Reviews with content warning for Sexual content - The Ruthless Lady's Guide to Wizardry

Reviews tagging 'Sexual content'

The Ruthless Lady's Guide to Wizardry by C.M. Waggoner

13 reviews

verinvaldez's review against another edition

The second I put this book down I realised I didn't care about the characters and I had no interest in what happens next in the story.

The chapter titles seem like they're trying to be funny but come across as pretentious. The author's commitment to the very unique narrative voice is impressive, but attempting to understanding Delly and all the made up slang made reading this book a chore. The pacing is dreadful too, which doesn't help.

The classism is done in an interesting way and the queernorm society was intriguing at least.

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snickahz's review

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adventurous funny fast-paced

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

0.25

This book would have been so much more enjoyable if it didn't have the purity culture stuff. The writing was fun. The story interesting. But the romance was boring and meandering. The main character spends 9/10 beating herself up about the relationship. And her love interest refuses to even kiss without being married.

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lim's review

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I wanted to love this but... How could a story with magic, murder plots, and badass queer women be that boring? I went into it expecting a fun (or at least interesting) historical fantasy with a sapphic bodyguard romance, but every page was a struggle to get through. The weird made-up words and old-timey speech the MC used made it unbearable. Around 30%, I realized how much more I had left and just couldn't do it.

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willowd's review against another edition

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adventurous funny medium-paced

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

4.0

(Note: I haven't read the first book!)
Is this book amazing? No. But was it fun? Certainly.
A bit heavy on the accents, so if that bothers you, skip it. I recommend listening over reading this story, due to the accent & grammar. If you're a non-native speaker, some of Delly's made up words might be more challenging. I found the dialogue very enjoyable to listen to. Oh also - the chapter titles are delightful.

I found the second half a bit drawn out - but I truly warmed up to the old lady and her mouse. The pacing of the second half could have been tweaked, or used another twist.

Now, somehow my book club thought this was marketed as sapphic (Idk where, because I didn't see anything like that? I dunno, I didn't look super hard!) and I want to be clear that it's not. The main character is clearly bi/pan. The main couple is two ladies, but there is sexual content that is not sapphic, and there is no wlw sexual content. However, the sexual encounters the MC has before are fairly glossed over, and honestly, as someone who doesn't love romance novels, was fine by me. I've read too many books with sudden love nonsense! With everything else going on, it sounded too exhausting for a romp.
I think this author has promise, especially in the realm of audiobook. Maybe even a play? I look forward to her next work, and hope that it gets marketed accurately!

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rachellyeah's review

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny mysterious sad tense fast-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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szuum's review against another edition

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adventurous funny lighthearted 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

4.25

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quasinaut's review

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adventurous funny mysterious medium-paced

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

3.5

I have such a mixed reaction to this book. Personally, I like that it returned to the world introduced in Unnatural Magic, but it could be confusing or off-putting for someone who picked up this book without having read the earlier book, especially since it's easy to miss that they're at all related.

Overall, I feel like this story had its moments but could have benefited from more editing to tighten up the story and flesh out the characters. Sometimes the characters' actions felt too ill-conceived and/or conveniently timed to advance the plot. The accents and slang helped establish the world but at times veered into being heavy-handed and confusing. The intrigue wrapped up surprisingly quickly -- I kept expecting something to go wrong, or an earlier character to reappear, or someone to actually be working for the other side.

I look forward to seeing what C. M. Waggoner writes next. Even if this one had a few moments that missed the mark, I quite enjoyed getting more adventures in this world!

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