Title: Gods & Monsters (Serpent & Dove #3)
Author: Shelby Mahurin
Rating: ★★★★

After the disappointment of Blood & Honey, I went into this book with a fair bit of apprehension. I’ll be honest that I started reading without any sort of expectations, and because of that I found myself pleasantly surprised when I realized I was really enjoying the book. Gods & Monsters brought back everything readers loved about the first book–the fast-paced plot, action, romantic tension and angst, high stakes and magical battles–and in doing so became the perfect conclusion to this trilogy!

Once again, Shelby Mahurin showcases her talent as a writer. This is a very large book, and yet I was surprised to find myself moving through the chapters fairly quickly. Whereas Blood & Honey felt like a whole lot of nothing was happening for the majority of the book, there’s a whole of everything happening in Gods & Monsters. The plot is fast-paced, full of plenty of action and high stakes scenes. I was constantly telling myself “one more chapter” because I really wanted to know what was going to happen next. I also felt like Gods & Monsters had a much more “focused” plot. My biggest issue with Blood & Honey was the many subplots and the feeling like I couldn’t tell what direction the book wanted to head. The plot here is much more clean, linear, and overall made for a more enjoyable read.

One of my favorite parts of Serpent & Dove was the love-to-hate romance and sexual tension between Lou and Reid, and without spoiling too much, a lot of that angst returns in Gods & Monsters which is another reason why I probably loved it so much.

Gods & Monsters wrapped up the series perfectly. Shelby Mahurin did a fantastic job tying up any loose ends, and making sure all the plot points came to a satisfying ending. The ending wasn’t all sunshines and roses, there are some pretty bittersweet moments as well, but I was really happy with the way she left things. Whether you loved or hated Blood & Honey, if you were a fan of Serpent & Dove, I would highly recommend checking out this conclusion to the trilogy!