Reviews tagging 'Death of parent'

Yalancılar İçin Sihir by Sarah Gailey

97 reviews

tiffanyjeannine's review against another edition

2.5

This is another one where the premise is more interesting than the execution. Such a slog to get through. Wasn’t super invested until a little past the halfway mark and then it ends like that? Ugh. So anticlimactic. There are some good bits…very few good bits, but they are there. 

TW: abortion, cancer, parent death, some body gore

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror

Moderate: Abortion

Minor: Cancer and Death of parent

heartfruit's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror and Abortion

Moderate: Cancer and Death of parent

m_rain's review against another edition

medium-paced

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

3.5

For fans of magical schools and Jessica Jones-inspired PIs. This story is centered on a non-magical PI who slowly finds her own type of magic through healing relationships and solving a magical murder mystery. 

My only complaint is the ending felt a bit rushed compared to the pacing of the rest of the book. Within ~30 pages we learn a more complex story than we had within the ~300 pages prior. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Death, and Death of parent

Moderate: Body horror, Blood, and Abortion

emath98's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.25

I got sooo sucked into this book! I loved the world's magic system and how simultaneously scientific and ridiculous-sounding it was. I loved the complicated family relationship dynamic, the multiple potential suspects and secrets. 

I often am nervous when starting books set in a magical boarding school, because of the potential for the story to become a HP knockoff. Not only is Magic for Liars told from a completely different genre and perspective, the flavor of the magic/magical world is really unique and sets it apart. Great book!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore

Moderate: Cancer, Terminal illness, Abortion, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail

grace_bera's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious tense fast-paced

• 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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer and Abortion

Moderate: Death of parent

kelzcline's review against another edition

4.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Cancer, Blood, Death of parent, and Alcohol

daffodilcherry's review against another edition

dark emotional funny 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

4.0

Magic for Liars is a fun, noir inspired mystery set in a magical school. Ivy, a 32 year old private detective, is contracted by her sister Tabitha's school to uncover the murderer of a teacher who died in the library. The school is a typical American highschool, except that it teaches magic to young mages. Ivy doesn't have magic, while her sister is a very talented teacher.

I liked the central mystery, and the cast of characters that surrounded it were well fleshed out and real. The worldbuilding was just deep enough to keep the book moving, which was fine and explainable as Ivy doesn't understand much either. The heart of this story really was the relationship between Tabitha and Ivy rather than solving the mystery at times. I listened to this as an audiobook and Xe Sands perfected the world weary private detective vibe. 

Definitely a great read, 4/5 stars since I'm feeling a little fatigue at American highschool stories. Secondary characters were in sapphic relationships, but the main character is very into a (bi) man, which was written sweetly. Specific content warnings will be explained below. 

Wheelhouses: noir detective, snarky and self aware noir detective POV, magic school, highschool through the eyes of an adult, mean girls cliques, chosen one narratives with a twist, sapphic side characters, sister estrangement and reconciliation.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Blood, and Abortion

Moderate: Terminal illness, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail

A major story arc is about Ivy uncovering a teen pregnancy who then has a magical abortion, which itself is a body horror experience without pain:

involving separating out your body parts into suspension in the air and then plucking the embryo out before reconstituting the person.

abbiechron's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad fast-paced

• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Holy crap this novel was a rollercoaster! The narrator (XE Sands) is an incredible performer and did amazing at adding to the mystery and drama that Sarah Gailey penned.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical content, Medical trauma, Abortion, and Murder

Moderate: Body horror, Cancer, Gore, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Blood, Death of parent, and Alcohol

Minor: Body shaming, Bullying, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Stalking, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail

kaybee23's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Abortion, and Death of parent

turrean's review against another edition

dark emotional sad medium-paced

• 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

4.0

Gailey is a stellar storyteller. This is the third of her novels I’ve read. The magic system is complex, consistent, and fascinating. I found the ending a bit frustrating. 

The audiobook was FANTASTIC. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent

Moderate: Bullying, Cancer, Blood, Medical trauma, Abortion, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Terminal illness and Pregnancy