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spineofthesaurus's review against another edition
- 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
4.5
Graphic: Pregnancy, Religious bigotry, Suicide, Torture, Sexual violence, Gaslighting, Body horror, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Gore, Grief, Self harm, Stalking, Violence, Medical trauma, Blood, Death, Domestic abuse, Sexual harassment, Abandonment, Fire/Fire injury, Forced institutionalization, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, and Outing
Moderate: Ableism, Abortion, Alcoholism, Genocide, Murder, Excrement, Medical content, Pandemic/Epidemic, Sexual assault, Racism, Infidelity, Kidnapping, Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Death of parent, Homophobia, Lesbophobia, Police brutality, Animal death, and Hate crime
Minor: Xenophobia, Alcohol, Slavery, Deadnaming, Classism, and Colonisation
l_e_lavalle's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
Graphic: Homophobia, Physical abuse, Self harm, Pregnancy, Medical content, Abortion, Blood, Death, and Suicide
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Death of parent, Body horror, Grief, and Outing
Minor: Child death and Kidnapping
warboyziri's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
Graphic: Pregnancy and Violence
Moderate: Domestic abuse and Abortion
Minor: Racism
lolajh's review against another edition
Moderate: Sexism, Child abuse, Homophobia, Misogyny, Racism, Abortion, Domestic abuse, and Pregnancy
Minor: Outing
jennay's review against another edition
4.5
Would love to see this become a movie - if the producers can capture the emotions of the book accurately.
Graphic: Death and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Abortion, Child abuse, Hate crime, Pregnancy, and Gaslighting
Minor: Sexual assault, Sexual content, Self harm, Religious bigotry, Racism, Animal death, Pandemic/Epidemic, Suicide, Slavery, Sexual violence, and Racial slurs
lady_valhella's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
Graphic: Gaslighting, Police brutality, Forced institutionalization, Pregnancy, Genocide, Hate crime, Misogyny, Kidnapping, and Sexism
Minor: Abortion, Sexual harassment, Domestic abuse, Racism, Child abuse, and Death of parent
queer_bookwyrm's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
The Once and Future Witches is the second by Alix E. Harrow that has me spellbound (pun intended). Harrow is so good at atmospheric settings and giving the magic just enough realness and familiarity that it's easy to get lost in.
We follow the Sisters Eastwood: James Juniper, the youngest and most wild sister who is aroace and disabled; Agnes Amaranth, the middle sister and the strong one; and Beatrice Belladonna, the eldest and wisest sister who is a lesbian librarian. Each of these characters is fleshed out so well and feel like whole people with many layers. We get a lot of themes on duality through the sisters, and subversion of fairy tales and witch stories. Juniper is the best. She is such a sassy badass and has enough will to bring the world to its knees. Their growth together and apart had me glued to the page. We also get a trans woman side character and black secondary character, Cleo, who I loved (and so did a certain librarian).
I loved the magic in this. Harrow uses fairy tales, children's songs and stories as the words for magic, all a woman then needs is the ways and the will. The reason for storing the knowledge of magic in this way was because men wouldn't think to look in children's books or a woman's sewing kit. Ultimately, this is a feminist witch retelling of the women's suffrage movement in the summer of 1893. It's angry and wronged women taking power in any small way they can. I loved the theme of perseverance and making a way where there is none. Harrow tells us any woman can be a witch if she is wronged and has the words, the will, and the way.
The villain was creepy af and kept you guessing, but in the end you almost feel bad for him (almost). We get a lot of references to the Maiden, Mother, Crone trope which is used throughout the story. I also just loved how simple the magic was. The characters really made this story worth it. And bless Mr. August Lee!
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Sexism, Child abuse, Violence, Torture, and Misogyny
Moderate: Transphobia, Racism, Death of parent, Self harm, Lesbophobia, Abortion, Animal cruelty, and Sexual harassment
apersonfromflorida's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Death, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Confinement, and Misogyny
Moderate: Homophobia, Transphobia, Racism, and Child abuse
Minor: Abortion
haunted_jackalope's review against another edition
- 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
4.5
Graphic: Misogyny, Fire/Fire injury, Blood, Sexism, and Violence
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Body horror, Death, Death of parent, Grief, Medical trauma, Abandonment, Child abuse, Classism, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Racism, Confinement, Cursing, Homophobia, Lesbophobia, and Pregnancy
Minor: Torture, Abortion, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment
shelbea's review against another edition
- 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? It's complicated
3.5
Moderate: Blood, Misogyny, Violence, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Child abuse, and Death
Minor: Outing, Abortion, and Alcoholism