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Reviews tagging 'Emotional abuse'
La Société très secrète des Sorcières extraordinaires by Sangu Mandanna
70 reviews
anni_swanilda'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
3.0
Graphic: Sexual content
Minor: Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, and Toxic relationship
redefiningrachel'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
5.0
Graphic: Murder, Abandonment, Cursing, Child abuse, Death, and Death of parent
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Violence, Pregnancy, Gore, Physical abuse, and Body horror
Minor: Alcoholism, Homophobia, Racism, and Sexual content
amandas_bookshelf'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: Grief and Abandonment
Moderate: Death of parent, Sexual content, and Death
Minor: Emotional abuse, Bullying, and Physical abuse
booksthatburn'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
4.0
The setting is almost real-world England, but where magic and witches are real while the rest of history seems to have been unaffected. Mika was born in India but was taken to England by Primrose after her mother died (all witches are orphaned soon after birth due to a spell that went wrong sometime in the past). There are various themes of bigotry, marginalization, and even colonialism which are invoked by the characters, but only the magical counterpart is specifically explored. Since a lot of heavy lifting for the worldbuilding is implied by the contemporary setting and setting most of the book at Nowhere House, this has the room to focus mainly on characterization.
Ian is a retired actor who resides at Nowhere House with Ken, his husband and the house's gardener. Lucie is the housekeeper, and Jamie is the grumpy and protective librarian who originally came to the house as a teenager. The children (Altamira, Terracotta, and Rosetta) are very young witches who were adopted by the house's absent owner, Lillian, a witch and archeologist. Ian finds Mika online and invites her to stay at the house for several months and teach the children to control their magic. Mika, who has led a very lonely life due to her former guardian's ideas about witches and the dangers of spending time with one another, agrees to stay but keeps feeling a bit on the outside.
The story is generally heartwarming, focusing on Mika's interactions with the inhabitants of the house. Jamie is grumpy in a way that's initially annoying to Mika but which starts being a bit sexy as she gets to know him better. Mika was invited to the house because there's going to be a visit from Lillian's lawyer and they need the children's magic to be under control (or at least hidden) during the event. They haven't been able to get in touch with Lillian, and none of the other adults are magical, so they have to hope that Mika can help them.
This was fluffier than I usually like, but I ended up enjoying it (especially once Jamie and Mika start really talking). The late-book twist was handled very well and led to some of my favorite scenes in the whole thing.
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Kidnapping, Confinement, Alcohol, Cursing, and Grief
Minor: Death, Homophobia, Toxic relationship, Fire/Fire injury, Blood, Classism, Racism, Xenophobia, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Child abuse, Pregnancy, Mental illness, Violence, Medical content, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, and Animal death
jen_b's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.75
Moderate: Emotional abuse and Child abuse
Minor: Racism and Death of parent
saliwali's review against another edition
- 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
4.5
Graphic: Death, Abandonment, and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Forced institutionalization and Grief
potatogrr'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: Death of parent
Moderate: Abandonment
Minor: Confinement, Xenophobia, Grief, and Emotional abuse
modernmatilda'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
Minor: Child abuse, Death of parent, Abandonment, Alcohol, Emotional abuse, and Murder
thedevilsivy'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
4.75
Moderate: Death of parent, Toxic relationship, Emotional abuse, and Child abuse
Minor: Body horror
purplepenning's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.25
Pick this one up if you're looking for a unique, funny, heartwarming comfort read with witches galore (a studious young orphan, a murderously protective younger orphan, a high-spirited youngest orphan, lonely practitioners, an imperious elder), a mysterious absentee benefactor, a sweet housekeeper, an impish retired actor, a steady gardener, a golden-coated golden-hearted retriever, a floating koi pond, a sexy scowling growling librarian, and magic sprinkled like stardust throughout a found-family story.
Graphic: Abandonment
Moderate: Cursing, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Alcohol, Bullying, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Racism, Violence, and Xenophobia
Minor: Confinement, Blood, and Grief