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3.9 AVERAGE
3.9 AVERAGE
“I don't know if she returned
that love, and I didn't care.
If she was destined to burn
in Hell, I would burn with her.”
₊˚ʚ 9.9 out of 10! ₊˚✧ ﾟ
that love, and I didn't care.
If she was destined to burn
in Hell, I would burn with her.”
₊˚ʚ 9.9 out of 10! ₊˚✧ ﾟ
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
adventurous
emotional
funny
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
i liked the characters and generally enjoyed myself, but i saw the major plot twists coming from five miles away which made finishing the book a drag. the writing was fine but it wasn't great and i couldn't stand the random french words thrown in the middle of sentences. won't be finishing the trilogy.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Religious bigotry
Moderate: Vomit, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail
The book was good. Took me a few chapters to get into it though because I heard the second and third books are bad so it made me wary. I loved the banter, sarcasm, and witty lines in this book tho. A little too cheesy/eh writing in some parts but overall well done!
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
tense
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
This book was INCREDIBLY FRUSTRATING.
For the first 2/3, I felt as if I were reading two different books. One was a compelling fantasy world, dominated by witches with a complex magic system and sociopolitical clan structure. The other was a crappy Throne of Glass Chaol/Celaena fanfic if Chaol was built like a literal bear. While the plot geared up in the last third and the two began to mesh together, I still feel extremely resentful for having to read the early stages of the enemies to lovers plot.
Lou is a very charming protagonist. She has an excellent sense of humour, and as a narrator she drops exposition naturally. Her internal conflict is believable, as are the choices she makes even when they go against her ethics and morals.
The early to middle sections from Reid's perspective are odious and exhausting. Maybe it benefits straight female readers with terrible romantic partners to read the POV of a misogynistic, rage-filled asshole who is changed by the diamond level pussy of his lady love, but I struggle to understand why even they would enjoy it. I guess it's a testament to Mahurin that I didn't still absolutely LOATHE him by the end of the book, but I still dislike him as a character and find their romance plot exhausting.
Some of the sillier plot points are resolved by the end, but others, such as why the caddish heir to the throne is a) suddenly trusted by a witch with the gravest secret of her people and b) chooses to risk life and limb to assist her and her ragtag friends on a suicide mission remain a mystery.
Unfortunately, the book ends with an EXTREMELY COMPELLING cliffhanger about the second major witch clan that inhabits the Serpent & Dove universe, so shit, it looks like I'm going to have to read the sequel.
For the first 2/3, I felt as if I were reading two different books. One was a compelling fantasy world, dominated by witches with a complex magic system and sociopolitical clan structure. The other was a crappy Throne of Glass Chaol/Celaena fanfic if Chaol was built like a literal bear. While the plot geared up in the last third and the two began to mesh together, I still feel extremely resentful for having to read the early stages of the enemies to lovers plot.
Lou is a very charming protagonist. She has an excellent sense of humour, and as a narrator she drops exposition naturally. Her internal conflict is believable, as are the choices she makes even when they go against her ethics and morals.
The early to middle sections from Reid's perspective are odious and exhausting. Maybe it benefits straight female readers with terrible romantic partners to read the POV of a misogynistic, rage-filled asshole who is changed by the diamond level pussy of his lady love, but I struggle to understand why even they would enjoy it. I guess it's a testament to Mahurin that I didn't still absolutely LOATHE him by the end of the book, but I still dislike him as a character and find their romance plot exhausting.
Some of the sillier plot points are resolved by the end, but others, such as
Unfortunately, the book ends with an EXTREMELY COMPELLING cliffhanger about the second major witch clan that inhabits the Serpent & Dove universe, so shit, it looks like I'm going to have to read the sequel.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Chronic illness, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Hate crime, Infidelity, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Blood, Police brutality, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
N/A
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
Maybe closer to a 3.5?
This is a hard one for sure. On the one hand, I could hardly put down this debut--Lou's voice was incredibly gripping and Coco was my favorite character from the first page. None of the side plots, nor extensive cast of secondary characters were forgotten (though the inclusion of did feel a bit like a shoehorn moment.) It was really a good story and Mahurin can write!
I had read a few other reviews that said the world building was lacking; I did not find this as I was able to envision the world and the characters with remarkable ease. However, the longer I read, the more evident it became that though Serpent & Dove does not lack world building in the traditional, literary sense, it does lack a certain political awareness that reduced the book significantly.
The witch versus the Church is an archetypal battle that many readers enter into with preconceived notions of this power struggle. In recent years YA lit in particular has endeavored to elevate the witch by examining what makes her an enemy of institutions such as the state and the church. Though this was also the foundation of Mahurin's work, she chose instead to skip over these questions and just make everyone but the Romeo and Juliet couple "the bad guy." It's those two against the world, even as thinly veiled institutionalized misogyny, racism, sexism and homophobia are making their way into this marriage that will save the world. That being said, I must warn that the representation offered herein is thin and at times uncomfortable. The book has a leg in upholding the gender binary while offering Coco--the only visible character of color--the opportunity to be acknowledged as Queer, all the while setting up a book 2 love triangle with herself and two men.
Overall, I'm torn between beginning book 2 immediately to stay with the momentum of the series--to enjoy the escapism--and the nagging sense that the book's lack of political awareness is really gonna wear thin--especially as Reid continues to be both the heroic love interest and the bad guy in need of redemption.
This is a hard one for sure. On the one hand, I could hardly put down this debut--Lou's voice was incredibly gripping and Coco was my favorite character from the first page. None of the side plots, nor extensive cast of secondary characters were forgotten (though the inclusion of
Spoiler
the Crown Prince, BeauI had read a few other reviews that said the world building was lacking; I did not find this as I was able to envision the world and the characters with remarkable ease. However, the longer I read, the more evident it became that though Serpent & Dove does not lack world building in the traditional, literary sense, it does lack a certain political awareness that reduced the book significantly.
The witch versus the Church is an archetypal battle that many readers enter into with preconceived notions of this power struggle. In recent years YA lit in particular has endeavored to elevate the witch by examining what makes her an enemy of institutions such as the state and the church. Though this was also the foundation of Mahurin's work, she chose instead to skip over these questions and just make everyone but the Romeo and Juliet couple "the bad guy." It's those two against the world, even as thinly veiled institutionalized misogyny, racism, sexism and homophobia are making their way into this marriage that will save the world. That being said, I must warn that the representation offered herein is thin and at times uncomfortable. The book has a leg in upholding the gender binary while offering Coco--the only visible character of color--the opportunity to be acknowledged as Queer, all the while setting up a book 2 love triangle with herself and two men.
Overall, I'm torn between beginning book 2 immediately to stay with the momentum of the series--to enjoy the escapism--and the nagging sense that the book's lack of political awareness is really gonna wear thin--especially as Reid continues to be both the heroic love interest and the bad guy in need of redemption.
