Reviews tagging 'War'

Serpent and dove. La strega e il cacciatore by Shelby Mahurin

24 reviews

liesthemoontells's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious tense 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? Yes

3.0

This book was INCREDIBLY FRUSTRATING.

For the first 2/3, I felt as if I were reading two different books. One was a compelling fantasy world, dominated by witches with a complex magic system and sociopolitical clan structure. The other was a crappy Throne of Glass Chaol/Celaena fanfic if Chaol was built like a literal bear. While the plot geared up in the last third and the two began to mesh together, I still feel extremely resentful for having to read the early stages of the enemies to lovers plot.

Lou is a very charming protagonist. She has an excellent sense of humour, and as a narrator she drops exposition naturally. Her internal conflict is believable, as are the choices she makes even when they go against her ethics and morals.

The early to middle sections from Reid's perspective are odious and exhausting. Maybe it benefits straight female readers with terrible romantic partners to read the POV of a misogynistic, rage-filled asshole who is changed by the diamond level pussy of his lady love, but I struggle to understand why even they would enjoy it. I guess it's a testament to Mahurin that I didn't still absolutely LOATHE him by the end of the book, but I still dislike him as a character and find their romance plot exhausting.

Some of the sillier plot points are resolved by the end, but others, such as

why the caddish heir to the throne is a) suddenly trusted by a witch with the gravest secret of her people and b) chooses to risk life and limb to assist her and her ragtag friends on a suicide mission

remain a mystery.

Unfortunately, the book ends with an EXTREMELY COMPELLING cliffhanger about the second major witch clan that inhabits the Serpent & Dove universe, so shit, it looks like I'm going to have to read the sequel.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Chronic illness, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Hate crime, Infidelity, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Blood, Police brutality, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Colonisation, War, and Injury/Injury detail

greeeer_e_rutt's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense medium-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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Misogyny, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Religious bigotry, War, and Classism

Moderate: Body horror, Child abuse, Cursing, Sexual content, Kidnapping, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

corabookworm's review against another edition

adventurous tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot

3.5

Fun YA fantasy, bit of a classic romance with *alllll* the tropes but I enjoyed rereading it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Death, Self harm, Sexual content, Violence, Murder, and War

Minor: Confinement, Cursing, Misogyny, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail

galdra's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny tense medium-paced

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

3.75

I enjoyed it. The author is good at creating twists and keeping the reader's attention; I really struggled to put my book down! The male protagonist/love interest kind of subverted the stereotype for the YA romantasy genre, but I couldn't say the same for the female protagonist. If you like Sarah J. Maas, you'll probably be a fan of this book. 

The romance could have been paced a bit slower, but that's only my preference. It still took a while to develop compared to other books. And they had a very good dynamic together. The plot, stakes, and their own arcs wove well into their love story for a satisfying and captivating journey from beginning to completion. 

If you're after a fun read with a mix of romance, drama, magic, and adventure, then this is right for you.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Sexual content, Violence, and Death of parent

Minor: Child death, Misogyny, Sexism, Blood, Murder, Abandonment, and War

bookishlittlebird's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional funny mysterious sad fast-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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Body horror, Child abuse, Death, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual content, Blood, Vomit, Kidnapping, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, War, and Classism

irenemayblack's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexual content, Violence, Abandonment, and War

Minor: Addiction, Death, and Murder

amxgco's review against another edition

adventurous 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Blood, and Religious bigotry

Moderate: Cursing, Death, Sexual content, and War

hmatt's review against another edition

adventurous emotional tense medium-paced

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

3.75

This one has been lingering on my shelves for years as a highly-praised gift book, so I'm glad I finally got to it. 

YA "romantasy" is wayyy down the list of genres I gravitate towards, but I did find this enjoyable. The world-building is solid, and the characters are interesting. For me, the complexity of the novel is just right: it's not high high fantasy with a million characters and dynamics, but there is enough there for it to be satisfyingly fleshed-out. I'm even contemplating reading the next book in the series...

That said, I'm still rating based on my taste. This is definitely for a younger audience, and it shows in how some of the relationships develop (including the primary romantic one, in which a switch just seems to flick between one chapter and the next). Some of the writing is clumsy or overly descriptive in a gauche way.

I had fun, though! And I hardly ever read physical books over 400 pages, so that's a big win.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Self harm, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Police brutality, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Fire/Fire injury, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Animal death, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, and Medical trauma

Minor: Abandonment

kijatai's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional sad 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

I enjoyed it. The world building was good and the main character was interesting. I preferred the story towards the end. I won’t spoil but this is where I could finally feel what the characters were experiencing and I started rooting for them. I actually liked the change of the scenery. 

I just recently started reading again and it’s been hard to get out of my reading slump but this book was easy to read for me and it was nice to just immersed myself in the story. The moment I could see myself pausing, something happened that hooked me back in. 

On the other end, I guess I didn’t really like the heteronormative dynamics. There are depictions of violence against women. And graphic images of violence in general. So be aware to read these on your own terms. But I knew all that before hand.  It’s a book about an arranged marriage between a man in a woman in a religious context where they are hunting witches. Just be sure to check the trigger warnings first. And the reason for them to be married is… questionable. Even though it’s explained more later on. 

There are representations of relationships between women though. I just hope in the next book it will be explored more. 

I liked the magic as well in this world. 

I’m actually wondering how things will develop in the next book and if we will be able to see more on the side of the witches. I was honestly more interested in the political intrigue than the romance itself. Even if it was a great love story with all the tropes (guilty pleasures) that I enjoyed (the tall man that will do anything to protect his love for example). 

In all, I had a nice time reading it on my kobo in my bed with my cats on a snowy snd stormy night. It felt like I was in the world itself since it’s set in Winter. 

*about the content warnings 
These are mentioned and described. The main characters are loving and caring to each other. it’s just the world around them and what happened to them that are ugly and triggering.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Kidnapping, Religious bigotry, Murder, and Abandonment

Moderate: Genocide, Medical content, Trafficking, War, and Classism

saoreads's review against another edition

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.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Confinement, Death, Drug use, Hate crime, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, War, and Injury/Injury detail