Blood & Honey audiobook

5/5 ⭐Full review on my Blog: The Dacian She-Wolf 🐺Oh wow.OH WOW.What the bloody hell was this thing I just read? Because oh wow.Thank the deity that Shelby Mahurin made a trilogy out of this because if she were to leave the things like that I would’ve been extra pissed off.That cliffhanger.THAT BLOODY CLIFFHANGER! Blood & Honey started off on a high key and from the very first chapters I was sure that this was going to be the vibe of the entire book. And guess what? It was.When I thought things were about to calm down a bit BAM! Another heart attack hit me. It felt like I was scared for my own life, like I was the one on the run, constantly hunted down, the bounty being on my own pretty head.The palpitations I got were real, guys. The things became more complicated by the chapter and the mini-heart attacks incoming were so stressful I had to stop from time to time to calm down. The plot thickens because from now on the amount of secrets that are fogging up the entire plot is about to go into overdrive.The story gets darker, more rushed, excruciating at some point and everything you have to do is sit there and sweat because that action is heart-pumping. Everything becomes more visual, more terrifying. And even so, the main motif of the whole book seems to be the blindness of one’s mind. “[…] closing your eyes will not make it so the monsters can’t see you. It will only make you blind.” Now, those who read the first book – Serpent & Dove – know where things were left off with the characters. Well, none of those characters are the same in this installment and I mean it.We get to see other faces of the same characters we grew to love in the first book – some of them become better, some – not so much.Throughout this book, there is something strange happening to Lou, like she is not being herself anymore; she’s just a mere puppet, guided by an invisible hand to do things she isn’t supposed to do by her own volition otherwise.She doesn’t listen to anyone, she doesn’t think before she acts and is too mischievous and reckless for her own good, let alone other characters’ safety. Lou’s not one to be controlled from the outside at this point.The thing is, Lou is not the only character that annoyed me to no limits from time to time.Her hubby, Reid, was right up there with her, teaming up to make me beat them both with a flip-flop.No kidding. I wish I could’ve slapped some sense into them both like 80% of the time. Please learn to communicate! Thank you!But even so, the two of them still manage to share a beautiful moment of complete understanding and trust. They still remember how it feels to love each other without any pressure and they are now to teach each other how to be there when the time comes. They need to learn how to be a strong team.Lou needs to learn how to control all of the power and thirst for it that runs through her veins and Reid needs to understand that the world is neither black nor white. And they need each other to balance things out when there is too much to deal with on their own. “I’d chosen my fate, and I’d done it with my eyes wide open. I’d chosen this life. This love. And with my fingers trembling in hers, with her heart beating alongside mine, I still chose it.” I didn’t really like some other characters either though, the ones I used to love so much in the first book (and it wasn’t their fault, it was more like because of the environment they found themselves in). Poor Coco was one of those characters.In this book, she’s somehow more passive and too easily annoyable. She doesn’t seem like herself either. And the proximity of her own coven doesn’t help her cause too much.There are new characters entering scene that I just felt like I couldn’t trust from the beginning. It was (at first) a hunch of mine but then it just became more and more obvious that they are no good. By the end, all my brain can do was like er, yeah, I knew that, I was right, it’s good you never trusted that bitch anyway.But even so, some others really surprised me throughout the reading.First off, Madame Labelle is not as bad as she seems after she just lets her hair down and allows herself to be herself. Even though she still suffers from a severe cause of stick up her bum.Second, Beau and I share a birthday!! Oh my god, I giggled at that.I started loving him more and more after I got to see who he really is. He is a hilarious smart-mouth with a deep love for his mother and sisters and a feeling of loyalty towards his true friends. How can one not love him anyway?Full-on honesty mode right now, the only character I cared about in this book (like truly cared about) was my pure baby Ansel.I thought at first that this sweet duckling is going to become more and more important, you know, achieving a nice coming-of-age transformation and all. And oh, I was right, he really became more important. But boy…I didn’t want him to be that important.I mean, I truly wanted to wrap this precious puppy in a blanket and love him forever because everyone was treating him like shit – and he was the purest kind of pure and did not deserve those plebeians’ offence.YOU DON’T TREAT MY BABY WITH SUCH DISRESPECT…without breaking the shit out of my heart.By the end of this book, everything goes directly to the seventh ring of hell and I’m not even trying to sugar-coat anything right now. It's that bad.You get exactly what you thought was going to happen and it still hurts. Badly.You prepare yourself for the worst thinking that nothing is going to hurt you like that anymore – well, just think again.That ending broke my fucking heart to pieces even though I was sure that this is going to happen. But the thing that makes it even worse is the unfairness of it all.That bloody ending is so unfair I want to curse it to the wind.NOT. COOL. BRO.Little disclaimer here though: that Célie lass is going to have some serious screen time that I could care less about. I never liked her and in this book she just proved everyone that she is the wrong kind of nun. Ugh.Oh well now. With that being said, this is so, so good, in conclusion. But it is stressful. And it hurts. And by the end it’s terribly unfair. And it ends in a cliffhanger!!But it’s such a good book, I definitely recommend it.Just go ahead and read it. Go for it. Go! It’s definitely worth it, in my very humble opinion. “The world didn’t end in a scream. It ended in a gasp. A single, startled exhalation. And then–Nothing. Nothing but silence.”

