the church, trying to find allies to stop Morgane.
Because this is the second book of a series, I'm going to try not to give too much away... So this will be a short review, plus I don't have much to say about it.
As with the first book, the chapters are in first person, from either Lou's or Reid's point of view, ideal for this book because they split up for a few chapters as they search for allies.
Because of Reid's discovery, and his and Lou's actions in the first book (and this one), a rift is forming between Lou and Reid's relationship.
It's an okay story. And there is a *gasp, in this book, but it still wasn't as exciting as everyone was making it out to be. The romance, while it was a little descriptive, thankfully, I saw no steam whatsoever, but it's still not suitable for readers under sixteen.
The magic isn't itself dark.... spoilers.... but I like that there are consequences to casting even the smallest of spells.
Even though this story didn't pull me in, and make me want to stay up late to finish, it was good enough. So to keep with my New Year's goal, I'll read the final book in this series.
3 Stars
I put this book off for a year. Yes, a year. Why? You ask. Because people said this book was not great and I planned on rereading Serpent & Dove, so I pushed it off. Well, I never reread Serpent & Dove and when Gods & Monsters came out I got fomo and wanted to read the last book. It sparked me into reading Blood & Honey. Was it bad as people say? In my opinion, no. I actually enjoyed this and wish I read it sooner. I don’t think it is as great as Serpent & Dove, but it was still enjoyable. I definitely agreed this is perfect of fans of Sarah J. Maas because Lou reminds me a lot of Aelin from Throne of Glass. I love the humor in this book as well as the action. The romance is pretty good. I was annoyed with how Reid was always did not want magic around and how everyone forgave Lou so easily. With those two things aside it was good and I can’t wait to see how Gods & Monsters wraps everything up.
Top reviews from other countries

The story continues from where Serpent&Dove left off. Lou, Reid and their group are now trying to rally allies to defeat Morgane. And while they do this they must remain covert, to avoid the chasseurs, who have orders from the king to capture them at any cost but also to stay hidden from Morgane herself, who is still after Lou. But keeping a low profile isn't easy when the enemy has eyes everywhere and using magic only seems to create a rift between Lou and Reid. Loyalties are being tested and their relationship will either fall apart or become even stronger by the end.
I have conflicted feelings about this book. The story is told from dual POV, with Reid taking the spotlight more often than Lou, and I enjoyed it because we get to establish a deeper connection with him, but I felt like some conversations were dragged out, and there was not enough interaction between the two of them. The atmosphere is darker than in the previous instalment and the writing style is still enthralling, but the pace of the story is slow and the romantic aspect of Lou and Reid's relationship went downhill. Reid was so lost in his thoughts and his disdain for magic that without realising it he kept pushing Lou away, and Lou, in her desire to help him see he was wrong in his convictions and to help the people she loves, ended up making rash decisions that took a toll on her soul. There are also many new characters introduced and while I love the diversity, I felt like most of them offered nothing important to the story and it was hard to remember who was who.
What I like most about this book are the magic system and Lou's flamboyant personality. Even though her character goes through some changes during their journey, she never loses her sense of humour and tenacity. Her antics are adorable and seeing her embrace her darker side was definitely interesting. I can't help but love her even more.
In terms of plot, there is action, there are secrets, mystery and suspense, but I feel like the story is more character-driven than anything else. This book ends with yet another cliffhanger that left me hungry for more. There are still questions left unanswered and a twist that brings new enemies into the light. I'm so curious to see what will happen next.

Suddenly two unlikely people are falling in love for no reason. And then the language changes and the book falls apart for a while. It's as if an experienced adult started the book and then then young teenager took over writing it for a while.
However I forced myself to keep reading it and I did actually like the book and have bought the next edition.

As fugitives from the Dames Blanches, Church and Crown, they must find a way to defeat Morgane by locating other witches or supernatural beings to assist them. When the friends must part ways because Reid is not welcome by Coco's family the Dames Rough and he must seek the werewolves separately, troubles within the group deepen. Lack of communication causes a rift between Reid and Lou and as they go their separate ways that rift only widens. Lou cannot understand why Reid will not see beyond her magic to the woman he says he loves and stop trying to change her and Reid cannot reconcile the Lou that he fell in love with the drastically altered woman before him who is violent and dangerously irrational. But the one thing he takes issue with is the fact she continues to lie to him about her past.
As their enemies close in on every side will they succeed in vanquishing Morgane once and for all or will they even survive the coming battle? One thing is certain – the fight ahead of them will leave earth-shattering consequences for all involved and ones that no magic can reverse.
🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟. This instalment is much darker and the ending broke my heart. Even though these beloved characters have changed considerably and in unexpected ways, I still feel drawn to them. The escalating tension to the showdown with Morgane was thrilling but I found the interpersonal conflicts and connections to be even more compelling. I recommend tissues.


Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on November 24, 2021
As fugitives from the Dames Blanches, Church and Crown, they must find a way to defeat Morgane by locating other witches or supernatural beings to assist them. When the friends must part ways because Reid is not welcome by Coco's family the Dames Rough and he must seek the werewolves separately, troubles within the group deepen. Lack of communication causes a rift between Reid and Lou and as they go their separate ways that rift only widens. Lou cannot understand why Reid will not see beyond her magic to the woman he says he loves and stop trying to change her and Reid cannot reconcile the Lou that he fell in love with the drastically altered woman before him who is violent and dangerously irrational. But the one thing he takes issue with is the fact she continues to lie to him about her past.
As their enemies close in on every side will they succeed in vanquishing Morgane once and for all or will they even survive the coming battle? One thing is certain – the fight ahead of them will leave earth-shattering consequences for all involved and ones that no magic can reverse.
🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟. This instalment is much darker and the ending broke my heart. Even though these beloved characters have changed considerably and in unexpected ways, I still feel drawn to them. The escalating tension to the showdown with Morgane was thrilling but I found the interpersonal conflicts and connections to be even more compelling. I recommend tissues.


*
Did I like this book? Yes, very much. Did I enjoy this book? Yes. Did I love this book? I hate to say it, but no.
*
"The wisest course of action isn't always the right one..."
*
In this sequel we see Lou, Reid and Co navigating the consequences from the end of Serpent & Dove whilst trying to anticipate an attack from La Dame Des Sorcieres.
*
What I really liked about this book was how we got to see more of the world and the magical creatures that inhabit it. There were lot of new and interesting characters introduced along the way. And that cliffhanger... Wow! I did predict it with some of the earlier foreshadowing but, my gods, it still hit hard!
I also experienced a first whilst reading this book as I took part in an Interactive Art Read-A-Long through A Touch of Magic Designs on IG. This included five mystery prints labelled with a corresponding chapter. It depicted the scene beautifully and helped to bring the characters to life. It also had me rushing to read on to reach the next print. This read-a-long is a big part of why this review is 4 stars instead of 3.
*
"She wore secrets like armour, and she shed them for no one... "
*
Now, I loved Serpent & Dove and I was abolsutely hooked on it. I feel Blood & Honey just fell short of that. It honestly felt like Lou and Reid were strangers - that original spark was missing. The story between those two felt repetitive in this book and not fresh like in S&D. It felt like this was a 'filler' book before getting to the Finale. I'm a sucker for romance and theirs just seemed to dwindle. I'm hoping to see a revival in book 3.
*
"You are earth. And she is fire..."
*


Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on November 6, 2020
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Did I like this book? Yes, very much. Did I enjoy this book? Yes. Did I love this book? I hate to say it, but no.
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"The wisest course of action isn't always the right one..."
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In this sequel we see Lou, Reid and Co navigating the consequences from the end of Serpent & Dove whilst trying to anticipate an attack from La Dame Des Sorcieres.
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What I really liked about this book was how we got to see more of the world and the magical creatures that inhabit it. There were lot of new and interesting characters introduced along the way. And that cliffhanger... Wow! I did predict it with some of the earlier foreshadowing but, my gods, it still hit hard!
I also experienced a first whilst reading this book as I took part in an Interactive Art Read-A-Long through A Touch of Magic Designs on IG. This included five mystery prints labelled with a corresponding chapter. It depicted the scene beautifully and helped to bring the characters to life. It also had me rushing to read on to reach the next print. This read-a-long is a big part of why this review is 4 stars instead of 3.
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"She wore secrets like armour, and she shed them for no one... "
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Now, I loved Serpent & Dove and I was abolsutely hooked on it. I feel Blood & Honey just fell short of that. It honestly felt like Lou and Reid were strangers - that original spark was missing. The story between those two felt repetitive in this book and not fresh like in S&D. It felt like this was a 'filler' book before getting to the Finale. I'm a sucker for romance and theirs just seemed to dwindle. I'm hoping to see a revival in book 3.
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"You are earth. And she is fire..."
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One thing that I really liked about the book is that the characters are flawed. None of them are perfect. I loved how you see Lou starting to spiral, Reid fighting with himself, Coco and Ansel trying to figure things out. Even Beau showed a more mature side! Though once again he did manage to make me cry of laughter and I can't wait to hear more of his stories in the next book. To be honest I think it was the character development that kept me reading even when things weren't actually happening. Seeing them deal with their inner demons, for me, was interesting enough to read until things started falling into place.
I can't wait to read the final book and see how everything gets tied up.
Oh! And Big Titty Liddy, I am happy to say we even learn more about her, which obviously provides more laughter to our lives.
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I posted the same review on my good reads, but I am still the one that wrote it :)