Title: Blood and Honey

Author: Shelby Mahurin

Series: Serpent and Dove

Publish Date: September 1, 2020

Publisher: HarperTeen

Format: Print, Hardcover

Goodreads Summary:

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 mousse that threatens to destroy something worth more than any coven.

The hotly anticipated sequel to the New Your Times and IndieBound bestseller Serpent & Dove – packed with even steamier romance and darker magic – is perfect for fans of Sarah J. Maas.

Review: Well. That was not what I anticipated.

Okay, that’s a bit of a lie. It’s exactly what I anticipated. But I was really hoping for something different. Let me explain.

I held off reading Blood and Honey because I’d heard it suffered from “middle book syndrome”, where it’s more of a bridge between the first and third books. And it’s clear that it is. Most of the major reveals just don’t really hit. Characters are introduced with little fanfare, and disappear almost as quickly.

It was a struggle for me to even get to page 200. It took several weeks, to be honest. I was bored through most of the story, until the last… 100 pages or so. Seriously, this felt like the author had said, “Remember Deathly Hallows‘ extanded camping trip? Let’s do that again, but longer.” I would have absolutely put this down if not for the fact I promised a friend that I would actually read it all the way through (as payment for getting her to watch 9-1-1.)

And then there’s the ending. No spoilers, but I nearly threw my book across the room. I shouted out loud. And that was before the final two chapters. I was not happy with it, even if I called it early on (because context clues).

In my opinion, this book is far from the book that I read last year. This missed the mark by a mile. I know it was supposed to be a duology, and it should have stayed as such. This felt bloated, slow, and boring. I’ll probably still read the finale (because I’m a glutton for punishment), but one can only hope that it can recapture the magic that was the first book.

As for why I gave it a 2/5 instead of just 1/5, the ending somewhat redeemed the book in my eyes. I finally felt something. It made my seven hours with this book feel less like a complete waste of time.

Rating: 2/5

Goodreads Goal 9/52

(Quick note: I didn’t write a review for the 6th and 8th “books” I read this year, as it was the first and second The Old Guard: Tales Through Time issues, which are 32 pages each. I decided I’ll just review the series as a whole when the final issue is released in September.)