Reviews tagging 'Violence'

The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna

10 reviews

httponyo's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful inspiring relaxing 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

5.0

   OOOOH I LOVED IT. I did a nice little old lady shimmy in my chair when I finished it. Just pure happiness radiating from me.  I think there's a good juggle of seriousness and comedy that Mandanna just does so well.

     I LOVED Mika Moon ( the alliteration name makes me giggle ) , Jamie, Ian , Ken , Lucie,  Terracotta,  Altamira , Primrose, Rosetta and Agatha! Because ofcourse there was a witch named Agatha!! Heavens just everybody was perfect , right down to the Koi fish. Mandanna writes a warm comfy and witch story without overloading you on a magic system or traumadumping everybody's backstory within the first few page . 

  Sangu Mandanna doesn't throw what the message is in your face , but gently and precisely tells you what she means to say. Such a warm blend of comedy and seriousness where there needs to be.  The plot and the romance just glides together so nicely , I wish we coulda had a little more Jamie x Mika moments but on the other hand I do like the amount we have now in a way. I'll rely on fanfics to see married found family 💜

He rolled his eyes. " I don't think there's been a single moment since the day you told me we're all made up of stardust that I haven't wanted you.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse and Abandonment

Moderate: Sexual content and Death of parent

Minor: Death and Violence

jenny_bean_reads's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful lighthearted reflective 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

4.5

A very cozy, sweet, witchy story about found family and the different ways trauma shapes us.

The author did a wonderful job fleshing out all of the characters and showing the relationships within the found family at the center of this book. I love the immediate feeling of belonging that Mike feels at Nowhere House, though I legit want her YouTube channel to be real!

If you enjoy witchy stories with a touch of spice, you need to read this book. 

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Content Warnings

Minor: Child abuse, Violence, and Abandonment

dahud's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted 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? No

3.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexual content

Minor: Child abuse and Violence

wickedgrumpy's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.75

This was a very welcome softer read.  It had the found family, the magic, life passions/ambitions, the kids were cute, and let's not forget the swoony words!

I don't know if I would change the rating if I reread it but since it's the first in a series I will continue when more books are released, there's a chance.

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Content Warnings

Minor: Confinement, Cursing, Death, Homophobia, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, Death of parent, Outing, Gaslighting, Abandonment, and Alcohol

ophycore's review against another edition

adventurous funny hopeful lighthearted 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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Sexual content, and Abandonment

Moderate: Child death, Confinement, Racism, Violence, Grief, Death of parent, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Cancer, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, and Fire/Fire injury

kaitlinnoodles's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted slow-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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, and Abandonment

Minor: Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Homophobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Grief, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

headachesince03's review against another edition

medium-paced

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

2.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Violence, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Abandonment, and Alcohol

redefiningrachel's review against another edition

hopeful lighthearted 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Murder, and Abandonment

Moderate: Body horror, Emotional abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Pregnancy

Minor: Alcoholism, Homophobia, Racism, and Sexual content

booksthatburn's review against another edition

lighthearted 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

4.0

THE VERY SECRET SOCIETY OF IRREGULAR WITCHES is a funny and heartwarming story of found family, starring a lonely witch and a house full of people working to protect three very young witches.

The setting is almost real-world England, but where magic and witches are real while the rest of history seems to have been unaffected. Mika was born in India but was taken to England by Primrose after her mother died (all witches are orphaned soon after birth due to a spell that went wrong sometime in the past). There are various themes of bigotry, marginalization, and even colonialism which are invoked by the characters, but only the magical counterpart is specifically explored. Since a lot of heavy lifting for the worldbuilding is implied by the contemporary setting and setting most of the book at Nowhere House, this has the room to focus mainly on characterization. 

Ian is a retired actor who resides at Nowhere House with Ken, his husband and the house's gardener. Lucie is the housekeeper, and Jamie is the grumpy and protective librarian who originally came to the house as a teenager. The children (Altamira, Terracotta, and Rosetta) are very young witches who were adopted by the house's absent owner, Lillian, a witch and archeologist. Ian finds Mika online and invites her to stay at the house for several months and teach the children to control their magic. Mika, who has led a very lonely life due to her former guardian's ideas about witches and the dangers of spending time with one another, agrees to stay but keeps feeling a bit on the outside.

The story is generally heartwarming, focusing on Mika's interactions with the inhabitants of the house. Jamie is grumpy in a way that's initially annoying to Mika but which starts being a bit sexy as she gets to know him better. Mika was invited to the house because there's going to be a visit from Lillian's lawyer and they need the children's magic to be under control (or at least hidden) during the event. They haven't been able to get in touch with Lillian, and none of the other adults are magical, so they have to hope that Mika can help them.

This was fluffier than I usually like, but I ended up enjoying it (especially once Jamie and Mika start really talking). The late-book twist was handled very well and led to some of my favorite scenes in the whole thing.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content

Moderate: Confinement, Cursing, Kidnapping, Grief, and Alcohol

Minor: Animal death, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racism, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Medical content, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, and Classism

purplepenning's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.25

Author Sangu Mandanna set out to write a "warm, cozy, romantic story about magic and family. A story that was, above all things, about love and human connection." She did just exactly that.

Pick this one up if you're looking for a unique, funny, heartwarming comfort read with witches galore (a studious young orphan, a murderously protective younger orphan, a high-spirited youngest orphan, lonely practitioners, an imperious elder), a mysterious absentee benefactor, a sweet housekeeper, an impish retired actor, a steady gardener, a golden-coated golden-hearted retriever, a floating koi pond, a sexy scowling growling librarian, and magic sprinkled like stardust throughout a found-family story. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment

Moderate: Bullying, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Death of parent, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Confinement, Blood, and Grief