Review of GODS & MONSTERS (Serpent & Dove #3) by Shelby Mahurin
“Fear was inevitable. We all made our choices, and we all suffered our consequences. We all felt fear. The trick was learning to live with that fear, to continue forward in spite of it.”
– Gods & Monsters
Shelby Mahurin
What a fantastic ending to the Serpent & Dove trilogy
Synopsis
Evil always seeks a foothold. We must not give it one.
After a heartbreaking loss, Lou, Reid, Beau, and Coco are bent on vengeance more than ever before—and none more so than Lou.
But this is no longer the Lou they thought they knew. No longer the Lou that captured a chasseur’s heart. A darkness has settled over her, and this time it will take more than love to drive it out.
Review
I knew pretty quickly that I was going to like Gods & Monsters a lot better than Blood & Honey, but I didn’t expect to like it that much. What a fantastic ending. I am extremely happy that this series has got this beautiful ending, the characters have fully come into their own in Gods & Monsters.
I was captivated from the first page to the very last. Even though the second book – Blood & Honey – was not my favourite of 2021 I started Gods & Monsters with a good feeling. The book is full of action! There are new dangers around every corner. New friendships and love affairs are forged and allies and rivals that no one expected to see are revealed. There are so many moments in this book that the reader did not expect. Mahurin kept surprising me with different plot twists throughout the book that kept my attention on the story. Every time I thought I knew what was going to happen, something else happened, something better than I could have imagined.
The friendships in this book are to die for. I really started to care about these characters while reading this book. There isn’t one that I didn’t like or find interesting. Every character – from Beau and Coco, Lou and Reid to Célie and Jean Luc – was well put together and well developed. It also felt like I really knew them and their personalities came out well in Gods & Monsters.
The relationship between Lou and Reid has to pass through many obstacles in this book and I loved that. There have been both easy and difficult moments for them since Witch & Hunter, yet they always find their way back to each other. One of my favourite YA couples.
Hope is a major theme in Gods & Monsters. Everything the characters do in this book is out of hope. Even when things get tough and they don’t see a way out for a while, the characters still maintain hope.
The book was just very well put together. I was not bored for a single moment while reading Gods & Monsters. I am generally satisfied with this series and how it ended.
Ps. what a great epilogue! Perfect ending to this book.
Would I recommend it?
Yes, and yes again! I recommend Gods & Monsters anyway, but I hope people who didn’t like Blood & Honey read this book anyway. This feels like a great redemption for the Serpent & Dove series.
Rating
8,5/10
Details
Trigger warnings
Death, amnesia, violence, brainwashing
Representation
(Side) character of colour, bisexual side characters
Genre
Fantasy (young adult)
Pages
612
Publication date
July 21st 2021
Publisher
HarperTeen
About the author
Shelby Mahurin grew up on a small farm in rural Indiana, where sticks became wands and cows became dragons. Her rampant imagination didn’t fade with age, so she continues to play make-believe every day—with words now instead of cows. When not writing, Shelby watches the Office and obsesses over her Twitter feed. She still lives near that childhood farm with her very tall husband, semi-feral toddlers, two dogs, and one cat.
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