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3.89 AVERAGE
3.89 AVERAGE
adventurous
challenging
emotional
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Ok, el libro tiene puntos muy cuestionables, así como puntos muy buenos.
De los malos puedo mencionar algunas incoherencias al principio que pueden rozar la estupidez, momentos subidos de tono fuera de lugar (el ambiente no daba pie a las escenas y aún así ocurrían; por lo menos desde mi punto de vista), y un hecho actúa como punto de partida para que el libro vaya en picada. Eso por suerte se resuelve bien; el libro no tendría el puntaje que tiene si no fuera por eso.
Hablando de los puntos buenos, las primeras cosas que me saltan a la mente son los capitulos 3 y 25. Su prosa, así como la de todo el libro en general (pero que realza en estos capítulos), es preciosa.
Las relaciones entre los personajes me gustaron mucho, se desarrolló todo muy bien y muy lindo.
El desarrollo de personaje de Célie es impresionante, además del mensaje que este trasmite (les dedico a todas la página 288 y el principio de la 289 <3).
Por último, el motivo del puntaje del libro, el final. Impresionante, impactante, lleno de giros, y al culminar da la impresión del cierre de un ciclo.
De los malos puedo mencionar algunas incoherencias al principio que pueden rozar la estupidez, momentos subidos de tono fuera de lugar (el ambiente no daba pie a las escenas y aún así ocurrían; por lo menos desde mi punto de vista), y un hecho actúa como punto de partida para que el libro vaya en picada. Eso por suerte se resuelve bien; el libro no tendría el puntaje que tiene si no fuera por eso.
Hablando de los puntos buenos, las primeras cosas que me saltan a la mente son los capitulos 3 y 25. Su prosa, así como la de todo el libro en general (pero que realza en estos capítulos), es preciosa.
Las relaciones entre los personajes me gustaron mucho, se desarrolló todo muy bien y muy lindo.
El desarrollo de personaje de Célie es impresionante, además del mensaje que este trasmite (les dedico a todas la página 288 y el principio de la 289 <3).
Por último, el motivo del puntaje del libro, el final. Impresionante, impactante, lleno de giros, y al culminar da la impresión del cierre de un ciclo.
This was a great book. I loved the ending, getting to see all of the characters was just such a nice way to close out the book. This book really took me through all the feels. You go from heartbreak to anger to heartwarming and back again. The character growth is also a great part of the story, the changes that Lou and Reid go through are just so overarching and you can just see how each event has changed them and molded them into the people they are at the end. Love it!
I think this was an overall fine book, I guess, but I can’t bring myself to give it a positive review. One of the premises - and indeed it is called out in the epilogue - is that Reid and Lou’s love is the cure for their kingdom’s ills. But… what? He’s a witch hunter and she’s a witch - good start. They spend the first book reluctantly falling for each other (good), the second book with Lou pushing Reid’s boundaries in a mean way (bad), and then this book is them separated by possession and memory loss (worse). I didn’t understand the “depth” of their love in Blood & Honey and I definitely don’t now. Honestly, a big tell for me was that Lou knows Reid’s history and still decided to use crude humor to ‘seduce’ Reid once he lost his memory. That Lou thought it was appropriate made me question just how well this couple knows each other. If the person I loved most suddenly hated me again, I would be working toward an actual solution instead of anything Lou did.
The biggest pitfall of this series is the sheer volume of stuff that happens on every page that we have to keep track of in order for anything to make sense. Remember the werewolves that were randomly introduced in book 2? They’re back for the final battle! (???) Were mermaids or dragons a thing before? No? No problem! We will spend a lot of time with those “monsters” just around, I guess. The more things got introduced, the more the world building in the first book completely falls apart. The chasseurs operate in a monotheistic faith-based world which establishes the fraught web in which Lou and Reid are tangled but by books 2 & 3, that whole bit has dried up completely and it’s like we’ve entered an entirely different story. The main group of friends is shuttled from one adventure to another and nothing has any bearing on the actual plot. The magic system continues to make no sense, and I spent every narrow escape or battle going “sure. I guess that’s a thing now.”
