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cab15's review against another edition
dark
sad
slow-paced
- Loveable characters? No
2.25
Content Warnings
Moderate: Rape and Suicide
amyableamy's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
sad
tense
medium-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? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Suicide, Violence, Religious bigotry, and Pregnancy
Moderate: Child abuse
Minor: Animal death and Death of parent
emkam's review against another edition
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Infertility, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, Murder, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Classism
thequeercaseofmarius's review against another edition
dark
emotional
informative
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- 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
This is a pretty decent book, well-researched and very easy to read. Cunning Women was unlike the usual kind of stuff I read but I still enjoyed it, the world was very vivid and the mix of Old English with modern English was well-done and easy to understand. I also really liked how the author managed to effortlessly weave the characters’ reality and beliefs into the story, so magic could be real or not in this novel. I don’t know.
The romance aspect was pretty sweet, however I do think Daniel was too selfless and was giving up too much for Sarah from the get-go; much like Peeta did in the first Hunger Games book. I just don’t see this trope as realistic or healthy, and it gives young readers the idea that a girl being rude to a guy is just evidence that she’s wildly attracted to him and he should just be more smothering and insistent. Also, the cunning folk in this story work with the devil, and I’m pretty sure cunning folk are not demonic in real life so I found that aspect of the story disappointing.
But as I said this isn’t the usual kind of stuff I read, and I still thought it was an enjoyable novel. If you like romance, history, and folklore, you’d probably enjoy Cunning Women.
Edit: I was right! Sources and evidence from the appropriate time periods show that Cunning folk practised Christianity, and even called upon saints in the conjuring of folk magic. There has been some popular arguments originating from the Victorian era that say that accused witches had been practicing pagans, and even that the devil is a Christian reimagining of a pagan deity. I think these are the theories that Cunning Women was based upon, but most modern historians don’t believe the surviving paganism theory to be true and I don’t either.
The romance aspect was pretty sweet, however I do think Daniel was too selfless and was giving up too much for Sarah from the get-go; much like Peeta did in the first Hunger Games book. I just don’t see this trope as realistic or healthy, and it gives young readers the idea that a girl being rude to a guy is just evidence that she’s wildly attracted to him and he should just be more smothering and insistent. Also, the cunning folk in this story work with the devil, and I’m pretty sure cunning folk are not demonic in real life so I found that aspect of the story disappointing.
But as I said this isn’t the usual kind of stuff I read, and I still thought it was an enjoyable novel. If you like romance, history, and folklore, you’d probably enjoy Cunning Women.
Edit: I was right! Sources and evidence from the appropriate time periods show that Cunning folk practised Christianity, and even called upon saints in the conjuring of folk magic. There has been some popular arguments originating from the Victorian era that say that accused witches had been practicing pagans, and even that the devil is a Christian reimagining of a pagan deity. I think these are the theories that Cunning Women was based upon, but most modern historians don’t believe the surviving paganism theory to be true and I don’t either.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Grief, Suicide attempt, and Murder
Moderate: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Abortion, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Death of parent
amethyst1551's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Rape and Suicide
happyladyjadereads's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
3.75
A strong and engaging debut, this tale of star crossed lovers in Lancashire England in 1620 is reminiscent of Bridget Collins’ The Binding with young people trapped by their circumstance in poverty and magic rooted in pagan belief. It is heartily enjoyable, with a strong narrative throughout and a love for readers to root for. It really got me thinking about cult mentality and the power one loud voice has over others, so I now can’t wait for her follow up novels.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence
Moderate: Rape
guinevere_s1994's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
tense
slow-paced
2.75
I was not sure what to make of this book at first. It begins quite slow and I was not overly keen on the authors writing style. However, after continuing on I found that I cared about the main character and her relationships with her family and others in her life. Having said that some of the characters actions were a little annoying considering the consequences they faced and it felt like they should have and would have made smarter choices at times. I still enjoyed the story for what it was though. The ending was unexpected though thankfully not as unpleasant as it could have been and it leaves you with a sense of hope for Sarah and her family after everything they have been through.
The writing style continued to bother me a little. there was a handful of passages I had to reread as the way sentences are broken up makes it difficult to follow the story easily sometimes but as I was reading an ARC I suspect there might be some further editing to go through yet.
To finish off, I would probably recommend this book to anyone looking for a short-ish standalone story that has some challenging moments throughout but has you routing for the main characters and leaves you with a sense of hope at the end.
The writing style continued to bother me a little. there was a handful of passages I had to reread as the way sentences are broken up makes it difficult to follow the story easily sometimes but as I was reading an ARC I suspect there might be some further editing to go through yet.
To finish off, I would probably recommend this book to anyone looking for a short-ish standalone story that has some challenging moments throughout but has you routing for the main characters and leaves you with a sense of hope at the end.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Blood
Moderate: Cursing, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, and Grief
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