Blood & Honey picks up where Serpent & Dove left off— with Lou, Reid, Coco, Ansel, and Beau on the run from the Dames Blanches and the chasseurs. Lou’s mother, Morgane, is still trying to kill her, and Reid is struggling to reconcile his newfound witch powers with his religious chasseur upbringing. With Madame LaBelle in tow, the group is on the run in a magical forest with nowhere to turn. They need a plan— and fast.
When Morgane sends Lou a message indicating she will strike during the Archbishop’s funeral, the group decides to seek out an alliance with the Dames Rouges, led by Coco’s aunt, the werewolf pack, and the Chasseurs. The group separates to secure their alliance, and along the way partners with a traveling group of performers— but of course they have secrets and reasons of their own to hate Morgane.
Lou is also being pulled toward magic’s darker side and is acting erratic. Reid is desperate to save her before she begins her ascension into madness. When the group arrives in the capital for the funeral, they realize that Morgane is playing a dangerous game of cat and mouse. Time is running out and the group doesn’t know which of their new allies they can trust. Can the group finally take her down before they lose someone they love?
We thoroughly enjoyed the second installment in this series! We admit that we had super high expectations for book two since Serpent & Dove was our favorite book of 2019. Blood & Honey did not disappoint.
The characters were just as we left them. Lou was as witty and adorably-insane as ever and Reid was still stern and broody. We also learned more about Coco, her aunt, La Voison, and blood magic. And Ansel, our sweet, innocent Ansel! He was as charming as ever, and we felt so bad they he didn’t believe he was of any use to the group.
The plot was fast paced, and though Lou and Reid spent some time apart, it wasn’t as long a separation as in some YA novels. Their romance faced some turmoil in this book due to Reid’s inability to accept his magic and Lou’s accession into darkness. But they still had major chemistry and we loved their banter. Although, we do admit the witty banter was stronger in the first book.
The addition of the alliance with the werewolves and the chasseurs was unexpected but added a much-needed plot boost.
And— omg. The ending! We won’t spoil anything for you, but we need book three ASAP. We will say this: get some tissues for the last fifty pages of the book, because you may cry. Of course Blood & Honey ended on a major plot twist that sets up book three nicely. We need book three ASAP, or at least a title and cover. Too bad we have to wait a year.
Did we love this book as much as the first? While we did enjoy Blood & Honey, the first book remains our favorite in the series. However, we will say that this book definitely did not suffer from the second book slump that is so common with YA series. The plot and character developments were spot-on and set up the conclusion to this series so well! We can’t wait to catch up with our favorite band of witches in the last installment.
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5/⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I'm All Booked Up - a young adult book blog 
Your review just reminded me how behind I am! Serpent and Dove is sitting on ny tnr for months now, I really need to read it. Being your best book for 2019 gives me high hopes for it!
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We were so surprised with how much we loved Serpent & Dove last year. It hooked us right away. We hope you give the series a try soon!
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Ugh that ending 😭 while I feel like this book was slow at times I think Lou and Reid had to figure their stuff out before starting book 3 and blood&honey gave them time to do that!
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We completely agree. While we missed some of the banter from book 1, they had a lot to figure out about themselves and each other. The last 50 or so pages had us on the edge of our seats. We couldn’t have predicted the last two chapters.
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I’ve been looking forward to reading your review for this one! While I didn’t like Blood and Honey as much as I expected to and found it to be quite slow in some places, I agree that book 3 can’t come soon enough. That ending was quite the cliffhanger!
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There were some slow moments in the middle, but that ending!! I wish we had more info on book 3 besides that it will be released in August 2021.
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I love when a hyped up book lives up to expectations!
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We were so excited! The ending had us surprised, excited and nervous!
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I haven’t read this book, but it’s great that you enjoyed it so much! Thanks for sharing your thoughts!
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Thanks!!
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Yess! Awesome review!💞 I totally agree with S&D being my fav over B&H, BUT THE ENDING ASDFGHJKL😭😩😰🥺
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I know!! So many emotions in the last few chapters!!
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Great review! I’m always happy to see the next book in the series to be nearly as good as the first!
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Thank you!!
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I’ve never heard of this series, but it sounds interesting! I’m definitely gonna check it out! Thanks for sharing!
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Let us know your thoughts!
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I’m hopeful that I’ll get a chance to read the physical copy of this book. I listened to the audiobook for Serpent & Dove and the male narrator really drove me crazy. It actually deeply affected my opinion of the book itself because his voice acting irritated me so much. That being said, when I saw he narrated Blood & Honey, I knew I had to stay far away haha! I gotta get my hands on the paper format ASAP!
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Yes, don’t let the narrator ruin this awesome series! We hope that you read and enjoy both!
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I have the feeling I’ve asked this before, but what’s a YA novel? It’s good to know you enjoyed the second book in the series, because the second film or book can often be a bit hit and miss
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Thanks! YA stands for Young Adult. People categorize books differently, but we think YA can have an MC between the ages of 14 and 22.
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The title of this book really grabbed me! Blood and Honey? An odd but poetic mix, and I love that the book ties into the title so well with love and magic.
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The title is great!
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That cover is enough to sell me on this book! I know you’re not supposed to judge a book by its cover but it’s so pretty! I’m glad this one lived up to the hype for you. Your enthusiasm is making me want to check out the first book and get started on this series!
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It’s okay in this case because the covers and the books are amazing! Let us know if you give the series a try!
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This is an incredible review, and I am really excited to check this sequel out! Thank you!
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We hope you like it 🙂
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