Reviews tagging 'Toxic relationship'

Mister Magic by Kiersten White

12 reviews

princess_marie's review against another edition

dark mysterious slow-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Grief, Religious bigotry, Confinement, Death of parent, and Toxic relationship

nicolestegall's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child death, Kidnapping, and Toxic relationship

unluckycat13's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? N/A
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I'm mixed because I really enjoy the story of this book, ambivalent about the characters, and hate the prose/delivery. 

There were parts that were strangely emotional, which is really rare for me. I enjoy the surrealism though it was badly balanced with attempts to make it plausibly non-magical for far too long. 

There we parts that came off gender essentialist which I don't think was the intent. As the author says in her note though, it takes us a long time to fully untangle our toxic beliefs. I don't have a problem with the authors note. Authors are allowed to write about things personal to them, then describe how and why it's personal to them. 

Overall the novel has cool creepy vibes that are reminiscent of a lot of cool stuff. I think it will hit hardest if you're in your 30s and/or had a rough conservative leaning upbringing. 

I did appreciate the nod to not needing a romantic partner even though most of the cast paired up. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Terminal illness, Religious bigotry, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, Sexism, Kidnapping, Emotional abuse, Child death, Toxic relationship, and Death of parent

Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Child abuse, Homophobia, Body horror, Religious bigotry, and Domestic abuse

herasrevenge88's review

dark emotional 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

5.0

Why am I crying over a horror book? Why do I want a happy ending? This book was slow paced but had an insidious tone. I both enjoyed and dreaded reading it because I wanted to know what was going to happen but the pace was so slow I felt like I might be disappointed at the end. I shouldn't have doubted Kiersten White. This is my second book that I've read that is written by her and while the first one I read was a faster pace it had similar vibes: there's more to what's going on here than you are originally lead to believe. This book had me questioning the reality of the world the characters were inhabiting, the other people they interacted with and even the reality of who they thought they were. The pacing does pick up about halfway through the book but its only faster compared to the previous part of the book. I've never read a book that I liked this much that I took this many voluntary breaks from it to absorb what I just read and to try to analyze what I've read so far. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Cursing, Grief, Homophobia, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Child death, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Child abuse

Minor: Death of parent

lynxpardinus's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective tense

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Death of parent, Religious bigotry, Child abuse, Grief, Misogyny, Emotional abuse, and Child death

Moderate: Abandonment, Confinement, Sexual harassment, Death, Medical content, Addiction, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, Fire/Fire injury, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Homophobia, Gun violence, Antisemitism, Colonisation, Sexual content, and Racism

babsthebatgirl's review

dark emotional inspiring reflective 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gaslighting, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Death of parent, Child abuse, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Abandonment

joannalouise's review

adventurous dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

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

3.25

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child death and Toxic relationship

imstephtacular's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Grief, Gaslighting, and Sexism

Moderate: Abandonment, Death of parent, Death, Medical content, Cursing, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Violence, and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Sexual content, Vomit, Homophobia, Toxic friendship, and Toxic relationship

avidreaderandgeekgirl's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious 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? It's complicated

5.0

I really enjoyed this book! It was a great mix of thriller and social commentary with some horror mixed in. 

The characters really changed and grew throughout the book. As well as their stories slowly being unraveled. Though I wouldn't have minded a bit more backstory on some of the secondary characters. The secondary characters were a great mix of lovable but slightly untrustworthy which really made it a good thriller. The truth behind the tv show was partly predictable, but the big twists weren't predictable.

The narrator was amazing and really brought the story and characters to life.

Overall an amazing listen. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Emotional abuse, Confinement, Death of parent, and Abandonment

Moderate: Toxic relationship and Violence

whatiskatelynreading's review

challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious tense 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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Death of parent, Toxic relationship, Gaslighting, and Confinement