Kiss, Marry, Kill: Books Read in 2020 Edition

One of my favorite things to do to pass time is daydream. I love daydreaming. My mind wanders all the time, even when I should be focusing on the lectures and assignments at hand. One of my favorite topics to daydream about is what it would be like to be in the worlds of the books I read.

I have done this several times before on my blog, but it’s been a hot minute since my last one that I thought I’d bring kiss, marry, kill back! If you don’t know what that is, you choose three people (in my case, characters) and say who you would kiss, marry, and kill out of the three. Just so we don’t have any repeats from previous posts, I’d thought that we’d use characters from the books I’ve read so far this year.

The character pool consists of characters from the following books:

• We Hunt the Flame by Hafsah Faizal
• Geekerella by Ashley Poston
• The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzi Lee
• House of Earth and Blood by Sarah J. Maas
• Serpent & Dove by Shelby Mahurin
• Wayward Son by Rainbow Rowell

Rather than put the characters’ names on slips of paper and shake them up in a cup like I’ve done in the past, I’ve decided to write down a numbered list with all the main characters names (or who I thought was relevant) and use a random number generator to pick which characters are pitted against each other in each round.

Honestly, enough talk. Let’s go on to the game!

Serpent & Dove by Shelby Mahurin | Book Review

“I was no one’s sacrifice.
Not then. Not now. Not ever.”

Title: Serpent & Dove
Series: Serpent & Dove, #1
Author: Shelby Mahurin
Publisher: HarperTeen
Genres: young adult, fantasy, romance
Pages: 518
My Rating: ★★★★☆
Goodreads page

This review has no spoilers!

Synopsis

For her sixteenth birthday, Louise le Blanc’s mother gave her three things: a sacrificial altar, a ritual knife, and a wicked scar.

Lou’s death would have ended the ancient war between the Church and witches, but Lou refuses to become a martyr. Forsaking her coven, she escapes to the gloomy city of Cesarine and hides her magic as a thief in the criminal underworld. But life in Cesarine has its own dangers. Huntsmen roam the city revered as holy men. Witches burn without trial. And the Archbishop, the Church’s austere patriarch, revels in violence.

As a huntsman, Reid Diggory lives by one verse: thou shalt not suffer a witch to live.

He’s devoted his entire life to eradicating the occult and making his surrogate father, the Archbishop, proud. Finally given the chance to capture a witch of his own, Reid is devastated when a foul-mouthed thief thwarts him—and doubly devastated when she too disappears. Hell-bent on bringing her to justice, Reid vows she won’t escape again. But when Lou tricks him into public scandal trying to avoid capture, the two are forced into an impossible situation—marriage.

Marriage to a huntsman could provide real protection from the witches—if Lou can convince Reid she isn’t one herself. The secret proves difficult to keep as Lou begins practicing magic in secret within the heart of the Church, determined to prepare for her mother’s inevitable return. As time passes, however, Lou discovers yet another danger lurking: her own growing feelings for her husband. But Reid is still dangerous. He’s just as likely to tie her to the stake as defend her if he learns her true identity. With enemies closing in—and more than her own life at stake—Lou must decide who she can trust before it’s too late…and she’s not the only one with a secret.

[ This synopsis is from Goodreads. ]