Blood & Honey by Shelby Mahurin Pages: 528
Published by HarperTeen on September 1, 2020
Series: Serpent & Dove #2
Genres: Young Adult, Romance, Paranormal, supernatural
Source: eARC from Publisher
Also in this series: Serpent & DoveAfter narrowly escaping death at the hands of the Dames Blanches, Lou, Reid, Coco, and Ansel are on the run from coven, kingdom, and church—fugitives with nowhere to hide.
To elude the scores of witches and throngs of chasseurs at their heels, Lou and Reid need allies. Strong ones. But protection comes at a price, and the group is forced to embark on separate quests to build their forces. As Lou and Reid try to close the widening rift between them, the dastardly Morgane baits them in a lethal game of cat and mouse that threatens to destroy something worth more than any coven.
The hotly anticipated sequel to the New York Times and IndieBound bestseller Serpent & Dove—packed with even steamier romance and darker magic—is perfect for fans of Sarah J. Maas.
*Note: This is the second book in a series that should be read in order. If you are new to the series, please check out my review of book one- Serpent & Dove HERE*
This review may contain spoilers for book one in this series*
Blood & Honey is the second book in the young adult supernatural/paranormal romance Serpent & Dove series by author Shelby Mahurin. I think Blood & Honey was a fantastic sequel to Serpent & Dove! I am completely in love with this series. Serpent & Dove is a fantastic series centered around the church and witches! Blood & Honey is even darker than the first book, and it further explores themes of what does it mean to be evil, and do shades of gray exist in the concept of good vs. evil. If you like books with plenty of twists, turns and surprises and you are not afraid of a darker book unapologetically does not pull any punches, then I think you will fall in love with Blood & Honey and this series.
Blood & Honey takes place after the events of Serpent & Dove, and jumps right in with the whole gang basically on the run from everyone. I am not going to spoil the ending of the first book, but there were some humdingers dropped on us, and all of the characters are reeling from what they discovered about each other. View Spoiler » Not to mention they are being chased from all sides. The crown, the church and the witches are all out for their blood. The plot of Blood & Honey was awesome. It is dark and atmospheric, filled with just as many secrets, some long awaited answers, plenty of new characters and so many new surprises that it is impossible to get bored while reading this book.
I loved meeting the new characters, and of course I am still such a huge fan of our core group. I didn’t talk about my love of Ansel in my first review, but I completely adore him! I still loved Reid and Lou in this book, but Lou kind of irritated me at some points while reading. I understand her motivations and her struggles, but I still felt like at times she was veering into the path of being unnecessarily mean, which I didn’t love. But that is all part of her flawed persona. No one in this series is perfect, and this is what I love about the characters. The romance felt like a constant back and forth between Reid and Lou but I loved (almost) every minute of it. As I mentioned before, Honey & Blood is a darker plot than the first book, and the stakes have been raised so everything felt more intense for me. Every page and move felt weighted in a way that I didn’t feel in the first book. It got my heart pumping!
There are some things and some scenes that completely gutted me while reading, and I am so so anxious for the third book to pick up all the pieces of my heart because Blood & Honey really did a number on me- especially the ending. Shelby Mahurin can be super cruel, but I love it in a twisted way! This sequel was fantastic and I am on the edge of my seat for the third book. I need it in my lie right now! Bottom line is this- If you are a fan of witch craft stories you will love the Serpent & Dove series. But even if you are not, I think you should give this book a try. Witches are sometimes hit or miss for me, and I absolutely devoured this book! It made me cry and it surprised me in the best way.
Other Books in the Serpent & Dove Series:
Reading this book contributed to these challenges:
- 2020 New Release Challenge
- ARC August 2020
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