I received an electronic manuscript of Blood & Honey by Shelby Mahurin and I am so happy, and lucky, that I did. Blood & Honey is the second book in a series, the first being Serpent & Dove. If you have not read the first book yet, feel free to check out my spoiler free review! I will try to keep this review as spoiler free as possible, though I do talk about some ideas of the book. No dialogue, plot points, or overall journey is talked about – but I do reflect on my feelings about them. While this review is spoiler free, it may spoil the first book if you have not read it yet.

Here is the synopsis from Goodreads:

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.

Let me preface this review by saying that I am angry. I am so mad at how Shelby has played with my emotions in this book. If you thought Serpent & Dove was emotional, a rollercoaster ride, or any concoction of those types of feelings, Blood & Honey blows them out of the water. I found myself laughing, crying, and screaming so you know this book is going to be good. And it is confirmed that it is no longer a duology, but a trilogy, and I’m conflicted. On one hand, THANK GOD, because I love this series so much. On the other hand, WHY! Because so much happens in book 2 and I just want everyone to be happy.

I loved Serpent & Dove, and after reading Blood & Honey, I can say that this is one of my favorite series. It has become one of my most recommended series and I am so thankful I got to read Blood & Honey early. The book took me on a rollercoaster ride that I was not expecting. Like I actually was yelling and screaming as I read it and evidently threw my kindle I was so upset. I cried actual tears. Shelby has a way of writing things so emotionally and realistically that it pulls my heart strings too well. Her writing makes me feel things the characters are feeling, and those feelings aren’t always good. When they’re high – they’re high. When they’re low – they’re low.

I thought this book was not only more emotional than the first book, but the emotions are also really intense. We see the characters going through some serious changes and those changes effect their friends and loved ones. I’m not kidding when I say I cried multiple times from how emotional this book is. We deal with trauma, grief, mental illness, and so many other aspects of life. Well done Shelby. It is hard to make the reader feel things for starters and a whole other thing to make them feel it as strongly as the characters themselves. It was an experience.

As part of these changing emotions, we also see the change in relationships too. The fluidity of feelings and how they can appear or disappear for people is highlighted and it was refreshing seeing that change. We get a good look at relationships and how they are not easy – they take hard work and commitment. I like the more realistic approach because sometimes YA romanticizes relationship so much, it can become unattainable. Shelby is definitely one of my favorite authors due to her ability to write relationships, and emotions, so well.

It took me so long to read this book, I didn’t want to finish it. And it took me extra long to write this review because I didn’t know how to wrap my thoughts and feeling around it. My first attempt writing this was a jumbled emotional rant that I’m pretty sure would have spoiled anybody reading this – so thank goodness I edited this review when I did.  This book made me laugh, cry, scream, jump for joy – any and all emotions you can think of, I felt them. My poor kindle is probably dented from throwing it too. If you loved Serpent & Dove, you will adore Blood & Honey.

If you expected anything less than a // 5 star review, I don’t know where you got that idea. I adored Serpent & Dove – I have raved about it since it’s release last year – and I think Blood & Honey is an amazing sequel, though I do ask myself “why does she want to hurt us so bad?” If you’re ready to be hurt emotionally, Blood & Honey releases on September 1st, 2020!

If you have not already read Serpent & Dove, pick it up. We have witches, witch hunters, enemies to lovers, and all the magical mayhem you can enjoy!

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If this book sounds good to you, make sure to check out Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas or The Court of Miracles by Kester Grant (releases on June 2nd, 2020). 

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