Review: Serpent & Dove

Title: Serpent & Dove

Author: Shelby Mahurin

Publisher: HarperTeen

Publication Date: September 3, 2019

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Summary

Louise le Blanc has spent two years hiding and on the run. Which includes hiding her magic so she doesn’t get caught by the Chasseurs, a witch hunting group from the Church. In their society, the Church hunts and burns witches. Witches are evil. And Lou walks a dangerous line.

On the other side, Reid Diggory has sworn his life to the Church and protecting people from the evil witches. When his path crosses with Lou’s, everything changes. After framing him for a crime, the only solution the Archbishop has is for them to get married.

A witch and a witch hunter, bound by marriage. However, maybe the two have more in common than they first thought. In a war between witches and men, is love even possible?

Review: Serpent & Dove

This is the YA Book club pick for October at Barnes and Noble, which is officially next week! I’m running the discussion at my store and I’m actually really excited to talk about this book. There’s a lot to talk about! Though the story was a bit slow moving at the beginning, it really picked up by the end of the book. I didn’t want to put it down for about the last half of the book.

Okay, I have to get it off my chest. There was one thing that rubbed me the wrong way about this book: the language. Since it’s set in historical France (I think), I wanted the way the characters talked to reflect that. It didn’t necessarily feel like that too me? I get that using that language would maybe alienate the characters, but I wanted it feel a little more authentic.

Other than that, the characters were definitely the driving force in this. I absolutely adored Reid and Lou; they’re both so complex, and their relationship plays out wonderfully on the page. The classic enemies to lovers. As they learn more about each other, they start to care for each other. Seriously, one of my favorite tropes in books.

I seriously enjoyed the magic system that Mahurin created as well. It felt unique and different, with different witch clans using different styles of magic. It was imaginative and definitely something that I would love to read more about.

All in all, this witchy novel is the perfect read for October as the weather gets chilly outside. Pick it up and come discuss it at Barnes and Noble with other YA fans!

4/5 stars