Reviews tagging 'Gaslighting'

Witch of Wild Things by Raquel Vasquez Gilliland

6 reviews

crownoflaurel's review against another edition

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challenging emotional sad medium-paced
  • 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? Yes

3.75

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samanthachen's review against another edition

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I love witchy content, and this author must be a green witch with how easily that information flowed. The storyline is intriguing, and the characters are believable. However, for me, it’s difficult reading about intense family conflict, so I needed to put this book down. I kept pushing myself to read further, but the conflicts got more intense. It just wasn’t for me. I also understand that most of that will likely see resolution, but I just couldn’t push through that much conflict to get to it. 

Having said all of that, this is definitely someone else’s perfect book. Please give it go after looking into the content warnings
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gondorgirl's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional funny hopeful mysterious reflective sad 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

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rachelshubin's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring 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? It's complicated

4.0

Witch of Wild Things was so much more than a romance book. It was a story of a family, torn apart by grief and the power of sisterhood (even when it’s strained). I loved the AIM/flip backs to the past, learning what gifts each character has, the semi-second chance romance with Tennessee Reyes. He was so good to Sage when she needed it. What a great book and can’t wait for the next sister’s story!

Perf for 
🪴 Planty book witches, like myself
🌹 Sisters with a gift (curse?)
📱 90s nostalgia
🍄 Plods in the forest
🏠 Small Virginia town
👻 Ghosts
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starrysteph's review against another edition

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emotional tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.75

Really mixed feelings on this one. I loved the magical realism elements, loved the complex family relationships and exploration of generational trauma through curses, and loved the playful botanical magic and ghosts.

And the trauma of being the eldest daughter was captured really brilliantly. Oof.

I didn’t love the immaturity of the narrator and the overabundance of misunderstandings.

How can you turn away from your sister who is in an abusive relationship? (And then return to impulsively expose the abusive without any consideration of how that could impact your sister?) How can you squarely place the blame of your little sister’s accidental death on your older sister, and treat her with such cruelty (not to mention that the reason for the blame was so nonsensical)? How can you hold a petty grudge against a high school crush so fiercely that 10 years later you can barely even speak to him? 

There were some emotionally beautiful moments, and the romance was sweet at times. And look - families can be petty and cruel and complicated. But it felt like this was tonally inconsistent, especially since the writing and dialogue often felt juvenile. The 74 year old great aunt was bickering and throwing around callous remarks like a teenager. 

I was more into the relationship between the sisters - and wanted to dive more into the grief & healing arcs - versus the second chance romance. It was also a bit confusing because there were multiple romance options at the start. I think we needed to stick with our main guy and develop that as much as possible over these 300 pages.

There’s also just SO much crammed in: environmental destruction, cheating, misogyny, domestic abuse, grief, messy and destructive family dynamics, racism, etc. I think that’s a lot to try to accomplish eloquently.

But this story had its moments. Some beautiful nature language, some sweetness around love & healing in romance, and some lovely sisterhood. 

CW: grief, death, abandonment, toxic relationship, domestic abuse, infidelity, gaslighting, racism, sexual content

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(I received a free copy of this book; this is my honest review.)
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sarahsbookstacks's review against another edition

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challenging emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad 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

5.0

This is easily one of my top romances of the year. 

Sisters, magic, grief, humor, heart, plants, and swoonworthy romance that has me believing in soulmates????? 

I LOVED IT.
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