A review by rachelhelmer
Serpent & Dove by Shelby Mahurin

3.0

This story is one that is definitely different from a lot of what I read. For one, I do not generally read much about witches so that was an aspect of the story that was totally new to me and not one that I totally enjoyed. The magic system that makes up these witches magic is more brutal with sacrificing things such as memories or the ability to do things such as sleep in exchange for the magic to do what you want. I thought this was an interesting take on magic since that I had not read much of before (that also means I have no idea if this is how most authors form their magic system when writing witch stories). When I am reading a story, I really need to care about the characters that I am reading about in order to like the book in general. I had a hard time coming to care for Lou since she is a very self focused person and takes joy in making other people's lives hard. Reid was a little more interesting of a character because of the struggle he is going through with his upbringing coming to clash with what he is learning about witches. In the end, I did enjoy him a little more than Lou but overall I didn't have a ton of feelings for him. Ansel and Coco were the characters that made the story worthwhile for me. Ansel was so sweet and understanding that I don't know how anyone could not love him. Coco is a force of nature that will do anything to protect her friends. She was an amazing character and I hope we will get even more from her in future books.
Overall, this books was good but not one that particularly stood out from others for me. I would still recommend it, however, to people looking for a fantasy with a good deal of romance to it.