PSA: for all of you eagerly waiting for this to be released in a few weeks, please do a reread of ‘serpent & dove.’ you have time. i desperately wish i did - i forgot so much and was confused because of it. that being said, those who really loved S&D will for sure enjoy this. and those who found S&D to only be okay will probably find this sequel to be disappointing. and heres why.this is 100% a filler book. nothing really happens! the ending of this sequel leaves the characters in the exact same position as the ending in the first book. sure, little things happen throughout 500 pages, you meet new characters, you learn a little bit more about the world and magic system, and you see more lou/reid together, but there is no progression to the overall story/plot. so for those of you who are like me and enjoyed S&D just for the sake of enjoying the story/characters/world, i think you will find this sequel to be pleasant. but those who wanted more from S&D, you unfortunately wont be finding it in this installment. a big thanks to harpercollins for the ARC!↠ 3.5 stars

3.8

"Evil always seeks a foothold. We must not give it one." SHELBY.You—you—YOU DEVIL.😭💔HOW COULD YOU DO THIS TO ME?!?!I trusted you—but you went ahead and broke my heart anyways. You did EXACTLY what I BEGGED you not to do. (view spoiler)[I SWEAR AND I CALLED IT. I JUST KNEW SHELBY WAS GONNA GO AHEAD AND KILL SWEET ANSEL (hide spoiler)]I can't stop crying. This is one of the worst cliffhangers ever. Fall 2021 is just too far. 🛑WARNING: SPOILERS FROM S&D BELOW🛑 Blood & Honey literally picks up right after the events in Serpent & Dove and I am so happy I did a reread of S&D or I definitely would've been so lost.Against all odds, Lou & Reid have fallen in love and now have to deal with the aftermath of incurring both Morgane Le Blanc and Auguste Lyon's wrath. They're all on the run—Lou, Reid, Beau, Coco, Ansel, and Madame Labelle—and let's just say from page 1......things are tense .No more is the light and funny atmosphere that was previously in the first book. Everyone is one edge, fearful of an attack from the Chasseurs or worse........Lou's mother, Morgane. The only solution they can think of is gaining more allies to fight back against Le Dames Blanches, but that's not as easy as it sounds. And thus, the adventure begins. "You see magic as a weapon, Reid, but you’re wrong. It simply . . . is. If you wish to use it for harm, it harms, and if you wish to use it to save . . .It saves." Reid was probably most affected from what happened in S&D. He finds out that he's a witch—the creatures he'd spent almost all his life hunting down and killing, believing them to be abominations to this world—AND he'd murdered the Archibishop—the man he'd looked up to as a father and the only person who actually cared for him growing up...... That's gotta be traumatic :(Although Reid was hurting everywhere, he still acted like an idiot sometimes and it was pretty annoying BUT I understood where it was coming from. And after that ending.......oh nooo I'm scared.😬 “What you are now is not what you’ve always been, nor is it what you always will be. You are a snake. Shed your skin if it no longer serves you. Transform into something different. Something better.” Haha this might be weird, but I honestly just loved Lou's decent into darkness . It's nice to see some change when the MC is struggling to find the good within themselves and slowly loses it. Okay, okay, that sounded so evil of me, but I just found it so cool. *cackles* I mean, after almost getting killed by her own mother twice, she's bound to be a teensy bit on edge and a little crazed. Anyone would. This darkness within is calling out to her, changing her, and you know what happens when someone uses too much power.......it'll turn them into a completely different person. Well, such things start to happen here.Also, Lou's white hair......omg the way she got it was pretty hilarious actually and I shouldn't be surprised that's how her hair changed colors.🤣 I did feel bad for her though. It's the same color as that twisted monster. 😤 Lou still looks as beautiful as ever!Gorgeous art by @morgana0anagrom!!! "Only a fool would cross my aunt." Learning more about Coco and her past was just perfect👌 In the previous book, we didn't really know much about her except that she was Lou's best friend and part of the Le Dames Rouge. Here, we learn all kinds of things. Some jaw-dropping and some......sad. She's definitely not the flirty and carefree girl I thought she was in book 1. And after what happened in the cliffhanger.......oh boy I can only imagine what's gonna happen next. “It’s a real pity,” Beau finally muttered, shaking his head and looking at each of us in turn. His eyes shone with disappointment. “I know you’re all too preoccupied with your pining to notice, but I just caught my reflection in that last puddle—and damn, I look good.” Omg I just love Beau.