Reviews tagging 'Death of parent'

Magic for Liars by Sarah Gailey

73 reviews

tangleroot_eli's review against another edition

mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

Soooo many mixed feelings about this one. I really like magical mysteries. This one clips along at a fairly good pace, and having the investigator be an outsider is a nice take on the genre. 

But I felt so frustrated by the MC (static and underdeveloped), the interview scenes (tortuous), and the ending

Ivy says that turning the killer in won’t be justice, but it also lets them dodge all accountability, and this killer REALLY needs to be held accountable.

I felt very unsatisfied when I reached the end.

I don’t know if Gailey intends to return to Ivy’s world, but I don’t think I’d follow if they do.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Body horror, Gore, Blood, and Murder

Moderate: Death of parent, Abortion, Vomit, Cancer, Alcoholism, Terminal illness, Alcohol, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Fatphobia, Suicidal thoughts, Eating disorder, and Infidelity

sn03's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Pregnancy, Cancer, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Gaslighting, Gore, Alcohol, and Death of parent

juffnstuff's review

challenging dark emotional medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Cancer, Gore, and Violence

Moderate: Death of parent and Abortion

jeannette_m's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• 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

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death of parent, Abortion, and Cancer

starsnstitchin's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense 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

4.75

What i enjoyed: The author had a beautiful way with words, and it hooked me instantly. The story was very interesting and the twists and turns were quite enjoyable to discover along with the main character. I loved that it didnt have a stereotypical happy ever after and it was very realistic, but it wasnt entirely tragic either. It was so well done and has become one of my favorite books.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Toxic relationship, Medical trauma, Pregnancy, Cancer, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Death, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Cursing, Blood, Vomit, Death of parent, Stalking, Violence, Abortion, and Body horror

Moderate: Pedophilia

jazhandz's review against another edition

adventurous dark 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? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

I think this is my favorite Sarah Gailey book I’ve read yet. I had expected it to be a little more twee and Harry Potter-referential (that’s always how it was pitched to me) but instead it was a straight-up noir, and a good one at that. Twisty mystery, complicated hero, sympathy for all parties. Really enjoyed it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Death, Medical content, Body horror, and Abortion

Moderate: Blood, Cancer, Death of parent, Medical trauma, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Pregnancy

froggydanny's review against another edition

mysterious medium-paced

• Loveable characters? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Abortion, Body horror, Death of parent, and Cancer

Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Blood, and Murder

booksandteatime's review

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pregnancy, Panic attacks/disorders, Cancer, Gore, Medical content, Abortion, Blood, Death, and Death of parent

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship and Eating disorder

verinvaldez's review

dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

3.0

Very enjoyable, it's fun to watch Ivy investigate and interview people as long as you ignore that she has never interviewed people before yet is oddly good at it. I didn't care for the romance but think it was a shame that there isn't any closure for either character there. The whole Chosen One plotline was very obvious

Dylan was too flat of a character to have ever actually been the Chosen One.

and the reveal of who did it and why wasn't satisfying to me. The ending felt sudden and I expected more from it.

It's a bit of a miracle Ivy managed to solve this case considering she spends the majority of the book drunk, hungover, obsessing about her new crush and worrying about her relationship with her sister. Gailey tries to dig deeper with themes of parent death, identity and estrangement but it just fell flat for me.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism and Alcohol

Moderate: Medical content, Cancer, Pregnancy, Abortion, Blood, and Death of parent

Minor: Eating disorder

gaby_aldridge's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Cancer, Blood, Death of parent, Alcohol, Murder, Death, Medical trauma, Grief, and Abortion