Reviews tagging 'Lesbophobia'

Her Majesty's Royal Coven by Juno Dawson

12 reviews

vgk's review

2.0

Well, I finished it, but I won't be reading anything more by this author. I could probably write a thousand words or more about what is wrong with this book, but to be honest it's not worth my time. I suppose the biggest problem I had was the characterisation, which was at best two dimensional (more often one). Reminiscent of NK Jemisin's dreadful The City We Became in this regard, the characters are poorly drawn and stereotypical. The author's viewpoint was like that of a 14yo boy who has read a bunch of teen girl magazines and listened to Spice Girls lyrics and thinks they now know about women. The result is unrealistic, juvenile and cringeworthy characters. And I can't even begin to describe how bad the POC and lesbian characters are. The whole thing reads like YA but with decidedly adult content. Dreadful. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Cannibalism, and Lesbophobia

chrisb913's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

2.5

Please check trigger warnings.

I really wish I liked the book better.  Unfortunately the villain of the story was so realistic and believable I found myself upset and pissed for most of the story. On top of that, for a book all about sisterhood and feminism, for 2 of the main characters to be so meh about letting one of their "sisters" be treated like absolute garbage because they don't want to upset her? Where was the outrage?

Lastly, that ending was just utter crap. I do want to read the 2nd book and HOPEFULLY the character development in book 2 will turn the series around (or at least be present).

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism, Homophobia, Infidelity, Bullying, Hate crime, Lesbophobia, Racism, Toxic friendship, Transphobia, and War

blacksphinx's review against another edition

tense medium-paced

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

2.0

On one hand, I feel like the main message of this book is important and I'm glad its been so successful. But I bounced off of the extremely causal prose hard, and it was difficult to read so much misogyny directed at women by other women (please stop calling each other cunts holy shit!) 

(I am also very tired of books that go "covid happened but we used magic to make it go away" ugh! And blaming the anti-vax movement on warlocks is so distasteful.)

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexism, Death of parent, Hate crime, Transphobia, Kidnapping, Outing, Grief, and Misogyny

Moderate: Car accident, Fatphobia, Alcohol, Homophobia, Infidelity, Sexual content, Bullying, Cursing, Medical content, Classism, Lesbophobia, Racism, Confinement, Dysphoria, Violence, and Gaslighting

Minor: Pandemic/Epidemic, Murder, War, Ableism, Abortion, and Emotional abuse

TW: transphobic, misogynistic, and ableist slurs. Internalized misogyny. Mention of drowning.

lorriss's review

emotional mysterious

• 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Transphobia, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Forced institutionalization, Gore, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Racism, Sexual harassment, Sexual content, Toxic friendship, Body horror, Car accident, Confinement, Deadnaming, Misogyny, Murder, Outing, Violence, and War

Moderate: Medical content, Miscarriage, Gaslighting, Racial slurs, Religious bigotry, Vomit, Alcohol, Classism, Colonisation, and Infidelity

Minor: Child death, Excrement, Lesbophobia, Pandemic/Epidemic, Rape, Slavery, Abortion, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Homophobia, Pregnancy, Sexual violence, and Toxic relationship

corvinscorner's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny tense medium-paced

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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Transphobia

Moderate: Lesbophobia, Misogyny, Grief, Homophobia, Classism, Deadnaming, Death, Forced institutionalization, Child abuse, Cultural appropriation, Sexism, Violence, Kidnapping, and Toxic friendship

tofi_15's review

adventurous emotional mysterious fast-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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Deadnaming, Racism, Misogyny, Transphobia, and Murder

Moderate: Racism, Death of parent, Infidelity, Bullying, Car accident, Child abuse, Lesbophobia, and Gaslighting

l4urenf13'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? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Transphobia and Deadnaming

Moderate: Abortion, Homophobia, War, and Lesbophobia

Minor: Sexism, Sexual content, Child abuse, Misogyny, and Grief

bookishwondergoth's review against another edition

dark emotional funny informative tense medium-paced

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

4.0

I loved this book. It was well written, modern, fresh and topical and full of twists and turns.

I see from other reviews people have commented that the writing style seems too informal and littered with slang and references that are shoe-horned in. I personally don't agree with this criticism at all. The informality works for its contemporary setting. Also, Niamh and the relationship she has with her friends and their children felt very familiar to me and my own experiences as an adult who lived as a child through the 90s.

I also really enjoyed the examinations of intersectional feminism (or the lack of it in many white women) and its flat-out codemnation of TERFism. This was very clearly written in response to J. K. Rowling's transphobic essay published in 2020. It's not subtle, but then TERFs are not at all subtle with their transphobia in the UK, so did I care? No. Fuck TERFs. Their mindset makes ZERO sense and Juno Dawson does a really good job of showing just how completely nonsensical it is.

I do think there are some segments that could have been better fleshed out/made relevant to the main story (pretty much everything to do with Leonie and her breakaway coven, Diaspora). However, this is the first book in a trilogy, and in the author Q&A with Juno Dawson I attended a couple of weeks ago, she told us that Leonie comes more into play in subsequent books.

I also seriously disagree with those pointing out that for a book about feminism, the women are awfully divided and therefore the book is not feminist. That is the point. Division over these issues is not feminist because the division is caused by bigotry and intolerance. Therefore the people who do not fight for the rights of women—all women, including transwomen and BIPOC women—are not feminist and they absolutely must be challenged in their views. We're all getting fucked over by the patriarchy here, some moreso than others. Acknowledging that divide, difference, and the very real divisions in friendships and families who disagree over fundamental human rights is important.

This book made me really really angry in the best way and I can't wait to read the next one. Might have to borrow it from a friend as the copy I plan to buy isn't due for dispatch until November, gah.

Anyway, loved it. Highly recommended.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Child abuse, Kidnapping, Death, Body horror, Bullying, Violence, War, Cursing, Murder, Outing, Toxic friendship, and Transphobia

Moderate: Sexism, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Racial slurs, Animal death, Lesbophobia, and Racism

azebrareads's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious reflective 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gaslighting, Homophobia, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, Deadnaming, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Torture, War, Alcohol, Car accident, Violence, Biphobia, Confinement, Self harm, Bullying, Outing, Panic attacks/disorders, Police brutality, Toxic friendship, Death of parent, Forced institutionalization, Lesbophobia, Kidnapping, Murder, Racism, and Sexism

abominablesnowaro's review against another edition

adventurous emotional tense medium-paced

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

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Car accident, Classism, Death, Fatphobia, Murder, Outing, and Transphobia

Moderate: Hate crime, Racism, Toxic friendship, Xenophobia, Infidelity, Violence, War, Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Lesbophobia, Blood, and Body shaming