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A review by theinquisitxor
Blood & Honey by Shelby Mahurin
2.0
2/5 stars. Oh middle book syndrome, oh you-should-have-been-a-duology-not-a-trilogy!
edit March 2021: I’m bumping this down a star rating because after sitting with it for a couple months, my opinion of this book has gone down even more. Sad :/ because I really enjoyed the first book. I also don’t think I’m going to pick up the last book now. This book was just a dumpster fire
Original Review: Serpent and Dove is a book that I enjoyed quite a lot. The first time I read it, I gave it just shy of 5 stars. I liked all the characters, the romance between Lou and Reid, the general set-up and premise. While there was plenty of action in the first book, there were also slower bits where the characters spent time getting to know each other. The story was more focused on one central area, one a few specific characters. And I liked that!
However, this book is different. While it does tie into things discussed and brought up in the first book, it just felt like way too much all the time but also somehow nothing happened? The characters were bouncing all over the place and getting into fights constantly--it became tiresome. Yes, we get to see some of the expanded world (which is really just an island, with one mention of what lies beyond), we see the characters grow and change their beliefs and ideals throughout the story.
While the magic system is still confusing, I enjoyed the notion that if one uses too much magic, they start to lose their humanity. This is something Lou struggles with, and we can see the consequences of when this has happened to other characters. I still found this book very entertaining and I read the majority of it in one sitting. Reading this book reminded me of reading Children of Virtue and Vengeance. I really liked the first book, but the second did not reach the heights of the first. And I feel like I have to finish the last book of each trilogy because I'm too invested to not find out how it ends. At least with this trilogy, the third book had a release date in August, so not too much time will pass in-between.
edit March 2021: I’m bumping this down a star rating because after sitting with it for a couple months, my opinion of this book has gone down even more. Sad :/ because I really enjoyed the first book. I also don’t think I’m going to pick up the last book now. This book was just a dumpster fire
Original Review: Serpent and Dove is a book that I enjoyed quite a lot. The first time I read it, I gave it just shy of 5 stars. I liked all the characters, the romance between Lou and Reid, the general set-up and premise. While there was plenty of action in the first book, there were also slower bits where the characters spent time getting to know each other. The story was more focused on one central area, one a few specific characters. And I liked that!
However, this book is different. While it does tie into things discussed and brought up in the first book, it just felt like way too much all the time but also somehow nothing happened? The characters were bouncing all over the place and getting into fights constantly--it became tiresome. Yes, we get to see some of the expanded world (which is really just an island, with one mention of what lies beyond), we see the characters grow and change their beliefs and ideals throughout the story.
While the magic system is still confusing, I enjoyed the notion that if one uses too much magic, they start to lose their humanity. This is something Lou struggles with, and we can see the consequences of when this has happened to other characters. I still found this book very entertaining and I read the majority of it in one sitting. Reading this book reminded me of reading Children of Virtue and Vengeance. I really liked the first book, but the second did not reach the heights of the first. And I feel like I have to finish the last book of each trilogy because I'm too invested to not find out how it ends. At least with this trilogy, the third book had a release date in August, so not too much time will pass in-between.