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campisforever's review against another edition
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.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Panic attacks/disorders, Racial slurs, Racism, Xenophobia, Blood, Antisemitism, Religious bigotry, Gaslighting, Abandonment, and Classism
maliap's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Panic attacks/disorders, Xenophobia, Blood, and Antisemitism
Moderate: Animal death, Toxic relationship, Grief, and Religious bigotry
Minor: Sexual content
literarypenguin's review against another edition
adventurous
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
5.0
A Far Wilder Magic is about Margaret and Weston, two young adults who meet each other after Wes comes to study Alchemy under Margaret’s mother's tutelage. When Wes finds out her mother is gone and won’t be back for an undetermined amount of time Wes begs Margaret to let him stay with her. Margaret is very reluctant at first but when she finds out about the traditional Hunt set to begin in her town, she comes up with a plan for both her and Wes to get what they want. Soon though that plan may have a hitch when sparks begin to fly between the two. I found this book on a whim and loved the plot and the cover of this book. I wanted to give this book a try and was very excited that I did! I felt satisfied and happy by the end of this book! My expectations were high for this book considering how much praise was behind this book. I would consider this book a Romance mixed with a bit of Fantasy and Historical Fiction sprinkled in there. I think was makes this book stand out is the characters and the setting. It was just so unique and interesting and I adored it so much!
The writing was very good and I loved how the author described the sights and sounds of the different locations. How Margaret’s hometown was vastly different from the city Weston grew up in. The pacing was good as well and it took its time building up The Hunt and the romance between Wes and Margaret. It kept itself consistent and things happened that made sense to the story and its characters. I really liked the buildup of the Hunt and the action-packed writing and tension the Hunt gave. It felt tense and felt like the stakes were high at this part of the book.
This book was about Margaret and Weston and their journey in getting ready for the Hunt and learning to trust each other and themselves during this Hunt. I felt like the story was very interesting and as you go further in the book you learn more about the Hunt and its true significance begins to unravel. What I liked the most about the story was Weston and Margaret's both learning more about themselves and bonding over some shared experiences they both have had. The Alchemy was very interesting to me and learning how it worked and what it took to use this kind of magic. Its strength was in its characters and the bond between Margaret and Weston. The Hunt and people hunting this mythical creature were also very interesting and thought-provoking. It made you think if hunting this creature was truly right or was it wrong.
The two main characters were Margaret and Weston, Margaret is an independent and hardworking young woman with a famous Alchemist mother who is constantly leaving her home alone by herself with her dog. She also has some past trauma with her mother that has grown into severe PTSD and trust issues with people. She also has a Jewish heritage that makes people untrusting of her and her family which isolates her in her small town. Weston is an Irish Catholic young man with a big family who tries very hard to support and care for his family but has failed numerous times to become an Alchemist. He doesn’t give up though and won’t give up. The representation is excellent in this book and this is the first book I have seen in a while with Jewish representation! The development was excellent, especially with Margaret. Weston was my favorite character by far because of his love for his family and his determination to achieve his dream of becoming an Alchemist. I loved the romance between Weston and Margaret it was so beautiful and organic. It felt natural and the bond between them felt real. They bonded between their shared discrimination and hardships they have dealt with in their life. I also loved the bond between Wes and his sisters. They felt like such interesting and great characters just on their own as well!
The book is set in what I think is the 1920s in two different places one in the city and another in a small rural town. The world is definitely another favorite part of the book for me because the era this book takes place in is perfect for this book and for the themes it presents to us. Each place is different and unique on its own, the character’s in these places all fit into the location and were very interesting background characters. I think this world is very important to the story and the magic actually fits in very well with it. The use of Alchemy in this world is great and explained well but also with a bit of resistance from certain people at this time.
The themes they explored in this book were parental abuse because of how Margaret’s mother treated her and how Margaret felt she had to impress her mother in order for her mother to love her or pay attention to her. After trying so hard to impress her mother she still wouldn’t get that no matter how hard she tried. I felt so bad for her in these moments and understood her trauma and felt the idea of PTSD was portrayed extremely well! I loved Weston and the portrayal of learning disabilities and the struggle people who have them face every single day. The feeling of being a failure and never succeeding hits hard for all of us. The subtlety of the theme of discrimination and prejudice against different races was portrayed very well and didn’t feel forced or take over the story.
I loved this book and it has become one of my favorite romances I hope that people give this book a chance! I feel like it worked perfectly for a standalone and I think it is worth a read if not just for the cover but the lovely characters and the beautiful stories and themes that it tells!
The writing was very good and I loved how the author described the sights and sounds of the different locations. How Margaret’s hometown was vastly different from the city Weston grew up in. The pacing was good as well and it took its time building up The Hunt and the romance between Wes and Margaret. It kept itself consistent and things happened that made sense to the story and its characters. I really liked the buildup of the Hunt and the action-packed writing and tension the Hunt gave. It felt tense and felt like the stakes were high at this part of the book.
