Reviews tagging 'Blood'

Das begabte Kind by Juno Dawson

57 reviews

traa's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny tense 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

4.25

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Dysphoria, and War

Moderate: Fatphobia and Outing

Minor: Pandemic/Epidemic

maregred's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark funny mysterious 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? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Transphobia

Moderate: Animal death, Death, Infidelity, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Blood, Kidnapping, Car accident, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Minor: Domestic abuse, Sexual content, Abortion, and Pregnancy

th18's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious tense fast-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? It's complicated

3.75

Heres a few points I noted down whilst reading:

• Fast pace and seemed more YA than anything, too many modern references for me personally but each to their own. 
•  This also felt like the second book of the series at the start there was just so much unexplained things thrown in.
•  Whilst the book did deal with modern topics such as race and trans rights, I wish it also talked a bit about harmful beauty standards due to Elle literally hiding her true self from her husband. 
•  I feel like the amount of swear words was also unnneeded.
•  I love the idea of queer witches and empowered modern women but I feel like the talk about adulthood was very bleak
•  The writing and worldbuilding also felt quite underdeveloped which was disappointing 
•  Finally the use of the d slur was completely unneeded

 Although I've only mentioned the negatives, I did have an okay time reading this and it was quite engaging but it could definitely have been better. 

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Bullying, Child abuse, Cursing, Deadnaming, Death, Hate crime, Homophobia, Transphobia, Blood, Grief, Car accident, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Dysphoria, and Classism

Minor: Infidelity, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Self harm, Toxic relationship, Kidnapping, Abortion, Outing, Toxic friendship, and Abandonment

miniingrid's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

Tiene puntos interesantes y que son necesarios visibilizar. Pero ha intentado acaparar tanto que la mayoría se quedan en poco más que una mención.
La historia es un cliché detrás de otro, y quiero creer que el dumping superficial de la diversidad en los personajes de debe a que es la primera novela de la serie. Quizás sea el tono, que me parece muy básico y simple.
En general me gustan las novelas de fantasía/ciencia ficción que tratan temas importantes y duros, pero sin perder ese punto de desconexión con la realidad que te permite evadirte aunque solo sea un poco. Aquí se recrea tanto en la transfobia sin aportar una réplica al mismo nivel, que me parece una oportunidad perdida y un simple (pero perfectamente comprensible) desahogo. Y me ha dejado con la sensación de estar leyendo a las terfas de Twitter más que una novela de fantasía.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Bullying, Death, Hate crime, Infidelity, Transphobia, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Car accident, Murder, Outing, and Alcohol

Minor: Domestic abuse and Racism

meliemelo's review against another edition

adventurous dark inspiring tense 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

Is this book perfectly well written? No.

Did I have a tremendous amount of fun reading it? YES.

Some parts may seem heavy-handed, and all the Spice Girls reference may not age well, sure. I maintain my five stars, if only because I thoroughly enjoy this novel - which I read entirely within the course of one day and two train journeys. The characters are interesting, the queer rep pretty good, the you-know-who tackles feel great, and most of all I really loved the story and the universe it is set in. Also hands down one of the best (or most fun) closing lines ever.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Sexual content, Transphobia, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, Outing, Alcohol, and War

Moderate: Racism, Toxic relationship, and Xenophobia

rorikae's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional 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

4.5

'Her Majesty's Royal Coven' by Juno Dawson is an emotional fantasy about a group of childhood friends who have felt their friendship tried in their adult lives.
Niamh, Helena, Elle, Leonie, and Ciara all grew up together as budding witches. As kids they were fast friends but as women in their mid-30s and after the fallout of a war, life has changed for all of them. Helena is head of Her Majesty's Royal Coven, Niamh is a veterinarian living in a small town, Elle is taking care of her two children, and Leonie has started her own coven dedicated to marginalized witches. Ciara is in a coma after the events of the war. When Theo, a teenager with incredible magical power is discovered, Helena fears that they are the prophesized Sullied Child that will destroy the witches. Niamh on the other hand just sees a young child with too much power who has never been shown care in their life. With differing views, tensions begin to rise as they each determine what is the appropriate step forward. 
Dawson has written an adult fantasy that is hard to put down while dealing with a number of different subjects. It is clear that this book is in large part inspired by She-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named and her transphobia. Dawson delves into a number of different subjects while creating a cast of characters that it is easy to love. She also does a good job of showcasing how a belief in how things should be can escalate into full bigotry. There is a twist at the end of this first book that makes me excited and terrified for where this story is going next. Dawson's writing is straightforward but the plot and characters made this a story I had a hard time putting down. If you are looking for a fast paced fantasy set in our world and dealing with many of our current issues, 'Her Majesty's Royal Coven' is a great book to pick up. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Death, Transphobia, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Car accident, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: War

Minor: Abandonment

shannnne_reads_words's review against another edition

adventurous dark reflective tense fast-paced

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

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Transphobia, and Violence

Moderate: Death, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Sexism, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Car accident, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Ableism, Animal death, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Abortion, and Outing

bookhoe1's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective medium-paced

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

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Transphobia and Blood

amberinpieces's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious medium-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? Yes

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Transphobia

Moderate: Body horror, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Misogyny, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Animal death, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Infidelity, Racism, Kidnapping, Grief, Car accident, Outing, Gaslighting, Colonisation, Dysphoria, and Classism

questingnotcoasting's review against another edition

adventurous dark 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

I think this is my favourite book of 2023 so far. I loved the premise and luckily the execution really lived up to my hopes for it. I found the structure and bureaucracy of the magic system so interesting and I became very attached to some of the characters. Juno Dawson also does a great job mixing urban fantasy and contemporary social justice issues. I listened to the audiobook which was brilliantly narrated by Nicola Coughlan. I sometimes don't feel like I'm as invested in stories I listen to rather than read with my eyes but I was so absorbed in this. The different character POV chapters felt so distinct because Coughlan's accents were great. Although I usually hate

a cliff-hanger ending

I can respect it and I'll definitely be picking up the next one. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Death, Mental illness, Torture, Transphobia, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Car accident, Murder, Outing, and War