thecatconstellation's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I have really mixed feelings about this book. I like the set up with the tarot card chapters interspersed throughout the story. But I hate the main character. I don’t know if it’s because she’s a teenager or what, but her view on relationships and feels so toxic.
Spoiler
being in a relationship with Pix magically curing her pot addiction
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug abuse, Toxic relationship, Drug use, Stalking, Alcohol, Homophobia, Lesbophobia, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Sexual assault, Bullying, Infidelity, Chronic illness, Vomit, Addiction, Medical content, and Violence
Minor: Biphobia, Panic attacks/disorders, and Religious bigotry
lonely_tardigrade's review against another edition
This book was a lot more depressing than I expected. A lot of the problems I had with it could be attributed to the imbalance of what I thought the book would be like and what it actually ended up being. I just don’t have the mental capacity right now for the kinds of heavy topics it introduced, which is why I didn’t finish it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Chronic illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Drug use, Drug abuse, and Mental illness
Moderate: Bullying, Alcohol, Homophobia, Toxic relationship, Alcoholism, Car accident, and Lesbophobia
Minor: Medical content and Sexual content
kyahfae's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
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
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug use, Toxic friendship, Homophobia, and Lesbophobia
Moderate: Addiction, Deadnaming, Emotional abuse, Rape, Chronic illness, and Sexual assault
Minor: Vomit
aqulia's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Toxic relationship, Stalking, Addiction, and Chronic illness
Minor: Vomit, Blood, Sexual assault, Violence, Homophobia, and Alcohol
betweentheshelves's review
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- 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
This is going to be the perfect October book, honestly! I loved the witchy vibes and the way that the story was framed overall by tarot cards. I learned a lot about tarot cards that I didn't know before, and I loved the setting of Salem. Given what Salem is associated with, seeing Eleanor's perspective and the way it's been made so commercial really gave the book a fall feel. I loved that.
There's a lot of a buildup in this book to something, but not a ton of resolution? A lot of the reviews on here are mad about the excessive marijuana smoking and it not being addressed, but that honestly didn't really bother me. I think I just wanted to see a little more of Eleanor's healing process there at the end; it overall just felt a little rushed to me.
But, if you're looking for a sapphic witchy book to read this fall, I'd definitely recommend this one!
There's a lot of a buildup in this book to something, but not a ton of resolution? A lot of the reviews on here are mad about the excessive marijuana smoking and it not being addressed, but that honestly didn't really bother me. I think I just wanted to see a little more of Eleanor's healing process there at the end; it overall just felt a little rushed to me.
But, if you're looking for a sapphic witchy book to read this fall, I'd definitely recommend this one!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Drug use, and Lesbophobia
Moderate: Bullying, Homophobia, and Sexual assault
Minor: Emotional abuse, Misogyny, and Rape
uraveragelesbianreader's review against another edition
emotional
funny
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I picked this book up on a whim because it was on sale at my local bookstore and I was not disappointed. It was a fun modern love story with a unique concept and an important narrative hidden beneath it. The book itself was beautiful and the way Tarot cards before chapters gave you an idea of what would occur within the chapter was beautiful both in design and in concept. I think because I came into this book with very few expectations I enjoyed it. My advice is don't make this book anything its not and don't come in expecting wonderful prose and a captivating deeply realistic story line, read it the way you would watch a 90s romcom and you will have a good time. That being said I don't think this book is lacking depth. Though the L word is never said explicitly our main character is a lesbian and has experiences that I feel many of us can relate to. That conflict in the book feels very realistic and relatable but where I think this book struggles is it attempts to fit into a mould that was not made for it. It tries to fit a very typical romance book format when that's not really what this book is this leads to the pace feeling a bit janky and some of the later conflict between the main characters feeling contrived and unnatural. Overall this book is fun but I would not reccomend paying full price for it, get it from the library or pick it up on sale. I would specifically recommend this book for those who want an atypical romance book and those who feel like reading a book about a lesbian sceptic and a bisexual witch falling in love.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug abuse, Toxic friendship, Lesbophobia, Addiction, and Drug use
Moderate: Terminal illness, Domestic abuse, and Medical trauma
lizlogan's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
fast-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
4.0
This book is unashamedly queer and shows great representations of witchcraft.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Drug use, Abandonment, Grief, Stalking, Bullying, and Emotional abuse
suspicioussherbet4's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcohol, Bullying, Chronic illness, Drug use, Lesbophobia, Stalking, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Sexual assault
_teoeo's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol, Bullying, Drug abuse, Drug use, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Sexual assault, Addiction, Chronic illness, Mental illness, Gaslighting, Homophobia, and Lesbophobia
bookstarbri's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Update:
Sooo a friend asked me about this book and it made me remember a lot of feelings I had about it. Idk. this book had so much going for it (like the tarot cards and witchcraft was really fun), but the more I sit with it (and it's been months lol), I just don't love the way the character development and some of the history of these characters went. Idk. I think the author was trying to make a commentary on the predatory queer trope but I don't this was done well and the more I think about it, the more it bothers me. I initially gave this a 3.75, but I'm taking it down 1.25 for some of these problems. Also, it is a surprisingly dark book and definitely needs to have CWs listed !
