Reviews tagging 'Hate crime'

The Once and Future Witches by Alix E. Harrow

25 reviews

elzibub's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious tense 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Misogyny, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Hate crime, Torture, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Misogyny, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Pregnancy, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Abandonment and Abortion

thereadinghammock's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious 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

This book was a much longer read than I usually get my hands on, but it needed every moment of the story to breathe and share so many stories within it. As with most witching, the story follows the sisters Eastwood: Beatrice Belladonna, Agnes Amaranth, and James Juniper and their love, loss, and reconnection with each other and the lost ways of their witching ancestors. Set against the backdrop of a women's suffrage movement turned suffrage and witching campaign, these sisters work together to unlock the lost ways of Avalon and heal old hurts between them.

The diverse cast of supporting characters is just as fascinating, and so well written. I loved their interactions with each other, the story itself, the variety of their witching, and the overall sisterhood among them. And most of the protagonist's supporting male cast are also early adopters of their own brand of feminism and I was LIVING for it!

And what a delightfully insidious villain Gideon Hill turned out to be. His character continued to evolve and loom throughout most of the novel and his intentions were fascinating to guess and watch change as the sisters Eastwood work to bring witching back to the world.

Despite the length, I never felt like the book got too bogged down with one story over another. No one character was more important than the next, and they all played an important role in the overall telling of this story. I did love the subtle rephrasing and retelling of so many classic nursery rhymes, folk tales, and witch tales into more feminist and generally less evil stories. It was so much fun to read and see how the stories or rhymes changed when the witch wasn't always evil for evil's sake!

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Hate crime, Lesbophobia, Pregnancy, Religious bigotry, Torture, Police brutality, Misogyny, and Confinement

Minor: Domestic abuse, Outing, and Violence

annir's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring tense medium-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Blood, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Grief, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Slavery, and Violence

Moderate: Animal death, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Forced institutionalization, Murder, Racism, Religious bigotry, and Abortion

Minor: Domestic abuse and Transphobia

charlottesomewhere's review against another edition

dark emotional tense slow-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

This is everything I could ever want from a witch book and more. It was so brilliant I've just downloaded the audiobook so I can experience it all over again. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Forced institutionalization, Hate crime, and Misogyny

Moderate: Death of parent, Grief, Murder, and Physical abuse

Minor: Abortion, Child abuse, and Racism

lais's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional inspiring reflective medium-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Misogyny, and Sexism

Moderate: Physical abuse and Violence

Minor: Torture, Religious bigotry, Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Racism, Hate crime, Cursing, Alcoholism, and Addiction