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missjaward's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
In 1619 Althea is on trial for potential witchcraft, accused of putting a spell on her friend's husband, John, to kill him after finding out he was abusing his wife (Althea's friend Grace who was being beaten up because she could not provide him with an heir), Althea is actually involved in his death by proxy when 'her' crow causes his cows to stampede and kill him. Althea is found not-guilty in trial and very bizarrely at the end invites a local boy into her house to have sex with her one time so she can get pregnant and have a daughter. That was a bit weird.
Violet 1942 - doesn't know much about her own dead mother and lives a lonely life in a grand house. Her cousin comes to visit and rapes her (let's not forget not only was she a child but this is quite incestuous). When she becomes pregnant she is cast out of the family home into her mothers old poor cottage where she finds her mother old 'recipe/concoction' books and induces her own miscarriage. Its never really explained why her father chose the mother in the first place as she was obviously from such poor background and never seemed to care about her. Why would a man with all the riches and wealth choose someone like her (who he himself calls strange) without actually being truly in love with her? She lives the rest of her life without children but has visions of her brothers kid suffering in the future (she sees visions of a car accident and a horrible man), so she chooses to leave all of her possessions to her when she dies rather than try and make contact again. hmm. the cousin also basically gets away with the rape, although it is alluded that Violet puts a curse on the family home so it is infested with bugs until her death
Modern day Kate - finds the courage to leave her abusive relationship when she realises she is pregnant. She flees in the night to the cottage left to her and tries to start anew. While I totally get fleeing the abusive relationship - there is no real thought to what is going to happen after the baby comes. Unless its reported in the right ways, the father is likely to find out and demand visitation because he is so controlling anyway. She also keeps blaming herself for her dad's death after he was hit by a car when she was distracted by a crow (the crow in question being her aunts - so really did she ultimately kill her brother?!)
The endings of each story were pretty predicable. The only one I really didn't like was Altheas where it was so important to her to have a child that she just randomly bedded a guy from the village once so she could be impregnated. I quite liked the end of Kates story where she was able to almost use her witchy powers to have the birds and spiders attack Simon making him leave. I think I would have preferred more of the witchy elements rather than just the abusive men storylines but heyho.
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Incest, Infertility, Miscarriage, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Grief, Abortion, Death of parent, and Pregnancy
bmatth3's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Domestic abuse, Incest, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, Medical trauma, Abortion, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, and Classism
Moderate: Infertility
Minor: War
kitfkat's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Abortion, Death of parent, Murder, and Pregnancy
Moderate: Alcoholism, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Vomit, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Incest, Infertility, Miscarriage, Medical content, and War
victoriastarkid's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Blood, Abortion, Death of parent, and Pregnancy
Moderate: Rape, Suicidal thoughts, and Grief
Minor: Alcoholism, Animal death, Confinement, Death, Infertility, Miscarriage, Self harm, Vomit, Car accident, Suicide attempt, and War
acourtofsaraflames's review against another edition
4.0
I was expecting more witchcraft than trauma reading this. Most reviews mention to read the content warnings and I agree. I tried to add as many as I could remember. At the height of the stories there’s abuse, mostly physical, and unwanted/unplanned pregnancy. I don’t want to spoil anything further so I’ll leave it at that but read the rest of the warnings in case something may be triggering to you. The beauty behind this story is the resilience of the three women and how their stories are connected. The women are alike and intertwined in more ways than one. We get their POV’s that take place over 400 years.
A couple of my favorite quotes (spoiler free):
“Witch. The word slithers from the mouth like a serpent. Drips from the tongue as thick and black as tar. We never thought of ourselves as witches, my mother and I, for this was a word invented by men. A word that brings power to those who speak it, not those it describes.”
Graphic: Rape and Abortion
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Incest, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Grief, Medical trauma, Car accident, and Pregnancy
Minor: Infertility, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Suicide attempt, Murder, and War
jkunke's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
5.0
Moderate: Death, Domestic abuse, Infertility, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Vomit, Car accident, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Alcohol
Minor: War
alfspoilerspren's review
- 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
5.0
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Stalking, Car accident, Abortion, Pregnancy, and Sexual harassment
bubblybelle's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Graphic: Confinement, Domestic abuse, Rape, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Abortion, and Pregnancy
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Death, Emotional abuse, Incest, Car accident, Death of parent, and Alcohol
Minor: Animal death, Cancer, Infertility, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Dementia, and Suicide attempt
h_teichman's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Infertility, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Car accident, Abortion, Suicide attempt, and Pregnancy
somethingwickedx's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Pregnancy
Moderate: Rape, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Grief, Abortion, Suicide attempt, and Murder
Minor: Death, Infertility, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Medical trauma, Stalking, Car accident, Death of parent, and Murder