Reviews with content warning for Bullying - Small Town, Big Magic

Reviews tagging 'Bullying'

Small Town, Big Magic by Hazel Beck

7 reviews

chrisb913's review against another edition

Phew, this was just grating. The main character was iritating from the beginning. It felt like if the rich pompous head cheerleader/prom queen grew up and was the star of the show. Perfect life perfect everything and then supposedley got the magic powers on top (did not make it that far into the story to find out what happened). She was narcissistic, condescending, and felt she was better than all the rest including her best friends. The plot seemed intriguing but not even an hour and a half in and I could not take the MC. The audio for it was not doing any favors though I'm not sure if it was the narrator herself or the subject matter she was require to narrate.

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emilywemily6's review against another edition

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adventurous funny slow-paced

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

3.5

I guess I enjoyed this reading experience? It was too long of a book for the amount of plot and character development. The main character was a bit annoying but also funny to listen to; the characterization was pretty strong for her as an outgoing type A feminist. The romance subplot was lackluster- we didn’t get a good answer why the MC never went for it before with her friend and the relationship went from 0 to 100 super fast. Their misunderstandings of each other/conflict over her behavior as she adapted to being a witch was petty and immature in both sides. I could tell what the author was doing in trying to get the MC to realize she needed her friends for help but the narrative was not consistent as far as that internal lesson goes. The main magical conflict was made to seem high stakes but felt very low stakes. And there are lots of plot holes about her magic appearing, the Joywood, Skip, the flood’s existence, etc. Lots of holes that I hope get answered in a later book but I’m not super excited to read the next one asap. The story was interesting overall so it was still a fun read, the MC made me laugh a lot.

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theespressoedition's review against another edition

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3.0

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beckyremillard's review against another edition

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adventurous hopeful

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

3.5

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chelseylb1988's review against another edition

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adventurous dark fast-paced

5.0

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cassielaj's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious 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

4.5

The magical world of St. Cyprian is charming, and the characters are well developed. The concepts in this book feel at once original and familiar. Excellent example of found family, and Emerson’s character development is incredible: she asks hard questions and makes important discoveries about herself and the people around her. The plot takes a good bit of time to pick up steam, but it also gives the significant elements space to unfold. I also appreciate that the romantic elements were present without taking over.

the feminist slogans and love conquers all theme felt a tad bit hokey at times, but they also had their place

Side note: An excellent example of fade-to-black romance that still captures the significance of the moment. Also has some thought-provoking comments on womanhood and society.

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amanda_mh's review against another edition

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hopeful inspiring lighthearted mysterious medium-paced

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

4.0

The perfect seasonal read for October. I did really enjoy it, it gave me Gilmore girls but make it witchy vibes.

but I am annoyed that it ended on a cliffhanger bc it was just about to get to the final showdown

not sure if I’ll pick up the second book when it comes out

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