Reviews with content warning for Violence - Serpent & Dove

Reviews tagging 'Violence'

Serpent & Dove by Shelby Mahurin

129 reviews

mariana_simoes's review against another edition

2.75

adventurous lighthearted medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

Sometimes the writing feels like a bad fan fiction, Reid is infuriating and the romance wasn't believable, but I love the witchy drama.

Content Warnings

ana24gs's review against another edition

4.0

dark funny

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

This book may seem like it was written for ten-year-old’s, maybe the way the main plot begins is ridiculous, maybe the characters speak like nine-year-old’s, and maybe the characters are not very original in the fantasy world, but all that doesn't matter because I found the book to be verry entertaining.

I needed to read an enemies to lovers romance with a fantasy subplot, and I got it by reading this book. I wasn't expecting the super plot, I wasn't expecting deep characters, I wasn't expecting a complex world, I needed something easy to read and I got it. This actually was a really funny experience; I couldn't stop reading it.

But I suggest being prepared for how ridiculous it can be at moments, MANY MOMENTS. I can only prepare you for this with this quote, DIRECT FROM THE BOOK: “Big Titty Liddy was not very pretty, but her bosom was big as a barn. Her creamery knockers drove men off their rockers, but she was blind to their charms…”.

Speaking of this, I feel that because of the dialogues and how immature the characters were, you expect it to be a book for teenagers, teenagers from eleven to fourteen years old, but because of the serious topics they touch, such as prostitution, sexism, murder, witch hunt, an explicit sex scene, deformation, neglect of minors, religious extremism, self-flagellation in order to perform magic, and I don't know what else, you'd expect it to be a book for an adult audience.

Despite this, you may like it if you know what you're getting into, a romance of enemies to lovers that unfolds as you expect, with a fantasy plot that also unfolds as one expects it to unfold.

☢️ SPOILERS ☢️:

Okey, as I said the characters are very bland, we have seen them a thousand times in a thousand books with similar themes. But still, I am going to talk about them.

Lou: She is a girl who is not like other girls, because she thinks for herself and is super open with her sexuality, that is fine, it does not bother me, but it is nothing new, so it does not impress me. She is brave, strong, sarcastic, funny, kind, nothing I have not read before. She has the worst mother in the world and an interesting witch power. I take this as an opportunity to say that I like the magic system of this book, I like that there are limitations when using them because it creates tension in the reader, you know that the actions that the main characters carry out come with consequences.

Reid: The author does something with Reid that I liked. Reid is a super religious boy, extremely religious, and hates witches. But that's not what interests me about his character, he develops as anyone expects. What interests me about his character are his anger issues. It is very common to see extremely violent male protagonists, but it is never presented as something dangerous. In this book it is very clear that Reid has anger issues, he is aware of it, he is aware that it is not normal to feel so much anger and so much desire to strangle people and, although it is difficult for him, he is able to control himself. BECAUSE HE KNOWS IT'S NOT NORMAL, AND IT'S NOT OKEY TO BE SO VIOLENT AND HAVE SO MUCH ANGER. It’s shown how it should be shown, a mental health problem that can be managed with good control techniques (and I think medicine, but at that time that does not exist).

Coco: Cosette, she's here because I really liked her.

Anzel: My only opinion is that he's cute, I'm not even going to deny it. He is immature, yes, but it is understood because of his religion.

Labelle: I really liked this woman, super smart, she doesn't bite her tongue, she speaks her mind, and I'm very curious to see how she will handle her relationship with Reid now that he knows that she is his mother.

Lou's mother: The worst mother in the world.

Fangirl moment, let's talk about romance:

I LOVED THE ROMANCE GDABCSDJNLFKD, I walked in for an enemies to lovers romance and this book did not disappoint, from their banter with each other, to the moments where they cared for each other and got jealous. THIS IS WHAT I WANT TO SEE. I don't care that Lou makes fun of everything Reid does and at times I have a hard time understanding why he, in the end, falls in love with her, and that Reid does the bear minimum that any good husband can do (not hit her), their scenes together are super cute and I super love them together because they really care about each other and understand each other. It broke my heart when Reid found out that Lou was a witch and told her that she was no longer his wife AUCH, it hurt a lot. But now they are fine, and I hope they continue to be.

Content Warnings

anniebookss's review against another edition

4.5

adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious reflective 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

Content Warnings

hapalyn's review against another edition

5.0

adventurous funny lighthearted 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

Content Warnings

maewickham's review against another edition

3.75

adventurous funny mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Content Warnings

a_dara_ble's review against another edition

4.0

dark emotional funny medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: N/A

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Content Warnings

mortonsspoon's review against another edition

3.5

adventurous dark sad slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Content Warnings

mybookishdelights's review against another edition

4.25

dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring 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

[Second Read - 2021 - 4.25 stars]

Heat Level: High

on page sex scene

CW:

burning alive, blood, gore, violence, attempted murder

I read this in a few sittings and it was a fun read. It's not amazing, but I enjoyed the romance.

I think the world-building might have been the most confusing part, mainly in that there were a lot of names being dropped and I felt like I didn't know who half of them were. It also didn't help that they were in French, but then I'm an English speaker so take that with a grain of salt. I don't really have a lot of things to say about it. I reread it to continue on with the series as the third and final book is coming out soon. I know a lot of people don't like the second one, and while I'm interested to see if I like it, it also means I'm not really that excited to pick it up.

I thought the writing in this was really good. I'm sure there are those who would disagree, but I had no problem visualizing what I was reading and I was feeling the emotions of the characters. I think that Lou and Reid were decently written characters. I liked their banter and their enemies-to-lovers thing they had going on. I also liked

when they were sweet to each other. It was very angsty and I loved that. I did, however, think this was very insta-love. Even though Lou's words about him being in her very soul were beautiful and romantic, it felt too soon in this first book.

I would recommend if you're looking for a book about witches or enemies-to-lovers.

CAWPILE Score: 7.71 = 4.25 stars
Characters: 8
Atmosphere: 7
Writing: 8
Plot: 7
Intrigue: 8
Logic: 8
Enjoyment: 8

*************************************************************

[First Read - 2019 - 4 stars]
No written review.

Content Warnings