--- product_id: 109076093 title: "Serpent & Dove" brand: "mahurin" price: "R1" currency: ZAR in_stock: true reviews_count: 13 url: https://www.desertcart.co.za/products/109076093-serpent-and-dove store_origin: ZA region: South Africa --- # Serpent & Dove **Brand:** mahurin **Price:** R1 **Availability:** ✅ In Stock ## Quick Answers - **What is this?** Serpent & Dove by mahurin - **How much does it cost?** R1 with free shipping - **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship - **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.co.za](https://www.desertcart.co.za/products/109076093-serpent-and-dove) ## Best For - mahurin enthusiasts ## Why This Product - Trusted mahurin brand quality - Free international shipping included - Worldwide delivery with tracking - 15-day hassle-free returns ## Description New York Times Bestseller * Indiebound Bestseller * An desertcart Best Book of 2019 * B&N's YA Book Club Pick "A brilliant debut, full of everything I love: a sparkling and fully realized heroine, an intricate and deadly system of magic, and a searing romance that kept me reading long into the night. Serpent & Dove is an absolute gem of a book." —Sarah J. Maas, #1 New York Times bestselling author of A Court of Thorns and Roses series Bound as one, to love, honor, or burn. Book one of a stunning fantasy trilogy, this tale of witchcraft and forbidden love is perfect for fans of Kendare Blake and Sara Holland. Two years ago, Louise le Blanc fled her coven and took shelter in the city of Cesarine, forsaking all magic and living off whatever she could steal. There, witches like Lou are hunted. They are feared. And they are burned. As a huntsman of the Church, Reid Diggory has lived his life by one principle: Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live. But when Lou pulls a wicked stunt, the two are forced into an impossible situation—marriage. Lou, unable to ignore her growing feelings, yet powerless to change what she is, must make a choice. And love makes fools of us all. Don't miss Gods & Monsters , the spellbinding conclusion of this epic trilogy! ## Technical Specifications | Specification | Value | |---------------|-------| | Asin | B07H4YFCSQ | | Book 1 Of 3 | Serpent & Dove | | Edition | Reprint | | File Size | 4.1 MB | | Grade Level | 9 - 12 | | Isbn 13 | 978-0062878045 | | Language | English | | Publication Date | September 3, 2019 | | Publisher | HarperCollins | | Reading Age | 18 years and up | | Screen Reader | Supported | | X Ray | Enabled | ## Images ![Serpent & Dove - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/91ioWUxl2nL.jpg) ## Available Options This product comes in different **Format** options. ## Customer Reviews ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ My favorite read of 2019! *by on Reviewed in the United States October 16, 2019* Are you ever in the middle of a book and it hits you that you never want it to end? You are caught in this weird middle land of wanting to read faster and faster but at the same time contemplating putting the book down so you may live in that world a little bit longer? I have read a few books throughout my life that made me feel this way – namely when I first discovered Harry Potter around the age of eight. My mother had bought me Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone for a 14-hour road trip. By hour seven we were pulling off the interstate to swing into a Walmart to pick up Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets and a portable light so I could continue my journey.Another that comes to mind is Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas. I discovered Throne of Glass soon after it released and read the series each as they came out, anxiously awaiting the next book’s arrival. When Kingdom of Ash was released last fall, it truly felt as if I was saying goodbye to old friends. I needed to know how it ended but wanted to savor this world that had meant so much just a little longer.Well, I can now add Serpent & Dove by Shelby Mahurin to that list. While I love a lot of books that have come out in the last several years, Serpent & Dove is on another level. It has truly been awhile since I have been so enraptured in a book. For a debut book especially, it is out of this world.The PlotSerpent & Dove starts out by introducing us to one of our main characters, Louise Le Blanc or ‘Lou’ – a young witch who fled her coven to stay alive. She is on the run, seeking shelter in an unfriendly city that is attempting to eradicate magic and burning all witches. She’s left to beg, borrow, and steal (mainly the latter) to get by without her magic. As for her character, she is a feisty woman whose personality reminds me of a cross between Celaena/Aelin from Throne of Glass or Lila Bard from V.E. Schwab’s Darker Shade of Magic. She knows how to get herself in and out of danger and always has something witty to say.One thing I have learned about my preferences when it comes to female protagonists, I gravitate towards smart-mouthed, strong women who take pleasure in bucking tradition and Lou gives me all that I look for in spades. Even in the most desperate of situations she moves forward with an incredible amount of swagger and bravado that makes you love her even more.On one of her misadventures she crashes into Reid Diggory, our second main character. Reid is part of the Chasseurs, huntsmen of the Church and leaders of those who want to eradicate witches and, of course, is the exact opposite of Lou. He prides