Scan barcode
Reviews tagging 'Sexual content'
Serpent and dove. La strega e il cacciatore by Shelby Mahurin
111 reviews
jacpey's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
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
4.5
Lou is the funniest narrator I've encountered in a long time and Reid was charming and loyal. Characters I truly adore. They made this book go above and beyond for me. Lou's witty banter and smart ass remarks made me laugh and reminded me of Aelin from Throne of Glass. It had all my favorite tropes and a badass heroine. Lou has former lovers and has lived the life of a criminal. Two things I rarely see in young adult.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood
Moderate: Sexual content
Minor: Cursing
saurahsaurus's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Really fun read. Loved the sassy protagonist and her crotchety, uptight counterpart.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Cursing and Sexual content
mpbookreviews's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
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
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Murder, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Animal death and Self harm
prof_pelon's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
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? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual content, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail
jays_fairytales's review against another edition
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
Overall, I enjoyed this book just about as much as one can enjoy a formulaic, new adult fantasy romance novel. Don't get me wrong, I am not using the word "formulaic" here with a negative connotation. I am a 20 something neurodivergent girlie with an unpredictable life - I will take formulaic where I can get it. And I think reading should be fun and NA Fantasies often do it for me. Although Serpent and Dove will by no means grace my favorites shelf with ACOTAR and A Discovery of Witches, it got the job done.
Mahurin's writing is fun and easily digestible, but there were moments where I was taken out of the story. Most memorably, Mahurin uses the phrase "poor boy" twice in two paragraphs. Stuff like that irks me, so if you're sensitive to careless phrasings, just look out for that. The book is very heavily influenced by scripture, and King James scripture at that. Plus with all the bits and pieces of what I assume to be 1800 French culture mixed in, the dialogue gets a little interesting. What makes up for all of that though is Lou, our main character. She's sarcastic and crass and mouthy, just the way I like all my female characters. She says whatever she wants and her counterpart, Reid, more than carries his weight in their conversations. I think good enemies to lover fiction must have conversations that feel like tennis matches, where characters are throwing verbal assaults back and forth, each wittier than the last.
Speaking of the characters, Mahurin does a fantastic job of toeing the line of what is morally just in this work, which I loved. The two main characters, Reid and Lou are from two different worlds, and should be enemies by definition. I think where a lot of authors miss the mark on stories like this is the nuances between right and wrong in two warring groups. This story is written in that nuance. I didn't walk away feeling like one side was more right than the other which I appreciate, and is just a nice nod to reality. And as Reid and Lou draw closer together during the course of the book, you get to see them both learn more about the other person's beliefs in a way that makes me excited to see what direction Mahurin takes with their growth and development and the overall plot in the next two books.
Once again, the story was very formulaic. It really wasn't the kind of book that I tore apart eager to get to the end. It's more the kind of book where you can guess what's about to happen before it does, but you like the characters enough to stick around and see how they will react in the circumstances. It also felt very oddly paced. There needs to be a delicate balance between telling the love story and world-building in fantasy novels such as these, and this one was disappointingly lacking in both.
Mahurin's writing is fun and easily digestible, but there were moments where I was taken out of the story. Most memorably, Mahurin uses the phrase "poor boy" twice in two paragraphs. Stuff like that irks me, so if you're sensitive to careless phrasings, just look out for that. The book is very heavily influenced by scripture, and King James scripture at that. Plus with all the bits and pieces of what I assume to be 1800 French culture mixed in, the dialogue gets a little interesting. What makes up for all of that though is Lou, our main character. She's sarcastic and crass and mouthy, just the way I like all my female characters. She says whatever she wants and her counterpart, Reid, more than carries his weight in their conversations. I think good enemies to lover fiction must have conversations that feel like tennis matches, where characters are throwing verbal assaults back and forth, each wittier than the last.
Speaking of the characters, Mahurin does a fantastic job of toeing the line of what is morally just in this work, which I loved. The two main characters, Reid and Lou are from two different worlds, and should be enemies by definition. I think where a lot of authors miss the mark on stories like this is the nuances between right and wrong in two warring groups. This story is written in that nuance. I didn't walk away feeling like one side was more right than the other which I appreciate, and is just a nice nod to reality. And as Reid and Lou draw closer together during the course of the book, you get to see them both learn more about the other person's beliefs in a way that makes me excited to see what direction Mahurin takes with their growth and development and the overall plot in the next two books.
