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A review by ellariawrites
Serpent & Dove by Shelby Mahurin
4.0
This is the slowest slow burn romance I've ever read. Not in a bad way, but you really have to earn the romance in this story. Marriage of convivence plus enemies to lovers plus fantasy is right up my alley and it didn't disappoint. I like the mystery and the lore, and I liked the plot twists that unfolded as the story progressed. I loved the characters too. It was an interesting take on the real world tragedy of the church hunting people as witches. That being said, the hated of women in this book is intense. And it makes sense in the context of the story: only women can be witches and so because any woman could be a witch, coupled with the sexism and misogyny of the church, women are not looked upon favorably to put it lightly. So this particular aspect of worldbuilding could be quite difficult to get through for some.
The magic system in the story was very interesting but it was confusing at time. Basically, using magic has a cost. And more often than not, that cost is bodily harm to the user. (TW: self harm) In the case of Coco, the Blood Witch, that cost makes sense. She has to use her own blood to cast magic. The harm to her is not permanent, save for the scars left on her skin. However, when Lou, a Dame Blanche, uses magic, her costs are strange and inconsistent and not always clear. She can give up memories (but is this permanent?), she broke her fingers at one point, she mentioned giving up senses (but again, is that permanent?). Nature requires balance, yes. But that balance is confusing and it often left me wondering, what is the appeal of using magic if you keep hurting yourself in the process? It gets even more confusing because other Dame Blanche witches we meet in the story don't seem to have any kind of cost when using magic. It seems they do it effortlessly. So the magic system is cool, but I think it needed more work.
The magic system in the story was very interesting but it was confusing at time. Basically, using magic has a cost. And more often than not, that cost is bodily harm to the user. (TW: self harm) In the case of Coco, the Blood Witch, that cost makes sense. She has to use her own blood to cast magic. The harm to her is not permanent, save for the scars left on her skin. However, when Lou, a Dame Blanche, uses magic, her costs are strange and inconsistent and not always clear. She can give up memories (but is this permanent?), she broke her fingers at one point, she mentioned giving up senses (but again, is that permanent?). Nature requires balance, yes. But that balance is confusing and it often left me wondering, what is the appeal of using magic if you keep hurting yourself in the process? It gets even more confusing because other Dame Blanche witches we meet in the story don't seem to have any kind of cost when using magic. It seems they do it effortlessly. So the magic system is cool, but I think it needed more work.