Reviews tagging 'Kidnapping'

The Once and Future Witches by Alix E. Harrow

59 reviews

woodsofthebooks's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional reflective 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

5.0

i’d give this book 17 billion stars if i could. i don’t think this book will ever truly leave my thoughts, and it will certainly never leave my heart. every twist and turn, every lost girl and foolish hope will always be with me. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Self harm, Suicide, Torture, Forced institutionalization, Police brutality, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Pregnancy, and Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Medical content, Medical trauma, Death of parent, and Abandonment

the author’s website also contains content warnings, so go check that out too. MAJOR content warning for pregnancy, abortion, childbirth

blueyogi's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional tense 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? No

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexism and Religious bigotry

Moderate: Death, Homophobia, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Violence, Kidnapping, Murder, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Child abuse, Child death, Racism, Grief, Pregnancy, and Fire/Fire injury

jjyork's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad 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

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death

Moderate: Kidnapping

kkopacetic's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

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

5.0

This book was so well done. I couldn't put it down. It's been a long time since I've had something so truly engrossing.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Kidnapping, Pregnancy, and Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Alcoholism, Abortion, Murder, Pregnancy, and Sexual harassment

qteabeans's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional 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? It's complicated

4.0

What an amazing read. I can feel how Harrow has honed her craft in this book. So punchy and I did not feel that I could predict the story in such a fun and surprising way. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Child abuse, Physical abuse, Kidnapping, and Death of parent

Minor: Racism and Violence

guessgreenleaf's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense fast-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

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Racism, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Sexual harassment, and War

Minor: Alcoholism, Mental illness, Terminal illness, Kidnapping, Abortion, Murder, and Pandemic/Epidemic

spineofthesaurus's review against another edition

adventurous emotional inspiring reflective tense 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

3.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Misogyny, Self harm, Sexual violence, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Grief, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Stalking, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Outing, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Ableism, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Genocide, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infidelity, Racism, Sexual assault, Excrement, Police brutality, Medical content, Kidnapping, Abortion, Death of parent, Murder, Lesbophobia, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Minor: Deadnaming, Slavery, Xenophobia, Alcohol, Colonisation, and Classism

l_e_lavalle's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful 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? No

4.25

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Self harm, Suicide, Blood, Medical content, Abortion, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Body horror, Grief, Death of parent, Outing, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Child death and Kidnapping

third_bookworm's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful tense 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 was a delight! From the description I expected a particular brand of white feminism, but I was pleasantly surprised by the politics. This book manages an interesting and delicate balance of personal and political. The characters are wonderfully complex while still being sympathetic. The focus on the relationship between the sisters was sweet and enjoyable.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Kidnapping, Pregnancy, and Lesbophobia

Minor: Slavery, Outing, and Classism

marleywrites's review against another edition

adventurous tense 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

My favorite character was Juniper.

I really thought she was gonna take over Hill’s familiar as her own. But the crow also makes sense and suits her.

She is such a badass character and I love her spirit. 

From reading reviews, I thought I wouldn’t like Agnes. But truly, I really enjoyed her character. I don’t usually relate to mothers or the whole “maternal bond” thing, but I really felt like Agnes did a good job of balancing her loyalty to her sisters and her child.

And I am obsessed with her relationship with August.

Bella was also a great character. I’m fond of lesbians and I’m fond of librarians, so this was just a wonderful character for me overall. I think I relate to Bella the most, with the anxiety yet fierce loyalty to her sisters. 

I don’t have a sister, but reading this book made me feel like I do. These characters had me wrapped up in their little family with them. And their extended family in the witching community was just beautiful. 

This book was a bit slow at first, but once it picked up I was IN IT! I think I’m going to recommend it to anyone looking for a witchy read.  I’m a big fan of Alix E. Harrow and have read two other books by her. I’ll definitely keep reading her work and I look forward to her next project!

Side note, I loved the LGBTQ+ rep in this book. Amazing. 

Side note to the side note: am I the only one who felt terrible for Hill’s dog? 😭

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Misogyny, Sexism, Medical content, Murder, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Confinement, Torture, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Animal death, Sexual content, and Death of parent