This book was about Margaret and Weston and their journey in getting ready for the Hunt and learning to trust each other and themselves during this Hunt. I felt like the story was very interesting and as you go further in the book you learn more about the Hunt and its true significance begins to unravel. What I liked the most about the story was Weston and Margaret's both learning more about themselves and bonding over some shared experiences they both have had. The Alchemy was very interesting to me and learning how it worked and what it took to use this kind of magic. Its strength was in its characters and the bond between Margaret and Weston. The Hunt and people hunting this mythical creature were also very interesting and thought-provoking. It made you think if hunting this creature was truly right or was it wrong.
The two main characters were Margaret and Weston, Margaret is an independent and hardworking young woman with a famous Alchemist mother who is constantly leaving her home alone by herself with her dog. She also has some past trauma with her mother that has grown into severe PTSD and trust issues with people. She also has a Jewish heritage that makes people untrusting of her and her family which isolates her in her small town. Weston is an Irish Catholic young man with a big family who tries very hard to support and care for his family but has failed numerous times to become an Alchemist. He doesn’t give up though and won’t give up. The representation is excellent in this book and this is the first book I have seen in a while with Jewish representation! The development was excellent, especially with Margaret. Weston was my favorite character by far because of his love for his family and his determination to achieve his dream of becoming an Alchemist. I loved the romance between Weston and Margaret it was so beautiful and organic. It felt natural and the bond between them felt real. They bonded between their shared discrimination and hardships they have dealt with in their life. I also loved the bond between Wes and his sisters. They felt like such interesting and great characters just on their own as well!
The book is set in what I think is the 1920s in two different places one in the city and another in a small rural town. The world is definitely another favorite part of the book for me because the era this book takes place in is perfect for this book and for the themes it presents to us. Each place is different and unique on its own, the character’s in these places all fit into the location and were very interesting background characters. I think this world is very important to the story and the magic actually fits in very well with it. The use of Alchemy in this world is great and explained well but also with a bit of resistance from certain people at this time.
The themes they explored in this book were parental abuse because of how Margaret’s mother treated her and how Margaret felt she had to impress her mother in order for her mother to love her or pay attention to her. After trying so hard to impress her mother she still wouldn’t get that no matter how hard she tried. I felt so bad for her in these moments and understood her trauma and felt the idea of PTSD was portrayed extremely well! I loved Weston and the portrayal of learning disabilities and the struggle people who have them face every single day. The feeling of being a failure and never succeeding hits hard for all of us. The subtlety of the theme of discrimination and prejudice against different races was portrayed very well and didn’t feel forced or take over the story.
I loved this book and it has become one of my favorite romances I hope that people give this book a chance! I feel like it worked perfectly for a standalone and I think it is worth a read if not just for the cover but the lovely characters and the beautiful stories and themes that it tells!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death and Blood
Moderate: Antisemitism
Minor: Child abuse 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, Racism, Religious bigotry, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Body horror, Child death, Death, Gun violence, Racial slurs, Sexual content, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Antisemitism, and Grief
Minor: War
Anti-Irish sentiments expressed.saturners's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
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
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal death, Hate crime, and Antisemitism
booksthatburn's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
A FAR WILDER MAGIC is a deliciously slow burn fantasy romance, getting well past the halfway point before the first longing touch; full of indecision, regret, and hope. Maggie needs Wes's help in order to enter the Halfmoon Hunt and bring down the hala, an immortal creature that some religions say is part of god, and others say is a gift from the divine.
The narration is split between Wes and Maggie, and the balance is good. I like them both as narrators. This is definitely a place where the audiobook shines, as the audiobook narrator gives them distinct voices which fit the way their tone is described by the text.
Maggie's relationship with her (currently absent) mother looms large. The reasons for her mother's absence and obsession with alchemy is gradually unfurled as Maggie gets to know Wes and begins to fall for him. Wes's relationships with his sisters and mother are also very important to the story, but as a mostly positive influence. I like Wes's family, they're pretty great and I enjoyed his rapport with them. Maggie's mother is an excellent character and a pretty frustrating person. It takes Maggie a very long time to be able to recognize her mother's treatment of her as neglect and emotional abuse, with Wes calling it out long before Maggie is ready to deal with it on those terms.
The romance is a very slow burn. I've read slower, but only in books longer than this one. Maggie and Wes are great together, but first they have to get out of their own way about a lot of things. Maggie's anxiety felt realistic, and the romance isn't treated as a cure for it.
