Review: Serpent & Dove

Serpent & Dove 
Rating: 5/5
Buy or Borrow: Buy
Source: Copy courtesy of the publisher in exchange for an honest review! 

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.

Sworn to the Church as a Chasseur, Reid Diggory has lived his life by one principle: thou shalt not suffer a witch to live. His path was never meant to cross with Lou's, but a wicked stunt forces them into an impossible union—holy matrimony.

The war between witches and Church is an ancient one, and Lou's most dangerous enemies bring a fate worse than fire. Unable to ignore her growing feelings, yet powerless to change what she is, a choice must be made.

And love makes fools of us all. 

It's taken me far too long to write this review up, but it's also taken me time to organise my thoughts in to a semblance of sense otherwise I'd just be screaming about it continuously! The synopsis for this hooked me straight away, but it's one of those books that sounds so unbelievably good, like something you didn't know you've been desperate for until you come across it and you kind of procrastinate reading it because you're worried it won't live up to the hype or you know...you'll read it and then it'll be over far too soon! 

While I had quite high expectations for this book from what everyone had been saying about it, I also wasn't entirely sure exactly what to expect from it, however I was blown away and not at all disappointed upon finishing it. It had so many things that I love in a book and it's one of my favourite books of the year...and of all time. 

There's intrigue from the start as we're thrown in to a vividly brought to life French inspired fantasy world. We're quickly getting to grips with the way the world of this book works and I was so in love with the world and the world building. I was constantly intrigued by the way the world of the book worked, the politics of it and the history of it. Not to mention the magic system with the witches which was fascinating to me and something a little bit different to anything I've read recently. There's two different kinds we're presented with, blood magic and then Lou's kind which asks for something in return for whatever spell you cast, which was interesting to see. Plus there's the whole 'smell of magic' aspect which was quite different! On top of that we've got Morgane le Blanc, and the Chasseurs and I constantly wanted to know more about everything and everyone. The world building was just so rich, it was a world and setting that you could easily fall in to and get lost wandering with the characters. 

The characters were equally as fascinating as the world and the magic system. I was so intrigued by Lou and her past, and eager to know more about her. But I loved her instantly and had no trouble connecting with her, or any of the other characters for that matter. Lou was my favourite, however, and she had me cackling when she was being her wonderfully snarky self with Reid and the other Chasseurs. I just fell in love with her, she's one of my all time favourite characters now, I can't lie! She was just so much fun, and I was right there with her throughout the entire book. 

I also took an instant liking to Coco and I'd love to get to see even more of her in the next book! Her friendship with Lou was another highlight of the book for me, but I'm also incredibly curious about Coco and her magic...and her family. 

When it comes to our other main character, Reid, I wanted to love him but he made it so hard in the beginning. However, that also gave me such a sense of anticipation for when the romance started. We get both Reid and Lou's point of views and when you see their initial chance meetings and interactions I was so ready for the romance to start because I knew sparks were going to fly and I was giddy with anticipation. I did come to see how Reid became the way he was and obviously I ended up loving him too! There were some fantastic plot twists when it came to his character, but I most loved watching him grow closer to Lou and open up to her a little. 

The pace for Serpent & Dove, as well as the romance alongside the plot, was excellent. Everything was built up wonderfully, and all the different elements came together fantastically. There was so much intrigue and mystery woven in to the plot, along with plenty of tension. The plot twists were fantastically timed, and completely mind blowing. The twists would build up and you'd have an epiphany like "oh my God no way, it can't be"...and then be proved instantly right. As for the romance...it was slow burn and I was living for it. I loved watching it build up, watching the feelings start to develop and I was in heaven reading this book okay! 

The writing is rich, it draws you in and the world darkens around you as you read and find yourself in the pages of the book. There's strong world building, wonderful characters that you have no issues connecting with and that really bring the story to life. The romance is slow burn and wonderfully done, the pace for the overall book is perfect and I had no trouble binge reading 200 page chunks of this book even though I was supposed to be working on an assignment at the time...oops. The characters are kind of morally grey and there's so many inner struggles and battles of right and wrong that the characters face. They all develop wonderfully, and there's an enemies to lovers romance...what more do you need? 

For the first time in a long time, I had such a book hangover upon finishing this and I'm still sad that it was over. The ending was wonderful, the book was strong right up until the end, and I've been left so eager for more, I can't wait for the sequel!