Reviews tagging 'Medical content'

A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness

25 reviews

atxshopgirl's review against another edition

adventurous funny mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.5

Reading this was like all my favorite YA, fantasy, and sci-fi fandoms got mixed up in a big cauldron, with a healthy dash of ABO elements, without explicitly calling out ABO (sorta). (Seriously — if you liked the vibes from that childhood wizard series or the sparkly vampire story, read fanfic, and have watched that show about a time lord at any point, you’ll probably enjoy this story.) 

The main character wasn’t super relatable at first and felt kinda like a Mary Sue, but as the plot really picked up, a lot of the exposition and first-person voice that I found somewhat annoying at the beginning fell away and I really began to enjoy the way the plot unraveled and the way all the characters were interacting with and growing with one another. 

The book was a bit slow to start, but once many of the other characters were introduced the pace picked up quite a bit and I found myself wishing there had been MORE content established with those characters, and more depth, despite how long it already is. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Death, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Torture, and Violence

Moderate: Stalking, Medical content, Pregnancy, and Emotional abuse

katielaine_w's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious 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

3.25

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Blood, Body horror, Death of parent, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Grief, Medical content, Murder, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexism, Toxic relationship, and Violence

lilifane's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

4.0

I know I know I know, there are a lot of flaws in the book, especially with the romance plot, but I just adore the world building and the atmosphere and the characters and the magic and the science and the books and the history. I should care more about the fact that the romance is highly problematic and annoying and is also a major part of the plot. And yes, I hate that part of the book with all my heart. It does not help that the problematic issues are actually addressed... and just ignored by the characters because loooove. But ... the rest is just too good? 

The vampire and witch lore is so fascinating in this book. And I love that it's actually rooted in science. The academic setting at the beginning is so nice. And the found family aspects are just wholesome. And I'm in love with the Bishop house. And the thing that happens at the end... I'm just a huge fan of this kind of plot, okay? 

So yeah, not a fan of the romance but a big fan of the world. 

I'm very curious how the story will unfold, but I'm also prepared to hate it at the end. So we'll see. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Animal death, Blood, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Kidnapping, Medical content, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Torture, Toxic relationship, and Violence

veeronald's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful informative lighthearted mysterious tense fast-paced

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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture

Moderate: Animal death, Blood, Cannibalism, Death, Grief, Medical content, Stalking, Xenophobia, Violence, and Panic attacks/disorders

Minor: Death of parent, Sexism, and Misogyny

massivepizzacrust's review against another edition

adventurous funny lighthearted tense fast-paced

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

4.0

This is a deceptively long book, with almost 600 pages when it looks from the outside like it should have closer to 350. It's also an absolute breeze to read and, though I have to dock a star for what I think is a pretty unhealthy start to a relationship, it's my new favorite slightly guilty read series.

Reread in 2020: I needed to get back to this because of *waves broadly* and I enjoyed it just the same this time around. I almost never reread but I needed something comforting and addictive for finals season.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence

Moderate: Torture, Medical content, Death, Confinement, Blood, Animal death, and Sexual content

Minor: Child death, Infertility, and Toxic relationship