Serpent & Dove

Serpent & Dove (2019) is American author Shelby Mahurin’s debut fantasy novel. It is the first of a trilogy that includes Blood & Honey (2020) and Gods & Monsters (2021). Using the backdrop of the mythical French-inspired kingdom of Belterra, the novel follows the exploits of witch-turned-thief Louise “Lou” le Blanc and her surprising love affair with a witch-hunter named Reid Diggory, whom circumstances force her to marry. Lou and Reid struggle to make a connection, hindered by misplaced loyalties, differing theologies, trust issues, and tangled personal histories. However, as they spend time together, attraction and friendship grow between them—as long as Lou doesn’t reveal she’s really a witch. When forces converge to expose Lou’s secrets, her burgeoning love for Reid is threatened, along with their lives. Serpent & Dove was a New York Times bestseller, an Indie bound bestseller, an Amazon Best Book of 2019, and a Barnes and Noble YA Book Club pick.

This guide uses the paperback version of Serpent & Dove published by HarperCollins in 2019.

Content Warning: This guide contains references to self-inflicted bodily harm, witch burning, rape, violence, forced incarceration, suicide, and sexual activity.

Plot Summary

Two years prior to the novel’s events, the witch Louise le Blanc (“Lou”) was to be sacrificed by her mother Morgane le Blanc, the head of a coven called the Dames Blanches. This act would have enabled the witches to reclaim the land of Belterra from the royal family and end the sanctioned domination of the Church. The Dames Blanches draw their power from the external world, perceiving potential “patterns” as golden cords and webs. However, to maintain its balance, the world demands a sacrifice in exchange for the witches’ use of its power; to wipe out the royal family, Morgane would have to sacrifice her only child. Instead, Lou escaped and fled to the city of Cesarine. There, she doesn’t use magic, lives as a thief, dodges brutish characters like Andre and Grue, and tries not to become a sex worker at The Bellerose, run by Hélène Labelle. She has two friends: the less-than-trustworthy pickpocket Bas and her loyal childhood friend Coco, a blood witch (blood witches, or Dames Rouges, draw their powers from within their bodies rather than from the surrounding world).

Lou learns that Monsieur Tremblay, a dealer of magical items, may have a ring that will protect her from Morgane. She determines to steal the ring with Bas and Coco’s help. While Lou must constantly evade witches who hope to return her to her mother, all witches must be wary of the Chasseurs, an elite holy guard of witch-hunters. The Chasseurs, who act under the Archbishop’s authority, are led by Reid Diggory. Reid wins the king’s favor by preventing a disguised Morgane from killing the king’s son, Beauregard, during a parade. However, Reid is almost distracted from his duty by an encounter with Lou, which catches him off guard.

The Archbishop receives a tip about a potential witch going to Tremblay’s home and sends Reid’s team to investigate. Lou, Coco, and Bas successfully procure the magical ring but are soon surrounded by Chasseurs. Reid recognizes Lou from the parade and orders her capture, but she escapes. Coco does too, but she reveals she was seen doing magic. Lou urges her to get safely out of Belterra. Andre and Grue confront Lou in an alleyway and beat her. She outwits them and manages to make it to Soleil et Lune, the theater where she secretly lives.

During a performance the next day, Reid spots Lou. When he tries to arrest her backstage, he inadvertently causes them to fall onstage. The audience thinks he has abused her and is outraged. To mitigate Reid’s public humiliation, the Archbishop suggests marrying Reid and Lou so that it will appear that Reid was just “disciplining” his errant wife. The couple reluctantly agrees. As they return to their new home in the Cathedral Saint Cecile, Reid vows to protect Lou and notes he will never touch her without permission. Lou fakes the marriage’s consummation, demanded by the Archbishop, by cutting her arm and bleeding on the bedsheets.

Following the marriage, Reid endures ribbing from his fellow Chasseurs, particularly childhood-friend-turned-rival Jean Luc. Managing to disguise her own identity as a witch, Lou answers the Chasseurs’ questions about the magic at Tremblay’s without revealing either her or Coco’s connection to it. A Chasseur initiate named Ansel becomes Lou’s guard, and the two develop a friendship, each respecting the other’s intelligence and kindness. Lou also discovers a secret infirmary in the church. Coco surprises her, telling her she has gotten a job as a healer under the pseudonym Brie Perrot. Coco urges Lou to flee with her, but Lou thinks the cathedral may be her best protection. Coco agrees to stay and help her train for the inevitable fight with Morgane.