😂 He remains to be one of my favourite characters in this world. While everyone else is on edge, Beau is the only one still cracking up jokes and trying to lift the mood that they're all bringing down. Of course, he can be such a bully to my sweet Ansel which is totally unacceptable. Still, he wasn't in any of the huge dramas that happened between the others. Oooo but learning about his sisters— twin sisters —was so adorable. Victoire & Violette......I hope to see more of them. BUT NOT Auguste Lyon. I've had enough of that guy. What a jerk of a father. Don't worry Beau, I love you.😘 “I’m sick and tired of everyone needing to protect me. I’d like to protect myself for a change, or even—"“I just want to contribute to the group. I don’t want to be the bumbling idiot anymore. Is that so much to ask? I just . . . I don’t want to be a liability.” Oh Ansel🥺 You're not a bumbling idiot. I love Beau, but sometimes he just needs to shut the hell up . Ansel made me hurt the most. He felt so worthless the whole book and my heart was just breaking for him. Everyone else was worrying and dealing with their own problems, but they were forgetting that Ansel was the youngest of them all and was struggling with his own self-worth and contribution the the team. He felt so alone, I just can't😭💔 I loved that he got some more screen-time and we learned more about his past. Lou was just amazing for knowing when Ansel was feeling troubled and needed someone to talk to. She made sure to be there for him most of the time and protect him. Ansel is another favourite of mine.Now of course, with a new book comes new characters. Some of these guys I just loved and automatically became a favourite and some.........not so much. *I'm looking at you, Nicholina* “Love. The most elusive of mistresses. In all my years, I must confess to finding her only twice. The first was a headstrong young shepherd much like your Reid, and the second . . . well, that wound is not quite healed. It would be foolish to reopen it.” I immediately loved Claud Deveraux the moment I saw him. He's just so cool! And such a wise, wise man. His charm is irresistible and I had a feeling that he'd be a HUGE help to the others. Like I seriously can't think of anything to hate about him. Oh yeah and he's also the leader of the Troupe de Fortune with it's members Zenna, Seraphina, and the twins—Thierry & Toulouse. Deveraux loves to collect all sorts of people. As Zenna said, "He adds only the best and brightest talent to his troupes. The rare and unusual. The exceptional." And by Reid's words, he considers Claud to be mad.😂 He probably thinks that especially because he was forced into leather pants by the one and only Deveraux. Reid in leather pants......imagine that. "Call him, call him, let the trees maul him, boil and butter and split and saw him—”“The trees in this forest have eyes, little mouse. She spies, she spies, she spies, little mouse—” I need only one word to describe Nicholina and that is.........CREEEEPYYY. *shudder* The way she talks is soooo disturbing. All I think of her as is a maniac who is apparently the personal assistant of La Voisin (leader of La Dame Rouges). I didn't understand how or why until the end and just........wow. Too many thoughts are going on in my head right now. I really, really don't like Nicholina smh.There were of course, some other new characters like Blaise, Gabrielle, etc, etc but well ehhhhh this review is already long enough so I'll stop there.One more thing that must happen in S&D3.......MORGANE LE BLANC MUST DIE IN THE MOST GROTESQUE WAY.🤬👿 I HATE HER SO MUCH. ARGHHHHH SHE BETTER NOT DIE IN A PEACEFUL MANNER OR ELSE—That ending seriously destroyed me.😭💔 I've never been so thankful to have entered the preorder campaign for B&H as I am now. It'll include a sneak peak to S&D3 and that is SO what I need right now.There, I'm done. I feel dead on the inside. "The world didn’t end in a scream.It ended in a gasp. A single, startled exhalation. And then—Nothing.Nothing but silence." P.S. BIG TITTY LIDDY IS (view spoiler)[REAL (hide spoiler)]😂 | Blog | ["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>

