Reviews with content warning for Gore - A Far Wilder Magic

This book made me feel a lot of things. I was in love with the characters from the get go. Something about them really draws you in. The more I read the more I became invested and the more I found myself feeling angry at the world around them. By the end of it I was prepared to fight someone to ensure they got a happy ending.

The setting is atmospheric and the Hala is fascinating, despite not being the greatest obstacle for the protagonists.

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onemamareads's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad 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

Read my full review here: https://onemamassummer.weebly.com/book-reviews/a-far-wilder-magic

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gjkennedy's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious fast-paced

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

4.0

Very sweet (but not light lighthearted). This is the most I've liked a YA romance. They had great chemistry, I liked all the characters, could've very well done with more of them even though this book really was its own perfect length. Really sweet and fun. I will repeat the warning that this book is scarcely about the hunt and more about the romance, but I still found the magic really wonderful.

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sallenreads's review against another edition

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challenging emotional 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

5.0

I loved Allison Saft's debut, DOWN COMES THE NIGHT, and was hoping this would be just as good. Fortunately, it was, and I adored absolutely everything about this book.

Saft wove together so many different elements in this book, and they all worked so well together. Like her other book, this one has a romance between two outcasts at the heart of it, with a setting that could be its own character, and high stakes driving the plot forward. But it also grapples with topics like religion, xenophobia, and abuse. None of the aforementioned elements detracted from the others, or felt unnecessary; it all blended together very effectively to tell a complete story.

And speaking of our main characters, they each had their own traumas to work through, and helped each other while maintaining their independence. I also appreciated Wes for his excellent neurodivergent representation -- he read as having ADHD, and maybe dyslexia. As someone with ADHD, I felt it was handled very authentically, and my heart ached for him because I've gone through many of the emotions (failure, inadequacy, etc.) that he did.

Thank you to Wednesday Books for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

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habitualrereader's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional inspiring tense medium-paced

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

4.75

I hadn’t read anything by Allison Saft, but the cover and title had me intrigued so I gave A Far Wilder Magic a try. It’s beautifully written and engaging, and by the second chapter I was hooked. Maggie is strong, capable, deeply flawed and incredibly lovable. Wes is charming, passionate, and full of improbable dreams. If you enjoy character driven stories with some fantasy and slow-burn romance, I definitely recommend this book!

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campisforever's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional inspiring reflective sad tense slow-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? No

3.75

I’ve labeled this one with several content warnings. One of the major points of this book surrounds fantasy-setting correlates to antisemitism and xenophobia. The story centers on a hunt, thus the animal cruelty, and the plot deals with parental abandonment, gaslighting, emotional manipulation, etc. One MC experiences clearly described dissociative episodes as a result of trauma. The book is good, yes, but it does describe these things—including the hate crime, which only stops short of naming the actual slurs scrawled into a floor. One character in particular is a voice piece for bigoted, racist sentiments. Take care of yourselves, please.

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meliroo's review against another edition

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dark

3.25

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luckykosmos's review

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emotional reflective 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? It's complicated

4.5

romance is real...............

My main qualm is that the fantastic parallels for Judaism and Irish Catholicism felt underwhelming. At times, it felt like the names for regions and religions could have stayed as their real-world counterparts and nothing would have change, since the translation was so on the nose.

That being said, the way the dynamic between Margaret and Wes grew was delicious. Them slowly opening up to each other, in terms of general personality as well as being each other's main source of support in the face of bigotry. They balanced each other beautifully, and the romance between them felt so tender because of it. i die !

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