Reviews with content warning for Bullying - A Far Wilder Magic

Reviews tagging 'Bullying'

A Far Wilder Magic by Allison Saft

51 reviews

kate_den_herder's review against another edition

emotional hopeful mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

I picked this up on a whim because the cover was pretty and it sounded like my type of book. I was not disappointed. I love Margaret and Wes. The characters are complex (some more than others) and while the plot was slow to develop, it was nice to just dig into each of the main characters’ heads while they prepare for the hunt. I thought we would get more about the hala- like why it called their names— so I was a bit disappointed there. However I think it makes sense to not explain the hala’s divinity in any way. Overall, a good read.

Content Warnings

k0n0's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous dark inspiring medium-paced

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

3.5

New Albion is a Victorian magical England, the author should have called it England. Race and religion play a huge part in this book and as much as I loved the way the author explored these hard concepts in a YA novel the fantasy names could have been dropped. I think just calling the different religions in the book what they were based off would have been helpful. After reading about halfway through I finally pieced it together Yu'adir=Judaism, Sumic=Catholicism, and Katharism=Protestant. The romance was super cute, supportive, there's some spicy inner monolog and satisfying tidbits towards the end. You really root for Wes and Margaret to be happy, ditch her toxic AF mom and grow together.

Content Warnings

akemi_sato's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous dark emotional reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.5

Content Warnings

lit_with_lauren's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous mysterious medium-paced

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

4.0

Content Warnings

pointeshoebookworm's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous challenging dark tense slow-paced

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

0.5

. . . I still don't know what to even think about this book . . .

Content Warnings

not_another_ana's review

Go to review page

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.25

4.25/5

Since her childhood, the hunt has been nothing but a blood-soaked myth. The fare of true New Albian heroes, not country girls with Yu'adir fathers. It's never been real. But now it's here. Close enough to register. Close enough to win.

In New Albian, where alchemy is common and mythical beasts still roam about, Margaret Welty is stuck in a town that hates her waiting for her mother to return from her travels. She's resigned to an unexciting life when the hala, a supernatural violent creature resembling a fox, is spotted in her neck of the woods bringing the Halfmoon Hunt to her little town. Whoever can kill the hala will get riches and fame and Maggie is ready to take on the challenge. There's just one little problem, only pairs (consisting of a hunter and an alchemist) can enter the hunt. Enter Weston Winters, a wannabe alchemist who comes looking for Margaret's mother to hopefully become her apprentice. Together they're an unlikely pair, but they might just have what it takes to win.

If you want to read this book because the hunt and the alchemy sounded interesting then put it back down. The Halfmoon Hunt doesn't really being until 80% or so of the book. It isn't plot driven, it's propelled by the characters. The hala is only there to get the two protagonist to meet and spend time together. This is why I'm rating it 4 stars and not 5, even though I loved it. The action did not deliver and was more of an afterthought.

Here's what this book is really about: a slow burn romance that hinges on the understanding between these two characters that outwordly seem wildly different yet, on the inside, are both longing to belong. It is beautifully written, I lost count of how many lines of this I highlighted. The protagonists inner worlds are so well constructed and carefully layered that you deeply feel for them. The book also deals with a lot of religious discrimination and xenophobia, with Maggie and Wes both being religious minorities and having to face a lot of bigotry in the midst of their romance. If the action had been set up correctly this would have been an easy 5 stars to me.

Content Warnings

maartabarrales's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional reflective sad slow-paced

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? Yes

4.0

Content Warnings

modernmatilda's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous hopeful lighthearted 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

Reasons to read this book:

Rapunzel and Flynn Rider romance vibes
Cottagecore vibes for days
Soft fantasy
Audiobook Weston Winters has a Newies-boy accent and my entire heart

An absolutely LOVELY read that I wish I could spent eternity in.

Content Warnings

discarded_dust_jacket's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous dark emotional mysterious slow-paced

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

3.25

I will die on the hill that says a 3-star rating is a good rating. I liked this book! I enjoyed the Jewish folklore element (if you liked The Wolf and the Woodsman, you’ll love this book), I thought the plot was unique and the romance was sweet.