“I loved her. And if I had to run, hide, and fight for that love, I would. For the rest of my life, I would.” I stayed up for 6 straight hours reading this and do I regret it? Not one damn bit! Whew, this book sucked me in from the very first page. We are instantly reunited with the characters we grew to love (and maybe even hate) from book one. We are also introduced to a few new characters who I really enjoyed.I enjoyed the world setting in this book so much. On the run in the woods, a traveling circus—yes you heard me right— a witches camp, etc. The world itself made this book impossible to put down. Reid’s inner struggles with himself were so wonderfully written. I felt his pain, his confusion, his desperate need to figure out who he is now. His head is in a rough space and everything that he learned and did at the end of Serpent and Dove is haunting him. His character arc was one of the best I’ve ever read! And holy smoke, Reid’s attitude was just super sexy in this book. I had to fan myself quite a few times because of Reid! HahaLou? Well let’s just say I was worried about Lou pretty much the entire book. And I don’t just mean her safety. I didn’t care for her much in this book, and I’m thinking that might’ve been the authors intent. Lou is changing and Reid notices which takes their relationship on a bumpy ride but it was great seeing how everything played out. Lou is trying so hard not to be like her mother, but—- *sighsss*The ending? Well the ending made me cry. And I mean CRY! That ugly cry where you have to stop reading and catch your breath. The kind of cry where you just know rereading this amazing story will be difficult because it’ll make you sob every time. It destroyed me. Book 3 is for sure going to be phenomenal and even though it’ll be a whole year before it’s out, I’m counting down the days! Now I’m off to grab more tissues because I’m crying, AGAIN!!5/5 ✰’s

