I bought Serpent and Dove from my local bookstore when it came out, back in 2019. It migrated from bookshelf to bookshelf for the next year, until March of 2021 when I saw a book reviewer I like on YouTube speechless about how much she loved this book.
So, when I finished One Thousand and One Days, I knew what I’d read next.
And OH. MY. GOODNESS.
I should not have let this book sit, unread, unloved, un-obsessed over for so long. However, I am glad that I did because I bought book 2 (Blood and Honey) about a fourth of the way in. That is when I know it’s going to be a good book.
This book has a premise that I cannot say no to: enemies forced together and falling in love, particularly the bad-girl and knight-in-shining-armor guy. She is a witch in hiding, and he is a Chasseur, which is fancy French for witch hunter. ( I think, I don’t know. I’m using context.) That was all I needed to buy the book.
I loved this book. The worldbuilding was amazing and original – I loved the French flavor. The characters were vivid and enthralling – Lou is my kind of girl. The romance was enchanting – Lou and Reid continuously tested one another. I couldn’t put it down, and when I wasn’t reading, I was thinking about it.
I’m not kidding. I bought book 2 about a fourth into Serpent and Dove. The story keeps moving, twisting, and treading through your emotions. LOVE it.
I wasn’t sure how I would feel about the Christian tones, or really, Catholic tones, being a Christian myself. I am wary of books that twist the faith into something it’s not, or take a disrespectful turn. This book didn’t. I mean, it did a little bit at times, but it wasn’t shoving an anti-Christian theology down your throat like other books have tried to do – I put those down.
So, Serpent and Dove gets a lovely 5 out of 5.
Beatrice B. Morgan 