Reviews with content warning for Death - Coven

Coven follows Emsy, a queer teenage girl who only wants to surf and hang out with her girlfriend in California. She definitely doesn't want to train as a fire elemental, but when mysterious murders threaten her family's witch coven, her parents decide to move back to New York where they will be better protected and she can hone her skills.

The illustrations in this graphic novel were stunning. Absolutely, completely show-stopping (and at times disturbing). I loved the use of color and the style felt very much the teenage-girl-with-fire-powers-solves-a-mystery that it had to be. Very much comic book vibes.

The pacing was really quick, which meant that it kept me on my toes and didn't give me too much time to figure out the mystery for myself. I will say that at times the characters felt one-dimensional, like they only had one focus and refused to see anything else (in more than just an "I'm stubborn" way), but as the book went on I felt it got better. Though there was definite character growth on the part of Emsy and a few of the side characters, I still wish there was less reliance on cliché teenager angst. I found Emsy annoying for the majority of the novel because it made her worries out to be overdramatic rather than just born out of frustration.

I loved how this book didn't center around Emsy's queerness. Not just in that she never labeled herself, but also in that she never came out and she never had to come out. I felt like that was definitely the right choice for a story based more on the adventure than the romance. Also? My little witch boys mutually pining for each other? So here for that.

I also think it's important to mention that there was a moment in the graphic novel where a conversation was had about a witch "civil war" and the actual phrase "witch supremacists" was used. Which? Feels very wrong to me? It sounds like a play on "white supremacist," and the main character and author are both white, so I really don't think that was an okay phrase to use. And to be clear, I'm white, so I'm not the best person to make this judgement call, but I still think this is something that needs to be more looked into by POC reviewers.

Coven fulfilled my sapphic witch comic book aspirations, and I recommend to anyone looking for an easy and intriguing read!

Content Warnings: disturbing imagery (blood, fantastical creatures, injuries), discussion of death of family members, depictions of grief, hospitalization of a side character due to a coma

Content Warnings

abby_can_read's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious fast-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

4.0

📱
This was a fun read. The art was nice. I liked the characters and their relationships. The plot was alright, a little predictable. The rules of magic made enough sense.

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alexus_sb's review against another edition

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dark medium-paced

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

4.0

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hannahs_library_'s review against another edition

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adventurous medium-paced

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

3.5

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amberinpieces's review

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adventurous dark mysterious fast-paced

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

3.75

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joisaddler's review against another edition

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dark mysterious medium-paced

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

2.0

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riverlasol's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious tense fast-paced

Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

This delivered witchy queer found family in a small town so well and I found the characters so loveable. They got up to so much badassery and also found time for some heartfelt moments. It was everything I could want from this sort of book and honestly my only complaints are that it wasn’t sectioned into chapters (though if you’re a binge reader this could be perfect) and that there ISNT MORE. I want more of this Coven!! I want more LORE!! I don’t think there’s plans for a sequel but I’m just saying I would read it immediately. Also, I adored the art style! All in all, an easy 5/5 stars!

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