I fell head over heels in love with Serpent & Dove, and I can safely say that Blood & Honey did not disappoint! I love the whole world that Mahurin has created. It is whimsical, but also dark and mysterious. The characters are complex, well-written, and extremely compelling. There were parts of this book that really creeped me out, which I loved! This is not one to miss!

This book was absolutely perfect. The angst, the romance, the fast-paced adventure of this story! I was so excited to follow Lou and Reid on their journey but nothing could've prepared me for how much more I would fall in love with them. The new side characters are also a welcome surprise!

TW: self harm

I was lucky to get a free eARC of this book to review. I will start off by saying that I am biased when it comes to this book. I read the first one in the series (Serpent & Dove) last year and LOVED it, so I was on the edge of my seat waiting to get my hand on this book.

With that disclaimer out of the way, this book was amazing and I loved every second of it. I liked that we were given a deeper insight into the magic systems in this world. I find it incredibly fascinating that different groups of people have different powers, instead of a universal system. It completely makes sense, and I love it. With that being said, there is definitely a trigger warning for self harm in this story, as it was in the first book. There is an entire magic system surrounding blood magic and we explore that group of witches quite a bit in this book.

I will say that this book was really good, but not as good as the first book in my opinion. I felt like there was a lot of unnecessary drama between the main characters that was only there to keep the plot going. One of my biggest complaints in YA novels is when the main couple/characters don’t talk about their problems and their issues. This is definitely the case for the first half of this novel, if not more. This is totally a personal pet peeve which is why it got 4 stars instead of a full 5. I also wish we had seen a few more scenes between our main couple. I felt like their love story was on the backburner for this installment, and I would have loved to see more of them together.

Overall though I really enjoyed this book, and the ending fully caught me off guard with how abrupt it was. What a cliffhanger! Shelby Mahurin has a way with the last sentences in her books. I really love the punch they give to the reader. I will be waiting (not so) patiently to get my hands on the third in this series, and to see where this story goes.

Serpent & Dove was one of my favorite books of last year. This book topped my highly anticipated list for months and months. Maybe my expectations were too high, but I did not enjoy this reading experience as much as I had hoped. It ends on a cliffhanger that has me ready for book 3. I am too invested to stop now!

There was a lot going on in this book. I didn’t enjoy it as much as the first one but the last ten percent of the book was terrific.

After such a thrilling debut, I absolutely could not wait to get my hand's on Mahurin's second book. Blood and Honey was everything I was anticipating and deliciously more. For those expecting this to be the typical second book fluffer/filler, this was anything but. Lou and Reid gave us our favorite enemy to lovers trope in Serpent and Dove, but what happens when you get to know each other more? What happens when the one you love the most is everything you despise? So many important questions regarding humanity, Mahurin brings forth.

I found it truly incredible, how Mahurin took the love between Lou and Reid and laid it out bare, there for the taking. How does one still love when darkness descends? We watch Lou fall victim to the classic nature vs. nurture question. When she destroys that precious sole memory of her mother's love, she falls slowly falls victim to her mother's madness and power. But does she? Combating with Reid's absolute despair of everything the witches are, you have for one tortuous, morally gray love story.

I absolutely cannot wait for the third installment of serpent and Dove. With the cliffhanger ending, we know we are in for a wild ride. With the question of the hour: how evil can Lou truly be?

Struggling with this one. The intro to the book is hard. It's been a while since I read Serpent and Dove, but usually the seocnd book gives me enough clues I can dig up the memory from the cobwebs of my brain. This book, not so much. So either go back and read Serpent and Dove over again, or wander around lost in the woods with Lou. The romance between Lou and Reed has fallen flat, and all that is left it pent up anger and drama. Plus, somehow Reed is even more whiney and annoying about magic than the last book. Still sitting at 30%, gonna be a slog to finish.

I was surprised by how much I liked the first book in this series and was excited to get this one from NetGalley. This is a solid follow-up, and I liked that it was set on the road/on the run, as it amped up the adventure and suspense. The characters interact with a more diverse cast of supernatural creatures in this one, and that bumps up the excitement as well:

This sequel to Serpent & Dove was a disappointment. It didn’t have the same spark that the first book had and felt flat.

Blood and Honey was one of my most anticipated releases for 2020. Sadly, I didn't enjoy the book nearly as much as I did Serpent and Dove. I would describe the experience as classic Second Book Syndrome. The pacing felt off and the plot moved along very sluggishly. I wasn't shocked and awed with any of the twists, and overall was left feeling slightly disappointed. Shelby has a vivid writing style and a lot of promise for books to come. I plan to continue the series to see what comes next and hope that the pacing and stakes are improved in the final installment of the series.

I have the strangest compliment for this book: I love how Lou cusses like a sailor!!! Seriously. It’s refreshing to have a heroine/MC who is not a shrinking violet or stoic and refined. Lou is just messy and mean sometimes and a total badass and I love her! I love the way she teases Reid, too, as he has a stick up the arse most days!

The story is very cool and I dig it! Also, the Woodwose. Nicely done, Ms. Mahurin. 💜📚

Blood & Honey picks off almost immediately where Serpent & Dove ends. Our band of heroes (Lou, Reid, Coco, Ansel, and more) have escaped after the events from the prior book and are hiding in the woods until they have a plan. As the group splits up to seek out other allies, Lou's mother and other enemies get closer and closer…

This fell pretty flat for me.

The big interpersonal conflict that drove the first book is now somewhat resolved: Reid now knows that Lou is a witch. However, this certainly doesn't clear everything up: Reid still has deep reservations about magic, and this is exacerbated by Lou risking more and more. This means that the two are yet again at odds for most of the book, but often without the lightheartedness of the scenes of the first book (the night out, the shopping expedition, etc.). I don't object to the change in feel, but I dislike that the separation between characters feels forced.

