Reviews tagging 'Mental illness'

A Far Wilder Magic by Allison Saft

10 reviews

bree_h_reads's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful 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

4.75

I really enjoyed most of this book. I found the relationship extremely compelling and every character in the book felt very real and alive. The prose made everything feel very cozy, but instilled a wonderful sense of dread in the scenes it really needed it.

To start, I thought the introduction to the world was very well done and didn’t feel like a long, rambling info dump for most of the early chapters. I thought Maggie’s introduction chapter was beautifully written and captured a melancholic nostalgia. Meanwhile Wes’ really captured the feeling of being out of place and anxious very well. I also enjoyed the difference in their perspectives. Maggie’s chapter made the manor feel comfortable and homey, while Wes’ chapter made it feel cold and eerie. I thought there was a well done, clear distinction between POVs and how different places and circumstances felt different depending on the POV you were in.

I also really enjoyed the relationship, watching Maggie and Wes slowly warm up to each other and come together as friends as they catch feelings was sweet and well executed. Relationships outside of theirs was also amazing. Maggie’s relationship with her mom was so sad, but you could totally understand why she was still so loyal to her mother. Meanwhile Wes’ relationship with his sisters felt so dead on and accurate. There were conversations with his sisters that felt exactly like conversations I’ve had with my two younger brothers and it was all so fun and sweet. Relationships outside of family were also really interesting, watching Maggie and Wes grapple with their identities from religious/ethnic groups outside of the norm felt (unfortunately) very real as well. It was sad and painful to watch them be pushed to the fringes of society and attacked.

The romance too was just so wonderful. I was giggling, kicking my feet, screaming, and freaking out the entire time. The pining and longing and refusal to admit feelings was just so yummy. It never felt ridiculous or overdone for their hesitations to be together, especially Maggie’s. I was also pleasantly surprised by their conflict resolution and that the brief third act break up was an outside force and an overblown miscommunication. I think my only issue with the romance was that I felt two of the really big moments happened at really strange times and it took me out of it a little bit. My other issue with the romance was the spice. Salt and sand on his lips? Wes. Stop. You’re going to give Maggie an infection. (That also took me out of the book.)

Otherwise it was amazing! I think if those had been handled a little bit better I would have easily given this 5 stars. Not rating it 5 stars was already hard, but I couldn’t look past those smaller flubs with the romance.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Religious bigotry, Xenophobia, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, and Panic attacks/disorders

Moderate: Abandonment and Death of parent

blackcatkai's review against another edition

emotional hopeful 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? It's complicated

4.0

CW: animal death on page (especially in regards to hunting), child death mentioned, gun violence, abandonment, gore, body horror, death, racism, classism, some sexual content, antisemitism, emotional abuse from a parent, blood, injury/wounds (animals & people), nationalism, xenophobia, ptsd & mental illness, alcohol, grief

this was such a cute, sweet, slow burn romance with a bit of magic thrown in. it's written beautifully while also dealing with quite a few heavy topics. I loved it and would absolutely read from Saft again!

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Xenophobia, Racism, Injury/Injury detail, Animal death, Alcohol, Antisemitism, and Death

Moderate: Body horror, Gun violence, Grief, Mental illness, Abandonment, Violence, and Emotional abuse

Minor: Sexual content and Ableism

wilybooklover's review

adventurous dark emotional slow-paced

4.0

 Note: I don't ordinarily read YA these days so please read this review with that in mind. 

The writing in this was absolutely gorgeous. So lyrical — poetic, almost — and atmospheric. I highly recommend reading this in autumn because it has perfect spooky, gothic vibes. Margaret and Wes's slow-burn romance was so romantic and tender and full of pining. They both felt like fully fleshed-out characters with realistic flaws and issues. I also enjoyed that they were both poor; usually fantasy romances will have at least one of the pair be royalty or aristocratic or blindingly rich, and that was refreshingly not the case here.

This is a very character-driven and introspective book, and while I loved that aspect, I do wish there had been a little bit more focus on the hala and the hunt. It's mostly squashed into the last 10% and it felt a bit anticlimactic and rushed given the build-up of the previous 90% of the book.

The worldbuilding was also a little bit shaky for me. It's very clearly based on 1920s New England with direct parallels in terms of religion, ethnicity, real-world events and tensions, etc. but then there are some more modern concepts and theories mentioned as well. I know it's fantasy but I think it was too close to the real world to work in terms of cohesion. I think it would have flowed better for me if the world had been a bit more distinctly its own thing or if there were a few more magical/fantastical elements outside of the alchemy and the hala. 

