Review by Kirkus Book Review
After Serpent & Dove (2019), Lou and Reid must gather allies to take on villainous Morgane. In a stumbling first act, witch Lou and her forced-husband--turned-love, Reid, struggle to retain likability, making foolish decisions while hiding out from enemies as the heroes regroup and prepare for their next encounter. In a painful bit of characterization, Lou's sassy empowerment comes at the cost, early on, of the sexual boundaries of the characters around her (unfortunately played as steamy). Further troubling characterization comes in a classist scene in which the heroes mock a dirty, poor person for having missing teeth. To stop Morgane's murderous endgame spell, they must forge an alliance between enemies: blood witches (Coco's people), the witch hunters, and werewolves. A colorful surprise alliance comes when they join traveling performers with secrets. Lou and Reid's romance hits character-driven speed bumps--Lou's pull toward magic's darker side isn't terribly original but is solidly done, and it strengthens Reid's self-hating and self-acceptance storyline, fueling his anti-magic bias. There's plenty of action, and secondary characters have their own romantic storylines. The climax gives only a moment to breathe before sinister implications for the next book set in. Though the leads default to white, racial diversity is present in the world and in secondary characters (like brown-skinned Coco and Beau, who is coded as white and Polynesian); additionally, there's casual inclusion of same-sex relationships and respectful bisexuality representation. The strong magic system and plentiful conflicts don't make up for problematic missteps. (Fantasy. 15-adult) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
