Reviews

I am not even sure what to say. The promises made by the premise did not bear out at ALL with writing that was painful to read, language that was often dated and hamfisted transphobia wrapped up in caricatures of women in a book that was meant to give a sense of sisterhood.

This is one of my first DNFs, but life is too short to read books that do this much psychic damage.

mseager's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional 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? No

4.5

bonsai9795's review against another edition

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5.0

I LOVED this; I delayed reading it a while scared to live up to its hype, but it lived up to it and more in my opinion. Im just glad I finished it with the second already out because I need more.

The characters were so incredibly relatable, and so well written it felt like I had known them for years; I felt it becoming a comfort read as I read it. Writing this kind of urban fantasy can sometimes still feel like slightly disconnected from our world; same but not necessarily relatable but this felt so incredibly believable and just real. Juno clearly took so much care in creating the world there was so much detail and nuance even in some of the most casual sentences. There was also a great balance in culture references without feeling too obtrusive. The diversity of characters was also flawlessly executed- They was all so distinctive and memorable it felt easy to keep track of everyone and also ensured no character felt flat in anyway.

I loved the themes explored as well; sisterhood and what that could (and should) mean, and some serious spotlights on privilege and bigotry even amongst allies. With just a few sentences Juno was able to deliver powerful and poignant points but also did not minimise antagonists- their views were still presented but when next to the right perspective the reader can easily discern the flaws and hurt and general harm. Juno effectively snuffed many arguments folks have by not even treating it as an argument (as it shouldn't be!)- and it draws me back to a point a character made at one point (

Spoiler

you cant fight fire. Water extinguishes fire just by merit of being water

).

There's Multiple POV too which can sometimes be burdened with a POV you don't care much for but this never happened in this book which is incredibly rare, and I loved seeing different perspectives and how the same events or people was considered in each person's different ways of thinking. It also allowed for many different settings and I definitely got this feeling of love and attention to detail with the countryside and city side because they were described beautifully even when perspectives gave different opinions of them.

I just have so much praise for this book it's been a while since one made me think like this and I love it so much I am already starting the second book and this is one series I've hoped will get added too (and soon because I'll read it fast!)

ibvandersluis's review against another edition

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3.0

3.5

I can imagine Juno Dawson sitting down to write this book, thinking calmly to herself, alright, J.K. Rowling, let's right some wrongs.

In terms of plot and worldbuilding, this book isn't very original and treads familiar story arcs and tropes. The setup feels very much like a mesh between the plot of X-Men (should ~~mutants~~ witches help humanity or dominate them) and that of Harry Potter, with HMRC being something like the Ministry of Magic. This book is not revolutionary in that department, but it does execute those tropes with competence.

The real strength of this book is that it is fully siezing on storytelling as a device to talk about real issues. It's not shy about it either; this book has a very clear, progressive stance on the various issues it touches on. It's a book about identity and being your true self, and being your true self to those who matter most to you. It's a book about love - matronly, sisterly, and romantic; love isn't always easy, it's so important. It's about fighting against cultural hegemony that, perhaps even unintentionally, drowns out and pushes away things that are too 'different' from what is accepted as normal. It's about the horrible things people can convince themselves are right and good, all because they're afraid.

This book didn't rock my world, but I did really enjoy it and I respect it for being a pretty blatant 'FUCK YOU' letter to J.K. Rowling.

cgalvi's review against another edition

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4.0

Took a little time to really get into, but I ended up enjoying these characters. Wish I got to see more of what Theo was thinking. Maybe her story is expanded in future books.

honeycomblibrary's review against another edition

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dark emotional medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

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