Trigger warnings: Sacrificial ritual, one of the witches uses blood magic and she self-harms to conjure magic
Synopsis: 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.
Review: Serpent and Dove is a debut that is getting an incredible amount of hype and, on one hand, I kind of get it. This book was super fast to read and relatively entertaining. Lou is funny. The magic is cool. I get it. I do. But this book had a ton of problems in it. I liked Lou enough, but she kept being mean to Reid. They're enemies but, at some point, they are expected to get together. The fact that Lou kept ridiculing Reid kept me from genuinely believing they would ever love each other. Then Lou and Reid suddenly started saying they loved each other. It felt sudden and not very well place. I also didn't like how Reid and his believes were handled. I grew up in a very conservative, religious community, so a lot of things Reid said and did felt familiar to me. I don't agree with his way of thinking, but he clung to his faith so tightly which is what I understand. He, and the other Chasseurs, act hateful and they use their believes as a buffer, but Lou is able to fall in love with him? He never said or did anything to make me think his believes were changing to the point that he would love a witch. Similarly, Ansel grew up in this community too, and he has similar ideals as Reid. Then he finds out Lou is a witch and just accepts it. Again, I grew up in communities this close-minded, so that didn't feel genuine to me.
I started to write a paragraph about the plot, but I don't know what to say. The book was, honestly, forgettable. The story is more of a romance than a fantasy, and the romance was bad. The only positive thing I really have to say about Serpent and Dove is how easy it is to read.
2 howls
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