Blood & Honey: Serpent & Dove: 2

It is fair to say that the character development in this book was stellar. Serpent & Dove paved the way for an ongoing emotional investment in Lou and Reid that was really honed in on in the sequel. Blood & Honey had me rooting for them from the very beginning and throughout, even with all their struggles. Admittedly it was frustrating to read through the arguments and tension at times but it was real. No relationship with that amount of conflict is going to be easy and Shelby really illustrated that in her writing.We also saw more from the other characters in the story which I appreciated. Seeing little mini romances and relationships develop between different characters in the world was both exciting and frustrating. Ansel in particularly grew on me a lot, he is so underestimated and I just wanted to see him flourish! Coco on the other hand actually started to get on my nerves in this book. She was one of my favourites going in but she made some pretty lousy choices which ultimately dimmed my overall perception of her character by the end.World building in Blood & Honey was impeccable. The magic system got some well needed attention. I thoroughly enjoyed reading as it was fleshed out more and more. The writing is very immersive which really helps to teleport the readers mind to every location the characters venture to. This is particularly important for Blood & Honey as the characters travels play so heavily on the overarching plot line.The plot! Heart wrenching, emotional and full of angst. The twists and turns in the plot, especially towards the end, were so unexpected. I audibly gasped at the ending. I was not ready! That is pretty much all I can say without spoiling the whole thing.It is fair to say that Blood & Honey did suffer slight ‘Second Book Syndrome’ in that I was bored at certain points. Mainly during the meat in the middle chapters. I just wanted to skip to the part where they made it to where they were going! Admittedly though, listening to the audio book made even the more dry parts of the book sound thrilling. The voice acting was really well done and I was impressed with how much passion and enthusiasm the actors put into playing their parts in the story. Each voice played a vital role in me feeling like I was in the midst of an epic fantasy story and I loved that.To conclude, Blood & Honey is a story about learning. We learn not only about imperfect relationships but about the people in them. We learn that Lou is reckless and out of control, Reid is rigid and believes everything has a place. What they both needed to learn in this book was how to balance each other out. How to make each other better people, instead of focusing on what makes them different.

The books itself was brilliant. The plot carried on nicely from the first book (Serpent & Dove) and it wasn't difficult to follow through. The book has us clinging to the edge in worry as Lou and her friends face Morgan's again. I would have rated it 5 stars however the books arrived quite badly damaged but I did not want to send it back because of all the problems that would create. You cannot see the damage when the book is on a bookshelf but it is still not great.

After surviving death as second time at the hands of Morgane, Lou, Reid and their friends are suffering from the fallout. The death of the Archbishop by Reid to save Lou has changed him and his views on magic have become even more conflicting as he refuses to accept his magical heritage. The clash with the Dame Blanches has also changed Lou. She is angry, volatile and more reckless with her magic. She is obsessed with revenge and it is clouding her judgment. Reid and Coco worry that Lou is not in control of her feelings or magic and that she is acting more like her power-crazed mother every day.As fugitives from the Dames Blanches, Church and Crown, they must find a way to defeat Morgane by locating other witches or supernatural beings to assist them. When the friends must part ways because Reid is not welcome by Coco's family the Dames Rough and he must seek the werewolves separately, troubles within the group deepen. Lack of communication causes a rift between Reid and Lou and as they go their separate ways that rift only widens. Lou cannot understand why Reid will not see beyond her magic to the woman he says he loves and stop trying to change her and Reid cannot reconcile the Lou that he fell in love with the drastically altered woman before him who is violent and dangerously irrational. But the one thing he takes issue with is the fact she continues to lie to him about her past.As their enemies close in on every side will they succeed in vanquishing Morgane once and for all or will they even survive the coming battle? One thing is certain – the fight ahead of them will leave earth-shattering consequences for all involved and ones that no magic can reverse.🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟. This instalment is much darker and the ending broke my heart. Even though these beloved characters have changed considerably and in unexpected ways, I still feel drawn to them. The escalating tension to the showdown with Morgane was thrilling but I found the interpersonal conflicts and connections to be even more compelling. I recommend tissues.