Reviews tagging 'Hate crime'

The House Witch by Delemhach

13 reviews

emerentina's review

adventurous dark funny lighthearted relaxing sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Pregnancy, Miscarriage, Blood, and Physical abuse

Moderate: Violence, Child death, Misogyny, Injury/Injury detail, Fire/Fire injury, Hate crime, Addiction, Racial slurs, Vomit, Sexual harassment, Religious bigotry, Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, Alcohol, and Alcoholism

Minor: War

kmi's review against another edition

2.5

Popcorn-y but disappointing after reflection. Strong TW alcohol.

This book would have been so much better if the MC was a woman and the romance lesbian. Also if it had been a sober novel. It suffered a lot in my mind from fanfic syndrome, with POVs and chapters that seem to have nothing to do in the story but were there as if placed on a dare. There's an animal companion/familiar that is entirely useless. The MC has a stronger bond with the basil growing on his windowsill that with his cat that's supposed to be like a part of his soul! Also the cat POV are a bit insufferable and pointless, they absolutely don't advance the plot one bit. 
And finally, my biggest gripe: nothing happens outside of the constant scenes of drinking and drunk men. Alcohol has such a big role in this book, and so unchallenged, it's really uncomfortable. The main love interest is drinking vodka every hour it seems. Like, that's called alcoholism, and maybe if it was a conflict of the book I could understand? But this felt like the idea of alcohol as written by a 16yo who has never been in an alcohol-heavy environment. Would have deserved a huge TW in my opinion. Also the parts addressing the possibility of gay romance are super clunky.
Overall, quite disappointing...

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism and Alcohol

Moderate: Hate crime, Fire/Fire injury, Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Homophobia, and Sexual harassment

k_fry's review

adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted 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

4.25

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual harassment, Vomit, Miscarriage, Pregnancy, and Murder

Moderate: Hate crime, Homophobia, War, and Physical abuse

sam_gartley91's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful lighthearted 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

4.25

Slow start but I started to love the characters and their antics. Very cozy feeling and although lots of stuff constantly happened it was generally a smooth ride and kept a positive progression. Loved the slow burn of the relationship even if I wanted to shake them sometimes so they would just see eye to eye and get together already! But the slow burn make sense as there are multiple books. Loved the multiple pov but at times got confused when the pov changed mid chapter and shifts even within a scene. Overall loved the large variety of characters and how they all interacted. 

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Hate crime, Medical trauma, Sexual harassment, and Violence

cozyscones's review against another edition

adventurous funny hopeful lighthearted slow-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

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Classism, Domestic abuse, Violence, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Murder, Miscarriage, and Homophobia

Minor: Hate crime, War, and Racism

chrisljm's review against another edition

funny lighthearted mysterious relaxing medium-paced

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

3.0

Really enjoyed the book when I first started reading, and the coziness it evoked, but it started feeling dragged out after half way. I think it could’ve been improved with less side stories and more investment in showing the romance develop. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Miscarriage, Alcoholism, Sexual harassment, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Bullying, Cursing, Toxic relationship, Domestic abuse, Vomit, Xenophobia, Stalking, Infertility, Hate crime, Fire/Fire injury, Blood, Child abuse, Classism, Medical content, and Homophobia

Minor: War, Religious bigotry, Murder, Racial slurs, and Sexual content

lackyducks's review against another edition

emotional funny lighthearted 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? Yes

5.0

This book was engaging from start to end. On the first page, when Fin is introduced, he makes a big impression. His characterisation makes him a delight to read as he stands off against other characters. He's the lovable asshole written right, and this is only cemented as the book continues and you learn more about him and see him soften. As a neurodivergent person, I saw a lot of my own traits in him.

The rest of the characters similarly are quick to become favourites. The kitchen aides are funny and it's heartwarming to watch them grow and learn throughout the story. There's a lot of side relationships that switch and change throughout the story. Even the antagonists are written well, intimidating in the scenes they appear but still multidimensional.

Despite the light-hearted and humourous nature of the book, there's also darkness to balance it out. The story follows a country on the verge of war, with all the court drama and political espionage that comes with it. We also delve into Fin's backstory, discovering his origins and how they are coming back to haunt him.

The main romance took a while to grow on me, and the 'will they won't they' dominates the latter half of the book. But I found the conclusion to this enjoyable and look forward to seeing how the relationship develops in the sequels. Both of the characters keep the core aspects of their personality whilst learning to make room for the other.

The worldbuilding for the magic is basic and understandable, built on the elements. There are ruling covens that play a minor role in the plot. A level of depth, though, comes from the mutations away from the four elements and the realisation Fin may be a lot more powerful than first appears.

Also, the cat has his own point of view and political drama. This is with an entirely separate cast of characters (cats) whilst still tying into the main plot. It's incredible.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Homophobia, War, Bullying, Violence, Alcohol, Hate crime, Religious bigotry, Sexual harassment, Miscarriage, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Vomit

Minor: Slavery and Body shaming

One of the main characters is pregnant and has suffered miscarriages before, which is one of the key plots through the book. There is an arc where one of the characters is attacked by the world equivalent of a religious group for being gay. Another character suffered persecution due to magic in the past. One of the characters briefly discusses being a victim of slavery. Alcohol is present in many scenes and characters get drunk.

Fin was abused as a child by his father, as was his mother. There is a scene including this. He was also discriminated against by his teacher for the strength of his magic. Another character is violently threatened by her brother frequently throughout the book.

strange_little_ranger's review against another edition

adventurous funny lighthearted 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? It's complicated

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Minor: Death, Fire/Fire injury, Pregnancy, Sexism, Alcohol, Blood, Bullying, Emotional abuse, Grief, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infertility, Injury/Injury detail, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, and War

thewellbitch's review against another edition

funny lighthearted relaxing medium-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

5.0

This was a surprisingly comfy read! It truly felt like a food-centered slice-of-life manga but in book form. Funny, charming, and very entertaining.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol

Moderate: Homophobia, Hate crime, and Violence

Minor: Domestic abuse, Sexual harassment, Child abuse, and Bullying

mlottermoser's review

adventurous emotional funny inspiring lighthearted mysterious relaxing medium-paced

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

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Minor: Hate crime, Physical abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Domestic abuse, Violence, Sexual content, Pregnancy, Toxic relationship, Sexism, Miscarriage, Homophobia, and Emotional abuse