Hello, Book Nerds! Welcome back to Reading Has Ruined My Life or welcome if you are new. As always, my name is Hannah and I am your captain on this journey into my bookcases.
Welcome back to Witchy Wednesday, Book Nerds. I never intended to read and review so many witchy themed books in a row yet here we are. I’m just ready for Spooky Season. It’s starts August 1st and I won’t accept criticism regarding that start date. Drop your Spooky Season start date in the comments below.
So what witchy read am I reviewing this week? Let me give you a few hints. It has enemies to lovers, it’s set in France, and has political intrigue. Have you figured it out? Please give a warm welcome to Serpent and Dove by Shelby Mahurin!
As always, a spoiler alert is in order. This is your one and only warning. If you’ve read any other post on my site then you know I love to spoil the entirety of the books I read. You’ve been warned. I also must issue a content and trigger warning. There are allusions to sexual assault in Serpent and Dove. It’s very brief, and technically never happens, like I said a very brief allusion to the topic. I know how triggering this topic can be to some people so that’s why I bring it up. This topic will not be talked about in this review. With that, let’s get to the synopsis.
Today’s read follows Louise “Lou” Larue, a young witch who has gone into hiding. Who or what is she hiding from? Why, her former coven of course. Her coven wants to kill her in order to change the world. Or at least change France. Either way, she’s running for her life and hiding out in the big city. With her is her bestie and fellow witch, but from a different coven, Coco and together the two steal and lie their way to safety. Or at least they’re attempting to.
Also running around France at this time are the Chasseurs. A group of men who have sworn their lives to the Church and spend their days hunting and killing witches. All in the name of the Church obviously. Well, one member of the Chasseurs, Captain Reid Diggory, may be beginning to be disenchanted by the order. It should come as no surprise when I say this group hates witches so much that they don’t view them as human. That’s what Reid is starting to think is incorrect; among many other things.
Why is Captain Diggory starting to believe witches are people? Because he and Lou are forced to marry! Yes, that’s right, there is the marriage of convenience trope. Very good. Very good trope. So the main characters are married, what now? Well let me tell ya, they fight a lot but ultimately team up to defeat the coven Lou ran away from, though she refuses to tell him she’s a witch, while also dismantling the patriarchy and misogyny within the Chasseurs.
Can they do it? Can Lou stay safe and remain hidden from those who want her dead while living in a place full of different people who want her dead? And what of Reid? Will he discover Lou’s secret and can he grow to tolerate her and maybe even love her? Find out in Serpent and Dove.
Serpent and Dove is a whirlwind of a book. Is it perfect? Far from it. Is it enjoyable as hell? Yes! I haven’t had this much fun with a read in a while. I felt like I was back in high school reading The Selection at three in the morning again. I had a wild time and enjoyed every minute of it.
Ok, yes, Serpent and Dove needs help. The setting, background, and some of the characters are underdeveloped. The main conflict comes down to one group of people saying witches are bad and the Catholic Church is good while another group says the reverse. But sometimes that’s all you need. And to be fair, this is the first in a trilogy so the main conflict could certainly be developed further in the other two books. I don't know, I haven't read them, but I’m going to give Serpent and Dove the benefit of the doubt when it comes to this. But I do have to say the author could have spent some more time diving into the lore and background of this conflict in this entry. This is a hefty book, it’s over 500 pages, there was plenty of time to dive into the conflict’s background just a little bit more.
The same can be said for the setting. This series is set in France…and that’s all I got. How do I know the story is set in France? Because the author does that thing where they drop random French words in the middle of a sentence. Not gonna lie, this is a pet peeve of mine. It’s really unnecessary and never does anything for any book. So yeah, the world building could have been a lot better. The setting could have been described more, a date could have been given, hell, I would have taken the royal family’s lineage if that was my only option. Any of those things would have done this read a great service.
But my god, did I have a fun, wild time. This was pure, unadulterated fun! Lou and Reid had some great banter, they’re enemies to lovers which is my god tier trope, and the first-person dual point of view was done extremely well. The story is told from both Lou and Reid’s perspectives and the author really differentiates between the two. Readers know who the POV character is without needing to be told.
And I know I just complained that the background of the main conflict’s background needed expanding upon, but listen, there was conflict on nearly every page. This book was pretty action packed. Lou was constantly running from danger, but don’t get it wrong, she’s not a damsel in distress, she can hold her own. There were battles occurring every other chapter. There was love and violence. There was magic. Were things a little janky at times? Yes, but I loved every minute of it.
Oh, and if you’re looking for a list of the romance tropes in Serpent and Dove, here ya go:
Enemies to Loves
Marriage of Convenience
One Bed
I feel my opinion of this read has somehow been caused/increased by nostalgia in some weird way, and I’m not mad about that. As I said at the top of this review, Serpent and Dove transported me back to when I was in high school, consuming every book I could get my hands on, and loving every minute of it even when the books were trash. I didn’t care about anything that was occurring outside of this book. And I know technically speaking, this book ain’t it, but I don’t care. I loved this read more than I ever anticipated.
With that, I must bid you all adieu. I shall see you next week with another great post. I’m going to take a little break from witchy reads. Just for one week. The witchy reads will be back again in two weeks. Again, this was very unintentional on my part. I am subconsciously in a witchy mood. But if you can’t wait till next week to hear more from me, you can always check out my podcast Nothing to See Hear. Me and my co-hosts talk Disney, Scooby-Doo, weird moments in history, and haunted houses among so much more. I promise you will find an episode that you like.
Until next time, stay safe, wash your hands, and read some good books for me.
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