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Reviews tagging 'Pregnancy'
The Unfortunate Side Effects of Heartbreak and Magic by Breanne Randall
40 reviews
ilolijiniie's review against another edition
dark
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
This book had so many good ideas. Incredibly cute was that each chapter ended with a recipe! It is an American small town story and builds that atmosphere very well.
However for some reason I expected a lighthearted romance, but the second chance romance is a subplot at best and the book deals with some incredibly heavy themes, though not in a way that necessarily feels heavy.
It was somewhat good but I wasn't drawn in like I wanted to be and I could see the solution about 100 pages before the protagonist did.
However for some reason I expected a lighthearted romance, but the second chance romance is a subplot at best and the book deals with some incredibly heavy themes, though not in a way that necessarily feels heavy.
It was somewhat good but I wasn't drawn in like I wanted to be and I could see the solution about 100 pages before the protagonist did.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Death, Suicide attempt, and Death of parent
Minor: Pregnancy
lifeasruth's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Boring prose. Overuse of simile.
Too many cliche tropes crammed into one book. Also, Baptist witches? Gimme a break!
Too many cliche tropes crammed into one book. Also, Baptist witches? Gimme a break!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Death, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Terminal illness, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, and Pregnancy
tinyfoxreads's review
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
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
This is probably my favorite book now, I’m sad that I finished it so quickly because now I’m going to miss my new friends that I feel like I’ve known forever. I want a sequel just so I can hang out with them again. I feel like it’s set up perfectly for one but haven’t seen any news of one. Breanne, can you hear me??
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide attempt
Moderate: Cancer and Death
Minor: Panic attacks/disorders, Pregnancy, and Fire/Fire injury
simsplayer30's review against another edition
emotional
lighthearted
mysterious
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
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Cancer and Gaslighting
Minor: Pregnancy
bblatnik's review
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Death, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, Suicide attempt, Pregnancy, and Abandonment
Moderate: Rape and Sexual assault
stardustandrockets's review against another edition
This book was released in 2023, so tell me why the hell there's a HP mention? It could have easily been replaced with something else.
I picked this one up to see what the hype was about, and I definitely don't think it was worth it. At. All. It was all over the place. Not even bothering to give this a star rating.
I picked this one up to see what the hype was about, and I definitely don't think it was worth it. At. All. It was all over the place. Not even bothering to give this a star rating.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Cancer, Terminal illness, Grief, and Abandonment
Minor: Rape and Pregnancy
HP mentionwitcheep's review
adventurous
emotional
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
I struggled to get through this book a lot! I found it extremely difficult to take interest or actually care about the characters or the plot. This is because most of the events, thoughts and feelings are rather told than shown: I see no evidence for most of the claimed inner life. The plot goes all over the place, and even if the slightest hints of the main plot remain predictable throuhout the book, there seems to constantly be some random subplot event popping up. The book could have used some strong streamlining!
The one redeeming quality of this book is how it shows facing the death of a loved one and the consequent grieving; as mentioned in the acknowledgements, the author managed to write her own feelings of grief into the book in a way that the characters and the reader can also feel.
The overall vibe of this book is a confusing mix of attempted coziness (small town life, cooking, and gardening) and watered-down tenseness (bad omens, vague curses, and death threats). These two vibes clash in a way that cannot make a cohesive whole. Very vague magic system and magical rituals pulled from thin air when the plot needs a miracle don't help the immersion either: when every out-of-nowhere problem will have an out-of-nowhere magical solution, even the unpredictable becomes boringly predictable.
There is a similar confusion in the main character Sadie. She likes to think herself as having her life put together in her routines, but in reality she is very childish and stubborn to the core. She seems more like a teenager than a twenty-something adult.
It was just another dark thing she didn't want to look in the eye.
Sadie avoids everything she thinks is uncomfortable: escapes in the middle of conversations, refuses to accept facts she doesn't like, and avoids facing her own feelings. Her being as scatterbrained and stubborn as she is, results in narration that constantly grasps to insignificant reminiscing and loses the point of the current events. A considerable amount of the story feels like unnecessary and repetitive filler that aims for cosiness but lands on pure boring rambling. There were also multiple points in the narration when I was lost on what or who the part was talking about; for example a whole paragraph talking about a she that is revealed to be someone else than was mentioned in the previous paragraph, or confusing dialoque tags.
