Reviews tagging 'Physical abuse'

The Year of the Witching by Alexis Henderson

51 reviews

bnelson13's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious 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 book is fantastic! I loved the plot and the characters. Immanuelle was a great protagonist and I loved her journey. This book was so hard to put down.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Rape, Religious bigotry, Violence, War, Cursing, Animal death, Blood, Death of parent, Adult/minor relationship, Death, Gore, Grief, Misogyny, Murder, Child death, Domestic abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Genocide, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Pedophilia, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Torture

schohayes's review against another edition

adventurous dark 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? No

4.25

I really liked this book! It was a bit of a departure from what I would normally read but it was fascinating and riveting. Loved the main character and everything she stood for. DOWN WITH THE PATRIARCHY AMIRITE!!!!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent and Death

Moderate: Domestic abuse and Physical abuse

kkulhannie's review against another edition

dark reflective 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Sexism, Religious bigotry, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Murder, Misogyny, Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, Fire/Fire injury, Death of parent, Death, Confinement, Child abuse, Body horror, Blood, Adult/minor relationship, and Abandonment

Moderate: Torture, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Pregnancy, Kidnapping, Infidelity, Gaslighting, Child death, and Animal death

Minor: War, Suicidal thoughts, and Forced institutionalization

taylorfields2's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

This book was a wild adventure! Old timey witch meets handmaids tale with love and betrayal and the dark mother. This book takes you on a journey and you never know what each character is planning on doing next. It’s a little graphic so keep that in mind

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Physical abuse, Rape, Religious bigotry, Racism, Lesbophobia, and Emotional abuse

holthmsn's review

challenging dark tense medium-paced

4.75

The Year of The Witching is an incredible tale full of horror and witchiness in a dystopian revolutionary style! It had me hooked from the very start, the perfect historical horror!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood

Moderate: Child abuse, Death, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racism, and Rape

coleyglasses's review against another edition

dark hopeful tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• 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

Moderate: Pedophilia, Pregnancy, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Religious bigotry, Physical abuse, Murder, Misogyny, Mental illness, Lesbophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Infidelity, Homophobia, Gun violence, Fire/Fire injury, Domestic abuse, Death, Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Blood, Child abuse, and Confinement

_fallinglight_'s review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense fast-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? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Blood, Child abuse, Death, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Religious bigotry, and Torture

Moderate: Self harm

eve_reads's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-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

3.75

Overall Thoughts:
⁕ If you like your dystopian fantasy novels with a heaping dose of sheer terror, this is the book for you! I can best describe it as The Handmaid’s Tale meets American Horror Story.

⁕ I could not get enough of Immanuel’s parents! The vignettes of their past and the snippets from their letters to one another are gripping. Immanuel and Ezra however…. I found the the development of their relationship unbelievable😅

⁕ I wish the world-building was a bit more explicit. It felt a bit cookie-cutter.

To read my full review, visit: https://evereads.online
For regular book-related content, follow my Instagram account: @eve_reads  

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Body horror, Sexual assault, Animal death, Pedophilia, Child abuse, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexism, and Violence

literatigeek's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Blood, Death, Death of parent, Gore, Religious bigotry, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Confinement, Grief, Racism, Torture, and Physical abuse

Minor: Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, and Sexual assault

okays1331's review against another edition

challenging dark 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

4.0

Blood begets blood. 

This cult-like town feels terribly real. I could see and feel every detail. The men in power have absolute control over right and wrong, and women have no voice or protection except as an extension of the power of the men. They follow a rigid faith with their Prophet wielding ultimate authority. Sins as determined by the church are immediately met with violence from a slap to exile to burning alive. Everyone is kept in line not just from the fear and devotion to the Prophet and his Apostles but also from fear of the witches and the sin that await them in the woods. 

I don't read a lot of horror, but I am fairly certain fans of the genre will get everything they want from this book. The human horrors of poverty, cruelty, and helplessness to the curses of blood, madness, darkness, and slaughter. Emanuel is such a compelling protagonist because in the midst of it all, she is not purely on the side of virtue or sin. She believes in her faith, but she also carries a strong sense of right and wrong and when the church crosses the line, she knows she must act. Her bravery is not automatic and grows naturally instead from her strong convictions. 

Lots of TW: abuse, gore, rape, pedophilia, cult, body horror, confinement, indoctrination

Slight spoilers:

The most interesting part about the way this story was written was that the right side was not immediately apparent. Clearly the church abused its power to a huge degree, but the witches in the woods are not on the side of right. We see the author set up a choice between the two evils

seeming to force Emanuel to choose between the two of them only to have her instead choose a third option and fight against both the witches of the wood and the church's systems of oppression.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Physical abuse, Domestic abuse, Gore, Death, and Child death

Moderate: Sexual assault, Rape, and Pedophilia