The worldbuilding is gradual in terms of character backgrounds, but pretty immediate for the town of Wickdon and the manor where Maggie lives. Maggie's background is definitely meant to be that she's this universe's version of half-Jewish, something that's more shown through the particularities of the bigotry against her more than its shown through any cultural or religious practices that I picked up on. She mentions a few things about her father, and most of the cultural touchstones I could recognize happened when she's thinking about him or talking about something he taught her. Wes is some version of Catholic, as best as I can tell, and the bigotry against him echoes the bits of anti-Irish and anti-Catholic bigotry that I'm aware of as someone who isn't Irish, Catholic, nor Jewish. A major part of Wes's storyline is about figuring out how to navigate the sea of local bigotry which Maggie has grown up in, informed by how he's used to handling it back home. It's very much about him and Maggie figuring out to exist together and what to do about their feelings for each other, but having to deal with bigots is a huge part of the narrative. I'm not in a position to say whether it was done well on a larger level, but I like how it worked in the story and I'm very pleased with how things turn out.
The narration is chock-full of metaphors, usually but not always similes. I didn't mind it, but by the end I was wondering if the characters were going to run out of ways that the color of each other's eyes could be like an entirely different substance, usually a pleasing food or drink. It's done well, I think, but I was starting to notice it each time as I got closer to finishing the story.
I was pleasantly surprised by the pacing. It's several weeks before the hunt begins, and the hunt itself plays out over several weeks because of various ceremonial and preparatory stages. I like the plot and I love the ending.
The narration is split between Wes and Maggie, and the balance is good. I like them both as narrators. This is definitely a place where the audiobook shines, as the audiobook narrator gives them distinct voices which fit the way their tone is described by the text.
Maggie's relationship with her (currently absent) mother looms large. The reasons for her mother's absence and obsession with alchemy is gradually unfurled as Maggie gets to know Wes and begins to fall for him. Wes's relationships with his sisters and mother are also very important to the story, but as a mostly positive influence. I like Wes's family, they're pretty great and I enjoyed his rapport with them. Maggie's mother is an excellent character and a pretty frustrating person. It takes Maggie a very long time to be able to recognize her mother's treatment of her as neglect and emotional abuse, with Wes calling it out long before Maggie is ready to deal with it on those terms.
The romance is a very slow burn. I've read slower, but only in books longer than this one. Maggie and Wes are great together, but first they have to get out of their own way about a lot of things. Maggie's anxiety felt realistic, and the romance isn't treated as a cure for it.
The worldbuilding is gradual in terms of character backgrounds, but pretty immediate for the town of Wickdon and the manor where Maggie lives. Maggie's background is definitely meant to be that she's this universe's version of half-Jewish, something that's more shown through the particularities of the bigotry against her more than its shown through any cultural or religious practices that I picked up on. She mentions a few things about her father, and most of the cultural touchstones I could recognize happened when she's thinking about him or talking about something he taught her. Wes is some version of Catholic, as best as I can tell, and the bigotry against him echoes the bits of anti-Irish and anti-Catholic bigotry that I'm aware of as someone who isn't Irish, Catholic, nor Jewish. A major part of Wes's storyline is about figuring out how to navigate the sea of local bigotry which Maggie has grown up in, informed by how he's used to handling it back home. It's very much about him and Maggie figuring out to exist together and what to do about their feelings for each other, but having to deal with bigots is a huge part of the narrative. I'm not in a position to say whether it was done well on a larger level, but I like how it worked in the story and I'm very pleased with how things turn out.
The narration is chock-full of metaphors, usually but not always similes. I didn't mind it, but by the end I was wondering if the characters were going to run out of ways that the color of each other's eyes could be like an entirely different substance, usually a pleasing food or drink. It's done well, I think, but I was starting to notice it each time as I got closer to finishing the story.
I was pleasantly surprised by the pacing. It's several weeks before the hunt begins, and the hunt itself plays out over several weeks because of various ceremonial and preparatory stages. I like the plot and I love the ending.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Antisemitism, Religious bigotry, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Death, Racism, Xenophobia, and Alcohol
Minor: Child death and Death of parent
lillianreadsalot's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Racism, Xenophobia, Blood, Antisemitism, and Abandonment
luckykosmos's review against another edition
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 !
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 !
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Panic attacks/disorders, Xenophobia, Antisemitism, and Religious bigotry
Moderate: Emotional abuse and Gore
Minor: Child death and Death of parent
alite428's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
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
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Racism, Blood, Antisemitism, Religious bigotry, and Abandonment
Minor: Sexual content
taynicole2698's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Allison Saft has yet to disappoint. If you want beautuful imagery and characters you can see yourself in, her books are for you. A Far Wilder Magic had me wrapt from page one. The dual pov was one of the best-executed that I’ve ever read. Not to mention the immaculate slow burn. She toes the line between riveting and cozy perfectly.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Racial slurs, Racism, Xenophobia, Blood, Antisemitism, Islamophobia, and Religious bigotry
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, Grief, Gaslighting, and Classism