TerminadoME ENCANTÓAsesino de brujas se transformó rápidamente en una de mis trilogías favoritas. Y eso que aún no leí el tercer libro 🙈 que nerviosssHabía escuchado mucha crítica negativa en cuanto a este segundo libro y por eso entré a él con las expectativas un poco bajas. Sin embargo me encantó. Si me di cuenta que funciona como típico del libro 2 de la trilogía. El libro donde los personajes se preparan para el gran final. Pero eso no me molestó para nada y hay muchas cosas que rescato de este segundo tomo.Vemos una evolución en la historia, ya no tenemos a nuestros dos protagonistas encerrados en una habitación sino que los vemos deambular por el mundo. Vamos a conocer el entorno, la magia, las ciudades y bosques. Además de una amplia variedad de criaturas mágicas.🙈A su vez este libro se enfoca mucho en los personajes. En el primer libro sólo teníamos desarrollo de nuestros dos protagonistas.Pude ver en Lou y Reid un crecimiento. Asimilar la magia, cuestionarse las cosas, crear planes y aceptarse el uno al otro.Los personajes secundarios cobran más importancia ya sea los que ya conocíamos por el libro anterior como todos los nuevos que se introducen en este libro.😌Es un libro cargado de acción, magia y una bella historia de amor. Obviamente al final tenemos escenas épicas, llenas de adrenalina que nos van a romper el corazón y nos van a dejar muchas ganas detener en nuestras manos la tercera parte. 😱Recomiendo mucho esta trilogía si buscan algo atrapante, con mucha acción, muchos plot Twist, romance, enemies to lovers, pasión, secretos, brujas, asesinos y más!!!Yo leyendo los hijos del rey: 😭😭😭🤣🤣🤣😱😱😱🤩🤩🤩🤩😝😝😝😝🥰🥰🥰🥰😍😍😍😎😎😎😎

umm where were the scandalizing Christians?? where was the foul mouth?? where is the lou we know and love?? however, there was a rather exceptional performance of Big Titty Liddy which we always appreciate.people i want to sleep with after THIS book:...anybody but celieALSO ON PAGE 452, (view spoiler)[REID PUTS HIS HAND IN HIS POCKET AND SAYS "ABOUT THAT..." AFTER LOU CALLS HERSELF MADAME DIGGORY. HE WAS SO GOING TO PROPOSE AND THEN THEY GOT FREAKING INTERRUPTED. HOW DARE THEY (hide spoiler)]AND THE LAST LINE... It gives me hope for a third book full of magic, scandalizing Christians, and lots of performances of Big Titty Liddy. this book better not disappoint or I will hunt it with a bow crafted from the bones of my enemies and i will deliver its shredded remains to the author with a note saying i told you to write me some more big titty liddy because how dare she cross me.

i- ok. so, unlike many other fantasy sequels, this book managed to impress me and not fall victim to the sequel syndrome. there really never was a dull moment, and while i liked serpent and dove better, i still liked this book but for different reasons! firstly, i want to address the main issue that most people had with this book, which was reid and lou's relationship. i'm here to tell you that if you were super annoyed with the constant issues and conflicts between the couple, that is totally valid and i had the same feelings. however, i LIKED the fact that there were relationship problems because it was realistic. after the first book, where reid and lou fall in love and sacrifice for each other and stuff, we should EXPECT to still see unresolved issues- everything is not going to be perfect. and i think that is what shelby mahurin did really well: she wrote a realistic development of a relationship AFTER the magical love story told in the first book. (and there were still spicy scenes so i'm not all that mad lol) i understand that we can never really get that golden enemies-to-lovers banter back that we had in the first book, since reid and lou aren't even enemies anymore- but there was still some funny banter! unlike many other people, i was fine with lou's personality in this book. she definitely made super bad decisions and acted immaturely, but i would rather have a flawed character than a perfect one. i especially loved how we got to see her become more morally-grey- which was a contrast to the first book, where one of her only main traits was being obnoxiously... obscene? extra? and the only thing i'm gonna say about the ending is... i am in denial and hoping for a "sike" from ms. mahurin in the third book.

