Reviews with content warning for Sexual content - A Far Wilder Magic

Reviews tagging 'Sexual content'

A Far Wilder Magic by Allison Saft

57 reviews

hannahmartinez's review against another edition

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

4.25

Margaret was very well written but Wes got on my nerves a lot. The prose and worldbuilding were awesome. The magic system was confusing but not that important to the book so it didn’t bother me much.
—
Edit post watching Fullmetal Alchemist: I am bumping up the rating from 3.75 to 4.25 now that I understand what this book is based on. This is the Riza Hawkeye character study of my dreams

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zoiejanelle's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny inspiring lighthearted sad tense 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? It's complicated

4.0

PHENOMENAL BOOK. the romance made my heart flutter, the plot was thrilling, the world building was just my type (surface level, well-explained, implications of deeper lore), and the characters were oh-so-relatable. this should be at the top of all YA fantasy readers’ lists!
a few qualms: and listen, i’m not trying to get cancelled here or make any accusations… but at times i truly felt like some scenes were lifted directly out of Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood or Roy Mustang/Riza Hawkeye fanfiction i’ve read. an alchemist and a sharpshooter? the sharpshooter has a mad scientist/absentee parent? the alchemist wants to become a politician? blonde and black hair (actually, their whole physical descriptions honestly)? set in the same fantasy time period? (spoilers)

the alchemist’s large family of all sisters/women? the sharpshooter’s loyal dog? the alchemist burns/destroys the dangerous research at the end? she’ll “follow him into hell”? the whole supporting him on his mission to become a politician? and so much more with the lab and the tragic incidents in the house!!!

this is one of the reasons i gave it a 4… because i was feeling very Exile by Taylor Swift about the whole thing. if not inspired by FMAB, still super, super odd how similar they are. enough that someone should have caught it in a general “books/shows/movies about alchemy” google search, to be honest.
also i can’t give it a 5 because

i don’t think explicit sex scenes should be included in the YA category but i guess i’m the only one who thinks that. yikes.

ANYWAY i loved this book, seriously. it was so well-paced, no major plot holes, the writing was actually GOOD and tasteful, there were clear allegories to current world issues, i loved all the characters and thought they were all believable and enjoyable, and the ending was very satisfying.

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nanacai's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional 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

4.5

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thecourtofreading's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious slow-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

why did this feel like it was wuthering heights inspired, despite me not having read wuthering heights. maybe it’s the artwork on the cover i fully thought the boy looked like healthcliff.

anyway, this book did start off a little slow, but allison saft definitely knows how to create delicate settings and atmospheres and it was very vivid and enticing. the alchemy was a really interesting magic system alongside the halla.

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annierose's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional medium-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

4.25

I'm surprised at how much I liked this little book. Going into it, I thought it would just be another YA fantasy and in a way it is – the main focus is the budding romance between the two protagonists, Margaret and Weston, and in places I found myself wishing some of the world building and magic system (or alchemy, in this case) would be a tad bit more detailed. Especially placing the book in a certain period felt a little difficult for me. Even though this is a fictional world I got a little confused when I discovered there were things like cars, radios, iceboxes, and condoms etc. in a setting I'd assumed to be Victorian-ish at first, but then, there was no mention of TVs and cellphones... so I'm still a little unclear in this aspect.

However, the slowburn, the pining and the playful banter hit the right spot for me and I found myself turning the pages, eager for more interactions between the two leads. Maggie and Wes do feel like real people with their desires and dreams and anxieties, so it's easy to get invested in their blooming relationships and their vastly different family dynamics. And despite the story including some more mature themes like xenophobia, religious bigotry, emotional abuse, and child abandonment that have the characters going through complex emotions, the sweet romance at the centre of it makes the story feel light-hearted and addictive to read. And sometimes that's all you need from a book.

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limabeans's review against another edition

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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

weston <3

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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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