Once again, the story was very formulaic. It really wasn't the kind of book that I tore apart eager to get to the end. It's more the kind of book where you can guess what's about to happen before it does, but you like the characters enough to stick around and see how they will react in the circumstances. It also felt very oddly paced. There needs to be a delicate balance between telling the love story and world-building in fantasy novels such as these, and this one was disappointingly lacking in both.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Sexism
Characters in this book use biblical teachings to justify bigotry. It is a very heavy theme so be warned if you are at all sensitive to that or have any religious trauma.shorts_family's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
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
Overall the book was a pretty decent enemies to lovers story with a few intriguing plot twists. I removed some stars because it heavily romanticizes possessiveness without critique. Also, the story takes place in a vaguely historic French setting where women are seen as lower beings/property to own in marriage, but luckily that concept IS directly critiqued on multiple occasions.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Misogyny, Physical abuse, and Blood
Moderate: Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Religious bigotry
Minor: Rape, Vomit, and War
queer_bookwyrm's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
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? Yes
4.0
4 ⭐ CW: violence, persecution, religious patriarchy, blood magic, self harm, forced marriage, burning alive, suicide, descriptions of blood and gore, grotesque descriptions/body horror, sex, child abandonment
Serpent & Dove by Shelby Mahurin is the first book her trilogy. We follow Lou, a headstrong and spunky witch, who is living in hiding as a thief in a French inspired city, where witches are hunted by Chasseurs. We also follow Reid, the captain of the Chasseurs, and he is stoic, self-loathing, and has a stick up his ass.
While Lou is attempting to steal a magical ring that could protect her from her mother, she is caught and somehow gets entangled in a forced marriage to Reid, to both of their dismays. We get a really good slow burn enemies to lovers that doesn't make me want to scream about unhealthy relationships. I loved Reid and Lou's banter, and how she got him to open up a little.
We get great side characters too! Coco is a badass blood witch of color and is also bi! I love her so much, and I hope we get more of Coco next book. Ansel is my baby and must be protected! Even Beau started to grow on me in the end, especially when Coco gets under his skin.
The world building was great, and I appreciated the magic system for both types of witches. Dames de Blanc get their magic from nature, and nature demands balance. Dames Rouges use blood magic, so their magic comes from within. Excited to learn more about them next book!
Although there was one really steamy part (🌶️❤️🔥🥵) I expected there to be more the way people on here talk about this book. It seemed pretty tame to me. Mahurin has infused messages about how at its core, religious patriarchy is about power and control, and if you can't control a thing, you must destroy it. We also get themes on how life isn't black and white, but many shades of gray. I love me some morally gray characters, and Lou fits that. Excited for the next book!
Serpent & Dove by Shelby Mahurin is the first book her trilogy. We follow Lou, a headstrong and spunky witch, who is living in hiding as a thief in a French inspired city, where witches are hunted by Chasseurs. We also follow Reid, the captain of the Chasseurs, and he is stoic, self-loathing, and has a stick up his ass.
While Lou is attempting to steal a magical ring that could protect her from her mother, she is caught and somehow gets entangled in a forced marriage to Reid, to both of their dismays. We get a really good slow burn enemies to lovers that doesn't make me want to scream about unhealthy relationships. I loved Reid and Lou's banter, and how she got him to open up a little.
We get great side characters too! Coco is a badass blood witch of color and is also bi! I love her so much, and I hope we get more of Coco next book. Ansel is my baby and must be protected! Even Beau started to grow on me in the end, especially when Coco gets under his skin.
The world building was great, and I appreciated the magic system for both types of witches. Dames de Blanc get their magic from nature, and nature demands balance. Dames Rouges use blood magic, so their magic comes from within. Excited to learn more about them next book!
Although there was one really steamy part (🌶️❤️🔥🥵) I expected there to be more the way people on here talk about this book. It seemed pretty tame to me. Mahurin has infused messages about how at its core, religious patriarchy is about power and control, and if you can't control a thing, you must destroy it. We also get themes on how life isn't black and white, but many shades of gray. I love me some morally gray characters, and Lou fits that. Excited for the next book!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Misogyny, Self harm, Sexual content, Violence, and Blood
Moderate: Suicide
emmahe's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Gore, Torture, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Religious bigotry, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Abandonment
Moderate: Animal death, Child abuse, Sexual content, and Vomit
Minor: Child death
anniemac's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing
Minor: Sexual content
kaitlynnnng's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
slow-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? It's complicated
2.5
Some of the dialogue at the beginning was cringey and awkward, but that went away.
The ending clearly sets up Blood & Honey, but is satisfying enough for Serpent & Dove to be a stand-alone book.
The ending clearly sets up Blood & Honey, but is satisfying enough for Serpent & Dove to be a stand-alone book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Self harm, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Religious bigotry, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Cursing, Suicide, and Abandonment
Minor: Animal death, Child abuse, and Vomit