Reviews tagging 'Religious bigotry'

All Our Hidden Gifts by Caroline O'Donoghue

72 reviews

lucyyaga's review against another edition

emotional hopeful mysterious 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? Yes

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Dysphoria, Hate crime, Biphobia, Homophobia, Transphobia, Deadnaming, and Religious bigotry

veggiestrawenjoyer13's review against another edition

funny mysterious tense medium-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? It's complicated

3.5

Overall, this book was an enjoyable read and I will definitely be reading the second one. The plot twists were unpredictable and I liked the mystery/suspense. The modern media references threw me off a lot, but they were funny. Some of the dialogue was awkward, but teens are going to be awkward so I can get over that. The romance was cute, I like that it wasn’t the main plot but added more emotional depth to the characters. The diversity and inclusion felt authentic, not forced. The witchy vibes were cool and I leaned a lot about Wiccan traditions. The supernatural aspect was also cool, and it all tied together very well. The only major issue I had was the pacing at the end. It felt rushed after the main conflict was resolved. The concepts of everyone’s gifts were really interesting, I just wish it didn’t seem so sudden. I would recommend this book for anyone looking for a casual read who likes modern magical books.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Hate crime, Transphobia, Homophobia, and Religious bigotry

Moderate: Death and Cursing

Minor: Toxic friendship, Dysphoria, Injury/Injury detail, Racism, Suicide, and Domestic abuse

zias's review against another edition

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? No

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Religious bigotry, and Hate crime

Moderate: Self harm

Minor: Suicide

I enjoyed this story and found it easy to read. I loved that the story used tarot cards and magic. I found Maeve to be a bit juvenile at times for being 16, but I also thought she had decent growth through the book, partly due to the events happening in the story and her learning to use tarot and magic as means of self reflection - ie herbs representing positive attributes and her recognizing when she feels episodes of rage or jealousy. I would have liked to read more about where Lily went because it felt both rushed and vague for the end of the book. I’ll definitely pick up the second book in this series.

runes_reads's review against another edition

challenging hopeful mysterious 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? Yes

5.0

I ADORED this read! This is the first book I've read of the authors, but I'm definitely going to get the rest of the series and look into other works by her. Make sure you check the content warnings for this one, there's a lot of heavy ones near the end of the book. The protagonist was so alive, her anger and frustration and messiness were all perfect in context. I remember being 16 and thinking that everything wrong in the world was my fault, too. The pacing was great, I really struggled to put this book down. I started it three days ago, but the bulk of reading (over 300 pages of it) I did today. Luckily for me, there's a preview of the next one in the back.

I would consider this dark-academia adjacent, vibe wise. There's mystery, discussions of privilege, and it of course takes place at a Catholic private school. The main cast is high school age, with the main girls being around the protagonists age (16) and in the same school year. The love interest is a year above them, so around 17. There is sexual content, so keep that in mind. Nothing very graphic, and the scenes are pretty short.

There is cursing throughout the book, and there's a bit of claustrophobia right at the beginning to be aware of.

I definitely recommend this story! The character flaws were a major part of it, and the characters changed and evolved so much throughout. It's creepy, suspenseful, but with lighter moments and a cute romance. The queer rep is lovely as always, with drag performers and the not-cis love interest. (I'm not sure what label he used)

5/5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Toxic friendship, Religious bigotry, and Homophobia

Moderate: Bullying and Sexual content

Minor: Misogyny

cstefko's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective 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

I really enjoyed this one, and Caroline O'Donoghue is quickly become a must-read author for me. This one was obviously very different from [book:The Rachel Incident|63094957] (adult, literary fiction vs this book's YA fantasy), but there's some crossover in terms of the superb queer rep and strong character development. There were a couple of times I got a little confused about the lore but it all worked out in the end. I'm excited to read the sequels now! 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Hate crime, Gore, Xenophobia, Suicide, Religious bigotry, Lesbophobia, and Bullying

se_wigget's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful informative mysterious reflective fast-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

5.0

This was wonderful and hard to put down--though the anti-queer Christofascists pissed me off. They need to be hexed.

