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amyvl93's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
In terms of what did work well, whenever we side-barred away from the main plot to information about the world and the witch lore was really well crafted. I could have read a whole novel about the witches history - and to be honest, would have actually quite liked to read the novel about the events prior to this one. I also really liked Niamh as a protagonist, she felt the most rounded of the women whose heads we spend time in and again, a novel just following her using her healing powers to be a vet would have been a wholesome good time.
However, lots about this just didn't work for me. I found the prose to often feel quite juvenile, with the women feeling a lot younger than they actually were. There's so much slang and pop culture references in here, which felt very cringe and already aged the book despite it being a recent release. The teenage characters also didn't feel believable - a lot of their dialogue didn't feel at all recognisable as how teens actually speak to each other.
Many of the characters felt very shallowly defined by their identities with little space for nuance - Helena's villain arc ultimately felt quite a stretch, and Leonie seemed defined by her blackness and her queerness which feels at odds of the message of the book to see people as more than their identities. I agree with the messages that Dawson wants to get across here, but they felt quite heavy handed. This is a shame as there's such a need to challenge transphobic rhetoric, but I'm not sure if someone stumbling across this novel who may have other views would have their minds changed.
The ending also made me so mad it killed any vague notion I may have had of finishing the series...a miss for me; but many love it so may be one to check out if you want a pacey fantasy read.
Graphic: Transphobia
Moderate: Grief
shannenscribbles's review against another edition
- 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? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Animal death, Bullying, Child abuse, Torture, Transphobia, Grief, Toxic friendship, and Abandonment
queencatroyal's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Deadnaming, Transphobia, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Grief, Car accident, and Outing
atamano's review against another edition
- 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
3.5
Graphic: Body shaming, Misogyny, Sexism, Transphobia, Murder, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Homophobia, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Minor: Cursing, Domestic abuse, and Abandonment
lorriss's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Deadnaming, Death, Gore, Misogyny, Racism, Sexual content, Transphobia, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Outing, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Infidelity, Miscarriage, Racial slurs, Vomit, Medical content, Religious bigotry, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Colonisation, and Classism
Minor: Child death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Homophobia, Rape, Sexual violence, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Excrement, Abortion, Pregnancy, Lesbophobia, and Pandemic/Epidemic
courtnoodles's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Death, Drug use, Gore, Physical abuse, Transphobia, Violence, Blood, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Outing, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Cursing, Sexual content, Forced institutionalization, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol
Minor: Confinement
hematthews's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Death, Hate crime, Transphobia, Violence, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Outing, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Deadnaming, Blood, Grief, Medical trauma, Car accident, Fire/Fire injury, and Alcohol
corvinscorner's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Transphobia
Moderate: Child abuse, Deadnaming, Death, Homophobia, Misogyny, Sexism, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Kidnapping, Grief, Lesbophobia, Cultural appropriation, Toxic friendship, and Classism
zias's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Animal death and Transphobia
Moderate: Death, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail
risaleel's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Graphic: Death, Racism, Transphobia, Death of parent, Outing, and War
Moderate: Sexism, Toxic relationship, Violence, Kidnapping, Grief, and Toxic friendship
Minor: Confinement, Drug use, Infidelity, Kidnapping, Gaslighting, and Abandonment