Scan barcode
abicaro17's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Murder, Mental illness, Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, Classism, Abortion, Animal cruelty, Chronic illness, Terminal illness, Physical abuse, Pandemic/Epidemic, Medical content, Lesbophobia, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, Ableism, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Transphobia, Racism, Police brutality, Abandonment, Death, Death of parent, Sexual harassment, Sexism, Religious bigotry, Pregnancy, Gore, Gaslighting, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Confinement, Cursing, Torture, Suicide, Misogyny, and Homophobia
kingkorok's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Graphic: Sexism, Fire/Fire injury, and Misogyny
Moderate: Animal death, Classism, Injury/Injury detail, Child abuse, Death of parent, Violence, Pregnancy, and Racism
Minor: Kidnapping, Body horror, Abortion, and Confinement
queclecumber's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Hate crime, Fire/Fire injury, Religious bigotry, Pregnancy, Death of parent, Police brutality, Misogyny, and Sexism
Moderate: Death, Domestic abuse, Forced institutionalization, Pandemic/Epidemic, Racism, Animal death, Medical trauma, Animal cruelty, and Child abuse
Minor: Confinement, Medical trauma, Medical content, Pandemic/Epidemic, Alcoholism, Blood, Cursing, Forced institutionalization, Chronic illness, Grief, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Abandonment, Kidnapping, Racism, Religious bigotry, and Sexual harassment
woodsofthebooks's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Kidnapping, Police brutality, Religious bigotry, Death, Grief, Pregnancy, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Fire/Fire injury, Animal death, Confinement, Forced institutionalization, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Suicide, Torture, and Self harm
Moderate: Misogyny, Child abuse, Abandonment, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Alcoholism, Medical trauma, and Medical content
the author’s website also contains content warnings, so go check that out too. MAJOR content warning for pregnancy, abortion, childbirthguessgreenleaf's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Blood, Child abuse, Grief, Death, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Violence, War, Animal death, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Racism, Sexual harassment, Torture, and Xenophobia
Minor: Kidnapping, Abortion, Alcoholism, Mental illness, Murder, Pandemic/Epidemic, and Terminal illness
spineofthesaurus's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Pregnancy, Religious bigotry, Suicide, Torture, Sexual violence, Gaslighting, Body horror, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Gore, Grief, Self harm, Stalking, Violence, Medical trauma, Blood, Death, Domestic abuse, Sexual harassment, Abandonment, Fire/Fire injury, Forced institutionalization, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, and Outing
Moderate: Ableism, Abortion, Alcoholism, Genocide, Murder, Excrement, Medical content, Pandemic/Epidemic, Sexual assault, Racism, Infidelity, Kidnapping, Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Death of parent, Homophobia, Lesbophobia, Police brutality, Animal death, and Hate crime
Minor: Xenophobia, Alcohol, Slavery, Deadnaming, Classism, and Colonisation
jennay's review against another edition
4.5
Would love to see this become a movie - if the producers can capture the emotions of the book accurately.
Graphic: Death and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Abortion, Child abuse, Hate crime, Pregnancy, and Gaslighting
Minor: Sexual assault, Sexual content, Self harm, Religious bigotry, Racism, Animal death, Pandemic/Epidemic, Suicide, Slavery, Sexual violence, and Racial slurs
carriepond's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.5
Set in an alternate version of 1893, The Once and Future Witches follows the three Eastwood sisters: Beatrice Belladona, Agnes Amaranth, and James Juniper. At the beginning of the novel, after being estranged for years, the sisters have separately made their way to the fictional town of New Salem, Massachusetts, a place where magic is a thing of the past after the witch burnings decades earlier in the town now known as Old Salem. When Bella feels inexplicably drawn to utter the words of a spell during a women's suffrage rally, the three sisters are reunited and a magical tower rises in the square, setting off a series of events that lead them to rally their fellow women to bring witching back to Salem. Their magical antics get the group increasingly more attention, including the attention of a sinister member of the New Salem city council eager to use the threat of powerful, witchy women as a way to propel his own rise to power.
I really enjoyed this one. Harrow is able to take so many historical references and mash them up in a fantastical way that is entertaining, smart, and unique. I am a big fan of what I will dub feminist historical novels, with characters with more modern sensibilities that don't let the historical setting force one-dimensional stories that we've already seen a thousand times. The pacing at the beginning of this was a little slow and the suffragette thread wasn't really carried all the way through, but those minor flaws didn't really lessen my enjoyment of this novel, which has so many threads and storylines that Harrow carries beautifully through to the end.
The Once and Future Witches is ultimately about how powerful women can be when we are in community with one another. I appreciated that Harrow's heroines included a diverse mix of women, which made the power-in-community theme resonate all the more. I also really liked the use of storytelling and that the ways that women passed down magical knowledge were as diverse as the different groups of women featured in the novel.
If you like books with secret societies, witches and magic, read this book. If you like historical novels with a fantasy or feminist twist, read this book. Alix Harrow is an author I am really growing to love.
Graphic: Misogyny, Fire/Fire injury, and Physical abuse
Moderate: Pregnancy, Racism, Religious bigotry, and Torture
Minor: Animal death
marleywrites's review against another edition
- 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
From reading reviews, I thought I wouldn’t like Agnes. But truly, I really enjoyed her character. I don’t usually relate to mothers or the whole “maternal bond” thing, but I really felt like Agnes did a good job of balancing her loyalty to her sisters and her child.
Bella was also a great character. I’m fond of lesbians and I’m fond of librarians, so this was just a wonderful character for me overall. I think I relate to Bella the most, with the anxiety yet fierce loyalty to her sisters.
I don’t have a sister, but reading this book made me feel like I do. These characters had me wrapped up in their little family with them. And their extended family in the witching community was just beautiful.
This book was a bit slow at first, but once it picked up I was IN IT! I think I’m going to recommend it to anyone looking for a witchy read. I’m a big fan of Alix E. Harrow and have read two other books by her. I’ll definitely keep reading her work and I look forward to her next project!
Side note, I loved the LGBTQ+ rep in this book. Amazing.
Side note to the side note: am I the only one who felt terrible for Hill’s dog? 😭
Graphic: Misogyny, Medical content, Pregnancy, Death, Murder, and Sexism
Moderate: Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Torture, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, and Confinement
Minor: Death of parent, Animal death, and Sexual content
skyeoak's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Pregnancy, Animal cruelty, Sexism, and Animal death
Moderate: Racism and Transphobia