himself on his commitment to the principle ‘Thou shall not suffer a witch to live’, and he is also a fairly uptight, duty-bound man. Most importantly he is loyal to the people he loves and the causes he believes in (even if they are maybe misplaced).Through a few misadventures, this unlikely pair ends up being forced to wed. A witch hunter and a witch – a match made in heaven or hell? This is classic enemy to lovers’ stuff – which is one of my all-time favorite tropes. As expected, even though the pair are polar opposites, feelings grow and both must make the decision about where their devotions lie and what they are willing to sacrifice in the name of love.The ReviewThis book left me with such a hangover. I was not ready to leave its warm embrace. From the banter, writing style and the way Shelby made such a dark book, lighthearted.An overarching theme of the book is challenging prejudices and pre-conceived notions on what is right and wrong. Through Lou and Reid’s romance and the rotating cast of secondary characters, you see that maybe all witches are not bad, and maybe all Chasseurs are not either. In my opinion, it is quite reflective of current culture. Media today wants to tell us that XYZ group of people are all bad, but when you get down to human to human interaction, that is absolutely never the case. It is a lot easier to ‘hate’ a whole group of people until you humanize them and understand each and every one of the individuals in a group has their own hopes, dreams and personality. It is refreshing to see this growing problem addressed in a fantastical way in mainstream books.Honestly though, what I loved most about this book was the characters and their romance. As I have mentioned Throne of Glass several times in this blog post, I will admit that I hold an unpopular opinion in that I loved Celaena and Chaol together. While many fans of that series would consider it sacrilegious, I found their banter and how they tested each other’s boundaries quite entertaining. Lou and Reid have many shades of what Celaena and Chaol could have been.For example, Lou is constantly stepping across the lines that Reid draws in the sand – like his aversion to cussing and bawdiness. A reoccurring reference in the book is Lou singing the bar song ‘Big Tiddy Liddy’. While we only get a few lines of this what I am sure is a hilarious tune, Lou uses it to make Reid quite uncomfortable in several scenarios.Their romance is also full of sexual tension mostly from the start. If you are anything like me, sometimes the tension and the lead up is the best part. There is no shortage of steamy, tension-filled moments in this book.While the romance was an undeniably huge part of this book – there is an outside/overarching plot. The witches are attempting to reclaim the city, in which Lou plays a critical, albeit unwilling, role. On the other side the Chasseurs are conducting magical experiments and burning every witch they come in contact with in an attempt to eradicate witches once and for all. While this strife does come to a bit of a head at the end – we are still left on a bit of a cliff hanger and I am hotly anticipating the second in the duology, Blood & Honey.I cannot say enough about this book. I could go on and on – but if you love a fast-paced, easy read full of magic, wittiness, and a hot romance please move this to the top of your TBR pile! ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ 4.25 Stars - Beautifully written with an amazing cast of characters! *by on Reviewed in the United States March 2, 2021* I feel like I can’t even begin to describe just how pleasantly surprised I was by this novel. I am not a big fan of romance-heavy stories and one of my least favorite tropes of all time is hate-to-love relationships—so basically the two things the entire plot hinges on. Needless to say, I went into this very hesitantly. Very intrigued to learn how Lou and Reid end up in the position they do and to experience this story everyone has been raving about, but also keeping my expectations as low as I could. I did not for a second expect to come out of it knowing it will, without a doubt, be on my list of favorite books of the year. This is one of those books that I believe truly lives up to all the hype surrounding it.Serpent & Dove is a dual perspective narrative following Lou le Blanc, a witch, and Reid Diggory, a Chasseur, or witch-hunter. Lou has escaped from her coven and has taken refuge in the city of Cesarine. She lives in hiding. giving up magic and surviving as a thief. In Cesarine, witches are seen as a danger to all of society—they are hunted and burned, and no woman is above suspicion.Reid is sworn to the church and charged with the hunting and capture of witches, sworn into a role that demands he will not let a single witch live. In a surprising turn of events, Lou’s and Reid’s paths cross in a way neither of them could have ever expected. A way that leads to their marriage, that forms a seemingly impossible love, and that brings Lou under the roof of the people who could be her source of protection—or her death.The writing in this book is absolutely superb and cements Shelby Mahurin on my list of favorite authors. Her writing is gorgeous and so easy to fall into. It is incredibly clear how meticulously she formed every aspect of this novel. Both the plot and the setting are incredibly intriguing and captivating. I loved the French influences in all aspects of the story—it makes for a very vivid and enticing atmosphere and