This was not a book for me, and I'm frustrated with myself that I didn't just leave it unfinished.
This was not a book for me, and I'm frustrated with myself that I didn't just leave it unfinished.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Grief, and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Death and Alcohol
Minor: Drug use, Mental illness, Sexual content, Vomit, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Abandonment
tiffanne11's review against another edition
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.25
Overall, the author tried to do too many things and it meant that none of it stuck. She was trying to build a cozy town, with diversity, and a high stakes sub plot, but nothing felt developed.
There are multiple instances of both diversity and mental health issues sprinkled in that seem to exist just to check a box. One example of this is dropping in that a side character goes to therapy, but also saying the main character had to figure out a recipe because of her obsessive compulsive nature. There is also a suicide attempt that becomes a joke, which is messed up.
The portrayal of their magic in general, that it has to have a curse, that there is always a negative effect to it, just feels like someone who doesn't want the magic to exist in their magic book. And then the main character is essentially spelling people without their consent because the town doesn't really believe in magic. Not to mention the multiple times she essentially drugs people into telling her the truth. The way magic works is also very inconsistent. An example of this is her mother who was supposed to be sterile due to her type of magic, but ends up pregnant twice.
The entire romance is a sham. She is still pining over a guy from high school who is emotionally cheating on his fiance with her, and who gets close to physically cheating. But we, as the reader, are supposed to believe it's okay because the woman he's engaged to ends up being a liar.
Other small things that just irritated me:
1) Gigi's constant use of pissant and toot to refer to her grandchildren.
2) A line where Gigi's head only comes to Jake's navel.
3) Sadie is written as the ultimate self sacrificing woman. She does everything for everyone, including making her twin brother his dinner plate while he just sits and waits.
4) All the women cook and the men go outside to play with the kids. All the women clean and the men go hang out outside.
I really wanted to like this book, cozy witchy books are my thing, and it had a lot of potential, but it just wasn't executed well.
There are multiple instances of both diversity and mental health issues sprinkled in that seem to exist just to check a box. One example of this is dropping in that a side character goes to therapy, but also saying the main character had to figure out a recipe because of her obsessive compulsive nature. There is also a suicide attempt that becomes a joke, which is messed up.
The portrayal of their magic in general, that it has to have a curse, that there is always a negative effect to it, just feels like someone who doesn't want the magic to exist in their magic book. And then the main character is essentially spelling people without their consent because the town doesn't really believe in magic. Not to mention the multiple times she essentially drugs people into telling her the truth. The way magic works is also very inconsistent. An example of this is her mother who was supposed to be sterile due to her type of magic, but ends up pregnant twice.
The entire romance is a sham. She is still pining over a guy from high school who is emotionally cheating on his fiance with her, and who gets close to physically cheating. But we, as the reader, are supposed to believe it's okay because the woman he's engaged to ends up being a liar.
Other small things that just irritated me:
1) Gigi's constant use of pissant and toot to refer to her grandchildren.
2) A line where Gigi's head only comes to Jake's navel.
3) Sadie is written as the ultimate self sacrificing woman. She does everything for everyone, including making her twin brother his dinner plate while he just sits and waits.
4) All the women cook and the men go outside to play with the kids. All the women clean and the men go hang out outside.
I really wanted to like this book, cozy witchy books are my thing, and it had a lot of potential, but it just wasn't executed well.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Death, Suicide attempt, Murder, and Pregnancy
wordwitching's review
I had to come to read the reviews to see if anyone else feels the same as I do about this book.
While I'm relieved to see that many readers do, and I'm grateful to them for calling out the obvious and glaring misogyny, the reinforcement of traditional gender roles, the underhanded promoting of MLM essential oils, the disdain for witchcraft, the insensitive handling of serious and triggering subjects like SA, r@pe, m7rder, and suiçide, which are dropped into the plot like stink bombs only to be brushed off like they don't matter or worse: jokes.
It pains me, however, to see so many positive reviews for this book. I honestly do not understand how it became so popular or indeed how it was published in the first place.