This book hooked me in very early! I was sort of surprised. The premise alone was super interesting to me, but I still wasn't expecting to be drawn in so quickly. I think a lot of that had to do with Eleanor. She was a really well thought-out character. Though I felt very different from her, I was easily able to empathize with much of what she went through, especially in her relationship with Pix. I think the two of them were my favorite part of this story along with the magic. It was a very sweet relationship that stemmed from a genuine respect of one another.
Much of this story was flashbacks into the traumatic part of Eleanor's story. Some of it is pretty uncomfortable as Eleanor made horrible, obsessive decisions in the past that ended up changing her life (or, at least, the perspective of her life). Reading these parts were really difficult because Eleanor does have a problem with forming strong attachments/addictions to people/things to help her cope with her own mental health challenges. So when the central conflict came to its climax, it would've been nice to see Eleanor work through that more to really address that, and it didn't feel like that resolution fully happened. This was my biggest issue with the book. The witch vibes were really cool and I LOVED the tarot card aspect of this book so much. The characterization was also great, in particular for Eleanor, Pix, and Chloe ().
Thank you so much to NetGalley and Balzer + Bray for providing an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!
Sooo a friend asked me about this book and it made me remember a lot of feelings I had about it. Idk. this book had so much going for it (like the tarot cards and witchcraft was really fun), but the more I sit with it (and it's been months lol), I just don't love the way the character development and some of the history of these characters went. Idk. I think the author was trying to make a commentary on the predatory queer trope but I don't this was done well and the more I think about it, the more it bothers me. I initially gave this a 3.75, but I'm taking it down 1.25 for some of these problems. Also, it is a surprisingly dark book and definitely needs to have CWs listed !
This book hooked me in very early! I was sort of surprised. The premise alone was super interesting to me, but I still wasn't expecting to be drawn in so quickly. I think a lot of that had to do with Eleanor. She was a really well thought-out character. Though I felt very different from her, I was easily able to empathize with much of what she went through, especially in her relationship with Pix. I think the two of them were my favorite part of this story along with the magic. It was a very sweet relationship that stemmed from a genuine respect of one another.
Much of this story was flashbacks into the traumatic part of Eleanor's story. Some of it is pretty uncomfortable as Eleanor made horrible, obsessive decisions in the past that ended up changing her life (or, at least, the perspective of her life). Reading these parts were really difficult because Eleanor does have a problem with forming strong attachments/addictions to people/things to help her cope with her own mental health challenges. So when the central conflict came to its climax, it would've been nice to see Eleanor work through that more to really address that, and it didn't feel like that resolution fully happened. This was my biggest issue with the book. The witch vibes were really cool and I LOVED the tarot card aspect of this book so much. The characterization was also great, in particular for Eleanor, Pix, and Chloe (
Spoiler
who is never actually present in the story and is only a character in the flashbacks, but she still feels very relevant to Eleanor's present selfThank you so much to NetGalley and Balzer + Bray for providing an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Drug abuse, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Bullying and Lesbophobia
Minor: Sexual assault
More...