It’s a weird feeling when a book you’ve been dying to read finally hits your shelf, but it’s not exactly what you expected. That’s the vibe with Blood and Honey. If you spent any time on BookTok or in the YA fantasy trenches back in 2020, you know the hype was absolutely nuclear. Shelby Mahurin’s Serpent & Dove had given us everything: a witch, a witch-hunter, a forced marriage, and a lot of bickering. It was fun. It was fast. Then the sequel dropped, and suddenly, the internet didn't know how to feel.
Sequels are hard.
Most people don't realize that Blood and Honey was originally supposed to be the conclusion of a duology. But the story grew. It stretched. Eventually, the publishers announced it would be a trilogy, and you can honestly feel that "middle-book syndrome" breathing down your neck while you turn the pages. It’s a darker, slower, and much more psychological beast than the first book.
The Grind of the Road: What Blood and Honey Is Actually About
We pick up right where the chaos left off. Lou, Reid, Coco, and Ansel are on the run. They’re basically outcasts now, hunted by the Church, the King, and the Dames Blanches. The cozy (if you can call it that) atmosphere of Cesarine is gone. Instead, we get a lot of woods. A lot of mud. A lot of camping.
The plot revolves around the group trying to find allies. They need the werewolves. They need the blood witches. They need basically anyone with a pulse and a grudge against Morgane le Fey. But the real conflict isn't just "staying alive." It’s the internal rot. Lou is losing herself to the magic. Reid is refusing to accept his own identity. It’s heavy stuff, honestly.
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Lou’s Downward Spiral
Louise le Blanc was the life of the party in the first book. She was loud, crude, and ate sticky buns like a legend. In Blood and Honey, she’s falling apart. Because she’s using magic without the usual "equivalent exchange" constraints—thanks to her connection to her mother—it’s changing her. She becomes reckless. Cruel, even.
It’s painful to watch. Mahurin doesn’t hold back on making Lou unlikable at times. This isn't your typical "strong female lead" who stays perfect under pressure. She’s traumatized. She’s scared. She makes terrible decisions that hurt the people she loves, especially Reid.
Reid Digging His Heels In
Then there’s Reid Diggory. Our golden boy. Our "I don't use magic" witch-hunter who is, ironically, a witch. If you thought he’d just embrace his powers and become a wizard overnight, you were wrong. He hates what he is. He spends a good chunk of the book in deep denial, which frustrated a lot of readers. But if you think about his upbringing—the years of indoctrination by the Chasseurs—it actually makes sense. You don't just unlearn a lifetime of religious dogma because you found out your mom was a witch. It takes time.
Why the Pacing of Blood and Honey Tripped People Up
Let's be real: this book is long. It clocks in at over 500 pages, and for a middle book where the characters are mostly traveling from Point A to Point B, that’s a big ask for some readers.
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The tone shift is jarring. Serpent & Dove felt like a rom-com with stakes. Blood and Honey feels like a dark forest crawl. The humor is still there, but it’s buried under layers of grief and resentment.
- The "Big Bad" (Morgane) is mostly a shadow. She's a looming threat, but we don't see her much, which makes the stakes feel distant until the very end.
- The group dynamics are strained. The banter we loved is replaced by secrets and sniping.
- The expansion of the world—introducing the Des Forêts werewolves and the blood witches—adds flavor but also slows down the main momentum.
The Side Characters Step Into the Light
Honestly, Ansel is the MVP of this book. If you didn't want to protect him with your entire life by the halfway point, I don't know what to tell you. His growth from a nervous initiate to a brave member of this ragtag family is one of the few bright spots in a pretty grim narrative.
Coco Monvoisin also gets more depth here. We see the cost of blood magic. It’s not just "cool vampire vibes." It’s visceral and draining. Her loyalty to Lou is tested in ways that make the friendship feel more real than the "BFF" tropes we usually get in YA. They fight. They disagree. They almost break.
Understanding the Backlash and the Praise
If you look at Goodreads, the ratings for Blood and Honey are a rollercoaster. Some people call it a masterpiece of character study. Others call it a "filler book."
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The truth is usually somewhere in the middle.
The book succeeds if you care more about who the characters are than where they are going. If you’re looking for high-octane action every twenty pages, you’re going to be disappointed. But if you want to see a marriage actually struggle—not just "fantasy struggle" but "we don't trust each other anymore" struggle—then this hits the mark. Mahurin deconstructs the "happily ever after" that the first book teased. She shows that love isn't enough when you're both fundamentally broken by your pasts.
That Ending (No Spoilers, But Wow)
Whatever you feel about the middle 300 pages, the finale is a gut punch. It’s chaotic. It’s bloody. It sets the stage for Gods & Monsters in a way that makes you realize why the story needed to be a trilogy. A major character death (I won’t say who) changes the trajectory of the entire series. It’s the moment Lou and Reid are forced to finally stop hiding from themselves.
Practical Advice for Reading the Serpent & Dove Series
If you haven't started yet, or if you're stuck in the middle of this book, here is the best way to approach it:
- Don't binge them too fast. The jump in tone from book one to book two is intense. Give yourself a few days to reset your expectations.
- Pay attention to the lyrics. The songs and rhymes throughout the book aren't just fluff. They’re world-building.
- Expect Lou to be messy. If you expect her to be the same person she was in the first chapter of the series, you'll get frustrated. Let her be flawed.
- Check the content warnings. This book gets significantly darker than the first. We're talking gore, heavy themes of trauma, and emotional abuse from parental figures.
Blood and Honey isn't a perfect book, but it’s an honest one. It captures the messy, non-linear way people deal with trauma and identity. It’s not always pretty, and it’s definitely not always fast, but it adds a layer of grit to the series that makes the eventual payoff in the third book feel earned.
If you want to dive deeper into the lore, your best bet is to follow Shelby Mahurin on social media or check out the official maps and character art—they help keep the different factions straight when the plot gets dense. Once you finish, move straight into Gods & Monsters. The transition is much smoother than the gap between books one and two.