Blood & Honey (Serpent & Dove #2) by Shelby Mahurin 🎧 Narrated by Holter Graham & Saskia Maarleveld

Synopsis (via Goodreads): After narrowly escaping death at the hands of the Dames Blanches, Lou, Reid, Coco, and Ansel are on the run from coven, kingdom, and church—fugitives with nowhere to hide.

To elude the scores of witches and throngs of chasseurs at their heels, Lou and Reid need allies. Strong ones. But protection comes at a price, and the group is forced to embark on separate quests to build their forces. As Lou and Reid try to close the widening rift between them, the dastardly Morgane baits them in a lethal game of cat and mouse that threatens to destroy something worth more than any coven.

The hotly anticipated sequel to the New York Times and IndieBound bestseller Serpent & Dove—packed with even steamier romance and darker magic—is perfect for fans of Sarah J. Maas.

If Serpent & Dove was an ocean – full of life and possibility – then Blood & Honey was a stagnant puddle of water – muddied and unremarkable.

I just finished Blood & Honey by Shelby Mahurin and I am so disappointed. I'm definitely not okay with how it ended, and I felt like the entire book was pointless in regard to the progression of the story. Everything happened over a span of what? A week? It felt like the characters were rushing from one thing to the next, but without any of the character development and plot devices from the first book. In Serpent & Dove I fell in love with Lou and Reid, Ansel and Coco. They grew individually and developed as a group, but both aspects were absent from Blood & Honey. Everyone basically stayed the same, and their repeated arguments were exhausting to read about. 

What happened to all of the characters I fell in love with? Lou and Reid kept fighting over the SAME things, and most of the time their arguments were superficial and lacked any real substance. Reid still struggles with magic and Lou by association. He hates himself for various reasons, yet is unwilling to look at anything differently (despite everything he’s been through and everything that’s happened). His mother, his wife, one of his companions - they all use magic, but he's too stubborn to set aside his beliefs and antiquated notions. All of the characters were unbearably obnoxious and whiny, and the story dragged despite everything happening in a very short timeline. Lou took things too far, Reid avoided everything he needed to face, and the others simply watched events unfold like little kids watching their parents fight.

I also hated how Ansel was treated the entire book. He more than earned their respect after everything he did in Serpent & Dove, yet they still saw him as a child that needed to be protected. They laughed at him when he tried to learn how to defend himself, and always viewed him as a liability. Over and over again he gets looked over and pushed aside, and I will never forgive Lou for the things she said to him towards the end. I don't care what her reasons were, she was needlessly cruel and should have kept her damn mouth shut. What Coco did to him wasn't any better, and her justifications only made me roll my eyes and sigh with disappointment. She shouldn't have toyed with him, and now the damage is done. Beau was always obnoxious when it came to Ansel. Reid didn't outright make fun of him or belittle his efforts, but he wasn't a staunch supporter either.

BEAU! I really thought we'd learn more about him during this book, but he's still a sadly underdeveloped secondary character. I thought his position and attitude would make him a more interesting character, but he rarely interjected with anything interesting to say. His childish behaviors and commentary got old really fast.

A lot of what happened felt like it was done for shock value, and not necessarily because it needed to happen. I really wanted to love Blood & Honey as much as I loved Serpent & Dove, but the second book lacked everything I enjoyed about the first. Yes, there were several awesome fight scenes, and the conflict between Lou and her mother was still there, but other than the addition of a few interesting new characters, this book didn't really add anything to the overall story. It was definitely a filler book, and I wish this series had remained the duology it was originally meant to be.

Pro: Listening to the audiobook was so much better than reading it on my own! I really struggled with the French words and pronunciations in Serpent & Dove, and having a narrator meant I didn't have to worry about butchering anything in Blood & Honey. Holter Graham and Saskia Maarleveld were amazing, despite Graham not really have the voice I imagined for Reid. Oh, and this one ends with a really annoying cliffhanger. You've been warned. (★★⋆☆☆)

*this post has been backdated

Serpent & Dove (Serpent & Dove, #1) by Shelby Mahurin

Synopsis (via Goodreads): Bound as one to love, honor, or burn.

Two years ago, Louise le Blanc fled her coven and took shelter in the city of Cesarine, forsaking all magic and living off whatever she could steal. There, witches like Lou are hunted. They are feared. And they are burned.

Sworn to the Church as a Chasseur, Reid Diggory has lived his life by one principle: thou shalt not suffer a witch to live. His path was never meant to cross with Lou's, but a wicked stunt forces them into an impossible union—holy matrimony.

The war between witches and Church is an ancient one, and Lou's most dangerous enemies bring a fate worse than fire. Unable to ignore her growing feelings, yet powerless to change what she is, a choice must be made.

And love makes fools of us all.

𑁋𑁋𑁋

I was so worried about starting this one, because it has been hyped like crazy since its release, and I didn't want to be disappointed. However, when I saw the audiobook was available on Hoopla (this is my first experience with Hoopla, and I love it) I decided to give it a go! The audio for this book was amazing! I'm really glad that's how I initially experienced the story, because there are several words and phrases that I wouldn't have been able to pronounce on my own. I also think it enhanced an already amazing story. Mahurin is definitely a new favorite, and Holter Graham and Saskia Maarleveld are narrators I will be looking for in the future!

Serpent & Dove is full of magic and adventure, daring escapes and new friendships. I really loved all of the characters and how the author portrayed them. Both Reid and Lou were hard on the outside, and super soft on the inside. Lou wanted to stay hidden and remain safe, and her haughty attitude was a front to hide how scared and vulnerable she was. She wanted to love, but was afraid what that love would end up costing her. Reid wanted to eradicate the evil in the world, which he firmly believes to be witches and anything magical. He was a young captain, and the perceived pet of the Archbishop. They had a weird sort-of-father and son relationship, and Reid was totally devoted to him and their cause. Reid and Lou couldn't have been more different, but they still found a way to connect and form a unique and unbreakable bond.

All of the secondary characters were remarkably well-written as well. Lou's best friend, the baker that made sticky buns, Ansel, and even the villainous Cretans that made the main character's life very difficult. People constantly surprised me in this book, and appearances were definitely deceiving. I really loved the twists and turns that kept me on my toes, the ones that made my heart break, and the moments of joy that made everything worth it.

I also really enjoyed the setting! There's just something breath catching about a sword fight, especially when there's magic involved. You never know what's going to happen! It also feels very personal and in-your-face. I think the author created a fantastic fantastical world, and one I will absolutely be revisiting in the future. I believe the next book is called Blood & Honey, and I already cannot wait for its release! If you've been avoiding this book because of the hype, know that it's well-deserved and go experience this book for yourself. I think I listened to the audiobook in three days, which is really saying something for me. Normally, they expire a few times before I can reach the end! ;) (★★★★★)