ABOUT
Title: Serpent & Dove
Author: Shelby Mahurin
Series: Serpent & Dove #1
Publisher: Harper Teen
Release Date: September 3rd 2019
Synopsis:
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 received a promotional copy of this novel from Indigo Teen in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion whatsoever nor was I compensated in any way.
Witches are feared in the kingdom of Cesarine due to their power and the Chasseurs who are sworn to the church are a force tasked with killing them and protecting the kingdom. However, the land the kingdom occupies once belonged to the witches before they were invaded and the witches will do anything to free their homeland. Lou fled from her coven and her family and is in hiding in Cesarine where she thieves to survive. Reid is a Chasseur and he has devoted his life to what he has been taught, and the principle of "thou shalt not suffer a witch to live." When the two are caught in a compromising position, they are forced to marry -- Lou for the protection and Reid to protect his reputation. However, Reid does not know Lou is a witch and they must suffer the consequences of their situation and the danger that comes for her.
I really enjoyed this book! It's a sort of historical fantasy take on the witch trials of the seventeenth century. It takes place in a fantasy kingdom and has witches with extraordinary power, but the church the chasseurs are sworn to definitely have Catholic flavours and the swords the chasseurs carry are said to have a drop of St. Constantin's relic in them which allow them to cut through magic. The principle of the Chasseurs, "Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live" is from the King James Version of the Bible that remains one of the most popular translations of the Bible and was translated in 1611*. Also, in this world, any woman can be a witch and they are hiding under everyone's noses which is also an excuse for the church to impose a highly patriarchal view of the world and enforce it as well. There are some French touches in the book with the language and such, but beyond the beginning of the book it's quite forgettable and there's maybe a sprinkle of French throughout the rest of the book.
The book is told in both Lou and Reid's point of view. However, the weight distribution of the POVs is pretty uneven. Lou has 26 chapters whereas Reid has 15, and the book is divided into three acts. While I understand that storytelling may necessitate that one character has more storytelling than the other, if a dual point of view is to be included I would like it to be more evenly distributed. A majority of the second act is told in Lou's point of view and this is the portion where they are falling in love with each other. While I could watch Lou's feelings towards Reid develop, the opposite is less true. It felt a little out of nowhere when Reid was all of a sudden confessing his feelings for Lou even as we approached the end of the book.
I love Lou and Reid and their whole dynamic. It's really one of my favourite things -- a forbidden romance, one of them is relaxed and mischievous and the other is uptight and serious. It was really great to read their interactions as their personalities clashed and as their feelings developed. Also, Reid is described as being nearly seven feet tall, so they also have that size difference going for them too. There is a sex scene in this book. It's not that explicit, but it's also not a "fade to black" moment.
A lot happens in this book aside from the romance between Lou and Reid. I definitely enjoyed that as well. When the book starts, we are taken straight into the action and through the story, we are able to get more backstory of Lou and Reid as well. If you know anything about me and my taste in books, then you know that I love a well-built world and through the plot and the misadventures that ensue, we the readers are able to really see the world that was built by Shelby. Though of course, not everything is revealed, since we need to be able to save that for book two.
I'm really looking forward to the second book and seeing where Lou and Reid's adventure takes them next!
tl;dr: Serpent and Dove is a magical tale with an enemies to lovers romance and a story of the prejudices between witches and the "holy" men.
* King James IV of Scotland and I of England was a known demonologist and there are debates as to whether "witch" is truly meant in the original Hebrew. It has been contended that what has been translated as "witch" and is usually translated as "sorceress" meant either "a mixer of drugs or a cutter up of poisons." (Bretherton, D. (2005). An Invitation to Murder? A Re-interpretation of Exodus 22:I8 ‘You Shall Not Suffer A Witch to Live.’ The Expository Times, 116(5), 145–152. https://doi.org/10.1177/0014524605051863)
Happy Reading!
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