Overall, though, this was a lovely heartfelt fantasy romance with some deftly explored themes of loneliness, persecution, trauma, and religion.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Violence, Xenophobia, Antisemitism, Panic attacks/disorders, Religious bigotry, Blood, Bullying, Mental illness, Injury/Injury detail, and Animal death

Moderate: Ableism, Toxic relationship, Racial slurs, Classism, Gaslighting, Sexual content, and Grief

Minor: Child death and Death of parent

ka_ke's review against another edition

adventurous medium-paced

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

2.0

It’s very mediocre, if I put it down, i found it took a lot to pick it back up and start reading again. 

It’s got good alchemy lore but oddly a significant amount of walmart brand christianity? I guess maybe it’s the authors way of recovering from some religious trauma. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs, Grief, Mental illness, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Cursing, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, Racism, and Religious bigotry

Moderate: Abandonment, Blood, Animal death, Injury/Injury detail, and Gun violence

Minor: Sexual content, Child death, Toxic friendship, and Xenophobia

u_0's review against another edition

I really loved the atmospheric writing of the first few chapters but once the plot started going it fell apart for me. Mostly, I think I don't enjoy YA anymore and I didn't know this was YA before reading. It was also surprising religious? I really liked the way alchemy worked in this world, I'll look for it in other books.

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Abandonment, Racism, Bullying, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Animal death, Mental illness, and Religious bigotry

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

Graphic: Animal death, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, Abandonment, Xenophobia, Bullying, Religious bigotry, and Mental illness

Minor: Child death

Margaret has some undiagnosed PTSD, so there are some flashbacks

aformeracceleratedreader's review against another edition

adventurous slow-paced

3.5

This book reminded me a lot of Full Metal Alchemist, but I didn't like this as much as FMA.

the main FMA similarity outside of alchemy, is the fact that Margaret's mom wanted to bring back Margs dead brother with the philosopher stone like how Ed and Al tried bringing back their mom

. I thought this book was quite slow and I was waiting for the hunt to begin. I expected more action along with the romance that also grew. When the hunt actually started, everything went by too quick with the conflict with Jaime and the take down of the hala. I did enjoy the romance side of it since I did like Wes, Margaret, and Wes' family. And I liked how Margaret grew as a character although I'm not the biggest fan of "a dude's love is the thing that you needed to fix/save you" all the time.
I'm also not a fan of white, raised Christian people writing about marginalized people when they haven't had those experiences. I know the author is LGBT+ and probably has faced prejudice because of it, but the discrimination and oppression one experiences based on religion and race/ethnicity is quite different. I don't like white authors saying that racial and religious minorities need to take the high road to be better than their oppressors like what has been illustrated in this book. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Grief, Violence, Xenophobia, Bullying, Child death, Hate crime, Mental illness, Racism, Alcohol, Animal death, Antisemitism, Classism, Death of parent, Panic attacks/disorders, Toxic relationship, and Religious bigotry

katievallin's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Confinement, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Racial slurs, Sexual content, Alcohol, Blood, Bullying, Gaslighting, Religious bigotry, Violence, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, and Racism

Minor: Child death, Colonisation, and Death of parent

beautifulpaxielreads's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious medium-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

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, Racism, Abandonment, and Religious bigotry

Moderate: Body horror, Death, Grief, Gun violence, Sexual content, Racial slurs, Antisemitism, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, and Child death

Minor: War

Anti-Irish sentiments expressed.

beforeviolets's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious 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

5.0

CW: animal death, death of father (past), death of brother (past), parental abandonment, sexual content (onscreen, not graphic), blood, trauma, emotionally abusive parent, religious bigotry, PTSD, alcohol consumption, hate crime, anti-semitism, death, gore

Thank you to Wednesday books for providing me an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Built upon a rich tapestry of religiopolitical metaphor, and steeped in a charged atmosphere that will fill your senses, A Far Wilder Magic paints a romance between two characters that you just can't help but fall for.

Allison's Saft's writing is nothing less than golden.

If you like:
-slow burn
-grumpy girl/sunshine boy
-dorks helplessly in love
-casual queer side characters
-bigots getting punched in the face
-jewish rep
then you should get your hands on this book. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Mental illness, Antisemitism, Animal death, Blood, Emotional abuse, and Religious bigotry

Moderate: Death, Sexual content, Alcohol, and Gore

Minor: Death of parent