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takarakei's review against another edition
- 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? It's complicated
3.75
It felt a tad dated or basic in terms of discussions of trans people, but that’s definitely my opinion as someone who knows trans/non-binary people irl and interacts with the community. For the average person perhaps this will be a great starting point to trans inclusion and why it matters especially in feminism.
I wish the magic system was explained a bit better. The witches seemed to be able to do almost anything which just seemed a bit too convenient at parts. I would also say it generally leans much more character driven vs plot even tho there is some plot. I did appreciate the multiple POVs cause I think that structure really worked for this story. I can’t say whether I will continue the series or not
Graphic: Death, Transphobia, and Violence
Moderate: Child abuse, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Grief, Murder, Toxic friendship, and War
Minor: Domestic abuse, Infidelity, and Dysphoria
dragongirl271's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Transphobia
Moderate: Animal death, Confinement, Death, Homophobia, Sexism, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Grief, and Outing
Minor: Domestic abuse, Infidelity, Racism, and Self harm
softpinksky's review against another edition
Graphic: Sexism, Transphobia, and Outing
ourxstorybegins's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Okay truly have not finished a book and immediately felt the need to go buy the next one in the series until THIS SHIT. Would've been okay with never being in
Truly my only critique was there was a few times where the author dropped very specific brand names to such an extent that I was like "ok is this book sponsored?" But it was just a couple of times and I got over it real fast for the sake of the story.
Graphic: Transphobia, Murder, Outing, and War
Moderate: Sexual content
Minor: Fatphobia, Racism, and Sexism
itsy719's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Animal death, Child abuse, Death, Infidelity, Sexism, Transphobia, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Kidnapping, Car accident, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Outing, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Body shaming, Homophobia, and Vomit
dani_reis's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
2.75
Graphic: Animal death, Child death, Deadnaming, Sexism, Sexual content, Transphobia, and Grief
Minor: Eating disorder
Child deathmerricatfromblackwood's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Homophobia, Racism, Sexism, Transphobia, Violence, and Murder
cumminsn's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
While there is very positive transgender, and LGBT in general, representation here, there is also rampant transphobia that I could see being very triggering to some. Also, the overuse of swearing and pop culture references took away from my immersion as well. For a book that has different characters that it switches perspectives between, I sometimes found myself having a hard time remembering who was who, with no very large differences in tone from one character to the next. Other than the antagonist, of course. The fact that she was evil was about the most obvious thing in the whole book.
I guess what disappointed me is that there wasn’t quite enough Fantasy to balance out the in-your-face politics that were constantly surfacing. I was more interested in the lore of the world, but the story seemed to stumble over itself to try and include as much political-correctness as possible that some of the characters didn’t even feel like genuine characters and more like just stereotypes being included for the sake of it, which was sad to read. Some of the language used, particularly internet-type wording and references, will likely not age well either.
I forced myself to finish this one. I was invested enough to want to do it, but I don’t know that I’ll be reaching for the sequel right away, if it all. In the end, I felt underwhelmed.
Graphic: Cursing, Hate crime, Misogyny, Sexism, Transphobia, Blood, Kidnapping, Car accident, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Body horror and Alcohol
Minor: Medical content, Death of parent, Murder, Outing, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail
sulaasg's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
The development of each character from their first introduction to where the end the books feel believable.
Thank god I came to this book after the second had already been released, otherwise I'd be furious at the wait.
I know some people have found the book politically 'in your face' but I actually enjoyed that about this book. It's feminist, and about female empowerment from an international standpoint and it made the book all the more enjoyable and empowering for me.
Graphic: Death, Sexism, and Transphobia
Moderate: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Racism, War, and Injury/Injury detail
There are several chapters written from the point of view of a TERF. This is unpleasant reading, but crucial to the story. It's worth reminding yourself the book is written by a trans woman.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.