THIS. BOOK. MAN. I've been tormented, I've been betrayed, and I've been straight up DISRESPECTED.In the best way.What starts out as a mission to gather forces against La Dame des Sorcières, Morgane le Blanc--resident Bitch Mom and raging psychopath--quickly turns into a never-ending series of mishaps with devastating consequences as we find our precious characters--Lou & Reid, especially--at odds with one other, disagreeing with each others' methods/morals/everything and waging internal wars within themselves. In that respect, this is a real "growing" novel for our characters, which I appreciated so much; it added depth and turmoil to this world that I didn't know I needed or wanted. We had to know the way things ended in Serpent & Dove didn't mean our characters were anywhere close to happiness with each other or themselves. We should've known, anyways. Okay, fine; I should've know. All that to say, everything was not okay for our characters for much of this novel, but it kept me on edge while reading, wanting my darling babies to be okay but also revelling in their misery at the same time. I'm sick, I know. In following our beloved crew as they set out to enlist the help of strong allies, we get to meet so many, and I mean, SO MANY, new characters in this book. Some of them are cute, some of them are questionable, and some of them are downright strange. But each and every new character brought something fun and unique to the story and helped to expand the world and mythos Shelby Mahurin has created. All that fun stuff aside, this book was not nice. Not at all. The ending left me absolutely devastated, and not only that, but Shelby DARED to end it on a cliffhanger! I always speak so nicely of how Serpent & Dove for the most part ends in such a tidy little bow, but did Shelby pull a total Uno Reverse + Draw 4 + Skip Next Turn on me or what! I really, truly never thought Shelby would do what she did, but, uh... SHE DID IT. I think it's just safe to say this will be me trying to keep my cool until this book comes out for the rest of the world to partake in my misery...And to her dark majesty, Shelby Mahurin...**Thank you to HarperTeen and Edelweiss for providing me with an eARC! Shelby... no thank you to you. You broke my heart.**

4⭐️Ese final; cómo me ha hecho sufrir; totalmente inesperado el giro que dio al final. He de admitir que me hizo entristecer, solo con recordar ya me caen más lágrimas 😢 ¡Y ahora necesito saber cómo termina todo; y espero no sufrir más!

"Oh no!"*gira la pagina aspettandosi un altro capitolo. Non lo trova*NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO NON SI FINISCE COSÌ NOOOO

I'd like to start by saying I read this book instead of studying for finals and it was 100% worth it. Anyways, here's a review:If Lou weaves magic with golden threads, then Shelby Mahurin weaves it with words. Serpent & Dove is amazing, but Blood & Honey is a masterpiece and everyone should buy at least five copies.It is intense, thrilling, heartbreaking, and a delight to read. Once this book starts, it DOES NOT STOP. Every chapter brings a plot twist, a new piece of information, a new struggle or setback for these characters. It’s hilarious and heartbreaking and those happy moments only make it hurt worse when they are ripped away and our characters hit rock bottom once again. This book is a lot of them clawing their way up, both emotionally and physically. Instead of slowing things down in book two, Shelby speeds them up. Everything that goes wrong, goes wrong, and it was thrilling to read the characters struggle to survive when all odds are against them. I can assure you, this one will wreck you like a hurricane passing through an unsuspecting coastal town.We are introduced to some new interesting and mysterious characters that I LOVE. We get werewolves and the Dame Rogues and a traveling circus and every single one is a fantastic edition to this stellar world. There are a particular group of new characters I’m thoroughly obsessed with and would 1000% take a novella (or spinoff series) about.Meanwhile, we dive deeper into the character’s we’ve already been introduced to. Relationships are tested, their beliefs are questioned, and everyone is just trying to keep it together long enough to defeat Morgane. Once again, I adore how Shelby writes Lou and Reid. I love that Lou is powerful and confident and sassy and is unapologetic about all those things. She is a deeply flawed person but seeing her navigate through her internal battle as well as her numerous external problems makes her such a fantastic character. I also thoroughly enjoyed the comparisons made between Morgane and Lou, but I won’t dive too deep into that because spoilers! And Reid. His internal struggle is my favorite. While it breaks my heart, he struggles with what he’s been taught and breaking free of those prejudices, trying to balance who he was and who he is now. This stubborn cinnamon roll stressed me out the ENTIRE TIME, but his character arc is fantastic. No one fell flat in Blood & Honey. Though the book is only written from Reid and Lou's POV, Shelby Mahurin gives each character more depth in book two.Both Lou and Reid make some questionable decisions in this book, which makes their story so much more interesting to read. Shelby is a master of writing in that gray area between good choices and bad ones, selfish and selfless, where nothing is as it seems and every choice they make can be somewhat justified. And those decisions cause problems for them, which I love. Both of them mess up quite a lot and those actions have consequences.Their romance is as alluring and steamy as ever, but they also struggle to navigate the newly revealed secrets and discoveries from Serpent & Dove and read very much like a real couple. To see them struggle, grow, and fight for their relationship is one of my favorite parts about this book.When you read this book, please prepare yourself with tissues and chocolate. You will need it. If Thor’s hammer hit me in the face, I think it would hurt less than that ending––which BLEW MY MIND. I’m still reeling from it and probably will be until book three is released!Thank you to Shelby, HarperTeen, and Edelweiss for the eARC!

