Serpent & Dove

Serpent & Dove is Shelby Mahurin's 2019 debut novel launching the trilogy of the same name, delivering the enemies-to-lovers romantic fantasy that became a BookTok phenomenon through genuine chemistry, humour, and the delicious tension of a witch and a witch-hunter forced into proximity by circumstances neither chose. Set in Belterra - a kingdom inspired by historical France where the Church holds absolute authority and Chasseurs hunt witches with deadly efficiency - the novel follows Louise "Lou" le Blanc and Reid Diggory as a magical accident forces them into marriage, creating the impossible situation where a witch must hide her identity from the man sworn to destroy people like her whilst living under the same roof and navigating feelings neither expected nor wanted.

Lou has been hiding in Cesarine for years, surviving by her wits, her magic, and the friendship of Coco - her closest companion and fellow outsider. She's running from something more dangerous than the Chasseurs, and the anonymity of city life has kept her safe whilst she steals, schemes, and carefully avoids anything that might draw Church attention. Lou's voice defines the novel's tone - irreverent, sharp, and funny in ways that make her immediately compelling whilst the layers beneath her humor reveal someone carrying genuine fear and complicated history.

Reid Diggory is the Church's star Chasseur - devout, disciplined, and entirely certain of his worldview. His faith isn't portrayed as simple or stupid but as genuine and deeply held, making his journey through the novel more interesting than straightforward antagonist-softening. He's someone who has built his entire identity around a belief system that the novel will test, and Mahurin ensures that his perspective through the dual POV structure remains sympathetic even when he and Lou are at odds.

The forced marriage creates the proximity that begins transforming their dynamic whilst maintaining genuine stakes - Lou cannot reveal her identity, Reid cannot entirely ignore what his instincts tell him, and both must navigate a domestic situation neither has any framework for managing. Mahurin balances the tension of this impossible situation with humor that emerges naturally from the characters rather than feeling contrived - Lou's irreverence meeting Reid's rigid propriety creates comedy alongside the romantic development.

The found family extends beyond Lou and Reid to include Coco, whose friendship with Lou provides emotional grounding and whose own story adds depth to the world, and Ansel, a young Chasseur whose presence in their lives creates both complications and warmth.

The blood magic system - requiring genuine sacrifice and personal cost rather than arbitrary power - gives the novel's magical elements weight, with the Church's fear of witchcraft rooted in magic that does carry genuine risks.

Themes of questioning inherited authority, hidden identity and the exhaustion of concealment, found family as chosen bonds, faith meeting complicating reality, and whether people can see past what they've been taught to fear run throughout.