Book Review | Blood and Honey | By Shelby Mahurin

by · November 16, 2020

 

 

 

 

YA Fantasy
Blood and Honey
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Series:
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Published: 1st September, 2020
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.  (Goodreads)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My thoughts

 

 

 

 

Narrative and Plot

 

 

Blood and Honey is the sequel to the Serpent and Dove, which is one of my favorite YA fantasies from 2019. Naturally, the expectations were sky high. The book didn’t disappoint either. At the same time, it didn’t blow me away which I was really hoping for.

The narrative shifted between Lou and Reid in this second book of the Serpent and Dove series. It was engaging and made you want to read more.
The plot was well constructed and fast paced. Every single thing mentioned in the book came back later and had its purpose. The story as a single entity makes sense and is strong in terms of narrative and plot.

 

 

 

Characters and Conflicts

 

 

 

If you take Blood and Honey as a standalone book, the character arcs and conflicts seemed reasonable. There was this push and pull between good and evil or rather, light and shadow. It made the story quite engaging. However, considering this was a sequel, one cannot help but compare it to the first book. And that was where I had a few issues with the whole book.

One of the things, I loved about Serpent and Dove was the character arc. The main characters came a long way from where they started. However, as soon as the second book started, they went back to the starting point again. I recognize that the conflict became more complex and intense, but at the core it was similar to what the characters had to go through in the first book. It felt to me, as if the characters took a detour in their character arcs.

 

Even, the central conflict wasn’t a lot more different. Lou still had to fight the same battle against Morgan. Which as a standalone, was quite an entertaining read but almost a repetition when it comes to a sequel. Reid still struggled with similar inner battles even if they were heightened. The ending however, left me intrigued.

 

 

 

 

Conclusion

 

 

 

Overall, I enjoyed Blood and Honey but I won’t be going back a second time. If you’re already invested in the series, I suggest you must pick it up. It would keep you hooked till the very end and you cannot help but wait for the next book with that kind of ending.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

About the Author

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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