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Fantasy. Romance. Historical Fiction. Young Adult Fiction. HTML: New York Times Bestseller * Indiebound Bestseller * An Amazon Best Book of 2019 * B&N's YA Book Club Pick "A brilliant debut, full of everything I love: a sparkling and fully realized heroine, an intricate and deadly system of magic, and a searing romance that kept me reading long into the night. Serpent & Dove is an absolute gem of a book." �??Sarah J. Maas, #1 New York Times bestselling author of A Court of Thorns and Roses series Bound as one, to love, honor, or burn. Book one of a stunning fantasy trilogy, this tale of witchcraft and forbidden love is perfect for fans of Kendare Blake and Sara Holland. 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. As a huntsman of the Church, Reid Diggory has lived his life by one principle: Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live. But when Lou pulls a wicked stunt, the two are forced into an impossible situation�??marriage. Lou, unable to ignore her growing feelings, yet powerless to change what she is, must make a choice. And love makes fools of us all. Don't miss Gods & Monsters, the spellbinding conclusion of this epic trilogy!… (more)
User reviews
This story is set in a French-like past where the church and witches are constantly
This book starts out interesting and overall I did enjoy it. It's well written and takes place in an interesting world. The book was a little uneven for me; the first part is a lot of action and some intrigue and then the middle portion is flat-out romance....kind of like the story wasn't sure what it wanted to be. For me the first half of the book was 5 stars and the second half was 3 stars...so yeah mixed feelings.
Initially I really enjoyed Lou, she was snarky and fun, but her character changes throughout the book. I felt like half-way through the book her character changed completely and she became needy and overly serious.
I also am not a huge fan of the whole church versus witches theme, but to each their own I guess. This book ends at a good spot but definitely doesn’t complete the story.
Overall this is a solid fantasy. It's well written, engaging and takes place in an interesting world. I thought both character personalities and story theme were a bit uneven. I also didn't really enjoy the church versus witches theme but some people will. I don't plan on continuing the series.
Lou was a character I enjoyed. She hides behind her armor of sarcasm, humor, and profanity. She wants
Reid was an okay character. He was your typical brain washed character. What I like about him was, he was an honest and loyal character. He was loyal to the Chasseurs and the Archbishop and honest to Lou on how he felt about her. He was honest about his way of life all until the Archbishop forced Reid to marry Lou. He may not have wanted to be with Lou, but he took her as his responsibility for keeping her safe from others. His perspective on the world was black and white where Lou’s was gray. I believe he could have been more developed, but I think his character will flush out more in the next book. At the end of the novel, he was shaken up with what happened, and he will continue to be tested.
Coco and Ansel are great side characters. They keep the main characters Lou and Reid on their toes and question their decisions. Coco tells Lou how it is and gets away with it. They have been friends since childhood and both care for each other like sisters. They both would do anything for one another, and this shows in the story. Poor Ansel haha, he is easy to manipulate, especially around Lou, but I think it is Lou and Coco who shows him the world is more than black and white like the Chasseurs believe. I want more of these characters and will look forward to more development in the next book.
The world building is not that heavy in this book, but it has a French medieval feel towards it. The fight between the witches and the church, the Chasseurs, who are like warrior monks, but not like the knights templar, is very heavy and driven in this book. What I loved was the way the Author had explained the different covens, (two that we know of), and how their magic works and differs from one another. The magic is unique from each witch.
I recommend this book to those who enjoy the enemy's love story or the story of witches vs the church. This was a great read and am looking forward to the next book.
The characters in SERPENT AND DOVE, definitely make the story strong. Lou was strong, smart and independent. Reid is an interesting character, but hard to read most of the time. I had a love/hate relationship throughout the book due to
Lou and Coco's friendship is awesome! There is nothing like a bestie that has your back no matter what life throws at you.
I had no trouble falling into the emotions of the story. I was heartbroken right alongside Lou at times and joyous at others. The world building wasn't the strongest aspect of the book, but the characters and their story make up for it in my opinion.
I plan to read book two.
* This book was provided free of charge from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
Few things I didn't love. I felt the dialogue could've used some maturity. I know the book is geared toward YA but it would have benefited from intelligent dialogue. Second, Lou was consistently immature with no personal growth. Being that she had been through so much, I felt she should've changed and matured by the end of the book. Change in characters and character development are what keep the readers coming back. Third, being Lou is suppose to be this rebel, I felt the acceptance of the marriage was out of character for her. There should've been more rebellion and maybe a waiting period before she accepted.
Being that this is the author's debut novel. I felt it was good overall. If you want an easy read, this is a great book for you.
A witch is forced to marry a witch hunter... who doesn't know she's a witch. How can this possibly go wrong?! Delightful and full of characters that just reach out to
Lou lives the life of a thief. She and her best friend Coco make a great team, disguising themselves to move more freely. Here's the deal. They are also in hiding. Why? Well, the Archbishop heads the church and the Chasseurs, who hunt and burn witches. Lou and Coco......witches. Living the life of a thief is also dangerous. People end up being angry with you and plan your demise. Therefore, Lou and Coco must stay on their toes. Lou desperately needs a ring and she has information that a man of means has it. They must steal it. With help, they attempt this thievery.
