Reviews with content warning for Infidelity - Storm Front

(reposted from Goodreads)
This was a read that left me conflicted. On the one hand, 2000s fantasy writing scratches a nostalgia itch for me, and reading something from that time period gives me a warm and fuzzy feeling of reading books of that ilk as a middle-high schooler. The urban fantasy element is top-notch, and the author does a fantastic job at setting the scene and describing the main character's world.

On the other hand, whew is this book flawed in the way it describes female characters. Like, I get it, it's from 2000 and the author was probably getting a feel for the character, as well as the setting and writing in the mind of a neo-noir detective. But it doesn't make it any easier to digest. Every female character in this book is described as stunning, drop dead gorgeous, with the perkiest breasts and legs, save for maybe one, and even she is described as being 'like a cheerleader' in figure. I don't think I'd mind it as much if the main character described one female character like this, but it's with every single one, and frankly it gets exhausting.

Throughout this book, it reminded me of something very familiar, and by the end of it, I was able to pinpoint it: The CW'S Supernatural. Of course, Storm Front precedes this television series, but it feels similar in vein to it, from the urban fantasy aspect to most of the female characters being 2000s 'it-girl' hot chicks. Whether that is a plus or a minus depends on how you feel about Supernatural.

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nicosta_music's review against another edition

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adventurous dark funny mysterious fast-paced

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

3.75

For a book coming off of my Anti-TBR list, I was surprised by how much I enjoyed Storm Front. To get this book's glaring issue out of the way -- yes, main character Harry Dresden spends the first few chapters randomly mentioning how much he "respects" women while also being incredibly misogynistic. But honestly, some of his takes were so ridiculous that I thought it was hilarious. Like, come on:

“Women are better at hating than men. They can focus it better, let it go better. Hell, witches are just plain meaner than wizards. This feels like feminine vengeance of some kind to me.”

Comedic gold. No person grounded in reality says things like this. It's also extremely telling how the minute Harry

becomes mentally impaired a la concussion, he immediately starts sexually harassing every innocent female unfortunate enough to be within spitting distance.

Despite the weird misogyny and perviness that occasionally spewed from Harry's mouth, I thought he was a bit of an endearing character. He reminded me of a lot of my IRL guy friends -- sort of like the quiet, loser-type nerds who are actually chill when you get to know them (except my IRL guy friends grew out of the weird chauvinist attitudes).

The plot was fine. Nothing special, but I appreciate a mystery with magical elements. The way things always seemed to conveniently work out for Harry was also funny to me and kept me entertained. I'd recommend this book to anybody who think's they'd enjoy reading about an incel who lacks self-awareness bumbling his way through magic and crime scenes.

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yogomagpie's review against another edition

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adventurous dark funny mysterious fast-paced

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

2.0

I didn’t really like Harry and especially didn’t like the way women were described and written.

I guessed who the bad guy was almost immediately, but don’t feel clever about it. It was pretty obvious. At one point I thought I was wrong, and that there was going to be a cool plot twist

with Monica revealing that she was the murderer

, but no.

The magic and magical creatures seemed interesting and I wish they were explored more. I enjoyed reading about setting the faerie trap, for example, and the demon later on.

I hear the later books get better.

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brigitte's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious fast-paced

Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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valereads's review against another edition

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adventurous dark funny mysterious tense medium-paced

Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I initially binge-read the entire series back in sixth form five(?!) years ago. With the next book in the series expected for next year I wanted to attempt to re-read the series before I read Peace Talks.

I remember thinking the first time I read Storm Front that it had a slow start in the first couple of chapters. I found this to be accurate upon re-reading but once it gets going it really gets going. This book is fast-paced and action packed with a compelling mystery and (mostly) likable protagonist.

One thing that bothered me that didn't affect me so much on my initial read through was the level of blatant misogyny from our protagonist. Female characters are constantly over-sexualised and Dresden frequently makes sexist (and exorsexist) comments in both narration and dialogue. I do remember there being less of this in later books in the series but I'll have to see as I continue this series re-read.

Overall I very much enjoyed re-reading this book despite it's flaws. If you can handle the misogyny I'd definitely recommend this series.

Content Warnings: misogyny, exorsexism, domestic abuse

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