Reviews tagging 'Physical abuse'

The Once and Future Witches by Alix E. Harrow

77 reviews

_teacher_spice_'s review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring sad 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

4.5

I so wanted to rate this a 5-star review, but I feel first, that the youngest sister was short-changed and the end just let the story fall where it lay without really allowing the dust to settle and for her own "true" ending. Also, without a sequel to fill in gaps/answer questions/complete stories, I find that I am left with my heart still broken in spite of some reassurance at the end. As a sister of three deeply invested in the bonds between sisters, I struggled with Juniper's ending and no definitive reunion and continuation of their sisterhood. Regardless, this book was beautifully written and such a journey for the heart.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Confinement, Death, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Torture, Forced institutionalization, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Minor: Cursing

lira_the_recluse's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional inspiring mysterious tense medium-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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Religious bigotry, Fire/Fire injury, and Pandemic/Epidemic

xcelxdx's review against another edition

dark hopeful mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Overall enjoyed the concept and thought it was cool how they tied together the threads of a lot of different folklore stories. This book did fall prey to the standalone fantasy catch-22 where it became somehow too detailed/long-winded and superficial; due to the cramming of perhaps too many intricate plot points into 500 pages. I struggled to really connect with the characters and thought on the whole that their characters and respective romances and backstories could have been fleshed out a bit more. There were also some aspects where I felt the emotional journey the characters went on was perhaps too quick in the sense that it took about a sentence to process and come to a conclusion, but the author also used this to good effect in some instances.

The plague element felt a bit random in the book and it wasn’t properly concluded: what happened to the sick people, how did Eve get better? If it was due to GH’s death, did everyone get better? How is it spread… though perhaps as the book was published in 2020 this was something they wanted to diminish

all of that said I loved how they intertwined all these folk tales into one adapted and connected

but actually not really

narrative that cummulated

into a message of internal power and an almost rejection of fate. Injecting agency into a world where women have such little. I do feel the race aspect could have been explored further beyond the singular allusion of the non-inclusivity of the suffragist movement to woc

. Overall I really enjoyed the concept but it simultaneously felt a little like a slog to get through and left me with questions wanting more

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Sexism, Religious bigotry, Pregnancy, and Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Racism, and Death of parent

Minor: Alcoholism, Slavery, Transphobia, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Abortion, Lesbophobia, Abandonment, and Pandemic/Epidemic

courtofsmutandstuff's review against another edition

• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

I really loved this and highly recommend it. It's a historical fantasy, but it's also set in an alternate world where witchcraft exists. This book is full of tiny allusions and references to alternate history, literature, and fairy tales which was an extra delight when reading - I don't think it's necessary to be well-read to enjoy this book, but I do think it's an additional joy if you do get the references. I adored all three of the sisters and the side characters, and especially appreciated the acknowledgement of everything the Sisters and Black community went through, and how they have more come down on them than others in times of oppression. 
Perfect, no notes. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse

alanahcw's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious sad tense

5.0

Absolutely in love with this one! Messy, magical, queer, and full of rage against the patriarchy; it made me wish we had some words and ways to help fuel change today. 

I can't believe I waited so long to read Harrow's work - it's incredible ❤

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Homophobia, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexism, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Lesbophobia, and Injury/Injury detail

littki's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious 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: Confinement, Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Sexism, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, and Abandonment

Moderate: Physical abuse, Racism, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Police brutality, Religious bigotry, Abortion, Murder, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Minor: Animal death, Death, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Miscarriage, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Transphobia, Violence, Xenophobia, Lesbophobia, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment

zyxtasaurus's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional 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? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Cursing, Emotional abuse, Sexism, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, and Gaslighting

Minor: Cursing, Death, Physical abuse, Racism, Transphobia, Violence, Blood, Stalking, Murder, Lesbophobia, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic

lemonwrlds's review against another edition

dark emotional inspiring medium-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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Suicide, Religious bigotry, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Murder, Abandonment, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Minor: Alcoholism, Animal death, Bullying, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infertility, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual content, Slavery, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Vomit, Police brutality, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Lesbophobia, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Alcohol, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, and Pandemic/Epidemic

calicat42's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Hate crime, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Self harm, Suicide, Torture, Forced institutionalization, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

mjverrall's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious medium-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

4.0

This book has such wonderful prose, the language feels like poetry it is so beautiful to read. The start feels a little slow and sometimes it is hard to keep track of all the characters, but it picks up and is a truly beautiful story. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Sexism, and Lesbophobia

Moderate: Physical abuse and Violence

Minor: Sexual violence and Abortion