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katharina90's review against another edition
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.0
The book has LGBTQ and BIPOC rep but I would have liked for Theo to play a bigger, more active part in the story.
I listened to the audiobook and Aiofe McMahon is a favorite narrator so that helped get me through the book when the story dragged.
Graphic: Transphobia
Moderate: Confinement, Death, Fatphobia, Racism, Violence, Religious bigotry, and Murder
Minor: Ableism, Domestic abuse, Infidelity, Sexual content, and Abandonment
blacksphinx's review against another edition
- 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
2.0
(I am also very tired of books that go "covid happened but we used magic to make it go away" ugh! And blaming the anti-vax movement on warlocks is so distasteful.)
Graphic: Hate crime, Misogyny, Sexism, Transphobia, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, and Outing
Moderate: Bullying, Confinement, Cursing, Fatphobia, Homophobia, Infidelity, Racism, Sexual content, Violence, Medical content, Car accident, Lesbophobia, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Dysphoria, and Classism
Minor: Ableism, Emotional abuse, Abortion, Murder, War, and Pandemic/Epidemic
TW: transphobic, misogynistic, and ableist slurs. Internalized misogyny. Mention of drowning.wishbea's review against another edition
- 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
It was wonderful to read a fantasy story from the perspective of adult women, where many of them have kids/kid charges and it's an accomplishment that the children were all dynamic characters and not frustrating to read about or detrimental to the plot in a way they sometimes are. Themes of motherhood and found family are very strong here.
The romances and friendships all felt organic to me and I was definitely rooting for the budding new romance in the book.
The trans storyline was by far the strongest and was what made this book 5 stars for me, it used a great many talking points I've heard from trans people, allies and TERFs so it was bone chilling how accurate to real life the arguments the characters were having felt.
We also get POC characters and lesbian characters, but their struggles were sidelined somewhat and I am hoping they will get their chance to shine in the next book.
I'm glad the second book is out because I can't wait to read it and find out where these characters go next.
Edit: After reading the second book I've changed my rating to 4 stars as I realised the ending to this book destroys multiple characters storylines and is partially responsible for book 2 being disappointing.
Graphic: Transphobia, Kidnapping, and Death of parent
Moderate: Ableism, Animal death, Body horror, Infidelity, Racism, Sexual content, Blood, Car accident, Murder, Outing, Alcohol, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Minor: Eating disorder, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
shellroch285's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- 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
3.5
-Dialogue seemed a little eh sometimes, but fine for the most part
-Depiction of witchcraft not always historically accurate (ik it’s fiction, but I also find that really interesting since I studied the history of witchcraft a bit this past semester)
-Adhered to gender binary a lot (did mention genderfluid/queer people a little bit)
-Brought up valid discussions about how to dismantle white supremacy within societal systems
It took about 70-100 pages for me to get invested, but once I was in, I was in!! Glad to read something so pro-trans, especially since Pride will be here very soon :))
Graphic: Deadnaming, Transphobia, and Blood
Minor: Ableism and Death
As mentioned, there is a character who one character will not necessarily deadname but frequently use the wrong set of pronouns for them.shannnne_reads_words's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Sexual content, Transphobia, and Violence
Moderate: Death, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Sexism, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Car accident, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Ableism, Animal death, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Abortion, and Outing