Reviews tagging 'Death of parent'

Witchmark by C.L. Polk

14 reviews

yourbookishbff's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.0

This is CL Polk's debut work - historical fantasy set in a magical WWI-era alt-England with a murder mystery and closed-door MM romance. It starts the Kingston cycle, a trilogy of interconnected fantasies that each have a central romance with a different set of main characters, but one overarching class/political conflict. I really enjoyed this, though I would say the romance felt like it took more of a backseat than I had hoped and the world-building leaned info-dumpy at times. That said, this is a really concrete magic system and an intricately imagined world and Polk did a LOT of work creating the foundation for us in this book, so I look forward to seeing how this lends itself to compelling mysteries and adventures in books two and three (if I can manage to forgive our side character from book one who becomes a main character in book two - looking forward to this redemption arc, because I'm still pretty rage-y!). 

Also just have to give a shout-out to the on-page bicycle race with the villains - this was SO FUN and really memorable. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gaslighting, Murder, Domestic abuse, Death, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Death of parent, Grief, and Alcohol

thecolouryes's review against another edition

adventurous hopeful medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Classism, Forced institutionalization, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Medical content, War, Death, and Violence

Minor: Drug use, Gaslighting, Death of parent, Alcohol, Addiction, Blood, Slavery, Self harm, Cancer, and Torture

nekoshka's review

mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Death, and Murder

Moderate: Homophobia, Death of parent, Forced institutionalization, and War

ninjamuse's review against another edition

emotional hopeful mysterious medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Medical content, Medical trauma, Death, and Murder

Moderate: War, Emotional abuse, Classism, Toxic relationship, Mental illness, Suicide, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Homophobia, Death of parent, and Grief

purplepenning's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Classism, Death, Death of parent, Mental illness, Forced institutionalization, Injury/Injury detail, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Suicidal thoughts, and Vomit

Moderate: Alcohol, Colonisation, War, Torture, Slavery, Medical content, Homophobia, Drug use, and Emotional abuse

20sidedbi's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, and Torture

Moderate: Death of parent, Homophobia, and War

alphacenterin's review

adventurous dark hopeful mysterious 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? No

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Murder

Minor: Medical trauma and Death of parent

spacecurl's review

adventurous emotional funny hopeful lighthearted mysterious relaxing tense fast-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? No

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood and Death

Moderate: Murder

Minor: Death of parent

aardwyrm's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

A tightly plotted mystery with lots of stakes and intrigue and enough clever worldbuilding interwoven with the historical inspiration to be fun to follow. The romance is given a center stage that it doesn't quite earn, but the relationships are otherwise interestingly sketched.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Torture, War, Violence, Suicidal thoughts, Medical content, Gore, and Death of parent

Minor: Colonisation and Suicide

maryellen's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny mysterious 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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Death of parent, Death, Homophobia, Murder, and War