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A review by mariedaniella
Serpent & Dove by Shelby Mahurin
adventurous
medium-paced
2.75
Also written on my blog post: Books I Read in May
My thoughts about this book have changed a lot over the course of just two months. I found it very enjoyable in May but after reading Sarah J. Maas’ Throne of Glass series a month later, I thought less of the things that I liked in this book. And now in July, I’ve learned new insights about parts that I missed in reading this book.
In May, I also discovered Booktube. There was one video that reviewed Serpent & Dove that rubbed me off the wrong way. I thought the video and the comments and jokes (from the creator and the viewers) were too mean, too mocking that I decided to read the book to try to prove the review wrong. I had a good time, it turned out. And I’m not just saying that so I can say my “mission” was successful.
While I think Serpent & Dove lacked some world-building and character depth, it was an easy and enjoyable read. I thought that it had potential.
I liked the magic system in the story. The humor in this book was poor but maybe it was just not my style. I thought the female lead, Lou’s characterization was faulty, especially when she’s written to be feisty or being forward while in a very conservative society or setting. I cringed every time. Her frankness was a bit off-putting like it’s unnatural and trying too hard but I liked the side characters like Coco and Ansel. I also liked Lou and Reid’s chemistry for the first half of the book but wished for a way better development in their romance. I also thought that the battle at the end… how it went was just ridiculous. Big titty liddy, there are no words.
It’s a story, basically. Although not one that thoroughly impressed me nor one that made me particularly care much for anything—and I’m an absolute fangirl who hungrily needs someone to root for, especially in a book. There’s still a story to listen or read about and I couldn’t understand the dismissiveness, the prevalent cancel culture in the comments and tone of inferiority from the booktube video I saw. I firmly believe that an audience should always be generous and meet a story for whatever medium halfway like this post I found on Tumblr says. Serpent & Dove is a good example of that. I had to buy some of the cliches, the cringe, and other gears to fully digest the story and hopefully appreciate it and enjoy myself.
Now, after another step on expanding my library from reading other books, I found the strengths that this book had weaker. I kept comparing it while reading Throne of Glass and thought the two were very similar, with Mahurin’s book like a bad fanfiction. And I could swear that when I read this in May, the Goodreads recap had a line that went something like “fans of Sarah J. Maas will enjoy this” but written in a way that Mahurin wasn’t confident enough to stand on her own strengths and confidence of the book. It was weird.
Most importantly, I learned the problematic parts of the story that I didn’t catch when I read it and that this booktube review brilliantly points out.
So, I changed my rating to a tad bit lesser than my initial rating. One is allowed to change one’s mind but I still want to honor that enjoyable time I had in May. Like Jesse says at the end of her review, one is still allowed to enjoy and appreciate things so long as you don’t make excuses for the bad and problematic parts. The important and correct way is recognizing these issues and continuing to educate ourselves and challenge the works (and in effect the artists) to be better.
My thoughts about this book have changed a lot over the course of just two months. I found it very enjoyable in May but after reading Sarah J. Maas’ Throne of Glass series a month later, I thought less of the things that I liked in this book. And now in July, I’ve learned new insights about parts that I missed in reading this book.
In May, I also discovered Booktube. There was one video that reviewed Serpent & Dove that rubbed me off the wrong way. I thought the video and the comments and jokes (from the creator and the viewers) were too mean, too mocking that I decided to read the book to try to prove the review wrong. I had a good time, it turned out. And I’m not just saying that so I can say my “mission” was successful.
While I think Serpent & Dove lacked some world-building and character depth, it was an easy and enjoyable read. I thought that it had potential.
I liked the magic system in the story. The humor in this book was poor but maybe it was just not my style. I thought the female lead, Lou’s characterization was faulty, especially when she’s written to be feisty or being forward while in a very conservative society or setting. I cringed every time. Her frankness was a bit off-putting like it’s unnatural and trying too hard but I liked the side characters like Coco and Ansel. I also liked Lou and Reid’s chemistry for the first half of the book but wished for a way better development in their romance. I also thought that the battle at the end… how it went was just ridiculous. Big titty liddy, there are no words.
It’s a story, basically. Although not one that thoroughly impressed me nor one that made me particularly care much for anything—and I’m an absolute fangirl who hungrily needs someone to root for, especially in a book. There’s still a story to listen or read about and I couldn’t understand the dismissiveness, the prevalent cancel culture in the comments and tone of inferiority from the booktube video I saw. I firmly believe that an audience should always be generous and meet a story for whatever medium halfway like this post I found on Tumblr says. Serpent & Dove is a good example of that. I had to buy some of the cliches, the cringe, and other gears to fully digest the story and hopefully appreciate it and enjoy myself.
Now, after another step on expanding my library from reading other books, I found the strengths that this book had weaker. I kept comparing it while reading Throne of Glass and thought the two were very similar, with Mahurin’s book like a bad fanfiction. And I could swear that when I read this in May, the Goodreads recap had a line that went something like “fans of Sarah J. Maas will enjoy this” but written in a way that Mahurin wasn’t confident enough to stand on her own strengths and confidence of the book. It was weird.
Most importantly, I learned the problematic parts of the story that I didn’t catch when I read it and that this booktube review brilliantly points out.
So, I changed my rating to a tad bit lesser than my initial rating. One is allowed to change one’s mind but I still want to honor that enjoyable time I had in May. Like Jesse says at the end of her review, one is still allowed to enjoy and appreciate things so long as you don’t make excuses for the bad and problematic parts. The important and correct way is recognizing these issues and continuing to educate ourselves and challenge the works (and in effect the artists) to be better.