Reviews tagging 'Domestic abuse'

The Once and Future Witches by Alix E. Harrow

72 reviews

flightedcuriosities's review

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adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring reflective slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Excellent read. Its strong points are breath-taking prose, captivating imagery and a heart-wrenching, but ultimately uplifting story. I will say certain parts seemed to drag a bit with the amount of detail. Although I did feel a little burdened by the length of the book while reading, overall it was completely worth it and thoroughly enjoyable. I wouldn’t hesitate recommending to this anyone, especially those who love fantasy and strong, powerful female leads.

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laisai's review against another edition

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adventurous dark 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? Yes

5.0


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btothebooks's review against another edition

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

4.5

Alix's language is very descriptive and can seem like a lot occasionally, but then when you let yourself fall into and get absorb by it, it's great. I was reading this book while the most recent discussions about book banning was happening and it was really an interesting connection to make between the idea that what they were really burning was women with knowledge. 

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andromeda_1998's review against another edition

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

4.5

Once and future witches is the highly feminist witch novel everyone deserves to read. It has suffragettes, strong female characters and magic. I really enjoyed reading it but watch out the story starts a bit slow!

Characters
Juniper is the wild witch child everyone needs. She’s free, furious, stubborn and fearless. She’s the reason I read this book to the end. It’s interesting to read how she grew up and how she fought herself free of her fathers influence.

Beatrice is the mousy booknerd who is curious, kind and brave.  O and gayyyyy. The gay icon we need. I enjoyed her as a character. She’s a character with a lot of flaws but  that makes her human.

Agnes is the “strongest” sister is the line that is used many times and well I’m not really seeing it. It’s a lot of telling and the writer is often more intensely describing that she’s pregnant instead of giving her a real character. She’s always scared and running, throwing her sisters under the bus. Frankly she’s the coward of the story. And in my opinion she’s the weakest sister. Since she’s the one who’s scared to open her heart.

Worldbuilding
The world is inspired by 1800 Salem with a lot of American witchcraft. The magic system is beautiful and in some ways very real. Lullabies and nursery rimes have always been the things keeping mothers and children connected. It wouldn’t be weird if some magic can still be found in these story’s.

Storytelling 
The book is hard to get into. It isn’t some easy read but it’s worth it. The writing is spectacular and the plot is amazing. The story is full of diverse characters and it’s a full on recommendation for anyone. 

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smoothgoat's review against another edition

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dark emotional hopeful reflective sad tense slow-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? Yes

3.75


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kelreadsbooks's review against another edition

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dark hopeful mysterious 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? It's complicated

4.0


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annacochran's review against another edition

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adventurous hopeful 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? It's complicated

5.0

starting off 2022 with a 5 star read, its going to be a good year in books i can feel it

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geilie's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful 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? It's complicated

4.5


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ekmook's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional 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? No

3.75


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raenyreads's review

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adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring 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? It's complicated

5.0

I absolutely loved this book. It may be my new favourite book! The vibes are amazing - the sisterhood, the feminism and the witchiness were exactly what I wanted from an October read. I really enjoyed how nursery rhymes and fairy tales were altered and included in the story. I highly recommend this book, especially if you're looking for something with multiple strong female characters!

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