Serpent & Dove Series | It's a Complicated Kind of Love.

Author: Shelby Mahurin
Genre: Fantasy | Romance | Enemies to lovers

If you're looking for a witchy book series to read than look no further, I was first drawn to Serpent and Dove due to the cover the use of the snake in the word and looked pretty cool then when I saw how different it looked on the other two books I was pretty blown away at how beautiful it looked. I went into reading this series knowing very little about the author's style of writing and storyline that would soon consume me. The genre of enemies to lovers isn't for everyone but I'm a sucker for it, as soon as I found out it was that kind of book I snapped it up as fast as I could. I actually ended up buying the second book before I started the first because I had a feeling I would fall in love with it and I wasn't wrong. Serpent & Dove takes place in a world where witches are punished without being heard something that has happened throughout history many many times, some witches are braver than others and happy to show themselves but those who are wiser hide away in plain sight. 

Life is never easy for a witch, through history people across the world have been murdered all because of being accused of being a witch. It's true people fear something they may not be able to control and that is the vibe the Serpent and Dove trilogy gives off. This series has made its way to the top of the pile for my fav books, they're not to everyone's taste but for me? They drew me in and ripped me apart. The series is made up of 3 different books; Serpent and Dove, Blood and Honey and lastly Gods and Monsters. Out of the 3 of them Blood and Honey was my favourite. The series takes place in France, a war has been going on for years between witches and the church all because the monarchy stole land from the witches and killing them. Witches tend to hide themselves in order to survive, using magic will get them into hot water. The main characters are Lou De Blanc and Reid Diggory, they're forced into a marriage they never wanted but each of them did as they were told in order to keep their lives and secrets.. but for how long?

I won't lie Serpent and dove starts off slow, it builds upon the story between enemies to lovers never giving away what will happen it tells the story of Lou and Reid who despise each other, they meet under a very weird and unexpected circumstances which takes them on the biggest journey of their lives. The books go back and forth from two different POV which worked well as a whole, we get to delve deeper into their personalities this way. Throughout each book in the series I had a love/hate relationship with Reid, at times it wasn't his fault but other times he made me facepalm. Despite this his character always manages to charm his way back into my heart, him and lou have a complex relationship and do well working as a team when he isn't being stubborn or temperamental. 

Lou seems very chilled out, her character is very loveable and has faced horror and despair but is still able to let love into her life even throughout her ordeals. She hasn't had it easy, her mum wanted to sacrifice her and grew up knowing her purpose was to die ( I won't say why it will ruin the books for anyone who hasn't read them yet). Luckily Lou has always had people by her side one of them being Coco who she met when she was a young girl at the age of 6 and have been by each other's side ever since. Lou chooses not to use her magic as it can spell disaster for her if she does but chooses to use it for the first time in 2 years which then leads to an unexpected adventure for her and Reid. Serpent and Dove introduces us to most of the main characters and builds upon what is to come but nothing prepared me for the heartbreak I would feel when I finished the books.

After the last book (Gods and Monsters) I was devastated it was all over, I wanted, no I needed more! I'm hoping that Shelby Mahurin will eventually work on a spin off to the books so we can explore the lives of some of the other characters such as Coco or even what Reid's life was like as a child. There is definitely room for more in this series, as far as I know these are Shelby's only books and I've not seen anymore inkling of her working on anything else as of yet. I never want to give away too much when it comes to these posts that's why I have kept this vague, what I can say is it's my favourite fantasy series right now, so much so my sister made me a footer for this website of the series which you can see below. If you're new to fantasy I highly recommend the Serpent and Dove series, the world building isn't overwhelming and the story is easy to follow. There is smut and violence in the books so I recommend them to an older audiences unless you think your teen is mature enough for that kind of genre.

Have a cosy day

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