Reviews with content warning for Torture - The Women Could Fly

fourteen years ago, josephine’s mother disappeared. she inspired her own episode of unsolved mysteries, caused untold grief for her family, and was suspected time and time again as being a witch. in this world, women are closely monitored, because any behavior that’s even a bit strange could be a sign of witchcraft. but there is one last opportunity for jo to connect to her mother, through a strange clause in her will, and jo sets her regular life aside to follow it.

i did a horrible job describing this book im so sorry. i really liked the beginning and i really liked the end. the world was cool as well. but the middle dragged SOOO much. maybe it’s just because i read this as an ebook and maybe i feel negatively towards it because it took me a while to read. if i’d read it faster, in a physical copy, it probably would be 4 stars. c’est la vie. i do think it has good things to say but the middle part dragged so much and i didn’t care at all for that middle 50%. sad!

Content Warnings

kristasorocks's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark reflective fast-paced

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

3.75

Content Warnings

anxiousnachos's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark

3.0

Lakewood was one of my favourite horror books of 2021 and I had such high hopes for Megan Giddings follow up, The Women Could Fly. Instead, I found this merely okay. It lacked the atmosphere and tension of Lakewood, and I felt like I’ve seen so many iterations of this story - witches + gender dystopia, it is a genre that has so many books and is always going to be hard to push through and stand out and I’m just not sure this did.

What I did love was the relationship between Preston and Josephine. I thought it explored the power dynamics between them very well, the idea if love could ever develop in such a situation. I also thought the exploration of how race impacted on how witches were treated in the system was woven in well.

But sadly, not as much of fan as I was of Lakewood!

Content warnings: torture, racism, homophobia, suicidal ideation, depression, parental abandonment, forced marriage, sexism, misogyny

Content Warnings

aaafton's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark mysterious sad slow-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

Content Warnings

baratheonbooks's review

Go to review page

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? It's complicated

5.0

Content Warnings

mjscooke's review

Go to review page

dark emotional mysterious reflective slow-paced

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

3.0

I received a digital reading copy of this from Pan Macmillan via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Set in a dystopian world where single women are monitored for signs of witchcraft, The Women Could Fly is a simple novel of grief & self discovery steeped in magical realism. Fourteen years after her mother's disappearance Josephine is still dealing with her grief and grappling with the unfair world she lives in and struggling with how her country & society controls its citizens. More social commentary than gripping story, it is worth the read for sarcasm and defiance of the protagonist and if you enjoy a meandering prose of thoughts.

Content Warnings

More...