Review – Blood & Honey and Shelby Mahurin

Title Blood & Honey

Author Shelby Mahurin

Description from Amazon

Lou, Reid, Coco, and Ansel are on the run from coven, kingdom, and church—fugitives with nowhere to hide.

To survive, they need allies. Strong ones. But as Lou becomes increasingly desperate to save those she loves, she turns to a darker side of magic that may cost Reid the one thing he can’t bear to lose. Bound to her always, his vows were clear: where Lou goes, he will go; and where she stays, he will stay.

Until death do they part. 

Release Date September 1, 2020

Initial Thoughts

Alright friends, it’s been a hot minute since I wrote a review. I’ve been in a real review slump lately (not sure if that’s a thing, but I’m making it a thing). Basically, I haven’t found myself wanting to sit down and put my thoughts to paper (or laptop in this case) in a while, but then, I read Blood & Honey.

This was easily one of my most anticipated books of the year and I was denied at every turn for an ARC of any kind. So, I waited until today, September 1st to read it. And, it was well worth the wait.

Some Things I Liked

• Dual POVs. Once again, I loved the balance between Lou and Reid. They are perfect counterbalanced opposites and their enemies to lovers progression in Serpent & Dove yielded some of the best banter I’ve ever read. SPOILER ALERT: they came out of that book pretty solidly in love. So, I was afraid the banter might fade a bit in the sequel. I was completely wrong. Shelby Mahurin ramped it up with more sass, more banter, and more perfection with the dual narration between my favorite OTP.
• More Fantasy France. I’m so here for the world of Cesarine and the French inspiration. I loved La Voison (who was actually a real person during the French revolution) as well as the Dames Rouges. I loved the French proverbs as well as the words sprinkled throughout the story. I thought the mix of another language was carefully and thoughtfully done.
• Beau’s storyline. I did not think it was humanly possible, but I found that Beau might have had my favorite storyline here. I really loved his character arc and I found myself longing for a chapter from his POV.
• Serpent & Dove featured “mommy issues” and Blood & Honey was strong with “daddy issues”. From Beau and the King to Reid, Lou, and the Arch Bishop, I loved that the parental issues in the first book came full circle here. Lou, in particular, grew a lot in her acceptance of her biological father and what he meant to Reid.
• Oh that ending! Seriously, that ending broke me. Shelby, you did not need to hurt me this badly, I was always going to read the next book in the series!! On a serious note, the ending of this book absolutely destroyed me in the best way. That’s exactly how I want a book to leave me, desperate for more.

Series Value

There is absolutely no question of whether I will read the next book. I will read it as soon as anyone wants to give me a copy. **Wink, wink, Shelby Mahurin and Epic Reads – I’m ready when you are.**

Beyond just continuing the series, I love these characters and this world. This is definitely a series that I will continue to revisit and reread for years to come.

Final Thoughts

I am broken. This book destroyed me and inspired me. I am finally able to write a review again. I want to shout to the world about how much I absolutely loved this book. I am back.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Recommendations for Further Reading

• Untitled (Serpent & Dove #3) by Shelby Mahurin – I don’t have any info on this book, but I have no doubt it will be an epic conclusion to this stunning series.
• The Bridge Kingdom by Danielle L. Jensen – if you enjoyed the arranged marriage trope as well as enemies to lovers and a morally grey main character, try this series by Danielle L. Jensen.