The editing is non existent, the writing shows promise at times, but as with the subject matter, the author does not know when less is more. Instead she threw everything at it, like a cook using every single ingredient in their pantry to make a simple cake. Enough with the overcooked baking metaphors already!
The characters were either stereotypes, purely added to show diversity for diversity's sake, or shallow, childish and infuriating. I love an unlikable female character but Sadie behaves like a teenager. The author is constantly telling us how wonderful she is but everything she SHOWS about her contradicts it. She kidnaps the MMC's dog and it's played for laughs, she uses truth serums on unsuspecting victims and again, this is played off as if it's normal, acceptable behaviour. I have never wanted to shake a heroine more.
There's a completely unnecessary fake pregnancy plotline added just excuse the hero and to demonise another woman. And don't even get me started on everything else the male characters do and say. They are the WORST but everything they do is either excused by other characters or the plot. The internalised misogyny is very loud.
I gather from reading other reviews thatthe FMC ends up losing her magic for one of them, which is just all sorts of NOPE. How are we still publishing books with this tired and sexist narrative in 2023? Head of Zeus, I'm disappointed in you.
It feels like the author took a bunch of toxic positivity quotes and platitudes from social media influencer accounts and just strung them together like flimsy paper doily garlands in a Instagram reel. Pretty to look at but ultimately weightlessly fragile and tissue thin.
Hashtag "Witches Of Instagram"; Hashtag "Trad Wife"; Hashtag "So Blessed".
I'm sorry I cannot find anything positive to say about this book. The recipes might be good, but I cannot bring myself to try them.
I've included cultural appropriation in my content warnings because I truly believe this author is appropriating witchcraft due to her religious beliefs. It is a travesty for this book to be positively compared with Practical Magic.
And on that note, I'll leave this review with a final word from Aunt Jet Owens:
“And this is what comes from dabbling; I mean you can't practice witchcraft while you look down your nose at it.”
While I'm relieved to see that many readers do, and I'm grateful to them for calling out the obvious and glaring misogyny, the reinforcement of traditional gender roles, the underhanded promoting of MLM essential oils, the disdain for witchcraft, the insensitive handling of serious and triggering subjects like SA, r@pe, m7rder, and suiçide, which are dropped into the plot like stink bombs only to be brushed off like they don't matter or worse: jokes.
It pains me, however, to see so many positive reviews for this book. I honestly do not understand how it became so popular or indeed how it was published in the first place.
The editing is non existent, the writing shows promise at times, but as with the subject matter, the author does not know when less is more. Instead she threw everything at it, like a cook using every single ingredient in their pantry to make a simple cake. Enough with the overcooked baking metaphors already!
The characters were either stereotypes, purely added to show diversity for diversity's sake, or shallow, childish and infuriating. I love an unlikable female character but Sadie behaves like a teenager. The author is constantly telling us how wonderful she is but everything she SHOWS about her contradicts it. She kidnaps the MMC's dog and it's played for laughs, she uses truth serums on unsuspecting victims and again, this is played off as if it's normal, acceptable behaviour. I have never wanted to shake a heroine more.
There's a completely unnecessary fake pregnancy plotline added just excuse the hero and to demonise another woman. And don't even get me started on everything else the male characters do and say. They are the WORST but everything they do is either excused by other characters or the plot. The internalised misogyny is very loud.
I gather from reading other reviews that
It feels like the author took a bunch of toxic positivity quotes and platitudes from social media influencer accounts and just strung them together like flimsy paper doily garlands in a Instagram reel. Pretty to look at but ultimately weightlessly fragile and tissue thin.
Hashtag "Witches Of Instagram"; Hashtag "Trad Wife"; Hashtag "So Blessed".
I'm sorry I cannot find anything positive to say about this book. The recipes might be good, but I cannot bring myself to try them.
I've included cultural appropriation in my content warnings because I truly believe this author is appropriating witchcraft due to her religious beliefs. It is a travesty for this book to be positively compared with Practical Magic.
And on that note, I'll leave this review with a final word from Aunt Jet Owens:
“And this is what comes from dabbling; I mean you can't practice witchcraft while you look down your nose at it.”
Content Warnings
Moderate: Cancer, Death, Fatphobia, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Grief, Suicide attempt, Murder, Pregnancy, Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Abandonment