Reviews with content warning for Homophobia - The House Witch

Reviews tagging 'Homophobia'

The House Witch by Delemhach

21 reviews

blueyedwonder's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful lighthearted mysterious tense 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

4.0

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jems_'s review against another edition

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4.75

Okay, how do I describe this? I‘m honestly still a bit giddy after finishing this. It was funny, cozy and entertaining to read. Despite it being over 600 pages long, it still contained enough material to entertain me thoroughly.

The characters were all unique and lovely and I came to love most of them a lot. The themes of home and food were heartwarming and mouthwatering respectively and I was just very happy to read this.

I love cozy witchy stories and this was just that, albeit having some points of tension and some more difficult topics in it.

Frankly, I knew I would like this book from the moment Kraken and Eric were introduced. I suppose I have a sweet spot for cats and sweet little children.

There were points in this book where it might’ve felt a tiiiny bit too immature and the kind of miscommunication in it positively infuriated me towards the later parts of the book but none of that can justify me lowering my rating much more right now. I liked this far too much.

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kmi's review against another edition

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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...

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k_fry's review

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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

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booksofaim's review against another edition

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emotional 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? Yes

4.5

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cozyscones's review against another edition

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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

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torturedreadersdept's review

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funny hopeful 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? Yes

5.0

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wanderonwards's review

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funny lighthearted reflective slow-paced

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

2.75

I loved the concept of a male domestic witch, especially one working as a royal cook! I'm also excited to see more slice-of-life, low stakes fantasy. However, this was originally webfic and it still reads like something that was written in installments rather than one cohesive narrative, and some chapters with different POVs really read like filler rather than building depth or advancing the plot. While the premise was wonderful, the novel would have benefited from more polishing and a sensitivity read for some problematic things. My biggest issues were with the supporting characters (of which many felt like caricatures rather than developed individuals) and the world building (which acknowledged that things like homophobia, sexism, and strict class divides were awful and shouldn't exist in the world...but then went ahead and included them anyway and didn't satisfactorily address them).

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hopemays_library's review

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funny lighthearted relaxing 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

Finlay Ashowan is a witch who has a skewed self perception of not being aligned with a particular element. His talent appears to be more domestic than elemental. He is what's known as a house witch. He has an awareness of what makes people comfortable and what foods they crave and can heal them. His powers only extend to what he considers the borders of his home, and they're as strong as his home is large. Finlay Ashowan just became the cook for the kingdom of Daxaria. Not only is FIn learning more about his abilities but he is also learning that he doesn't have to spend his life in a lonely solitude.

Fin knows the rough history witches have with being hunted and abused for their powers. His estranged father and teacher have taught him that deficient and mutant witches such as himself are insignificant, and that's something that gives him an affinity for others who are being abused or are hurt. So he tries to keep to himself all the while quietly seeing to the comfort and safety of the people around him. However, Fin soon finds a family and home that has grown around him. He even learns that he is worthy enough to fight for those he loves.

This is a medium paced, cozy, and light hearted book. The author did a wonderful job creating strong characters with depth and complexity who learn to truly be themselves throughout the story. The book is somewhat diverse, with a couple of gay and bi characters, and several cultures are represented. It should be noted that though Daxaria accepts LGBT+ there are still people there in one religion who are awful about it and at one point attack someone over it. This happens offscreen and they are dealt with, but it does happen. It's part of a pattern of hurt people being defended by a growing circle of people, meant more to show that as unacceptable, and the growing friendships and acceptance between the characters.

The book ends at a good spot, if you wish to not read books 2 and 3, you could easily call it a happy ending. However, I'm very intrigued to see how the next chapter of fins story unfolds!

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chrisljm's review against another edition

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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.

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