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Today is pumpkin day for my little, so there is all sorts of fall excitement happening here.  I’m going to should on myself very soon and (finally) get out the few pieces of Halloween decor I have, and maybe a fall item or two as well.  I need my giant googly eyes up, but I haven’t decided where they’re going yet.  I am also ready for more vampires in my list.  My Adam and I started watching The Vampire Diaries this week.  We’re a few episodes in, and so far I’m loving it (and laughing at all the wrong places).  But you know what, I need more vampires!  I’m hopeful that  The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires by Grady Hendrix will fit the bill, and that you’ll join us in reading it, or at least discussing it at Virtual Book Club on Friday, October 30th at 7:30 p.m. CST.  Be sure to register here, because we’re changing up our platform (yes again, because we like free) and need to get you the details.  

Oh readers, is it just me, or sometimes do you want to crawl into the pages of a book so you can hangout with the characters?  I would definitely be a liability in a good fight (or really any fight), so I’d want to jump in on the calm pub or camp fire scenes to hang out.  Blood & Honey is definitely one of those books.  Ashley and I both adore YA titles (although this is more NA I think) and an ensemble cast.  While Blood & Honey (and Serpent & Dove) only feature two points of view in the books, they do feature an ensemble as they go on a bit of a hero’s journey, so it counts for me.  I would also be delighted to hang out with Shelby Mahurin at a pub or around a campfire (but this Instagram Live from Tuesday will have to do), that’d be super fun too!  

How to explain this book, as Serpent & Dove at our September book club, I will only try so hard to not spoil the first book.  Be warned.  Here’s my reader’s digest review of Blood & Honey:  Five stars, will reread before reading Gods & Monsters, and I really appreciate the ending.  (If there wasn’t a next book expected, I’d be rereading sooner to see what else I pick up on the second time, and I may yet!)  The arc of the book has ended, we see what has to happen to end the arc of the trilogy, and the issues of the first part of the third book are set up, and OH I AM SO EXCITED to see how that happens because it’s going to be a wild ride!  The internet has seemed all up in arms about the title of the third book in this trilogy, but y’all, Gods & Monsters makes sense to me after reading the first two books.  Also, if you don’t like spoilers, don’t read the reviews online.  I had one spoil something big for me and I am still mad!  

Now, here’s the part you should skip if you want to go into Blood & Honey not knowing anything, but I won’t be including spoilers for book two.  I’m really excited about the new characters introduced in this installment, and am looking forward to digging in with some of them in the next volume in the series.  I appreciated the foreshadowing that happens throughout the book, as it does in Serpent & Dove.  Some readers may be surprised at how the action unfolds, but others will see some things coming because of the genius with which the story is told.  The character development from our starring couple is actually my favorite part of the story.  Lou and Reid are both struggling with themselves, with each other, and with the world at large, and that piece alone is a journey, plus the hero’s journey to defeat La Dame des Sorcières.  Because the narrative comes from both their perspectives we get each side, and how their pride and communication struggles don’t help the situation.  This piece is so real and relatable that it’s a joy, and also sometimes a challenge, to read.  Other things I really enjoyed about this are the sass, because Lou is still full of it, and how the landscape plays into the story, as when they’re traveling through La Fôret des Yeux (translation: the forest of eyes) and Les Dents (translation: the teeth).  I just kept imagining the Forbidden Forest by Hogwarts only darker and spookier, and I’m here for it!  The writing is purposeful and descriptive, but not over done (which I think can be a fine line in YA/NA), but it’s really the plot and the characters that have me singing the praises of this series, and wishing there was a Liddy-like song I could sing to encourage readers to dive in!  

I do want to include some warnings for readers.  Blood & Honey is darker than the first book.  It’s not excessive, and it feels consistent with where it needs to go to progress the characters on their journey, but this is not an uplifting read (see also: book #2 in a dramatic trilogy).  Because it’s fantasy, it still felt like an escape to me, but please time it well for you, especially if you’re a mood reader or a highly sensitive person.  And a note for readers who have concerns about the raciness of their content – the marketing copy is wrong on this one – the romance is not red-hot. [Ashley here: and we would know, we read lots of schmexy times, especially on the weekend.]  It’s the same as in Serpent & Dove.  DM me if you want more details on either book’s steam level.  While I adore this series and want everyone to read it and chat with us about it, our ultimate goal is to help readers find titles that are right for them, so if this isn’t for you, skip it, or if you’re unsure, let’s chat!  

What books did you try on a whim and end up wanting to crawl into?  

~Nikki 

I need to say, again, for the record, that I love my book buddy who brings me amazing books to get lost in. In our intro to Witchy Reads book month we discussed September’s Virtual Book Club Pick Serpent & Dove by Shelby Mahurin, but we didn’t discuss the author herself. Mahurin admitted in her IG chat with Sarah J. Maas that Nikki mentioned above that the kernel of inspiration for her debut novel’s Les Dames Blanches was when Jamie Fraser calls his wife Claire a white witch in Season 2 of Outlander. You know that show I discussed in February that I am obsessed with (and the books of course). That season of Outlander (and the book it is based off of, Dragonfly in Amber) is set in Paris. The French folklore of the white witches shines through in Mahurin’s world building of Belleterre. Mahurin shares on her website that her imagination blossomed in rural Indiana “where sticks were wands and cows were dragons”, and now we have what is set to be three engrossing books about witches and witch hunters. Installment number 3 is set to release next August and is entitled Gods & Monsters. 

And now we need to talk about the book, right? Here’s the details…

At the end of Serpent & Dove, Lou has been imprisoned by her mother, La Dame des Sorcières, in the witches Chateau le Blanc for weeks in preparation for the ritual sacrifice of Lou’s life for all the lives of King Auguste’s children, legitimate and illegitimate.  Magic takes balance, something must be given in order to create the caster’s desire. But when Reid witnesses Lou’s death by her mother’s hand, he sees the golden thread of magic between the Archbishop and Lou – his adopted father’s life for his wife’s – and he acts upon that magic, becoming the first known male witch.

So, yeah these are some big deal things that our characters are dealing with. But these big deal plot moving situations all cause internal struggles in the minds and hearts of Lou, Reid, Coco, Ansel, Beau, and Helene Labelle… Reid’s mom! What?! And then we meet the Red Witches, led by Coco’s aunt La Voisin, some werewolves, and our favorite Chausser, Jean Luc. Because we all know now that Reid’s a witch and killed the Archbishop he can no longer be a witch hunter.

Yeah, that. It’s some life being thrown at them and so much character growth that insures and I’m here for it. And I’m here for the next book and bummed that I am going to have to wait a whole year before it’s out. But, it’ll be at the publisher’s by the beginning of November, fingers crossed, so we have great things to look forward to.

What escapist reads are getting you through the rest of 2020 and what are you looking forward to for 2021?

~Ashley

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