44%: Wow--a sea monkeys reference... about an hour after I finished listening to an American Hysteria podcast episode about Sea Monkeys!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Lesbophobia, Racism, Homophobia, Self harm, Biphobia, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Religious bigotry, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Bullying, Hate crime, and Racial slurs

Moderate: Death and Grief

ramblingravioli's review against another edition

dark mysterious slow-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Hate crime, Homophobia, Lesbophobia, Transphobia, Biphobia, Toxic friendship, Grief, Religious bigotry, and Bullying

Moderate: Classism, Blood, Suicide, and Injury/Injury detail

beckyyreadss's review

adventurous dark emotional mysterious 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

4.0

This book was gifted to me by Izzy from the book club I'm in as part of a gift exchange for Halloween. This book has been on my TBR for ages after an online friend did a post recommending it. I am so thankful for Izzy for buying me the first book in the series and it did not disappoint.  

This book is based on Maeve Chambers, and she feels like she doesn’t have much going for her. She feels like the idiot in her family of geniuses, she pushed her best friend Lily away a year ago. But when she finds a pack of dusty old tarot cards at school and begins to give scarily accurate readings to the girls in her class, she realizes she’s has finally found her gift at last. Things are looking up until she discovers a strange card in the deck that definitely shouldn’t be there. And two days after she convinces her ex-best friend to have a reading, she disappears. Can Maeve, her new friend Fiona and Lily’s brother Roe find her? And will their special talents be enough to bring Lily back, before she’s gone for good? 

The storyline was very strong, and it was an easy and interesting read. I loved the tarot cards aspect bit of it with the hint of witchiness. Maeve is such a badass even for how confused she can be during this book. I loved that Fiona was such a supportive best friend even when Maeve was ready to give up. The LGBT aspect of this book warms my heart with the love stories and Maeve’s sister being gay. The attacks that happened on Roe and Jo drove me absolutely nuts and made me angry. I love that Caroline wasn’t afraid to talk about serious subjects within a young adult book such as the divorce being taboo in Ireland etc. 

With this being a YA, there were a few things that was predictable, however I still enjoyed it thoroughly.  Also, I slightly lost interest during the middle of the books, I think I was expecting Lily to come back, or something happen which then led to the next event. I knew that Lily’s disappearance was the main event but with the several aspects and several suspects, I was hoping it would go on to something bigger.  

The cliffhanger was mean, and the mystery and mental aspect of Lily makes me want to read more and to start the next book in the series. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Hate crime, Violence, Religious bigotry, and Homophobia

Moderate: Bullying, Racism, and Self harm

elliereadsthings's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional inspiring 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? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆

“I lean my head on his shoulder and wonder just how much easier life would be if I weren’t in love with Roe O’Callaghan. But, oh god, how boring.”

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Vomit, Violence, Transphobia, Toxic friendship, Self harm, Injury/Injury detail, Hate crime, Cursing, Colonisation, and Blood

Moderate: Trafficking, Toxic relationship, Suicide attempt, Racism, Mental illness, Medical content, Lesbophobia, Biphobia, Bullying, and Alcohol

Minor: Stalking, Sexual content, Religious bigotry, Outing, Murder, Misogyny, Adult/minor relationship, Suicide, Sexism, Kidnapping, Grief, Excrement, Death, Infidelity, Deadnaming, Abortion, Domestic abuse, Classism, and Child death

hales_1243's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Blood, Homophobia, Suicide attempt, Gaslighting, Kidnapping, Religious bigotry, Self harm, Suicide, Toxic friendship, Suicidal thoughts, Child death, Deadnaming, Bullying, Grief, Hate crime, Medical content, Outing, and Vomit

Moderate: Sexual content, Eating disorder, Injury/Injury detail, Domestic abuse, Fatphobia, Mental illness, Body horror, Body shaming, Child abuse, Death, and Outing