rubyellen95's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
steffi_au_penguinbooks's review against another edition
2.0
“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.”
Serpent & Dove: ☆☆☆☆
2 stars
Halleluja this is over. Spoilers are hidden in this review!
This moment when one of your most anticipated reads of 2020 turns out as one of the worst reads of 2020. This moment when a book ends with a nasty cliffhanger, but you are just so mad and disappointed with the book, so that you absolutely don't care about the cliffhanger.
It seriously sucks.
So, why did I dislike this book so much, although Serpent & Dove had been one my fave reads last year?
Probably because the characters I came to love were totally out of character. Like ... what the hell? What happened to Lou and Reid?! These two started to piss me off after only two chapters and they continued doing so until 100 pages before the end. One of them was an emo and insufferable for 500+ pages, while the other turned into Daenarys Targaryen S8 and didn't use his/her brain. There was one particular scene around a 100 pages before the end that made absolute speechless and horrified. Horrified because I was shocked and frightened and there was absolutely NO CONSEQUENCES (.
Furthermore, besides of Lou and Reid ..... what about the other characters? Why are Ansel, Coco, Beau and Madame Labelle even there?! They contributed barely anything to the plot besides of comic relieve or unnecessary drama. I missed book 1 Coco a lot.
Secondly, this book suffers major book two syndrome. I don't why it was decided to extend the books into a trilogy. A duology would have been just as fine, and I wouldn't have had to suffer through this. You know, when I read the titel of the second book last year, I'd been super excited. I thought we would get insight on the Blood Witches and Coco would have gotten her time to shine next to Lou. Well, I should stop imagining things. Instead, we see Lou and Reid arguing, emo Reid, crazy Lou, some new characters coming out of nowhere, and them trying to find allies to fight Morgane. The majority of the things that happened didn't contribute anything to the main plot. The story got stuck. Only the last 40 pages provided real progress in the plot.
So, in a nutshell, this book was a catastrophe for me. It read more like fanfiction than a continuation to Serpend & Dove. The fact that even the cliffhanger couldn't save this book is a bad sign. I just don't care about the characters anymore. I will probably read the final book, but my desire and anticipation are non-existent.
Serpent & Dove: ☆☆☆☆
2 stars
Halleluja this is over. Spoilers are hidden in this review!
This moment when one of your most anticipated reads of 2020 turns out as one of the worst reads of 2020. This moment when a book ends with a nasty cliffhanger, but you are just so mad and disappointed with the book, so that you absolutely don't care about the cliffhanger.
It seriously sucks.
So, why did I dislike this book so much, although Serpent & Dove had been one my fave reads last year?
Probably because the characters I came to love were totally out of character. Like ... what the hell? What happened to Lou and Reid?! These two started to piss me off after only two chapters and they continued doing so until 100 pages before the end. One of them was an emo and insufferable for 500+ pages, while the other turned into Daenarys Targaryen S8 and didn't use his/her brain. There was one particular scene around a 100 pages before the end that made absolute speechless and horrified. Horrified because I was shocked and frightened and there was absolutely NO CONSEQUENCES (
Spoiler
I am talking about the scene where Lou lost her mind again and burned,from all people, Coco. My sweet darling Coco, her bestfriend. She BURNED her and all Coco said was "Its'okay." Girl, NOTHING is okay. Reid was the only character who had the guts to tell Miss le Blanc that she was turning mad, but nope, Louise didn't want to hear of this. And Coco continued to find excuses for Lou's behaviour, but then proceeds to worry about Lou's behaviour behind her back.Furthermore, besides of Lou and Reid ..... what about the other characters? Why are Ansel, Coco, Beau and Madame Labelle even there?! They contributed barely anything to the plot besides of comic relieve or unnecessary drama. I missed book 1 Coco a lot.
Secondly, this book suffers major book two syndrome. I don't why it was decided to extend the books into a trilogy. A duology would have been just as fine, and I wouldn't have had to suffer through this. You know, when I read the titel of the second book last year, I'd been super excited. I thought we would get insight on the Blood Witches and Coco would have gotten her time to shine next to Lou. Well, I should stop imagining things. Instead, we see Lou and Reid arguing, emo Reid, crazy Lou, some new characters coming out of nowhere, and them trying to find allies to fight Morgane. The majority of the things that happened didn't contribute anything to the main plot. The story got stuck. Only the last 40 pages provided real progress in the plot.
So, in a nutshell, this book was a catastrophe for me. It read more like fanfiction than a continuation to Serpend & Dove. The fact that even the cliffhanger couldn't save this book is a bad sign. I just don't care about the characters anymore. I will probably read the final book, but my desire and anticipation are non-existent.
sabrina_00's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
offinherownmind's review
3.0
I didn't like this one as much. I think it suffered the second book in a triology disease. Too much setting up. Plus it was hard to differentiate Reid and Lou's perspective
kayu99's review
3.0
The first 2/3 was disappointing. Reid and Lou seemed like annoying, stupid caricatures of themselves, and the new characters initially didn't add much to the plot. However, once the action in the last third escalates, the writing improves and so do Reid and Lou. This book does have some beautiful moments, and the ending's cliffhanger is undeniably effective.
lizzy25d's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
alba_malo's review against another edition
2.0
creo y solo creo que se nota la ansiedad que le daba a la propia autora escribir este libro, se nota que quiere poner muchas cosas en juego, esta poniendo las piezas de ajedrez en el sitio correspondiente para el siguiente libro...
pero bueno, creo que es muy largo para el contenido? no se, es mi pensamiento
es un poco lioso en algunos puntos, las tramas vienen de sitios que no conocias y algunas cosas son obvias que van a ocurrir...
me gusto más el primer libro y quiero acabar esta triologia, asi que espero que estas piezas de ajedrez tengan sentido en la tercera parte.
pero bueno, creo que es muy largo para el contenido? no se, es mi pensamiento
es un poco lioso en algunos puntos, las tramas vienen de sitios que no conocias y algunas cosas son obvias que van a ocurrir...
me gusto más el primer libro y quiero acabar esta triologia, asi que espero que estas piezas de ajedrez tengan sentido en la tercera parte.
morganmills15's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
tristen369's review
1.0
...This is the first book EVER that I DNF. I completely lost interest in the story line. The characters that I loved so much in the first book, were not in this book. I tried to muster through it, however I realized I no longer cared. So instead, I will hold onto the memory of the first book and leave it at that.
mommabygrace's review against another edition
3.0
3.5⭐️
I didn’t enjoy this one quite as much as the first. I feel like there was too much action and strife going on for any true character development. And also- Reid goes from being appalled and disgusted by Lou’s language in the first book, to swearing left and right in this one?
I didn’t enjoy this one quite as much as the first. I feel like there was too much action and strife going on for any true character development. And also- Reid goes from being appalled and disgusted by Lou’s language in the first book, to swearing left and right in this one?