'Blood and Honey' by Shelby Mahurin

Review written on 25.4.21

FTC disclaimer: I was not sent this product. I am not affiliated with the companies mentioned. All opinions are my own.

Published on 17.9.20 by HarperCollins Publishers

Goodreads Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/40550366-blood-honey

Author Link: https://shelbymahurin.com/

Buy Link: https://www.waterstones.com/book/blood-and-honey/shelby-mahurin/9780062878052

Goodreads blurb: After narrowly escaping death at the hands of the Dames Blanches, Lou, Reid, Coco, and Ansel are on the run from coven, kingdom, and church—fugitives with nowhere to hide.

To elude the scores of witches and throngs of chasseurs at their heels, Lou and Reid need allies. Strong ones. But protection comes at a price, and the group is forced to embark on separate quests to build their forces. As Lou and Reid try to close the widening rift between them, the dastardly Morgane baits them in a lethal game of cat and mouse that threatens to destroy something worth more than any coven.

Overall rating: 4 out of 10.

This novel was disappointing sequel, especially in comparison to the brilliance of the first in this series. Standalone books are so rare in the fantasy genre; all authors seem to be infatuated with the idea of trilogies (Mahurin has since confirmed that there will be a third book in this series), but in this case the first book should’ve been left alone. Sequels that don’t have plots good enough to be a great novel without relation to the books preceding them shouldn’t be released.

Of course, there were some elements of this book that worked very well. These included Mahurin’s manipulation of Lou as the reader begins to question her mental stability, as well as the introduction of a new character: Claude Deveraux. The reader would know that there was something going on with him, but we could not predict who he turned out to be, which was rather pleasing. I liked the explorations of the blood witches, and I can appreciate the boldness it takes to have your two narrators both be unlikeable. Finally, Mahurin’s introduction of new aspects of the world was well-done.

However, there were too many disappointments. The plot arc felt strained. It just wasn’t there. The first book had such a clear, natural, yet unpredictable one. This one was just lots of waiting; relying on the events of the first book to give it spice. Secondly, a character who was such an asset to the first book and was so well developed in this one was killed off for no apparent reason, other than to add drama and a reason for drama. Thirdly, it was irritating to watch our main couple start drowning in their relationship merely because they couldn’t open their mouths and actually communicate with each other (I started wanting to whack them on their heads with frying pans). Fourthly, the cliffhanger at the end seemed a rather desperate attempt to make up for the rest of the novel. Although character development did take up the forefront of this novel, Beau still seemed to be neglected (I don’t understand how that happened). His existence only served the purpose of poorly executed comedic relief. He had an interesting backstory, and deserved more exploration.