I didn’t know much about it going in, and it threw me for a bit of a loop when the world was far more “modern” than I was expecting (they drive cars and use phones). I thought it was going to be a full-blown fantasy story with like horses and swords for some reason, so it confused me for a second before I got my bearings.

I found it especially moving to witness the protagonist, Margaret, journey towards healing the toxic views of love she has based on her relationship with her emotionally abusive mother:

“Love is not the sharp-edged thing [Margaret] always believed it to be. It’s not like the sea, liable to slip through her fingers if she holds on too tight. It’s not a currency, something to be earned or denied or bartered for. Love can be steadfast. It can be certain and safe…”

The only reason it didn’t get a higher rating from me was because the pacing for the middle 1/3 of the book was a bit slow for my taste. It kind of lagged a little bit, but found it’s stride eventually. I definitely enjoyed it, but it didn’t blow me away.

Content Warnings

r1vana's review against another edition

Go to review page

medium-paced

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

1.0

“Besides, dreams don't always have to be practical. That’s why they are dreams. And now ours live and die together.”

Contains spoiler:

-beautiful cover but the sorry meh. Disappointing.

-I should have dnf’ed it but since I don’t like to do that, I finished it.

-the story goes in the end of 1800s and beginning of 1900s (I think)

-I hate the romance in this book. I hate when ML’s flirt with other women/girls and even kiss one of them.

-i don’t care if male leads don’t find the woman lead attractive at first. But this guy straight up said that Margaret was not beautiful. He got me flabbergasted. He not only said it once. But two/three times!

-the romance is all about sexual haze/tension. I really taught we would get to see a romance growth since it’s a fantasy….

-Wes was not charming and delightful character

-I wished Margaret had a backbone. She never stood up for herself whenever bullies torment or insult her.

-the magic world was really lacking. Since the story has too much filler… it got boring at the end.

-waiting for the plot(killing the hala) was practically non existent(like 7% of the story)

Margaret is living in a home where only her and her dog Trouble lives there. Her mother frequently goes on trips for new research discoveries… so one day when she decides to participate in the hunting game of the Hala, Wes appears on her doorstep.

At first, she doesn’t want to do anything with him. But the more he lives in her home, the more she realizes how lonely and live less her life has been. She somewhat convinces Wes into participating with her. {reward money and glory and respect which she will gladly give all to him.} Her only reason to participate in the competition is to bring her mom home so she wouldn’t feel lonely.

Margaret hates alchemist because she has seen how it has changes her mother for the worse.

The more both ML’s gets close the more Margaret pushes him away because she doesn’t want to get hurt when he will leave:

“They've seen each other at their most vulnerable, and now the must hear each other’s burdens.”

Wes is from the city and is born into a poor family(4 sisters and him) where his father is a deathbeat. Which push his mother on becoming the breadwinner.

However, Wes had always had different passion and goals for his future.

Once he heard that once you become an alchemy, you can easily get a place as a politician aka in order to overthrow New Albion's fascist government.

He is shown flitirious guy with a lot of charm aka a virgin womanizer.He knows how to sweet talk his ways through the women.

One day, he decides to seek out Maggie's mother as a last resort. Why? Because he got fired from all of his previous apprenticeships due to his origin and it seems to also be due to his dyslexia.

Wes sole motivation to become an alchemy is his family’s financial. Being the only son, he is stuck in this situation where he doesn’t give a F about his older sister and mother who are the breadwinner of the family and he doesn’t want to be doing any kind of manual labour that doesn’t involve alchemy… (eye rolls… I understood why his sister was so mad at him…) the double standards when this guy always pushes Margaret to not do house works and relax aka do not do stuff for him. But with his sisters??? He doesn’t say anything.

Their romance/chemistry is so stressful but sometimes:

“She hasn't let go of his arm, but he finds he doesn't want here. The pressure of her hand anchors him in the chaos.

Love is not the sharp-edged thing she's always believed it to be. It's not like the sea, liable to sip through her fingers if she holds on too tight. It's not a currency, something to be earned or denied or bartered for. Love canbe steadfast. It can be certain and safe, or as wild as an open flame.

I's a slice of buttered bread at a dinner table. It's a grudge born of worry: It's broken skin pulled over swelling knuckles.

Tw: loss of family member(s); blood; gun violence; bullying ; anti-semantic

Content Warnings

More...