Reviews with content warning for Homophobia - Improbable Magic for Cynical Witches

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Reviews tagging 'Homophobia'

Improbable Magic for Cynical Witches by Kate Scelsa

47 reviews

i_cant_ive_got_rehersal's review against another edition

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adventurous hopeful inspiring 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

4.5

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the_lesbrarian's review against another edition

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adventurous slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

While working in a witchy shop in Salem, high school outcast and skeptic Eleanor gets invited to join a local coven and quickly falls for one of the other girls, despite her best efforts not to. Eleanor is thrilled for a chance to start over, but as the difficult events of Eleanor’s last year are slowly revealed, she struggles to keep her present and past separate. The story is fun, if not a little uneven both in pacing and characterization. The main character can at times be frustratingly overdramatic, but in some ways her thoughts capture how important and messy everything feels in high school. “Improbable Magic for Cynical Witches“ is another quick queer book to ring in autumn, with a lesbian mc and multiple established LGBTQ+ characters and relationships.

Although the premise is cozy and solidly in the YA category, there are several significant triggering events in this book, so be sure to check tws before picking it up.

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julialudovici's review against another edition

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challenging emotional reflective sad 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

4.75

Content Warnings

radler's review against another edition

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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? Yes

4.75

Content Warnings

leorahart's review against another edition

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emotional mysterious medium-paced

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

2.5

I know that queer books often address the realities of being queer in the world like homophobia, etc. but I feel like the homophobia, slurs, and sexual assault in this book weren’t necessary in a lot of ways. It’s partially on me for expecting a cute sapphic witch romance. I didn’t feel like we got to know Pix very well and when we did learn about her it wasn’t very compelling to make her a lovable or even complicated love interest. Which maybe wasn’t the point - but I feel like you can go for stability as a character trait without making her boring. I really liked learning about what had happened with Claire(?) and wanting to know what happened the previous October is what kept me reading. Overall, I wanted to love this book and it just fell short of what I’d hoped it would be.

Eta: also the stalking was majorly upsetting for me like Elinor what the fuck

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maresuju's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful lighthearted reflective 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

Content Warnings

kylieqrada's review against another edition

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dark emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-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

3.0

Okkkkk I really liked some things about this book - the major arcana interpretations at the beginning of each chapter, the Salem, Mass. setting, the queerness. But this is a contemporary story instead of fantasy, and it is capital D-A-R-K dark. I'm not sure how comfy I am with the way things are handled in here. 3 stars feels right to me.

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