Star Rating: —> 4.5 StarsHolyyyyy shitttttt. RTC_________________OH HELL YES THAT COVER... THAT TITLE... WHERE HAVE I BEEN? WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN ALL OF MY LIFE?!

4.75/5 “Evil always seeks a foothold. We must not give it one.” This book was amazing. I adored it so much. It is much better than the first book, and generously improves on everything we saw in Serpent and Dove. Worldbuilding “I am the Wild. I am all that inhabits the land, all things that are made and unmade. In my hand is the life of every creature and the breath of all mankind. The mountains bow to my whim. The wild animals honour me. I am the shepherd and the flock.” Instead of staying inside one city, we travel outside the walls of Cesarine and travel throughout many parts of the land of Blood and Honey. In forests, traveling groups, bars, catacombs, funerals, we see so many things in this book. We meet the werewolves, and we meet La Dame Rouges. The blood witches are so fascinating and seeing their rituals and their own magic (through blood, sweat and tears) is so cool! We see why they prefer blood over other magic. And it’s so cool.The magic! The system is a bit fuzzy in Serpent and Dove but that is all solved here. We learn the true consequences of magic- and believe me, it’s intense. Wether giving up moments of your life, or all the breath from your body (not just your lungs, but from your blood too) our characters nearly die more than once due to the Wicked magic we see in this book. Characters and Romance The world didn’t end in a scream. It ended in a single gasp. A single, startled exhalation. And then-Nothing.Nothing but silence. The development of the characters is chef’s kiss in this novel. Lou is her usual sassy self, but something dark is strong inside her. Some dark magic, something that makes her reckless as she takes more risks with her magic. Lou is strong, and I was so stressed for her. And that ending makes me even more scared😫Reid was his usual prideful yet soft self. He learns he has magic, yet refuses to use it. All his feelings and reasonings were very understandable and his fear for Lou and love for her was so precious 🥺Ansel!!! Soft cinnamon that deserves more happiness. He is so sweet and my heart aches for him.Beau was hilarious and great comedic relief but his love for his sister’s was great! Coco was sort of annoying in this book but I understood her mostly. I just wished she had made some different decisions.The king was AWFUL. I cannot express my hate for him.Madame Labelle was annoying but at the end I started to really enjoy her character and point of view. “When a person brings you more hurt than happiness, you’re allowed to let them go.” The romance! Lou and Reid were so angsty. They made such hard decisions for each other and their fight was awful. But the way the reconciled and understood each other through it all was amazing. Plot “Sometimes it hurts to remember the dead as who they were, rather then who we wanted them to be.” The plot! So many people said this book was filler but I truly cannot understand how this is filler. It’s filled with tricks and battles. We see alliances made and broken, and learn more about the paranormal creatures of this world. It moved at the perfect pace, no lie. And the climax? Perfect. It was so intense and the ending!!! And also, the alluding at a goddess and the god we saw.... it was very interesting and I can’t wait for more elaboration on his character in Gods & Monsters (and hopefully we learn who is sister is and why she likes Lou so much). Shelby’s writing has only got better, and I cannot wait for the conclusion to this amazing trilogy!Overall, I adored this book and enjoyed it way more than book 1! Gods and Monsters is for sure now one of my most anticipated books of 2021, and I cannot what to see how the story ends and where all our characters will end up. “Though a secret is a lie in pretty clothing, some secrets must be kept.” Edit September 13th: ugh 8 week library hold😖 I am so eager to read this**********************************************Edit: THIS COVER IS GLORIOUS AND PERFECT**********************************************I need all my precious characters to be safe and I need this cover to be stunningSerpent & Dove (Serpent & Dove #1) ★ ★ ★ ★. 25