The pacing also felt off, leading me to suspect this may have originally been a duology that was expanded into a trilogy. Second volumes in a series are rough. How do you keep up the momentum of the first book and yet save enough plot for future books? Blood & Honey makes the interesting choice of having the characters sit on their butts and argue about what to do for a while. It gives the book a sluggish introduction that persisted throughout the 500+ pages.

This second book of B&H, following S&D, was a lot of growing up, questioning one’s self, and questioning relationships. If a reader goes in expecting HEAs, it’s not this book (and rightfully so considering this has now been extended from a duology to a trilogy) and they’ll be sorely disappointed. That doesn’t mean this book was poor by any means. There can be something beautiful about transitions and transformations. Tuck in for a gritty and grisly read!

the additional magic building raised the stakes in Blood & Honey. Not only am I more intrigued to learn in the final book why magic corrupts differently between witch covens but also between the sexes, but I am more invested in Reid's opinion on this corruption.

Although I am happy to return to Mahurin's world of magic, I felt that this book suffered being the middle child of the series. First, I felt that many of the transitions between scenes in the middle of the book were abrupt. Perhaps content was edited out between these scenes in order to fit the scenes necessary to pave the way for the final book. Secondly, the death of one of the main cast of characters felt obvious as soon as Lou's fortune was told and I felt like there needed to be a better twist or pay off. From the author's comments during book one about having differing opinions from her editor about who the characters should be paired off with, this character death feels like making an abrupt U turn toward the editor's path.

Wow, wow, wow. I cannot get over that ending.

If you're thinking to yourself, "Nothing can get any worse than everything that happened in Serpent & Dove," you are so horribly wrong.

Blood & Honey takes place shortly after the events at the end of Serpent & Dove. Reid grapples with his newfound abilities and also the fact that he killed the man who was like a father to him. Lou tries to come up with a plan to defeat her mother while also slowing losing herself in the process. This foolproof plan includes forging alliances with the Dames Rouges and the loup garou. What could possibly go wrong?

A lot.

Blood & Honey was an actual rollercoaster of emotions. Mahurin does a thing at the end of this book that I don't know how I can ever forgive her. I need the third book ASAP!

I enjoyed this book more after I hit 70%. There was not that incredible spark that drew me to book 1 but I am anxious to see where the author takes the story in book 3. Our patrons will gladly pick this book up.

Blood & Honey is the highly anticipated sequel to Mahurin's debut, Serpent & Dove. For Lou, Reid, and their friends, only a few weeks have passed since the events that occurred during Modraniht. They are currently hiding from Lou's mother, Morgane, but the group knows that they cannot remain hidden forever. Morgane still needs to be stopped and to have a fighting chance at defeating her, Lou and Reid need allies. They soon begin a quest to secure alliances with the Dame Rouges (i.e. blood witches) and the loups-garous (i.e. werewolves).

Although I did enjoy the sequel, the majority of the plot seemed to be filler. Compared to my reading of Serpent & Dove, I often found myself setting Blood & Honey aside for other, more interesting reads. Lou, Reid, and their friends may spend most of the novel seeking allies to defeat Morgane, but Blood & Honey still finds time to focus on Lou and Reid's relationship. For much of the novel, their relationship is fraught with tension. Lou and Reid have been traumatized from what transpired during Modraniht, so both need to face their internal demons in order for their relationship to survive.

Blood & Honey may initially lack the fast-paced storytelling that was apparent in Serpent & Dove, but readers do learn more about Mahurin's characters and the world that she created. Be forewarned, though. Blood & Honey does end on a cliffhanger that will have readers eagerly waiting for the third book in the series.

Many thanks to HarperCollins Children's Books and NetGalley for the e-ARC!

Blood and Honey is the second book in the Serpent and Dove series, and it picks up where the last book left off. Lou, Reid, Coco, Ansel, Beau, and Madame Labelle are hiding in the forest after their battle with the Dames Blanches, making a game plan for what to do next. They decide to seek help from the Dames Rouges, werewolves, and a ragtag circus full of magic users to sneak into the city and stop Madame LeBlanc, while also contending with the Chasseurs who have vowed to kill every witch.

This book, to me, seemed kind of long and unnecessarily drawn out. I feel like the author knew she was on the hook for 3 books, so she intentionally stretched it longer to have more to say in the finale. I know a lot of authors do this, but it still kind of sucks. The book wasn't bad, but it definitely didn't live up to Serpent and Dove. Many of our beloved characters from the first book become a little less beloved, making choices that are uncharacteristic for them and just generally being annoying. The only exception to this is Ansel, who I love and should be protected at all costs.

I received this ARC courtesy of Netgalley, in return for my honest review.

I enjoyed the first one and this one was just as good. I loved the characters' journeys and seeing how much growth they experience.

Blood & Honey is a very serviceable middle book set in an enjoyable fantasy world. In this second installment, we continue on our quest to defeat the evil witch lady Morgane (AKA Lou's maman dearest) by recruiting reluctant allies from all corners of the land to the cause. This book has a LOT of movement, travel, and characters plotting. The ratio of plotting to actionable drama was a bit disappointing, but the story kept its characters growing and learning so it was still an engaging read.

This book introduced a whooole host of new characters, adding plenty of additional pieces to the board when the final showdown arrives in book three. Some of the newbies are intriguing; however, they were not super duper layered yet - but the potential is there. In terms of Lou and Reid's relationship, I found it less fiery than book one. I'm still debating if I liked this version of their relationship more or less, but I'm leaning toward less.

All in all, Blood & Honey introduces lots of new kids on the block, is very travel and scheme-heavy, and doesn't fully deliver me the Lou and Reid feels that I know it's capable of, but it remains such an intriguing world that I'll be back for more.