Reviews with content warning for Transphobia - Her Majesty's Royal Coven

Excuse me, that ending???

I feel like I need to sit with this a bit longer, but it read like Netflix’s Sabrina the Teenage Witch directly challenging JKR.

Trigger warning for transphobia, we get a POV of a TERF witch in this book. It’s very explicitly challenged and shown to be wrong, but still. I can see how triggering that could be to read.

I have some mixed feelings about some minor parts of this (

excuse me, why did Elle’s “friends” not just tell her that her husband is cheating on her?? What kind of sisterhood hides that!?

), but I think ultimately this is a welcome addition to witchy novels that address issues of our time.

Content Warnings

janeywaneyb's review against another edition

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adventurous lighthearted medium-paced

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

1.5

Hmmm....you can't like every book you read. The story is good but the characters...jeez! These characters are insufferable, they spend most of the book harping on about their own woeful problems which I found so hard to care about.
I think there is meant to be a feminist liberal feel to this book but it comes across as preachy and almost uneducated like reading the lefty version of the Daily Mail. I get what the author is trying to do and there is a good try at discussing the social issues especially around transphobia, which is handled well, but having so many issues trying to have space in a book made it clunky and awkward.
There are paragraphs of moaning self-reflection from every character as they obsess over then men in their lives, their childhoods and the "greater good". The references to the 90's pop culture also wears thin. I stuck with it as the actual story was good and when they start being kick-ass witches I was all for it. I don't think I'll be heading for the next book any time soon.

Content Warnings

hallbrooke's review against another edition

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dark medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Content Warnings

themahtin's review against another edition

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dark tense slow-paced

Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

TW: Transphobia is a major plotline. There's a young trans witch and one of the middle-aged ones believes that the young one is the prophesied witch who's going to like end the world or whatever. There are lots of diverse characters -- it's nice to see that their friend group from their time as witches in training is still together -- and the book is very well-written, but it was very hard to tolerate the transphobia .

Content Warnings

scrubsandbooks's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious 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

4.5

This was one hell of a ride but one I immensely enjoyed: queer witches, powerful women, politics mixed with magic and amazing world-building. Theo was easily my favorite character from the get-go and I enjoyed the TERFs getting their asses handed to them in a way that I wish we could see this same fate for these kinds of people in the real world.

With the topic being transphobia, this book may not be for everyone. I know for a fact that TERFs and their supporters would hate it, but generally speaking, the transphobia is heavy handed and I had to take some breaks in between to punch a pillow and have some cookies and soothing music before I went back into it. I was thoroughly invested though and know I will complete the entire trilogy the moment it all comes out.

Content Warnings

lovegriefandgender's review against another edition

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adventurous funny lighthearted medium-paced

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

4.5

Ok look so about 20 pages in

one of the characters turns out to be trans.

Shocking, right? Anyways it was lovely to see in a silly, completely melodramatic fantasy novel and I found myself buying into the world a lot more. One hilariously ridiculous sex scene, and

I'm not sure how I feel about trans characters making themselves into "the version they've always seen themselves as"

but I had fun and that's what this stuff is for.

Content Warnings

emmajh91's review against another edition

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challenging tense medium-paced

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

4.0

Content Warnings

bookhoe1's review against another edition

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emotional mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

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