Lou learns the Chasseurs have captured Bas and must perform powerful magic to help him escape, erasing his memories of both Lou and Coco. When Jean Luc suspects her involvement, Reid stands up for her and Lou begins to be attracted to him. Even so, Lou struggles with the hypocrisy of the Church and its Chasseurs, who promise to protect the innocent but hunger for the mass destruction of witches.

When Reid arranges an outing to see a play, he and Lou share a moment of harmony. This ends quickly when one of the actresses, who is secretly a witch, recognizes Lou as Morgane’s daughter. The actress, Estelle, tries to capture Lou, but Reid subdues her. Estelle is sentenced to burn to death—a cruel punishment that devastates Lou. Using her magic, Lou takes on Estelle’s pain as she burns. Ansel witnesses this and gets help from Coco after Lou collapses. The two keep her magic a secret from Reid. To cheer Lou out of her subsequent depression, Reid takes her on a happy outing. They talk of God’s judgment versus the Church’s. When Reid privileges the former, Lou feels hope for the first time since Estelle died.

The king throws Reid an honorary ball for his services as a Chasseur. There, Reid has an intense conversation with a woman named Célie with whom he was in love. Reid confesses that he wants to work on his marriage with Lou, and the two flirt and grow closer over the following days. On a Christmas outing, Lou decides to buy Reid a present, but Andre and Grue orchestrate a surprise attack in the shop and try to kill her. Lou uses magic to kill them both. Reid finds her in a pool of their blood, but she has hidden all signs of magic usage. Grateful she has survived, the couple share their first passionate kiss. The two make love on the roof of the theater and feel physically and emotionally unified, although Lou still cannot confess her true identity.

The next day, a frantic Hélène tells Lou that Morgane is now in the city. When Reid asks questions, Lou distracts him. As they return to the cathedral, they see The Ye Olde Sisters theater troupe preparing for their performance to honor the Archbishop. When Reid goes with the other Chasseurs to protect the castle, Lou must accompany the Archbishop to the play, which depicts the Archbishop’s sexual encounter with Morgane and the birth of their child. Reid returns for the climactic moment, and he and Lou deduce that the Archbishop is her father. When the play concludes, the witches, who had disguised themselves as the theater troupe, reveal themselves and attack.

Reid, Ansel, and Lou barricade themselves in the church, where they fight a violent witch. To save Reid’s life, Lou uses magic, exposing herself as a witch for the first time. Afterward, Reid condemns her, and she flees, heartbroken. Lou is then captured by Morgane. Ansel pleads with Reid to save Lou while the Archbishop demands that the Chasseurs go after her—otherwise, the kingdom is lost. Reid realizes the Archbishop acts out of self-interest and quits the Chasseurs, letting Jean Luc take over. He and Ansel join forces with Coco and Prince Beauregard as well as Hélène. Hélène tells them the history of the territorial fight between the king’s ancestors and Lou’s. She also reveals that she had an affair with the king that produced a baby boy, whom Morgane stole. Reid realizes he is this boy but sets the information aside as the five of them determine to save Lou.

Followed by the Chasseurs, the rescue team makes its way through the forest and into Chateau le Blanc. Hélène separates from the others but tells them she has a plan and to wait for a signal. Reid observes Lou floating in the air before her mother’s altar and wants to attack Morgane, but Beau encourages him to wait until the time is right. Hélène is then captured, and Morgane stabs her in front of her audience of witches. Reid runs to save his dying mother, but Morgane magically restrains him. Coco leaps onstage and stabs Morgane, loosening Reid’s bonds, but Reid is distracted when the Archbishop is brought onstage as a prisoner. In that moment, Morgane slashes Lou’s throat.

As Lou dies, Reid finds himself in an odd dark space. He sees a witch’s golden cord attaching the Archbishop to Lou. He realizes he must kill the Archbishop to save Lou’s life and stabs him. An enraged Morgane is shot by Jean Luc as the Chasseurs invade. Seeing that Reid has killed the Archbishop, Jean Luc tries to shoot him as well. Ansel, Beau, and Coco take Lou and escape into the forest as Reid goes back for Hélène’s body. She’s still alive, and Coco uses blood magic to heal her.

When Hélène revives, she tells Reid that he too must be a witch to have seen the link between Lou and Archbishop. He has a hard time accepting this but is overjoyed when he learns Lou has recovered. The two confess their love. Realizing that Morgane and the witches, the Chasseurs, and the king will all be hunting them, the group splits up. Hélène and Beau will go to reason with the king while the rest will head to the coven of La Voison, Coco’s powerful aunt, who has vowed to protect them.