Serpent & Dove

By Shelby Mahurin

Louise le Blanc is a witch on the run. She fled her coven and turned her back on her magic for fear of being discovered as a witch. She became a thief, and stole whatever she had to in order to survive. Life for a witch without a coven’s protection is dangerous as there are religious witch hunters known as Chasseurs, which is what Reid Diggory is. Reid is a devout Chasseur and will stop at nothing to capture witches. Reid’s contempt for witches sends him on a wild chase while trying to capture Lou. But Lou’s quick thinking street smart skills, pulled a stunt that had an ending even she couldn’t predict - marriage to a Chasseur. They say opposites attract, and although Lou and Reid struggle with their fragile marriage, they can’t deny their growing feelings for one another. Which ultimately leads them to an impossible choice to make, to be lovers or enemies.

I was so thrilled to read this book! The reviews from some of my all time favorite authors and reviewers got me super excited and just look at that cover, beautiful! But this book kind of fell flat for me. It started off with some slow world building, which I expected. But the pace never really picked up for me. While I like books with flawed characters, I also like to have someone to root for. At times, I got so annoyed with Lou and Reid I wasn’t sure if I wanted to root for them or not. Their romance was fine. I appreciated the pace on it, which was also slow, because otherwise it wouldn’t have been believable. I liked Lou’s fiestyness and Reid’s struggle to become more open minded. The pace finally began to pick up toward the middle to end of the book. I give this book 3 stars but I’ll probably still pick up the next book in the series. I’m really hoping the second book can redeem this series for me.