Reviews with content warning for Hate crime - Serpent & Dove

Reviews tagging 'Hate crime'

Serpent & Dove by Shelby Mahurin

14 reviews

amallard's review against another edition

Go to review page

lighthearted fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

0.25

Transphobia? In the year of our Lord 2019?

Content Warnings

stllyltc's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous challenging dark funny mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

It has been stuck on my TBR for so long that I finally got to read it, and with my love for magic and fantasy, this was a real treat. The first book, Serpent and Dove, piqued my interest with its hint at unrevealed backstories and plenty of possibility for more investigation in possible sequels. The characters' deep family relationships with their convoluted secrets gave a level of complexity that really tricked the mind. The idea of a parent sacrificing their child and the contradictory emotions associated with parental love departed from the norm, revealing deceit and the disheartening knowledge that one is living a lie-based life.

The story explores the dissolution of values that have been imprinted since childhood, only to expose their falsity. It skillfully captured the possibility of love blossoming in the middle of disaster and presented endearing individuals in the midst of all of this upheaval. Together with highlighting the animosity between witches and chasseurs, which developed into an unexpected and intricate love tale, the story also touched on the themes of affection and teamwork among the characters.

Content Warnings

accalia175's review against another edition

Go to review page

funny lighthearted tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

<b>“I was no one's sacrifice. Not then. Not now. Not ever.”</b>
__________

This was a Goodwill store pickup book, mostly because it was a fantasy/witch-type. The cover artwork was eye-catching as well. I only read this book for something to pass the time as I'm waiting for two other books to be delivered of other series I'm reading. However, it's clear from the beginning chapter this is certainly a YA book, if not a mature YA. There's a lot of dialogue, not much description, and things seem to be jumping around. If you're not well-versed in French, fair not since there aren't too many terms/names that are hard to pronounce, but for me, there was enough that I was kinda struggling throughout the entire book.

The plot is a familiar church vs witches theme, with the witches having massive powers and out for blood, as well the church burning any witch at the stake, no questions asked. We've all seen/read of this before, so the originality is lacking. The slight difference is that the bad guys almost end up grouping together to become good guys, in a sense.

So, why the 3 stars?

- Lack of originality
- Little descriptions of people, cities/towns, events, etc.
- Too much dialogue (in a way I was able to breeze through most of it without actually "reading" it)
- For most of the book, the plot seems to vary, as do the characters' emotions. There are only two POVs, but it all seems so different each time it's switched. Almost like a whiplash of emotions/actions, so to speak.

I do want to mention the ending for anyone who's thinking of DNFing this book. It took until the last quarter or so of the book for me to fully have a grasp on the characters, where the plot is heading, and actually wanting to find out what happens. I don't want to give anything away, but it's almost sweet. There were actually a couple of spots that were heartwrenching. There's some humor mixed into the book, but most of it seems to fall flat.

This is certainly a YA book, but mature for language and there's only one "spicy" scene.

This will not a series I will be continuing to read.

Content Warnings

zia_c's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous funny lighthearted mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

I think I'm in love with the fmc. Must be her "i-don't-give-a-fuck" attitude toward everything. As for the mmc, he's sweet but aside from that i don't see no personality.

The plot is good but it's kinda confusing for me. There's no time reference and not much detail about the world. I don't even know the mmc's age.. lol.

Either way, I enjoyed reading it. The ending wasn't satisfactory nor was the 3rd part of the book but anyway. I'm rating this book on fmc alone.

It's been a very long time since I've found a fmc with a spine and a impressive mouth( not like that).

I don't know if I'll continue the series. I've got what I wanted and I can kinda see where the story's going so imma put in down for now. Reason is the YA writing style. The writing is beautiful and engaging, no doubt, but I still kinda not completely connect with it.

The story is good and I think those who enjoy YA will really like it.

Content Warnings

katievallin's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous dark funny hopeful mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Content Warnings

beckyyreadss's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous challenging mysterious tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

I wanted to read this book because I had seen this book all over bookstagram and booktok and wanted to read more new authors this year. My first sort of thoughts is that I wanted more from this book, and I didn’t get it.

Two years ago, Louise le Blanc fled her coven and took shelter in the city of Cesarine, forsaking all magic and living off whatever she could steal. There, witches like Lou are hunted. They are feared. And they get burned. As a huntsman of the Church, Reid Diggory has lived his life by one principle: Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live. But when Lou pulls a wicked stunt, the two are forced into an impossible situation – marriage. Lou, unable to ignore her growing feelings, yet powerless to change what she is, must make a choice. And love makes fools of us all. This is a young adult romance fantasy novel.

Okay, Ansel and Coco saved this book. I love Ansel. If he was the main character – this book would have been so much bloody better. Coco is a badass protective friend and I want her in my life. But that was about it that I liked. They saved the book. The storyline took me a while to get into as it was quite weak and I was hoping it was a bit of darker romance even with YA but it just barely felt like YA or NA and just felt . . . average. Reid really annoyed the crap out of me and as the main character he just wasn’t “OH MY GOD I WANT HIM TO SAVE ME!” It was just a bizarre and strange read. There wasn’t any slow burn either. It went from we hate each other to we would die for each other in the space of like three chapters.

I really struggled with this book and hopefully now I’m understanding the characters and the world, hopefully I will be able to enjoy the next book.

Content Warnings

marinasslibrary's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Enemies to lovers just never disappoints!
I am obsessed with fantasy that includes witches lately and Serpent & Dove surely did deliver.
I love the marriage out of convenience/ forced marriage trope because it mostly leads to close proximity and only one bed!
Many of my favorite tropes were present and so I already loved the book for that!
Regarding to the plot it was always keep exciting and mysterious and imo not predictable! That is one of my main icks with books but with this one I did not predict the ending the least!
Reid and Lou have a great chemistry from the beginning throughout their highs and lows.
I am really excited to read the next book :)
I highly recommend reading this if you like the same tropes as me!

Content Warnings