Cesarine is the perfect backdrop for everything that takes place. She also does a wonderful job with the dual perspective narrative and creates two very individual voices for our two main characters.Even though the romance is the main focus of the story, the fantasy aspect is very strong as well and is of almost equal importance. The fantastical elements, though more of a side plot for now, don’t really take a backseat in terms of detail or how significant they are to the overall story. Mahurin crafts an interesting and intricate magic system as strongly as she crafts the romance. It’s something I’m particularly looking forward to seeing in more detail in the next book.The only minor issue I had plot-wise was the event that sends Lou and Reid down the path toward their marriage. Though my opinion shifted by the end of the novel, as I was able to see every event throughout in a different light, the scene still felt a little bit clumsy and heavy-handed and also completely random, maybe a little too much so. It wasn’t at all what I would have expected and was a bit of a letdown for me, so I sort of wish it had been done differently. But overall, this barely affected my enjoyment of the story as a whole.This novel holds one of the most brilliant and beautiful casts of characters I’ve ever come across. Lou is everything. She is one of my new favorite characters of all time—I fell completely and utterly in love with her right from the very start of the novel. She is so strong despite the pain she has been through and the terror and uncertainty of her life now. Lou is sassy and sarcastic and absolutely hilarious. She’s tough and guarded much of the time, but underneath, she is so intensely loving, caring, and loyal—just an absolutely beautiful person. I connected with her so easily, and it was an absolute joy reading from her perspective and following her journey.It took me a while to warm up to Reid, but I definitely had by the end of the novel. He’s quite set in his ways and his prejudices against women, always acting in a very traditional way toward Lou. They are living in a time when women are little more than the property of their husbands and this is something that is clearly ingrained in Reid. He is protective of her and chivalrous to a fault, but it takes a while from him to sound anywhere near loving, even after it’s clear he has feelings for her. At first, I struggled a bit reading his chapters because his attitude and initial inability to be open-minded frustrated me so much. However, there is one major reason I noticed that I think prevented me from connecting with him sooner.Yes, he is very close-minded in many of his beliefs and his actions, but I felt that there were a few times where things sort of got lost in translation in a sense. There would be scenes from his point of view where his actions and words felt a bit confusing to me and I took them as negative. But later on, something would cause me to realize what exactly he meant by what he said or did and that it wasn’t in fact negative. I don’t think I explained that particularly well, but basically, I think there were times where his point of view could have been written more clearly. In the end, though, I did end up really liking him and it does become very obvious how much he truly cares and would do anything for Lou.I ended up absolutely adoring the relationship between Lou and Reid. It unfolds and transforms in such a natural way. As I said before, hate-to-love is one of my least favorite tropes, but it is done so well here that I didn’t really mind it. It’s still not something I enjoy reading about and that obviously does impact my rating of the novel slightly. However, few people can get me to like a novel that features this type of relationship, and Mahurin definitely nailed it. My problem with the trope tends to stem from the tension being completely nonsensical and feeling like it’s just thrown in to create drama, and you will not find that in this book.The tensions between Lou and Reid feel so realistic and necessary—they have every reason to be wary of each other. Understandably, that they sometimes overlook what they truly know about the other as a person in favor of ideas and prejudices that were hammered into them from a young age. They are both strong characters that are unapologetically themselves and, while it causes them to butt heads at first, it turns into a mutual respect for each other and, of course, love as well. The issues that create conflict, in the beginning, are what come to be the things that pull them together rather than drive them apart. And the sum of both of them individually—the strengths and the flaws—is what brings them each to love the other wholly.There are also some stellar side characters in this story. Coco was, by far, my favorite—she is totally someone I’d love to be friends with. The friendship between her and Lou is so lovely and I’d gladly spend hours just reading about them. They have such a fun dynamic and they always have each other’s backs no matter what. They are the definition of found family and their story warmed my heart. Ansel, a bit like Reid, took me a while to start really liking, but he turns out to be an absolutely wonderful person and a great addition to that lovable found family.Suffice it to say, I really enjoyed this book. It is so beautifully written and captivating—it is very easy to fall into and get lost in. Shelby Mahurin has created a magical and emotional tale, both heartbreaking and heartwarming that, at its core, brilliantly demonstrates the power of love of all kinds. The story and especially the characters will definitely stick with me for a long time. I’ve honestly been thinking about it constantly since I finished it a few months ago. And, of course, I am absolutely dying to get my hands on the next book in this series. I love how this ended and I cannot wait to be back with these characters once again and see their story continue. