Reviews tagging 'Gore'

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

29 reviews

onemamareads's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional reflective sad 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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Genocide, Gore, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual content, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

lifeonasofa's review against another edition

adventurous hopeful medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

Serpent & Dove 🐍 Review 

“Why the fuck is everyone in this kingdom trying to murder my wife?” - Shelby Mahurin 💖

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 4.25 stars 

I’ve had this book on the shelves since I joined booksta. It was so hyped! But with the hype came a lot of “meh” review too, so I just never got around to it. I opted to listen to the audiobook because why not? 🤷🏻‍♀️

I actually really liked this book! The start was a little slower but I still loved all the witchy vibes. Yes, it was predictable, your classic “I’m a monster and he’s a hunter” love story. But I found it written in quite a humorous way, I loved both Lou and Reid - they were so feisty! 🙈

I have to say, I don’t think I ever really felt the “enemies” part, we defo could’ve had a bit more fighting between them. I did like that it wasn’t just an easy acceptance from Reid, it made it all the more funny when he ended up with coco. Love her btw. 💪🏻 

Whilst this book remained pretty surface level, it was a great set up. It left endless possibilities for the series and I already have book 2 ready to go! It’s odd because I wouldn’t necessarily force this book onto people, it’s not mind blowing. I just really enjoyed listening to it! I had my lunch in my car several times just so I could read more 👀

Have you read the series? Which book was your fav? 💕

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Cursing, Death, Gore, Sexual content, Blood, and Death of parent

gimmiiie's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense 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

3.0

🐍: 3.0/5.0 

My initial thoughts were that it was a 4.0. But the more I thought about it I think it's a 3.0. Reflection has pinpointed some things I didn't enjoy. 
 

~~~SPOILERS BELOW~~~ 

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What I enjoyed:
 -The growth that both Lou and Reid went through. They were able to work through their biases and see who they had dehumanized as human (Reid more so and he still needs to grow). 
 -Cosette is my favorite character. I wish she had more time in the book. Though I loathed how the nickname the author gave her "Coco". 
 -The Enemies to Lovers trope. One of my favorite tropes and I will read nearly any book with this. 
 -I appreciate that the book didn't end with a betrayal. I'm sick of reading fantasy books where the love interest betrays the MC. 

What I didn't like:
 -How Ansel was treated by adults.  He's such a sweet and innocent character. The 2 main female MCs flirted with him and he's a minor. And that's never okay. 
 -I wish this was a standalone book. I'm not too interested in continuing the story.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Torture, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Animal death and Grief

arianareads's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Mental illness, and Sexual content

sealbrecht's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual content, Violence, and Blood

Moderate: Self harm

madamenovelist's review against another edition

adventurous dark sad slow-paced

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

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, Misogyny, Blood, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail

marinasslibrary's review against another edition

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! 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Gore, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Religious bigotry, Murder, and War

Minor: Vomit, Suicide attempt, and Toxic friendship

nebulasaurus's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Self harm, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

safety_pin's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious sad 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Abandonment, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, and Vomit

Minor: Alcohol

urreadtome's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, Sexism, Torture, Religious bigotry, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Body horror, Misogyny, and Blood

Minor: Vomit and Pregnancy