Reviews with content warning for Domestic abuse - Nasze sekretne dary

Reviews tagging 'Domestic abuse'

Nasze sekretne dary by Caroline O'Donoghue

29 reviews

eemi42's review against another edition

4.75

adventurous 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

This was a lot like the books I loved to read as a tween and teen and the coming-of-age Netflix shows I'd discover and binge in a single afternoon, all with a witchy twist. And I apparently still love this sort of thing, because I sped through this book and almost forgot I need to eat & drink.

Maeve certainly isn't perfect, but you find yourself rooting for her anyway. She genuinely feels remorse for the bad things she's done, and she's trying to make things right. Roe is absolutely perfect and lovable, and while Fiona is probably the least fleshed-out character of the three, I still really like her.

Some of the plot is also pretty relevant to current events, with the treatment of the LGBT+ community.

Starting the next one immediately.

Content Warnings

jayisreading's review against another edition

3.75

adventurous mysterious tense medium-paced

I didn’t love or hate what I read is how I feel about All Our Hidden Gifts. For the positive, I enjoyed how O’Donoghue heavily integrated tarot cards into the story and in such a meaningful way. I liked that she introduced the occult with an air of mystery and even reverence in such a mundane space, while also never making Maeve, the protagonist, seem silly just because she’s interested in divination. I also found this sociopolitical exploration of Ireland in tandem with tarot reading really interesting, which added a layer of complexity to the novel that definitely helped set it up for the sequel.

What I didn’t love as much were most of the characters (especially the protagonist), though this is more a me issue than there being badly written characters. Considering that All Our Hidden Gifts is a YA novel, I did my absolute best to keep that in mind as I read, knowing that I wasn’t the target audience. Many of the characters were teenagers who were still learning about themselves, but I found being in the mind of one rather tiring after a while. It definitely didn’t help that the protagonist seemed far less mature than her friends, unfortunately. I also had somewhat mixed opinions about how gender/sexuality were handled in this novel, which read a bit shallow to me (especially when it came to gender identity). That being said, I’m giving the benefit of the doubt that it’s because the characters themselves are exploring who they are as individuals, along with the fact that the novel was definitely set up with the intention for the reader to pick up the sequel.

I think for those who like YA, the occult, and some fantastical elements in an everyday setting will find this novel to be an enjoyable read. I’m on the fence about reading the next installment; I’m admittedly curious to know what will happen next, given the direction the story went.

Content Warnings

ashley_reya's review against another edition

4.0

dark emotional funny 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

It took me a bit to get into the story on this one, but once I was hooked I didn’t want to put it down. I enjoyed learning about Tarot with Maeve! And I honestly really enjoyed this story.

I would, however, recommend you check out the content warnings before you do. I was surprised at just how dark this book got.

Content Warnings

hello_lovely13's review against another edition

2.75

adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

I am feeling a bit torn about this book, but I think that I will not continue the series. The magic system is interesting, and I like that the other characters are not afraid to call out Maeve because she definitely needs to be. I don't particularly like Maeve if I'm being honest, but I have already seen some growth in her, which gives me hope. This deals with a lot more political religious bigotry than I was expecting, and it achieves it's intention of making me angry (I am torn about how it's gone about, though, because it does call out Maeve via Fiona in the end about how Maeve views why it's happening (

the part made by the Housekeeper "causing" more people to be hateful, when Fiona is right, some people are just hateful all on their own

, but I don't like Aaron period (

literally I HATED that he called the Housekeeper his pet; absolutely FUCK HIM; it sucks that a man is taking a powerful female character like that (yes, technically she is an it, and the it is probably a demon or something, but still), and it didn't have to go that way, which infuriates me

).

IMPORTANT WARNING: Even though it does set it up, there is a scene (multiple, but one that's particularly intense) depicting a hate crime, and it took me off-guard.

It did a good job keeping the intrigue up, but there were some stereotypical YA aspects that annoyed me. For instance, I don't think the romance was necessarily at all (there were also moments when it went a bit too sexual for YA, which made me uncomfortable). At the very least, if the romance HAD to be there, then it should have been paced better. Their relationship was too sudden (

at least wait for them to get together until the second book; instead it could have gone like this: the attraction could still be there, but more bonding, and the fight could still occur, but instead of a break-up the boundary is just still put in place; maybe they confess towards the end, but it is not necessary or set up well enough yet!

), multiple fights that pop up were too sudden (there would be times where: oh, they brought that up literally out of nowhere), and it does this book a disservice. Hopefully these aspects will improve along with Maeve's character as she goes on (yes, a major character flaw of hers is an inability to accept responsibility for her actions (a major pet peeve of mine) and it influences her every opinion, decision, and how I view her character; keep the character growth coming!)

The continuation of the series should be interesting with all of them having powers and Lily's return (I agree that Lily, though she might eventually, doesn't need to or even should forgive Maeve at this point; Maeve retrieving her from the river is about her own guilt, not about Lily at all, so that's not justification for why Lily should forgive her. She is called on that, which is good. I'm not thrilled to encounter Aaron again, though (not the most interesting part of the book for me, and honestly made me a bit uncomfortable, but I get that's part of the point).

Content Warnings

mandieroz's review against another edition

4.25

adventurous dark mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

This book was a good start to spooky season. The characters are well done and the tarot cards really bring the story together. I love the inclusion side of the book and will definitely be reading the second!

Content Warnings

barnesbookshelf's review against another edition

4.5

adventurous mysterious slow-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

Witches? Non-binary rep? Working against hate? What's not to love? Maeve goes through some great changes, and I love how the magic slowly seeps it's way into the story. It does take a while for things to get moving, but that's in large part because this is the first book in a series. Roe is fantastic, and I hope they become more confident in themself in the next novels. Also, Fiona is a queen. I can't wait to see where the story moves from here!

Content Warnings

applejuiceinabox's review against another edition

3.5

adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

started out very strong, but plot got very messy and grating

Content Warnings

veggiestrawenjoyer13's review against another edition

3.5

funny mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

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.

Content Warnings

oddduck's review against another edition

4.0

Content Warnings

copper_ink's review against another edition

5.0

adventurous funny hopeful 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

Content Warnings

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