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kananineko's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
The characters were hit or miss for me. I didn’t like Logan at all and her dynamic as the “baby witch” was kinda annoying and i didn’t really get why the others invited her into their group? I actually did really like Iris, and kinda wish she was the main character. I loved what we saw of Jaila but I wish we got more or her—I feel like her story was underdeveloped. And I didn’t really like Thalia either although unlike Logan I couldn’t really tell you why. Both of the male characters were bland AF and I didn’t really care about them at all. None of the romances were compelling either, the only one I was semi invested in was Iris and that guy (forgot his name) but I only grew into caring about them a little bit (but not enough to read the next book lol).
The plot was pretty weak imo. I feel kinda bad giving 2.5 stars bc tbh I still enjoyed the book overall and I read it pretty quickly, it held my attention. But tbh it was much worse than some books I've given 3 stars... Someone said it was like a bad CW show and I agree. So if you like those kinds of shows, if you like YA fantasy and stuff, I think you’ll like this. I also kinda hyped this book up in my head a lot bc the description sounded so cool to me and it took me like a year to actually get my hands on it, so the disappointment factor is there too.
One last note, the word “witchy” was used wayyyy too often and annoyed me so much. Like literally everything was described as witchy, like a “witchy book” rather than a “witch book” or "witch's book" idk why but that annoyed me? Def a personal pet peeve but just wanted to say it lol.
Graphic: Self harm, Violence, Blood, Car accident, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Animal death, Body horror, Death, Gore, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, and Murder
Minor: Cursing and Fire/Fire injury
msradiosilence's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
- How exactly does the school work?
- How does magic work, exactly? Be specific, please.
- Why do Thalia and Lilly have familiars but not anyone else?
- Is there a limit to the magic witches can perform? How do they know the limit? Is there a way to increase the limit?
- Does everyone have a Pull? If they don’t, what happens? Are people with Pulls rare?
- What exactly do witches as a group do out in the rest of the world? How has the world changed from what we know irl?
- Are tethers a thing everyone has? Is it rare? How often are witches and mundanes tethers? What does it entail for a witch and a mundane to be tethered?
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Hate crime, Racism, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, Religious bigotry, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
thatbookishwriter23's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Perfect for Halloween and black witch rep
Honestly this book kinda of surprised me, I wasn't feeling it at first, beavuse of the writing style, it took me a minute to used to it but I pushed past the 6% mark, I'm so glad I did.
This is the first book I've read featuring witches and I liked it. I can definitely see it as a series on Peacock similar to Vampire Academy. I really liked it was a great introduction to the theme and aesthetic.
I don't how to describe the writing style but with it being in third person as well, it's not for everyone and it may takes some getting used to.
Jailiah and Mathew was my favorite, I see myself most in Jailah and Mathew was kind and supportive.
Logan was the worst. Her chapters were full of self-deprecating and "woe is me". Then she, one of the only white characters of the main cast, was suppose to be this super special powerful Proxy witch. She never accepted anybody encouragements or compliments. She withheld information just because she wanted to prove herself first.
"She didn’t want to hide this, but she couldn’t tell them, not until she felt like she could be the witch that they wanted her to be."
I hate it when characters in books withhold information from everyone else for reasons that don't make sense. Especially when the info would be super helpful.
She really got me with these two lines:
"Not only was Logan terrible with a wand, but she wasn’t even special in her awfulness."
Like, what? I was literally baffled when I read this line. Like you want to be awful and special, what?
"It was easy for Logan to detach herself from the heirloom’s grip. It wasn’t like with Iris, all violence and horror, maybe because as a necromancer, those things were already in her. Or maybe it was Logan’s ability to proxy that protected her.
[Thinking] Maybe I’m more special than even Iris."
More special? *Eye roll*👀
I could go all day about Logan.
Anyway, I loved the magic, like most of the characters, and loved reading a story about black witches.
In my opinion, this book should have been a duology, it felt a bit long for a standalone and it could explore it's characters a bit more. Hopefully we get a novella or something. Looking forward to it.
Graphic: Violence
Moderate: Racism, Grief, Religious bigotry, and Death of parent
Minor: Toxic relationship
kkreads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Moderate: Murder
Minor: Self harm and Religious bigotry
karina_dreamsinwords's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.5
If you are searching for your next witchy read for spooky season, PICK THIS UP IMMEDIATELY!!
Graphic: Death and Blood
Moderate: Self harm, Religious bigotry, and Death of parent
Minor: Racism
karcitis'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: Gore, Violence, and Blood
Moderate: Child death, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Self harm, Mass/school shootings, Religious bigotry, Car accident, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Addiction, Animal death, Bullying, Confinement, Vomit, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, and Classism
amberinpieces'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
4.75
Graphic: Death, Gore, Blood, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Body horror, Self harm, Grief, Religious bigotry, and Car accident
Minor: Child death, Racism, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, and Alcohol
venetiana's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Violence, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, and Alcohol
Minor: Child death, Confinement, Gore, Racism, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Grief, Stalking, Car accident, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, Abandonment, and Classism
changreads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Animal death, Child death, Death, Death of parent, and Murder
Moderate: Gore, Racism, Blood, Grief, Religious bigotry, Car accident, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail