Reviews tagging 'Antisemitism'

The Magpie Lord by KJ Charles

21 reviews

yeager's review

hopeful mysterious fast-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? No

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Minor: Antisemitism and Homophobia

whomever_0's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious tense fast-paced

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

3.0

It's amusing enough to keep you entertained. A quick read with not the most fleshed out characters. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content

Moderate: Antisemitism

Minor: Rape, Animal cruelty, and Incest

widowrites's review

adventurous emotional hopeful mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.5

I very much enjoyed this book. The romance wasn’t as fleshed out as I like, but I could see them being drawn together. It felt natural. The mystery was fantastic. Interesting use of magic, and world building magic. All in all I very much enjoyed reading this book.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood and Body horror

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Child abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Abandonment, Classism, Injury/Injury detail, Suicide, Homophobia, and Death

Minor: Antisemitism

aplpaca's review

adventurous funny hopeful lighthearted mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Suicide, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, and Violence

Moderate: Homophobia, Incest, Antisemitism, and Sexual assault

cyberhavok's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious fast-paced

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

2.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Murder, Suicidal thoughts, Self harm, Suicide attempt, Blood, Violence, and Sexual content

Moderate: Antisemitism, Homophobia, and Incest

Minor: Sexual assault, Suicide, and Rape

kiriikiri's review

adventurous dark lighthearted mysterious tense fast-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

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Body horror, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Cursing, Sexual content, Animal death, Blood, Classism, Suicidal thoughts, and Violence

Moderate: Self harm, Sexual content, Death of parent, Suicide attempt, and Violence

Minor: Antisemitism, Cannibalism, Incest, Sexual harassment, Toxic relationship, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Death, Murder, Rape, and Suicide

ladythana's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.25

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Animal death, Blood, Suicide attempt, Violence, Classism, Death of parent, Body horror, Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, and Sexual content

Minor: Rape, Gore, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Antisemitism, Cultural appropriation, Injury/Injury detail, Confinement, Fire/Fire injury, Incest, and Sexual violence

numerous_bees's review

adventurous dark funny 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? It's complicated

4.0

Not as polished as Charles' later works, but I won't hold the linear flow of time against her.

The plot got a bit convoluted towards the end, with new names being introduced and connections being made which relied on information the reader isn't privy to, which is a little disappointing, but ties into what I consider one of the book's strengths: that the hidden world of magic is barely glimpsed despite being the driving force of the plot. Crane isn't the type of man who asks theoretical questions and Steven doesn't take time to painstakingly detail his everyday reality and the end result is that the story feels like a slice from a larger, pre-existing universe instead of (as I believe it is) the first venture into this world. 

Something that bears mentioning is that there is a lot of talk about rape. Nothing occurs onscreen, but Crane's late brother was apparently able to abuse women with absolute impunity - I don't know how true to the time period this is, but it was uncomfortable that the characters glossed over the man's repeated assaults (in the case of

Steven's mother

, barely mentioning her assault and focusing on the later, unrelated, damage to her husband's reputation). It made later encounters between Steven and Crane take on an odd tone, especially in the short story that cane with my edition. It is within the context of a somewhat dom/sub relationship and both charcaters explicity acknowledge that Steven could stop Crane if he wanted to, but - for all the tension previously wrung out of Crane not being like his brother - it made me uncomfortable that, when his physically smaller lover says (but doesn't necessarily mean) "no", Crane manhandles him into compliance without so much as checking in with him.

Nonetheless, I do like Steven, Crane, and Merrick, and - while this story is complete - I'm glad this is the first of a trilogy because I'd like to spend more time with the characters and exploring the world.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Child death, Death, Incest, Death of parent, Rape, and Suicide

Minor: Sexual harassment, Antisemitism, Alcohol, and Homophobia

searchingforhappilyeverafter's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring mysterious tense fast-paced

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

5.0

Magic, magpies, humor, mystery, and spookiness abound in KJ Charles’s The Magpie Lord, the first book in her Charm of Magpies series! 

Lucien Vaudrey, the new Lord Crane, has returned to England after inheriting an earldom. It seems he’s also inherited his family’s enemies and deadly curses. He needs magical assistance as soon as possible, so that he can get everything in order and return to his home in Shanghai. Enter magician Stephen Day, who hates the Vaudrey family. His job, however, is to deal with supernatural threats. As he is helping Lucien, Stephen discovers that they are in a lot of danger, both from outside forces and from their undeniable attraction to each other. 

KJ Charles's words captivated me from the start! I am very easily scared and avoid all things horror. That said, I thoroughly enjoyed this book, which starts off with a bit of spooky paranormal activity. The fact that I could not put it down despite the potential of being scared out of my mind really says a lot about how much I loved this story, the author's writing style, and the worldbuilding. I just had to keep reading to find out what happened next. There were a lot of laugh-out-loud moments and witty dialogue that provided a nice balance. To top it off, the way that Stephen and Lucien reluctantly fell for each other was absolutely charming and full of delicious tension, making me eager to read more about their love story. I'm so glad the rest of the books in the series are already out, so I can dive into those soon!

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide attempt, Suicide, Death, Suicidal thoughts, and Violence

Moderate: Homophobia and Incest

Minor: Antisemitism

pvbobrien's review

adventurous mysterious fast-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? No

3.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, and Sexual content

Moderate: Incest, Violence, Murder, Gore, and Homophobia

Minor: Classism, Sexual violence, Antisemitism, Rape, Fire/Fire injury, and Pregnancy