Reviews tagging 'Gaslighting'

A Far Wilder Magic by Allison Saft

14 reviews

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.

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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. 

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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

mad_is_rad's review against another edition

adventurous hopeful mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Emotional abuse, Animal death, Gaslighting, Hate crime, and Abandonment

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. 

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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

queenstaves's review against another edition

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

3.0

Excellent slow burn romance. The only complaint is the sheer length of one of the internal monologues at the climax. Its is such a small complaint though. 

Very engaging and well done.

Except... it's weird how much religious significance is emphasized, and the transgressive nature of certain things... to then not have ANY consequences is just bad? There should have been something addressing that, or leave it out, imo. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Xenophobia, Abandonment, and Religious bigotry

Moderate: Gaslighting and Hate crime

Parental narcissism is also a significant content warning. I did skim/skip some parts to get past it. But it's not done as a shock value thing. It works with the character's growth.

city_girl_writer's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious 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

4.5

This was a joy to read despite the dark vibes and content. Not an all-time favorite, but I will definitely remember this book as Roy x Riza fanfic. Nonetheless, this book stands on its own. Despite not enjoying romance, I liked seeing the dual POVs so that I can feel them pining for each other. I would like to thank Hannah from A Clockwork Reader for recommending this book in one of her videos.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Abandonment, Xenophobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Body horror, Gore, and Antisemitism

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Animal death, Grief, Gaslighting, and Sexual content

Minor: Death of parent

andromeda_1998's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional sad 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

4.0

A far wilder magic is a story about finding your worth and accepting that family can be found in different places. The book is a fantasy standalone that seems to fit in autumn. I really enjoyed it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Antisemitism, Blood, Body horror, Death, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Racial slurs, Misogyny, and Sexism

neni's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.25

The thing I liked the most about this book was the writing and the imagery. The autumn woods and mysterious sea side town vibes were great, and the writing was quite beautiful and evocative, especially when the author described environments. The character's were okay, I didn't love them, but I didn't hate them, they were a bit cliché in their tropes, but I enjoyed the development of the main character's response to her family trauma, namely in the way she finally recognized her toxic relationship with her mother. Wes was very sweet as a love interest.
I loved Trouble the hound, especially because my own dear dog is of the same breed so I kept picturing her in the book :) 
The pacing was a bit all over the place. The first third of the book felt slow and like nothing was happening, the middle was satisfying in that we finally had some progress in both the plot and the relationship between the main character's, but then the ending, while entertaining, was a bit rushed and left quite a few issues that had been brought up either unresolved or fixed so quickly it didn't feel believable.
I must say as well: the fact that the whole character's main thing was being a huntress and loving it, didn't sit quite well with me as I don't agree with hunting for sport. The descriptions of fox killing as a sport (both the magical/mythical type and the plain normal animal) bothered me.
Overall, this was an okay read, especially vibesy for autumn and with some good romance and pining in the middle but not particularly strong either in plot or character complexity.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Racial slurs, Religious bigotry, Toxic relationship, Xenophobia, Animal death, Antisemitism, Blood, Bullying, Gore, Grief, Racism, Death, Abandonment, Gun violence, Animal cruelty, Gaslighting, Body horror, Child abuse, and Violence

sophiesmallhands's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional 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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Xenophobia

Moderate: Religious bigotry, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, Toxic relationship, Abandonment, and Death

Minor: Gaslighting, Child death, and Death of parent

halfelfschollar's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful 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

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Antisemitism, Xenophobia, Child abuse, Gaslighting, and Gore

Moderate: Child death