Reviews with content warning for Pregnancy - The House Witch 2

**This is for the audiobook version of this title.**

A continuation of the first book (as in this is really not a sequel so much as more of the first book) this is another charming entry into the world of The House Witch. This is a cosy fantasy and it feels like hanging out with slightly bizarre friends.

While we delve more into the lives and histories of the characters introduced in the first book the execution is a little uneven. Sometimes we bounce back and forth in time which would work better if it was just for a chapter at a time. At one point the love story between the king and queen is revealed, which is lovely, but transition is truly awkward. Since there don’t seem to be any chapters (at least no notation of them on the audiobook) sometimes once scene abruptly changes to a completely different point of view.

**light spoiler**There is another scene in which a particular mental illness is discussed that threw me out of the story. While the characters behaved in a kind and accepting manner the portrayal by the book itself seemed a little forced. While I applaud the inclusion of characters experiencing mental challenges, it didn’t feel like an especially organic way to include this character. It was informative but not storytelling, it felt more like a lecture.

This is a fun series that I will continue to read. The characters are engaging and the situations fun, but I wouldn’t say this is an especially cohesive book.

Content Warnings

rrgailey's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny medium-paced

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

4.0

I wasn’t ready to leave this world after the first book and happily dove right into the second. I enjoyed getting to know a bit more about some of the side characters, and while the plot felt maybe a bit darker and scattered at times compared to the first book, the vibes continued to be immaculate.

Content Warnings

litwitchbitch's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious 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

5.0

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eicart_reads's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional lighthearted medium-paced

4.0

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angelchrys's review against another edition

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funny lighthearted fast-paced

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

4.0

Content Warnings

discarded_dust_jacket's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

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

3.5

This book would be fine (I liked it better than the first one to be honest) if it wasn’t for one very uncomfortable scene:

There is a character in this book that, when the protagonist meets them, is described as a man in a dress using a feminine voice, and is deliberately addressed using he/him pronouns, which set off all sorts of transphobic red flags in my mind. It’s revealed that this character is not in fact trans, but has multiple personalities inside of them, at least one of which being a woman. This didn’t make me feel much better, because even though the character is not actually transgender, the fact remains that the stigma associating transgender people with mental illness is very real and very harmful, and it just gives me a bad feeling about the entire scene/character.

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