Reviews tagging 'Sexual content'

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

111 reviews

melicent's review against another edition

adventurous dark fast-paced

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

2.0

It was pretty fun. I liked it enough to finish, though I didn't find it particularly special. Fast-paced. Heavy on the religious trauma vibes and and "not like other girls" trope. There was one smut scene and it was pretty good. The author hints at the presence of queer relationships but doesn't actually portray them at all, which felt a little cheap. 

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Content Warnings

Minor: Gore, Sexual content, and Violence

mystiquemac's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny tense fast-paced

3.0

Fun to read, unnecessarily graphic

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing and Sexual content

Moderate: Violence

juliapatt2007's review against another edition

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content

Moderate: Religious bigotry

among_the_stacks's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

• Loveable characters? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Animal death, Bullying, Child death, Sexual content, Blood, and Abandonment

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

paili's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny mysterious tense 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Self harm, Sexual content, Torture, Violence, Blood, 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

alxisrae's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious 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? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Blood, Religious bigotry, and Murder

Moderate: Death and Death of parent

Minor: Sexual content and Vomit

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