Reviews tagging 'Violence'

A Secret History of Witches by Louisa Morgan

7 reviews

jnicoleq's review

adventurous emotional hopeful fast-paced

• 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

I really liked the first half of this book, but it felt a little lazy towards the middle/end. The book follows five generations of witches. The first two generations received a lot more attention and character development than the latter three. I became invested in the way generations one and two differed in their upbringings, desire to practice the craft, and ideas of family/community. 
From generation three onwards, the storyline became repetitive and formulaic. We meet the main character at 16, they discover their power, they use their power to achieve whatever it is that they want, and they eventually face the consequences of their actions. I would have rather read just two or three generations’ stories if it meant that they would be higher quality. 
Something else that bugged me was the fact that none of these women, in five generations, strayed even a little bit from the white, heterosexual, cisgender female prototype. In five generations, none of these women had a sapphic (or just romantically complicated) relationship with another woman? Or a person of color? None of them struggled with their identity as a woman? When it comes to romance, this book definitely suffers from Cinderella syndrome. 
Overall, I appreciate the general aesthetic and concept of the book. I like the fact that it centers around women, and that it deals heavily with complicated mother/daughter relationships. The magic is cool, the history is cool, and the writing is very easy to get into. Someone else mentioned that the author has a good “flow” and I totally agree with that. Worth picking it up if you don’t mind the drawbacks!

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Misogyny, Physical abuse, Violence, Religious bigotry, Abortion, and Pregnancy

goblintrash's review against another edition

challenging emotional mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Religious bigotry, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Misogyny, Violence, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Abandonment, Alcohol, and War

Minor: Abortion

hannahduda's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional slow-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Death, Genocide, Infertility, Misogyny, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Antisemitism, Grief, Religious bigotry, Abortion, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Abandonment, and War

luna_staci's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative sad tense medium-paced

• 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Death, Infertility, Infidelity, Violence, Religious bigotry, Abortion, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and War

circe813's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, Genocide, Misogyny, Violence, Abortion, Death of parent, and War

Moderate: Animal death

kyrstin_p1989's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective 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? It's complicated

4.0

Moving and complex, this novel tells the story of the Orchiere witches, spanning over several decades. The book has some slow parts but the rest of the book makes up for those. The characters are as complex and intriguing as the story itself and the underlying thread that talks of feminine power is just as applicable today as it was one hundred years ago. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Hate crime, Infidelity, Misogyny, Violence, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and War

Moderate: Animal death, Antisemitism, and Abortion

laurenfro22's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense medium-paced

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

4.5

Loved this-finished in 2 days! Loved the setting of the plot against the flow of ‘real world’ history. Beautiful writing, complex characters, fabulous depiction of the complicated relationship between mothers/daughters. Interesting exploration of destiny versus self determined and the choices we make echoing the past. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence

Moderate: Death, Misogyny, Sexual content, and Grief