Reviews tagging 'Body horror'

The Once and Future Witches by Alix E. Harrow

12 reviews

abicaro17's review

adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious reflective sad tense 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

This may be the best book i've ever read. I laughed, I cried, I felt seen. This book is what it's like to be a woman. Anything you do is demonized but when a man does it he's praised. Alix E. Harrow writes about how "behind every witch is a woman wrong." (445) and creates beautifully complex characters like Agnes that show a true beauty and a true darkness in femininity. Juniper is a feral, selfish, and damaged girl but

her final act is to do something so selfless it saves all future witches. She bears the burden so that the future of her niece and all other mothers and daughters won't have to.

I could spend hours describing my love and adoration for this book. The emotional and storied complexity for even minor characters like Jennie and Mr. Blackwell are so outstanding and enriching. I think Harrow needs all the awards and I'm devastated i'll never be able to read this book for the first time again. 

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Content Warnings

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

adventurous hopeful inspiring tense fast-paced

• 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

Really enjoyed the way this book linked women's rights and the patriarchy to witches, magic, and fairy tales. Fun exploration of the women's suffrage movement through a fantasy lens. I appreciated that the author acknowledged the discrimination within the suffrage movement and made attempts to acknowledge diversity within womanhood. I do think it was a bit white-feminism-y, though. Overall solid read though, and fits within the genre of womens-magic books like Circe by Madeline Miller.

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Content Warnings

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

nic3's review

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective 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? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexism, Misogyny, Fire/Fire injury, and Cursing

Minor: Miscarriage, Emotional abuse, Death of parent, Body horror, Suicide, Religious bigotry, Domestic abuse, Racism, Lesbophobia, and Abortion

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

l_e_lavalle's review

challenging emotional hopeful tense 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? No

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Physical abuse, Self harm, Pregnancy, Medical content, Abortion, Blood, Death, and Suicide

Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Death of parent, Body horror, Grief, and Outing

Minor: Child death and Kidnapping

haunted_jackalope's review

adventurous emotional tense slow-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

Slow books aren't my favorite, but the story was worth it

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Fire/Fire injury, Blood, Sexism, and Violence

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Body horror, Death, Death of parent, Grief, Medical trauma, Abandonment, Child abuse, Classism, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Racism, Confinement, Cursing, Homophobia, Lesbophobia, and Pregnancy

Minor: Torture, Abortion, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment

thresholdgirl's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad slow-paced

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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, Body horror, Pregnancy, and Suicide

Moderate: Racism, Homophobia, Xenophobia, and Sexism

Minor: Alcoholism and Confinement

nebulasaurus's review

dark hopeful informative inspiring mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Blood, Body horror, Bullying, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Grief, Police brutality, Racism, Sexual assault, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Murder, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Religious bigotry, Torture, Cursing, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, and Violence

jaynovara's review against another edition

adventurous hopeful inspiring mysterious 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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Body horror, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, and Kidnapping

Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Outing, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Homophobia, Cursing, and Lesbophobia

Minor: Religious bigotry, Alcohol, and Racism

mo345's review

adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious sad 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: Abandonment, Ableism, Abortion, Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Blood, Body horror, Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Forced institutionalization, Hate crime, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Medical trauma, Misogyny, Murder, Police brutality, Pregnancy, Racial slurs, Racism, Religious bigotry, Sexism, Slavery, and Violence

Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Suicide attempt