Reviews with content warning for Violence - Открытие ведьм

Reviews tagging 'Violence'

Открытие ведьм by Дебора Харкнесс, Deborah Harkness

75 reviews

yiayiakassi's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious slow-paced

3.0

This story was solid but not amazing. The second half picks up and is more interesting than the first half, but throughout the book a lot of passages simply draaaaagged. Much of the first half of the story felt like the author just wanting any excuse to talk about Oxford. I found the general premise of the story and the associated lore quite interesting, and appreciated the inclusion of alchemical history and a vampire who has spent his long years researching the origin of species. I appreciated that the main character was an accomplished academic who actually acted like one. I did not find most of the romantic passages particularly romantic, and had to pause a few times to dry heave over the word choices. It was a little tough to get on board with believing the love that developed

and I think the author really missed an opportunity for drama and a deeper exploration of the relationship after Diana was kidnapped and told her feelings were just a result of being in Matthew's thrall.

Overall, this book had a lot of great story moments interspersed with passages where nothing in terms of plot or character building really happened. It's not a bad read, but if you're like me and find extraneous passages with unnecessary detail tedious, then you'll probably be frustrated. I hope the sequel is more exciting!

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makersnshakers's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective 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

5.0

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sarasreading's review against another edition

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dark informative mysterious reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I thought I might not like this one going in, but I knew it had some dark academia vibes I would like. Turns out, I really enjoyed it! It felt like it had some elements of both Twilight and Outlander. (I haven't read either but watched some of each.)

The world building was really interesting to me, and the central mysteries were what really had me turning the pages. I know the romance is the big draw for most people, but the mysteries around the book and what they have to do with the main character are what's keeping me wanting to read the rest of the series.

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elizabethknaub's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes

3.0

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alexirose's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

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amberlfaris's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional informative mysterious 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

4.0

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maloyamy's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

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boooooooks321's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional lighthearted mysterious reflective tense slow-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? It's complicated

4.25

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lenorayoder's review against another edition

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mysterious medium-paced

Diverse cast of characters? No

4.0

I really liked this book! It was a bit of an odd reading experience, because once the romance gets going it starts to feel like a different and slightly worse book. I loved the first 15% or so of this book and thought it would be a five star read. At that point it becomes clear that Diana and Matthew's romance is going to progress a lot more quickly than I thought, and we start to run into a lot of romance novel cliches. This would have normally merited a 3 star rating, but I think Harkness' world building manages to make the cliches make enough since that I'll forgive their presence, even if I think the book would be better without them and with a slower relationship build. Diana's absolute denial

and spellbinding

make the different tone of the beginning of the book make sense, but I think it's a shame that the beginning feels so much better than the rest of the book.

I loved all of the world building, and I think it helps the romance and certain plot elements seem less ridiculous. The fact that the relationship we see in this book takes place over

40 days

seems stupid, but Harkness makes it clear that Diana and Matthew are not human, and holding them to human standards is a mistake. These are creatures who can literally experience

love at first sight, as shown by Diana's parents. That's not a dramatization, sometimes it actually happens

. That said, I still think the romance isn't well-written, and is the weakest part of the book by far. Diana could seem like a Mary Sue, but you have to remember that her

mother, Rebecca, seems to have seen her future before even conceiving her. Diana was basically born and raised to create some serious change in this world

. I mean, someone has to do it, right? Of course that's going to be the person an author writes about.

This book was consistently engaging and enjoyable to read. I was constantly theorizing and asking questions. I'm looking forward to getting more answers in the next books, and I know I will because this is clearly a planned out series that's laying groundwork with this first book. I wish the romance felt as polished as the beginning of the book made me think it would be, but I had a fun time and was never bored.

Final thoughts: I love the Bishop house, we stan characters getting privacy! I hope someone kills

Gerbert dead soon

, what the fuck was that with

Juliette and how many people has he done that to

??? I don't get why everyone was alarmed at the idea of

Matt killing Satu. Like she's going around deeply torturing witches and who knows what else? Sometimes when you behave like that people kill you

! Agatha being the only decent

member of the Congregation

we've seen makes me curious to find out if it's always been

corrupt/fucked up

, or if that's something that developed over time. Don't like the whole

bloodline = power

thing even though it's kind of central to the plot. Given the timeline of these books I think it would be very funny if Diana

gets back to the present "quickly" enough that Hamish never sends her letter backing out of the conference,

and the entire series ends with her giving the keynote presentation she started this book being stressed out about. Perfect ending.

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sonlight21's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny mysterious tense fast-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

4.5

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book! I found the show first and binged the whole first season within two days. When I found out they were books I got my hands on a copy as soon as I could.
For me this book felt like when you find Harry Potter, Percy Jackson, or The Spider wick Chronicles for the first time. It is a deep immersive world that doesn't destroy you with world building but slowly introduces more and more aspects of the magic place you have entered as you journey through the story, it reveals small pieces of itself as you go along, like some ancient fossil you are digging up from the ground.

The characters in the book are wonderful! Each character is a fully flushed out individual of their own. Even the "un-important" background characters (exmp. caffeine frenzy daemon) have their own personality and story. The characters change and grown in response to their surroundings and experiences. They are not stones, unmoving, they are alive and energetic.

One thing I did not love was the amount of characters that very randomly showed up for a few moments and then disappeared but were INCREDABLY integral to the plot. It was not that they felt flat or random but rather that I desired to know and understand more of the character and what role they played before they left. I wanted more time with them on page and in interactions. However the book is BURTSTING to the brim with characters each one deep and rich in their own right so I understand why some got such little time in the light (the book was 579 pages haha I am not sure it could have handled more).

Overall I thoroughly enjoyed the book though there are parts I didn't love and some aspects I am sure I missed. I will say I think the show does the book justice and in some ways adds to the experience and grows the world more.

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