Blood & Honey – Shelby Mahurin – Serpent & Dove – HarperTeen – Published 1 September 2020
♥♥♥♥
Synopsis
After 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.
My thoughts
Blood & Honey is the second book in the Serpent & Dove series. Passionate and magical, this fantasy series has all the steamy kisses, witchcraft and quests to save the kingdom you could need.
I rather enjoy Shelby Mahurin’s writing style. It’s literally addictive. Funny, deadly and the action flows quickly, keeping the reader glued to the pages. The story picks up where the first book finished, as does the sexual tension between Reid and Lou.
Lou, Reid and their friends (or sort-of friends) have escaped near death at the hands of Morgane. Now they are on the run, both from the Chasseurs and from Morgane who has promised retribution. If they want to have any chance of besting her, they need to recruit an army, but they seem to have more enemies than friends and the kingdom is a dangerous place.
It was great the learn more about the magic in this world and the different kinds of magical creatures. Werewolves, witches, blood witches. None of them are cute and cuddly and the book is as bloody and injury-prone as it is sexy and totally inappropriate (which is often very funny (and did I mention sexy)).
Just when you think they might be close to a happy ending, it’s snatched from them. The ending is a bit of a cliffhanger, so be prepared to be desperate you get your hands on the third book.
Mature readers only for this one, folks. Every possible sexual reference you can image and the characters are mature, so it feels more like a new adult book. Fans of Sarah J Maas’s series will adore the Serpent & Dove series.
The publishers provided an advanced readers copy of this book for reviewing purposes. All opinions are my own.
More information
Category: Young adult fiction
Genre: Fantasy
Themes: Witches, magic, betrayal, family, alliances, werewolves, magical creatures, royalty, romance, sex, marriage.
Reading age guide: Ages 16 and up.
Advisory: Very frequent, crude sexual references, references to genitals. Sex scenes with details, oral sex. Frequent strong coarse language, f*** (19), sh** (46), bit** (7), wh*** (3), cu** (1), as***** (1), co** (1), pi** (15). Violence – fighting, blood, injury, death.
Published: 1 September 2020 by HarperTeen.
Format: Hardcover, paperback, ebook, audiobook. 528 pages.
ISBN: 9780062878052
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