Thoughts on Serpent & Dove

1. I loved that this book was French inspired.
   I took French in high school and literally have never used it, so this book gave me a reason to use all that French knowledge. But really, the names, the words, the love of sweet bread/sticky buns, the architecture even was just *Chef’s kiss.* To start, knowing that it was French inspired, I could totally see in my mind’s eye the way the theater that Lou stayed in looked and the way the town looked from the rooftop of the theater.
   
2. Lou and Reid were tense, passionate, and all consuming.
   It’s no secret that I love enemies to lovers and when you have an arranged marriage on top of that, I’ll just be here fanning myself. I loved Lou literally running into Reid and then slipping away, only to stumble upon him once more and being forced into marrying him. She pushes his buttons in all the right ways, and he helps her to open her mind up to seeing the world from new perspectives. Their slow roll from hatred to love was a tumble that I am here for.
   
3. Reid was adorably naive, but he was a strong character.
   Reid was an orphan raised by the Archbishop and because of that his worldview was extremely narrow. I loved that Mahurin kept true to that and allowed Reid to be a little closed minded before he met Lou. She kept him true to his vow and ensured that he was a little awkward with romance and didn’t know much about the world outside being a Chass. Reid was a definite strong character. He stuck to his values even when he probably didn’t want to, like when Celie wanted him to leave his wife or use derogatory language toward her. The best part about it though was that this was in line for his character as a whole and not a result of a budding romance with Lou.
   
4. The world was a little underdeveloped, but that is okay in this instance.
   I am usually a big stickler in the fantasy genre about having good world building and fleshing out details of the magic systems and the culture. In this particular case, I am glad that we didn’t spend pages upon pages on how that works because it has slowly come out with the plot, and I kind of feel like we are in Reid’s shoes learning about magic and witches with him. It also allowed for Mahurin to keep the pace of the book at a steady chug without having sudden stops in the plot to allow for details to be dumped on you.
   
5. Ansel is a precious baby that must be protected at all costs.
   You should know by now that I am also a lover of side characters. I get attached to them and their stories and I need to know more about precious Ansel. He seems like such an interesting character because he was very gung ho about catching witches, but he was also very open to Lou after he discovered what she was and how he figured out what she was.

I’m anxiously awaiting the next book as well as panicking because what if it doesn’t live up to my expectations!

See you after the next chapter, bookworms,

Cayla