Reviews tagging 'Cursing'

The Unfortunate Side Effects of Heartbreak and Magic by Breanne Randall

11 reviews

fancyjess_party's review against another edition

slow-paced

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

0.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Rape, Body shaming, Infidelity, Ableism, Bullying, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Gore, Grief, Medical content, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Pregnancy, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Toxic friendship, and Toxic relationship

heatherjchin's review against another edition

fast-paced

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

1.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death of parent, Toxic relationship, Abandonment, Murder, Cancer, Chronic illness, Death, Cursing, Grief, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Pregnancy, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Rape, and Stalking

laurenbrodehl's review against another edition

emotional lighthearted slow-paced

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

2.0

Very slow. Had interesting concepts, but told too slow and cheesy.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Cursing, Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, Death of parent, Suicide, and Death

lawmixitup's review against another edition

hopeful mysterious slow-paced

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

3.0

Started reading it because a review said if you like Practical Magic you would like this.  It is like Practical Magic but it overly relies on the miscommunication/ lack of communication tropes that just made it infuriating to me. The ending also makes less sense the more you think about it. Overall it's fine but not more than that. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Abandonment, Cancer, and Grief

Moderate: Murder

Minor: Cursing and Rape

littlelizzieborden's review against another edition

It was emotionally exhausting and infuriating 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, Mental illness, Religious bigotry, Self harm, Panic attacks/disorders, Pregnancy, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Abandonment, Cancer, and Infidelity

Minor: Suicide attempt, Sexual assault, and Cursing

erinreadsbooks's review against another edition

dark emotional funny lighthearted sad fast-paced

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

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Toxic relationship, Addiction, Cancer, Cursing, Death of parent, Death, Grief, Pregnancy, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, and Abandonment

luverbyrd's review against another edition

dark emotional relaxing medium-paced

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

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer

Moderate: Suicide and Suicide attempt

Minor: Cursing, Rape, Pregnancy, Death, Grief, Toxic relationship, and Terminal illness

torturedreadersdept's review against another edition

emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Dysphoria, Mental illness, Murder, Abandonment, Alcohol, Pregnancy, Vomit, Death, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Suicide attempt, Injury/Injury detail, Cancer, Cursing, Medical content, and Panic attacks/disorders

rromero721's review against another edition

emotional hopeful 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Minor: Mental illness, Death, Suicidal thoughts, Pregnancy, Death of parent, Suicide attempt, Panic attacks/disorders, Murder, Cancer, Grief, Domestic abuse, Cursing, and Alcohol

readwithria's review against another edition

emotional sad slow-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? It's complicated

2.75

The Unfortunate Side Effects of Heartbreak and Magic was, unfortunately, not for me.

I went into this book thinking it would be similar to The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches, and I was very wrong. I think the blurb made me overestimate how much romance would be in the book. This book is part fantasy, part romance, part family drama, part paranormal mystery, and part cookbook. Unfortunately, I don’t think any of those aspects were quite well developed enough for me.

There were some things that I really enjoyed. I liked the recipes at the end of each chapter. I liked the idea of the magic system (even though I have no clue how it works). I like the prose. 

And then, there are the things that didn’t work for me. The pacing was a little all over the place. The MC’s best friend is a bit of a walking stereotype. The resolution to some of the mysteries and questions is a bit lackluster, and the romance is really lacking a spark in my opinion. Everything feels really drawn out, and I didn’t feel satisfied by the end of the book. I also wish this book had listed the trigger warnings at the beginning, as I don’t think it handled every situation with as much care and weight as I would have liked.

This last pain point is VERY much a personal preference, but I personally despise real-world religions in my books and there was far too much for my comfort. I was really tempted to DNF when I got the chapter that was spent entirely inside a church, but somehow I kept going and I’m not sure if I regret that or not. It’s a personal boundary that I really don’t like crossing, so I wish I had known that before going into the book (I hate DNFing ARCs, so I wouldn’t have requested it).

All in all, this book is more of a literary fiction book with a fantasy element than the cozy contemporary fantasy I thought it would be, and that’s not what I tend to like in a book. If that’s what you’re looking for, go for it! Unfortunately, though, it wasn’t for me. 2.75 stars.

Thanks to Alcove Press and NetGalley for providing me with an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts are my own.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Cursing, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Cancer, and Grief

Minor: Pregnancy, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Sexual violence

Unsuccessful suicidal attempt on page, discussion of past, off-page sexual violence, minor manipulation of partner via

false pregnancy