Which brings me to Lou. I liked Lou in book 1. Scrappy, irreverent, feisty; these are a few of my favorite things in an FMC. Book 2 started a decline in Lou’s character that never resolved for me. Book 3 features a goddess who literally questions what is so special about Lou that so many people would follow her lead and I couldn’t help but agree with the question. People/gods/monsters spend this whole story breaking “rules” and dying for Lou’s battles and spending their final moments being like, “I have to die for Lou” or something. It just falls flat when it’s everyone all the time giving up their LIVES for a person who they just met or who was nice to them once. Lou is self-sacrificing, sure, but she spends most of books 2 & 3 being a liability so I don’t get where the loyalty is coming from. Remember all the harm she did in book 2? I sure do! But who cares? The gods are going to interfere to save her because she knows the words to a single bawdy song. (Sorry, that’s probably unfair but I can’t get over how silly that song is. I felt the same way about the use of sticky buns as a bandaid for the romantic relationship. It’s shallow and silly when the stakes are as high as the story wants us to believe.)
My final gripe is the way so many characters seem to experience love in this world. For example, Reid is the product of the king and his affair with a witch/brothel owner. He doesn’t know she’s a witch. Flash forward 20 years and Reid’s mom believes that the king is still a good man who loves her… but… what? He spends all of his time burning witches and hasn’t checked in in a couple of decades, honey. I think that ship has sailed! Why are we surprised he would react violently? Then Lou mourning her mother’s death. Babe, she tried to kill you… like, a bunch of times! She tortured your friends and literally killed your best friend (I thought coco was the bff but apparently not?). I can get feeling complex feelings but the grief seemed unwarranted, considering everything. And of course, Lou and Reid. They are obviously attracted to each other due to the fact that they hook up at extremely inopportune moments, but I don’t understand the power behind their love at any point after book 1. There was an opportunity to explore navigating new love in a dangerous world, but instead we leap into “I would destroy everything and burn everything to the ground for this person who was only honest with me for the first time about two weeks ago.”
Maybe this works for people who are very into YA but I think enough goes wrong with this story that I would only recommend Serpent & Dove as the story to read.
The biggest pitfall of this series is the sheer volume of stuff that happens on every page that we have to keep track of in order for anything to make sense. Remember the werewolves that were randomly introduced in book 2? They’re back for the final battle! (???) Were mermaids or dragons a thing before? No? No problem! We will spend a lot of time with those “monsters” just around, I guess. The more things got introduced, the more the world building in the first book completely falls apart. The chasseurs operate in a monotheistic faith-based world which establishes the fraught web in which Lou and Reid are tangled but by books 2 & 3, that whole bit has dried up completely and it’s like we’ve entered an entirely different story. The main group of friends is shuttled from one adventure to another and nothing has any bearing on the actual plot. The magic system continues to make no sense, and I spent every narrow escape or battle going “sure. I guess that’s a thing now.”
Which brings me to Lou. I liked Lou in book 1. Scrappy, irreverent, feisty; these are a few of my favorite things in an FMC. Book 2 started a decline in Lou’s character that never resolved for me. Book 3 features a goddess who literally questions what is so special about Lou that so many people would follow her lead and I couldn’t help but agree with the question. People/gods/monsters spend this whole story breaking “rules” and dying for Lou’s battles and spending their final moments being like, “I have to die for Lou” or something. It just falls flat when it’s everyone all the time giving up their LIVES for a person who they just met or who was nice to them once. Lou is self-sacrificing, sure, but she spends most of books 2 & 3 being a liability so I don’t get where the loyalty is coming from. Remember all the harm she did in book 2? I sure do! But who cares? The gods are going to interfere to save her because she knows the words to a single bawdy song. (Sorry, that’s probably unfair but I can’t get over how silly that song is. I felt the same way about the use of sticky buns as a bandaid for the romantic relationship. It’s shallow and silly when the stakes are as high as the story wants us to believe.)
My final gripe is the way so many characters seem to experience love in this world. For example, Reid is the product of the king and his affair with a witch/brothel owner. He doesn’t know she’s a witch. Flash forward 20 years and Reid’s mom believes that the king is still a good man who loves her… but… what? He spends all of his time burning witches and hasn’t checked in in a couple of decades, honey. I think that ship has sailed! Why are we surprised he would react violently? Then Lou mourning her mother’s death. Babe, she tried to kill you… like, a bunch of times! She tortured your friends and literally killed your best friend (I thought coco was the bff but apparently not?). I can get feeling complex feelings but the grief seemed unwarranted, considering everything. And of course, Lou and Reid. They are obviously attracted to each other due to the fact that they hook up at extremely inopportune moments, but I don’t understand the power behind their love at any point after book 1. There was an opportunity to explore navigating new love in a dangerous world, but instead we leap into “I would destroy everything and burn everything to the ground for this person who was only honest with me for the first time about two weeks ago.”
Maybe this works for people who are very into YA but I think enough goes wrong with this story that I would only recommend Serpent & Dove as the story to read.
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes