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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
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.
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.secondhandbookshelves's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
lighthearted
fast-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 a wild ride & so much fun.
Every character was perfection and so many of them are sassy! Everyone goes through some change or growth throughout the story.
The puns are fantastic.
I devoured the book in one sitting & immediately bought the second one.
Very brief mentions of big topics, but this book is focused on a small group of people & their relationships & growth over a short period of time.
10/10, would read again & laugh the whole time.
Every character was perfection and so many of them are sassy! Everyone goes through some change or growth throughout the story.
The puns are fantastic.
I devoured the book in one sitting & immediately bought the second one.
Very brief mentions of big topics, but this book is focused on a small group of people & their relationships & growth over a short period of time.
10/10, would read again & laugh the whole time.
Content Warnings
Minor: Miscarriage, Religious bigotry, War, and Domestic abuse
purplepenning's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
2.0
Hmm.…nope. This was a great idea with excellent potential and some genuinely interesting and endearing characters. The plotting and pacing need quite a bit of work, however. The end is not nearly as satisfying or resolved as it should be for a book this length and the description of book two isn't particularly promising in that regards. There's also an uncomfortable thread of humor running through it that uses homophobia, sexual assault and harassment, and binge drinking.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Alcohol, Classism, and Hate crime
Moderate: Medical content, Outing, Sexual harassment, Xenophobia, Blood, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Vomit, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Pregnancy, Religious bigotry, Sexism, Violence, Bullying, Biphobia, Colonisation, and Emotional abuse
Minor: Domestic abuse, War, Miscarriage, and Racism
discarded_dust_jacket's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
I really really love the premise of this story, and I cannot express enough how refreshing it was to read a male protagonist whose powerful magic is used to nurture and care for others using food and a safe, comfortable home as opposed to aggressive shows of strength.
That’s why I was so disappointed when the humor in this book repeatedly struck me as immature at best (think “Meet the Parents” style jokes about character names that sound like curse words), and insensitive at worst when the “punchline” of a running joke throughout the story involves leading everyone in the castle where our protagonist lives and works to believe the king’s assistant is gay when he’s not (even though it’s pointedly noted multiple times in the story that within this kingdom, queerness is accepted and even celebrated, so…. why would it be funny?).
I’ve also heard that in the audiobook version, the narrator adopts a voice that has been described as an offensive depiction of Black, American speech whenever he is reading the POV of the main character’s cat and the group of mob-like “gangsters” the cat associates with. Even though this blatant racial stereotyping was a choice for the audio narration and isn’t evident in the books themselves, it still makes me not want to recommend the book at all.
That’s why I was so disappointed when the humor in this book repeatedly struck me as immature at best (think “Meet the Parents” style jokes about character names that sound like curse words), and insensitive at worst when the “punchline” of a running joke throughout the story involves leading everyone in the castle where our protagonist lives and works to believe the king’s assistant is gay when he’s not (even though it’s pointedly noted multiple times in the story that within this kingdom, queerness is accepted and even celebrated, so…. why would it be funny?).
I’ve also heard that in the audiobook version, the narrator adopts a voice that has been described as an offensive depiction of Black, American speech whenever he is reading the POV of the main character’s cat and the group of mob-like “gangsters” the cat associates with. Even though this blatant racial stereotyping was a choice for the audio narration and isn’t evident in the books themselves, it still makes me not want to recommend the book at all.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse and Domestic abuse
Moderate: Hate crime, Homophobia, and Religious bigotry
becphe's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-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
A different kind of witch story that I really enjoyed. Cozy world that still has big problems but the characters cooperate to solve the ones they can solve. The characters develop because of one another and it was fun to read as the relationships became deeper. I liked the way the chapters were from the viewpoints of various characters including a cat. Fun and suspenseful.
Content Warnings
Minor: Miscarriage, Sexual harassment, and Religious bigotry
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