A review by steffi_au_penguinbooks
Blood & Honey by Shelby Mahurin
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.