I´M LIVING!!!OH MY GOSH…I´M SO FUCKING SHOOKEn casi todo el libro tuve la sensación de que el primero me había gustado más pero es que con esa última parte uy No lo sé Rick, además que este libro es más complejo, más oscuro, te muestra la parte no tan bonita de la magia y sobre todo el desarrollo de los personajes con esa dualidad que los odiabas, lo amabas o las dos cosas. Este libro ya no se centra tanto en el romance sobre todo en el bonito cuando se van conociendo y enamorándose pero si en su relación y en ellos como personas humanas que cometen errores que sienten inseguridades y miedos, se profundiza más en sus sentimientos. Además que conocemos más sobre el sistema de magia, tanto de las brujas blancas como la de las rojas, su parte oscura y salvaje pero también cuando se utiliza sabiamente y en control. En esta segunda parte después de que Lou, Reid y sus amigos salieran ilesos y huyendo de Morgane la Dame des Sorcières. quieren buscar aliados que los ayuden en contra de ella y recurren a las Dame Rouges o brujas rojas , los hombres lobo, una tarea muy difícil ya que todos están en conflicto y son enemigos.Y no solo Morgane los persigue sino el rey y los ChasseursEn cuanto a los protagonistas han sido como una montaña rusa sobre todo Lou que fue mi personaje favorito aquí la odié muchas veces era una cabra desbocada sin control hacía cosas impulsivas que para ella estaban bien porque era para proteger a los que amaba porque el fin justifica los medios y en el camino dañó muchas veces a Reid pero al final terminé comprendiéndola y vemos la complejidad de su personaje que no es perfecta, comete errores y es humana. En cuanto a Reid vemos su transición de ya no ser un Chasseur y estar en el bando con el que tanto tiempo luchó y eran sus enemigos y ahora es parte de eso que tanto odió.Se siente perdido, tiene miedo y hay una constante lucha interna en él.Pero al final lo aceptar y abrazar lo que es dándose cuenta que la magia no es buena ni mala sólo es la forma en que la usas al igual que las brujas y todos los demás seres sobrenaturales.Al igual que los protagonistas los demás personajes secundarios también tuvieron sus conflictos internos no a tanto detalle.Me gustó que el drama no era sacado de la manga, sino que se venía arrastrando desde el primer libro y provenía de los propios sentimientos de ellos.En cuanto al final SHOOK QUEDÉ, todavía no tengo como digerirlo y ya necesito el siguiente libro por favor.

I absolutely loved being back in this world - although this was an extremely stressful journey that nearly made me have about 20 heart attacks! (view spoiler)[ Lou's transformation was startling - watching her slowly turn into her mother! Both Lou and Reid were so stubborn throughout this that it absolutely drove me up the wall! AND ANSEL DESERVED SO MUCH BETTER (hide spoiler)] Now I will extremely anxiously await the third book!