Reviews tagging 'Death'

Serpent & Dove by Shelby Mahurin

88 reviews

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: War, Sexual content, Abandonment, and Violence

Minor: Death, Addiction, 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: Blood, Religious bigotry, and Misogyny

Moderate: War, Cursing, Death, and Sexual content

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: Murder, Blood, Body horror, and Religious bigotry

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

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

Minor: Abandonment

platypusd10's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional funny mysterious tense slow-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Murder, Self harm, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail

valinorlady's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional tense 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny and Religious bigotry

Moderate: Violence, Death, and Torture

unusuallyy's review against another edition

adventurous challenging funny hopeful reflective fast-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? No

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Murder, Sexual content, and Blood

Moderate: Self harm and Religious bigotry

Minor: Toxic relationship

ritualistic trauma; religious trauma-ish, cultish trauma

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

jullebullerulle's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious tense 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

4.75

loved the concept of witches and the magic system, really fun book. lou and reid were juat so cute even if reid is a ginger (its a shock i know, just push through). 
 i want to be a witch now. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Death, Violence, and Murder

corine's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny relaxing 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Cursing, Blood, Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Murder, Misogyny, Religious bigotry, and Sexism