Reviews tagging 'Domestic abuse'

The Once and Future Witches by Alix E. Harrow

70 reviews

guessgreenleaf's review

adventurous dark emotional funny inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense fast-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

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Content Warnings

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

cldurand's review

adventurous emotional funny hopeful medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, Grief, Abandonment, Death, Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Racism, Abortion, and Sexism

Minor: Torture

spineofthesaurus's review

adventurous emotional inspiring 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

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Content Warnings

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

third_bookworm's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful 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

5.0

This was a delight! From the description I expected a particular brand of white feminism, but I was pleasantly surprised by the politics. This book manages an interesting and delicate balance of personal and political. The characters are wonderfully complex while still being sympathetic. The focus on the relationship between the sisters was sweet and enjoyable.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Lesbophobia, Pregnancy, Kidnapping, Torture, Physical abuse, Homophobia, Domestic abuse, Violence, Child abuse, Forced institutionalization, and Alcoholism

Minor: Classism, Outing, and Slavery

warboyziri's review against another edition

adventurous emotional tense fast-paced

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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pregnancy and Violence

Moderate: Domestic abuse and Abortion

Minor: Racism

lolajh's review against another edition

The beginning was really phenomenal and was really beginning to get me out of my reading slump. I was just in LOVE with the writing style and the worldbuilding of it. It made it so impeccably easy to read and slowly become immersed in the world. But then it slowed down quite a lot, and the plot isn’t quite interesting enough for me to continue.

I don’t like the whole outing thing Agnes did to Beatrice, and the whole fighting between them.

June was kind of the only sister who really intrigued me (my aroace queen!) and yeah, I can’t see this plot developing into anything more interesting. Very unfortunate after that strong opening 😫 Also, I don’t care if it’s accurate to the time period, but Beatrice referring to Cleo

(who’s meant to be her love interest btw)

as coloured feels wrong

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexism, Child abuse, Homophobia, Misogyny, Racism, Abortion, Domestic abuse, and Pregnancy

Minor: Outing

lady_valhella's review

dark emotional sad tense 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? No

5.0

This story was great but it was not easy read, emotionally.  Yes witches are burned and what is heart breaking is that it’s always only women. This universe has witching, it is common, it is known. Men have witching. But it is the same BS. Women want to be treated as humans, with equity. When they are beaten and molested and constantly under attack the moment they use anything to protect themselves and their abusers are no longer successful out come the pyres and torches. It’s this reality that makes it hard to read this book but the story is great. The bond of the women in this book is great. The men who believe them, they are present but they aren’t in the spotlight. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gaslighting, Police brutality, Forced institutionalization, Pregnancy, Genocide, Hate crime, Misogyny, Kidnapping, and Sexism

Minor: Abortion, Sexual harassment, Domestic abuse, Racism, Child abuse, and Death of parent

ladynavalon's review

slow-paced

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

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, and Violence

queer_bookwyrm's review

adventurous emotional hopeful 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? No

5.0

5 ⭐ CW: Violence, child abuse, domestic abuse, death of a parent, sexual assault, lesbophobia, transphobia, torture, self harm 

The Once and Future Witches is the second by Alix E. Harrow that has me spellbound (pun intended). Harrow is so good at atmospheric settings and giving the magic just enough realness and familiarity that it's easy to get lost in. 

We follow the Sisters Eastwood: James Juniper, the youngest and most wild sister who is aroace and disabled; Agnes Amaranth, the middle sister and the strong one; and Beatrice Belladonna, the eldest and wisest sister who is a lesbian librarian. Each of these characters is fleshed out so well and feel like whole people with many layers. We get a lot of themes on duality through the sisters, and subversion of fairy tales and witch stories. Juniper is the best. She is such a sassy badass and has enough will to bring the world to its knees. Their growth together and apart had me glued to the page. We also get a trans woman side character and black secondary character, Cleo, who I loved (and so did a certain librarian). 

I loved the magic in this. Harrow uses fairy tales, children's songs and stories as the words for magic, all a woman then needs is the ways and the will. The reason for storing the knowledge of magic in this way was because men wouldn't think to look in children's books or a woman's sewing kit. Ultimately, this is a feminist witch retelling of the women's suffrage movement in the summer of 1893. It's angry and wronged women taking power in any small way they can. I loved the theme of perseverance and making a way where there is none. Harrow tells us any woman can be a witch if she is wronged and has the words, the will, and the way. 

The villain was creepy af and kept you guessing, but in the end you almost feel bad for him (almost). We get a lot of references to the Maiden, Mother, Crone trope which is used throughout the story. I also just loved how simple the magic was. The characters really made this story worth it. And bless Mr. August Lee!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Sexism, Child abuse, Violence, Torture, and Misogyny

Moderate: Transphobia, Racism, Death of parent, Self harm, Lesbophobia, Abortion, Animal cruelty, and Sexual harassment

ingridmaria's review

challenging emotional inspiring 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? No

5.0

I could see myself in all 3 of the sisters in the beginning of this; in Bellas fear, in Junipers anger and in Agnes' walls. I grew with them, into sisterhood and love and community – and I loved every part of it

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Kidnapping, Death, Violence, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Medical trauma, Death of parent, and Child abuse

Moderate: Abortion, Domestic abuse, Racism, Homophobia, and Lesbophobia

Minor: Sexual harassment, Sexual assault, and Slavery