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withlivjones's review against another edition
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
This was a fun read. I liked the exploration of the complicated nature of childhood friendships and sisterhood, especially when friends grow up and their fundamental beliefs start to clash. I also liked the explorations of topics like grief and motherhood. The story was gripping, even if it took some time for it to get really good. I feel like this would be a good read for people who loved the world of Harry Potter but want to read something with more LGBTQ+ representation and/or that is not written by a TERF.
That said, it’s definitely not a perfect book. As I mentioned, it does take a while for the story to get going and the beginning is quite slow-paced. I found Helena as a character to be fairly one-dimensional compared to the others, the way her transphobia consumed her entire personality and motivations - when imo more of a focus should’ve been on her desire for control and unwillingness to be wrong driving her towards these beliefs and actions - felt quite heavy-handed. Even if her being an abuse victim had been explored further than just being vaguely mentioned, that would’ve fleshed out her character quite a bit. She served her purpose in the story but I think she could’ve been an even more interesting character (while still being a nasty TERF).
The rest of my criticisms were pretty much contained in the final 50 pages of the book, hence the spoiler warning. First, I felt like Theo’s “metamorphosis” felt really… neat? Like it was such a quick resolution for her character and kind of sends a message that trans people who don’t pass or haven’t started their transition are somewhat lesser than trans people who do pass? I’m not trans so I don’t have any authority on the subject whatsoever and I would be really interested to hear opinions on the scene from actual trans people, but personally something about scene just didn’t sit right with me. Secondly, I did NOT like the complete 180 that Snow does in her final scene. I get that grief can radically change people but I still don’t think it could’ve made Snow go from being supportive of Theo when she first talks about her to Helena to straight up calling her a slur in that last scene? Finally, the ending frustrated me - it just felt like an unnecessary cliffhanger when there were already enough unanswered questions to lead to a sequel. Overall, though, the other 90% of the book was really enjoyable and a lot of fun.
That said, it’s definitely not a perfect book. As I mentioned, it does take a while for the story to get going and the beginning is quite slow-paced. I found Helena as a character to be fairly one-dimensional compared to the others, the way her transphobia consumed her entire personality and motivations - when imo more of a focus should’ve been on her desire for control and unwillingness to be wrong driving her towards these beliefs and actions - felt quite heavy-handed. Even if her being an abuse victim had been explored further than just being vaguely mentioned, that would’ve fleshed out her character quite a bit. She served her purpose in the story but I think she could’ve been an even more interesting character (while still being a nasty TERF).
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Transphobia, and Death
Moderate: Outing and Sexism
Minor: Racism and Domestic abuse
rory_o_rama's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
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
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Transphobia and Dysphoria
Moderate: Outing and Violence
mossbelle's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
3.5
🌶
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic friendship, Outing, Death, Car accident, Transphobia, Torture, Racism, Infidelity, and Death of parent
sassyykassie's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse and Transphobia
Moderate: Sexism, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Animal death, and Misogyny
Minor: War, Outing, Child death, and Domestic abuse
taemaeto's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Outing and Transphobia
shottel's review against another edition
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Shock ending that does great damage to the rest of the book. Stop reading after page 417. Cut it off exactly at that page and I’d bump it up a star.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Death, Gaslighting, Outing, Transphobia, Child abuse, Cursing, Dysphoria, Emotional abuse, Blood, and Drug use
thebuzzcutreads_'s review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
- 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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Transphobia
Moderate: Death, Toxic friendship, Forced institutionalization, and Outing
kayleighoneillonwheels's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Animal cruelty, Forced institutionalization, Outing, Misogyny, Violence, and Transphobia
readwithria's review against another edition
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- 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
4.0
Her Majesty’s Royal Coven was the political, witchy-sisterhood book I didn’t know I needed.
I really enjoyed this book, and the characters took the cake. The POV characters, their children and wards, their partners, and all of the side characters felt so fleshed out and real. Their relationships were so fun to read about, even the bad ones.
I will say that it wasn’t until well into the book that I felt like I understood how the magic system worked. The delineation between the different types of witches and what they can do, plus the elemental aspect of witchery, made for a lot of information that I still don’t fully grasp.
I’m very excited to read The Shadow Cabinet! 4 stars.
I really enjoyed this book, and the characters took the cake. The POV characters, their children and wards, their partners, and all of the side characters felt so fleshed out and real. Their relationships were so fun to read about, even the bad ones.
I will say that it wasn’t until well into the book that I felt like I understood how the magic system worked. The delineation between the different types of witches and what they can do, plus the elemental aspect of witchery, made for a lot of information that I still don’t fully grasp.
I’m very excited to read The Shadow Cabinet! 4 stars.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Outing, Transphobia, Murder, Violence, Toxic friendship, and Cursing
Moderate: Blood, War, Kidnapping, Alcohol, Car accident, Forced institutionalization, and Animal death
Minor: Fire/Fire injury
queencatroyal's review against another edition
dark
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I love how this presents women that are firmly over 30, its difficult to find books that celebrate women over 30, especially urban fantasy. Plus I found the plotline with Theo very interesting the way it explores terfism is very interesting, but also feels like our world. There is no allusion in Juno's writing, she hits us straight in the face with an issue taken directly out of our world
Content Warnings
Graphic: Transphobia, Deadnaming, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Car accident, Grief, and Outing