Reviews tagging 'Toxic friendship'
Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna
4 reviews
snailreader91's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
fast-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? It's complicated
5.0
Minor: Death, Death of parent, Child abuse, Toxic friendship, and Toxic relationship
cooliuscaesar451's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
slow-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? It's complicated
4.5
Minor: Confinement, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Child abuse, and Death of parent
verinvaldez's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
1.0
Most of the book was decent and easy to read despite how twee it is, telling instead of showing, not doing anything interesting with witches or magic and how alarmingly one-dimensional the characters are. Not to mention the adults and children all acting very similarly and speaking in the same way, it made the book come across as very juvenile.
What ruined this book for me was the terrible plot twist. The children literally don't care and even, it makes the adults seem stupid at best and manipulative at worst and I was shocked at how Mika quickly got over it just because she has a single sex scene.
The solicitor is meant to be the bad guy but he's the only one with any sense and was genuinely in the right.
I don't know how other people found this cozy at all, but Mandanna's work clearly isn't for me.
What ruined this book for me was the terrible plot twist. The children literally don't care and even
Spoiler
animate their adopted mother's corpse?? But I guess that's okay because she was never around anyway, was that scene meant to be funny?The solicitor is meant to be the bad guy but he's the only one with any sense and was genuinely in the right.
I don't know how other people found this cozy at all, but Mandanna's work clearly isn't for me.
Graphic: Death of parent, Toxic relationship, Death, and Toxic friendship
jenmcreads's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
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? It's complicated
5.0
This is THE cozy, witchy fall read of the year (it’s early in the season but I’m willing to call it). I loved the cast of characters, and the beautiful sense of chosen family throughout this book. The slight slow burn on the romance was perfectly paced. The characters were both diverse and sensitively written, with just the right level of eccentricity. In the first half the stakes perhaps felt low, but once some secrets came out, the stakes were clarified and I was hooked for the rest of the book.
The themes in this book- such as home, belonging, found family- were fairly explicitly stated and perhaps lacking in subtlety, however with how well written the characters were to back up these themes that didn’t bother me. Overall this was just the book I hoped it would be!
The themes in this book- such as home, belonging, found family- were fairly explicitly stated and perhaps lacking in subtlety, however with how well written the characters were to back up these themes that didn’t bother me. Overall this was just the book I hoped it would be!
Moderate: Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, Death, and Grief
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