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A review by storiesandshiraz
Serpent & Dove by Shelby Mahurin
5.0
Review below is for the whole trilogy
It's the characters in this trilogy that do it for me. Mahurin pours so much detail and personality into each character that you cannot help but fall in love with them. Each of them has quirks that make your heart sing and faults that make you want to slap them. She keeps these in such a perfect balance that the characters she writes feel real. For Lou, the female protagonist is such a strong personality - for some writers, it's difficult to make this feel real, relatable and likeable, but Mahurin pulls it off expertly.
The world building isn't as detailed as it could be, but we get enough of a glimpse into Belterra that it leaves enough for the imagination. I really enjoyed the French influence that inspired the cities and hamlets of Belterra, along with the little additions of written French throughout the series. This was particularly fun as my partner and I have been casually trying to learn French, so it was a nice way to further my understanding of the language.
I would have loved more insight into how the magic in this world worked: the ideas of patterns and sacrifice was fascinating, and I want to know so much more about it!
Im looking forward to seeing more of Mahurin's writing!
It's the characters in this trilogy that do it for me. Mahurin pours so much detail and personality into each character that you cannot help but fall in love with them. Each of them has quirks that make your heart sing and faults that make you want to slap them. She keeps these in such a perfect balance that the characters she writes feel real. For Lou, the female protagonist is such a strong personality - for some writers, it's difficult to make this feel real, relatable and likeable, but Mahurin pulls it off expertly.
The world building isn't as detailed as it could be, but we get enough of a glimpse into Belterra that it leaves enough for the imagination. I really enjoyed the French influence that inspired the cities and hamlets of Belterra, along with the little additions of written French throughout the series. This was particularly fun as my partner and I have been casually trying to learn French, so it was a nice way to further my understanding of the language.
I would have loved more insight into how the magic in this world worked: the ideas of patterns and sacrifice was fascinating, and I want to know so much more about it!
Im looking forward to seeing more of Mahurin's writing!