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Do me a favor and read this! *by on Reviewed in the United States November 21, 2019* This was a book that has been on my radar for a while, and while I definitely wanted to read it, it wasn’t exactly my most anticipated of the year. After reading this, I think it definitely should’ve been! I’m so happy that I was able to read this book and I thoroughly enjoyed this.Two years before the events of this book, Lou leaves her coven (the reason for which is a spoiler and I’m certainly not giving it away) and in order to hide herself, stops using all magic and fights to survive by becoming a thief. For two years she managed to stay away and (mostly) out of trouble, until a burglary to get an object very important to her goes wrong and she ends up in a…compromising position with a chasseur. In this world, chasseurs are witch hunters and it just so happens that Lou is a witch. The Archbishop then gives Lou an ultimatum: go to jail for the rest of her life, or marry the chasseur whose reputation she has ruined.Of course, Lou chooses marriage because that means an extra level of protection from her coven, but also puts her in extreme danger if her new husband finds out what she really is. At first I thought it would be a simple plot line as this is more of a fantasy romance, but I was wrong and there were quite a few twists and turns and revelations along the way!One thing to note is that there is a fairly explicit sex scene in the latter half of the book so if that’s something that makes you uncomfortable here’s your warning! Oh, and there is quite a bit of profanity as well, if that isn’t your thing.I loved how sarcastic and crass Lou was! She frequently disguises herself as a man in order to move more freely in this world because women are meant to be meek and obedient – which Lou is definitely NOT. She isn’t afraid to be herself even if it means others give her strange looks.Then there is Reid, her chasseur husband. He is frequently described as having a stick up his ass and it’s honestly a great description of his personality…at least when we first meet him. It was so nice to watch him slowly open up to Lou and tell her more about himself and really let his true personality shine through.I also truly enjoyed the side characters in this book, especially Coco and Ansel! They were so supportive of Lou and Reid and were there for them when they needed it most. And how can I forget Beau singing Big Tiddy Liddy while stripping his clothes off? That was fantastic and so funny!Oh, did I mention that this is a French inspired world? Because it was so amazing! I know a little french (thanks to 6 years of French classes in school) so I was able to pick up on some of the words used throughout the book. My (limited) knowledge of French and French culture made me really enjoy the atmosphere and world building done in this book, and I feel like it’s very accessible to those unfamiliar with it.This story revolves around the fight between the Church and the witches, and I really liked that neither side was shown as completely good or completely bad, and the magic that the witches used was interesting. I do wish that it was explained a little more and the limitations of their magic shown, but for a debut and the first in a new series I think it was a solid start and I can’t wait to see the blood witches come into play more in the second book! (That isn’t a spoiler, we find out about blood witches within the first few chapters of the book.)If you couldn’t tell, I absolutely loved this book! It had a ton of things that I really love: enemies to lovers, slow burn, great female friendships, morally gray characters, and actual chemistry between the love interests! It’s been a while since I’ve read a book that could also be considered romance, and it reminded me how much I love being able to truly ship characters together and watch romance bloom. Plus, it’s the perfect read for fall!I would 100% recommend this to anyone looking for a fantastic fantasy with dangerous witches and steamy romance! I honestly couldn’t read fast enough and this book cured me of my reading slump! The characters are so fantastic you will be rooting for them the entire time and by the end, you’ll want to get your hands on every single piece of fanart that you can find. --- ## Why Shop on Desertcart? - 🛒 **Trusted by 1.3+ Million Shoppers** — Serving international shoppers since 2016 - 🌍 **Shop Globally** — Access 737+ million products across 21 categories - 💰 **No Hidden Fees** — All customs, duties, and taxes included in the price - 🔄 **15-Day Free Returns** — Hassle-free returns (30 days for PRO members) - 🔒 **Secure Payments** — Trusted payment options with buyer protection - ⭐ **TrustPilot Rated 4.5/5** — Based on 8,000+ happy customer reviews **Shop now:** [https://www.desertcart.co.za/products/109076093-serpent-and-dove](https://www.desertcart.co.za/products/109076093-serpent-and-dove) --- *Product available on Desertcart South Africa* *Store origin: ZA* *Last updated: 2026-06-08*