A review by themariner
Serpent & Dove by Shelby Mahurin

adventurous mysterious slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? N/A
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.75

The first thing you need to know about Serpent & Dove is that it is such a good promise of a book.  I mean, who wouldn't love a Nina/Matthias dynamic, a cute love story between warring fronts and nice, cutie-pie sidekicks, all of that peppered with a sprinkle of witchcraft?

The second thing you need to know about S&D is that if you're going in expecting a deep dive into the development of prejudiced characters and the system of belief they were raised in or the gradual destruction of those beliefs as they learn to understand the other side of their conflict and to love one another or even a meaningful take on the real, historical witch-hunting and witch-burning this story was based on, you will be massively disappointed. No, I'm not salty about it. (Yes, I am).

I want to start with something posivite because I have a lot of negative points to raise but I don't want to appear like a debby-downer: some French puns were actually very funny. If you don't know/speak French, I urge you to translate them. Also, I actually liked Lou's rowdiness which was very refreshing and funny (Ansel being shocked by her song had me laughing out loud). 

Now, onto the good (or bad) stuff.

There are several issues with this book, issues that other people might explain better than I would ever be able to explain but, if I had to identify the two points that bothered me the most, it would be the following:

1/ This is a 500-page long book with little to no evolution.


Hear me out. You are told at the very beginning that the story is set in a fantastical french alternative universe because of the use of french words and names (Louise being the single most popular name for girls in France) and then... that's it. No world-building is used beyond the use of occasional French, there is little to be said on the subject of world-building in general but you had so much to base yourself on when it comes to 16th century France... And none of it shines through. You are told this is a ennemy to lover story and, yeah, the book beggins with them being ennemies and end with them being lovers but that through no fault of their own as the characters litteraly never fall in love. Reid goes from "she is annoying" to "she is my wife/little heathen" within chapters and... that's it. No development, little to no moments that make you root for them/believe that they are actually in love (or, if those moments exist, they come in too late into the story).

Finally, and that may be the worst part of the book, 
Reid doesn't change throughout the book. The thing is, when it comes to modern books about witches, we tend to know who to root for: the witch that doesn't have warts/ turn other people into frogs. In our modern day and age, the good side tends to be the group of women who have been discriminated against/burned in the past. Well, you wouldn't get that from the lack of evolution in Reid's belief. I would argue that Reid doesn't learn to love witches, or even accept then, there is no hint pointing in that direction (his feelings towards his clearly prejudicial mentor do not even seem to evolve) throughout the book, even after he learns the truth about his wife and it bothered me. so. much. Like, you'd expect him to think "well, I love my wife and she is a witch, so maybe some withces are okay?", right? Well, no. It doesn't happen. Reid learns that his wife is a witch and that's it. He is just going to save her without questionning any of his beliefs even though they could be detrimental to his wife.
 

2/ Which leads us to 2/ : why, exactly, is Lou the one to change point of view?  


  Louise tells people, times and times again, that Hunters might not be that terrible in the book and realizes that some things about her coven aren't perfect and, yeah, that may be a good point to make when it comes to warring sides and the ever present theme of duality but it should always be secondary to Reid and other characters realizing that the brutal murdering of women and girls who are, for the most part, innocent is wrong, terrible and crual, a point that Reid doesn't seem to question.
 

The thing is, the conflict in the book is heavily influenced by the historic damages caused by Christianity and its systematic oppression towards suffering minorities so having the "minority character" (Lou) questionning herself while the Catholic white man (Reid) doesn't just feels... Bad ™.
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