Reid lives the life of a Chasseur. Left as a orphan and raised by the Archbishop, Reid sees his life as serving God and the Archbishop by hunting witches. After receiving a tip that a witch will be at his former girlfriend's home, he and the Chasseurs arrive to thwart whatever nefarious deed is about to transpire. He only sees a thief but fails to capture her. Only when he attends a theatre performance does he see her again. This sighting is much more public and changes Lou and Reid's life forever. Lou's life is pretty dangerous and has escaped two men, but she has bad bruises showing that she's been beaten. When Reid sees the thief he's saw the other night, he pursues her only to be accused of beating her by the theatre-goers. The Archbishop finds a solution to keep Reid's reputation: marriage.
I laughed out loud so many times. Lou and Reid banter beautifully, as they display how opposite they truly are but also showing what they can teach each other. Reid's ideas may be a bit narrow and he may need to loosen up. Lou finds great pleasure in goading him. On the serious side, Lou is running from her past and realizes that if she is ever found, she will be killed.
Maybe it was perfect timing with all the craziness going on in the world with Covid and race protests, but this novel was such a welcome reprieve. I entered this fantasy world of witches and had a great time. It's a small world and all the relationships are, of course, unlikely. I don't care. It's fun. Suspenseful. Romantic. Furthermore, it ended with me laughing out loud. Can't wait for the next book!
Overall, I'd recommend the story for people who enjoy fantasy and romance tales.
Came for the enemies-to-lovers and forced marriage tropes. Stayed for the witchcraft, conflict and plot-twists.
So let's talk about characters.
Lou is awesome. She's spunky, mouthy, addicted to sweet buns, and I would read the book again just for
Unfortunately, Lou splits POVs with Reid Diggory, a hunky soldier who somehow managed to be the only character to receive an anglo/celtic name. For the first half of the book, he is flat as a pancake, stiff as cardboard, and unsympathetically idealistic. Sure, being raised as a witch hunter, it makes sense for him to be a stuffy rule-follower, but he often felt two-dimensional.
Readers be advised: features swearing and descriptions of physical intimacy.
I liked the premise of the book but
I did like the world-building which seems to be set in a fantasy city in a France-like country. The author sprinkles bits of French cuisine and customs throughout which is a nice touch. The characters of Lou and Reid are fine; she's irreverent and crude while he's a bit of a prude, so there are lots of fireworks. The additional characters are okay, though some are a bit of a caricature. Ansel is a sweetie and Coco is interesting. I've started the second book in the series as I've enjoyed the series so far.
Very interesting debut and very good YA fantasy! Old sweet story of the witch and the hunter falling in love! To be honest the writing was awesome, I cannot really put my finger on any specific flaw in this story other than not being original. It reminded me
This book started off very strong, I loved the setting, the complex magic system, the different TYPES of magic, and the dangers of having magic in this world. I thought Lou was a very fun character, a good leading lady, but we didn't really get to delve into her actual backstory until the very end of the book. I found myself wanting more, instead of the rushed explanation of parentage we got at the end. (Maybe this is resolved in the second book, so I will hold my judgment until I've finished the series. You can't give everything away in the first book. haha)
I loved the rest of the cast of characters (especially Coco and Ansel) and I loved the usage of the historical names of famous witches as titles.
I think my issue is how quickly Reid changed his mind about witches after finding out Lou was a witch. He had no real time to process and he didn't slowly change his mind about witches over time like Ansel did. We established that Reid was so set in his ways and beliefs throughout the whole book, that him changing his mind for love after ONE two-three page conversation with Ansel was sort of unbelievable. I just think it needed a bit more fleshing out or a slow conversion (mid-way through the book start calling witches "she" instead of "it" but don't really point it out to him until the climax of the action?) to make it more believable.
Regardless of this issue, I still really enjoyed the book. If you're a fan of ACOTAR or Kingdom of the Wicked (with a touch of The Year of the Witching), this book is something you'll also enjoy.
This book is why I love reading. Well, books like these! A fast paced, super fun, splash of romance, lots of
I adore Louise and Chass (Mr. Reid Diggory), I adore their enemies to lovers plotline and I adore the whole idea of witches being in this book. The various types of witches intrigues me and I can't wait to see more of them pop up in the next books in this series. This book honestly gave me the fun I used to have back in high school with these kinds of books, which makes me so darn happy. Sometimes you just need to find the right book to remember why you love reading so much, and this book was one of those.
I definitely recommend this book. I'm sure it has it's flaws but I don't see them. I just had the most fun time binging this book and was super sad to not have the sequel in my hands.
Five out of five stars. Give it a sixth while you're at it!
Thank you Read With Cindy for reminding me!!!