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alexiab's review against another edition
- 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
While there are a ton of excellent commentaries happening throughout this story about racism, homophobia, transphobia, and sexism there is also an INCREDIBLE fantasy plot with exciting action and heartstopping twists. I can't BELIEVE the exciting and emotional way it ended, and I am champing at the absolute bit for the next book. I'm obsessed with this writing, the balance of character study/women's fiction aspects, world building, and fast paced plot is fabulous. I would read another one of these books for the characters alone, but THAT PLOT! OOOOH THAT PLOT SHE IS SPICY SHE IS EXCITING SHE IS DESTROYING MY VERY SOUL FROM THE INSIDE OUT.
And god, the social commentary on trans women and their place in women's spaces? The white feminism and how it doesn't benefit women of colour? The raging white women fighting for "women's rights" but only women who look like her?! GOD. JUST AMAZING.
A huge part of me thinks this book was written as a direct response to JK Rowling and her bullshit TERF rhetoric, and my god is it incredible. The setting, the fantasy elements, and the themes work so beautifully together and paint the biggest "fuck you" to every TERF out there, I couldn't be more thrilled.
A huge part of me expected Helena's story to go a very different direction, and I am SO thrilled that this didn't remotely pander to the "we're better than them, show them kindness" bullshit that some people spew. every TERF deserves to burn in hell, I'm not sorry. RIP Helena, you crusty bitch.
Graphic: Transphobia, Cursing, Abandonment, Dysphoria, Fire/Fire injury, Homophobia, Grief, Hate crime, Sexual content, Infidelity, Kidnapping, and Violence
Minor: Alcohol and Self harm
maregred's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Graphic: Transphobia
Moderate: Abandonment, Alcohol, Animal death, Classism, Death, Blood, Car accident, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Toxic friendship, War, Death of parent, Infidelity, Racism, and Sexism
Minor: Abortion, Pregnancy, Domestic abuse, and Sexual content
th18's review
- 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? It's complicated
3.75
- Fast pace and seemed more YA than anything, too many modern references for me personally but each to their own.
- This also felt like the second book of the series at the start there was just so much unexplained things thrown in.
- Whilst the book did deal with modern topics such as race and trans rights, I wish it also talked a bit about harmful beauty standards due to Elle literally hiding her true self from her husband.
- I feel like the amount of swear words was also unnneeded.
- I love the idea of queer witches and empowered modern women but I feel like the talk about adulthood was very bleak
- The writing and worldbuilding also felt quite underdeveloped which was disappointing
- Finally the use of the d slur was completely unneeded
Moderate: Blood, Bullying, Death, Deadnaming, Gaslighting, Classism, Cursing, Car accident, Dysphoria, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Hate crime, Homophobia, Transphobia, Child abuse, and Alcohol
Minor: Abandonment, Toxic friendship, Racism, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Misogyny, Outing, Kidnapping, Self harm, Infidelity, and Abortion
rorikae's review against another edition
- 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
Niamh, Helena, Elle, Leonie, and Ciara all grew up together as budding witches. As kids they were fast friends but as women in their mid-30s and after the fallout of a war, life has changed for all of them. Helena is head of Her Majesty's Royal Coven, Niamh is a veterinarian living in a small town, Elle is taking care of her two children, and Leonie has started her own coven dedicated to marginalized witches. Ciara is in a coma after the events of the war. When Theo, a teenager with incredible magical power is discovered, Helena fears that they are the prophesized Sullied Child that will destroy the witches. Niamh on the other hand just sees a young child with too much power who has never been shown care in their life. With differing views, tensions begin to rise as they each determine what is the appropriate step forward.
Dawson has written an adult fantasy that is hard to put down while dealing with a number of different subjects. It is clear that this book is in large part inspired by She-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named and her transphobia. Dawson delves into a number of different subjects while creating a cast of characters that it is easy to love. She also does a good job of showcasing how a belief in how things should be can escalate into full bigotry. There is a twist at the end of this first book that makes me excited and terrified for where this story is going next. Dawson's writing is straightforward but the plot and characters made this a story I had a hard time putting down. If you are looking for a fast paced fantasy set in our world and dealing with many of our current issues, 'Her Majesty's Royal Coven' is a great book to pick up.
Graphic: Grief, Kidnapping, Body horror, Car accident, Fire/Fire injury, Animal death, Blood, Death, Gaslighting, Murder, Transphobia, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: War
Minor: Abandonment
thisisris's review against another edition
2.75
The book is really slow paced and I often found myself getting bored. I listened to the audio book at 2x the speed just to try and speed things up.
The book included a lot of important social issues as plot points but it felt like they were crammed in there without any tact or thought.
Overall I was pretty disappointed because this concept had a lot of potential to be fantastic.
Graphic: Transphobia
Moderate: Gaslighting, Murder, Toxic friendship, and Child abuse
Minor: Abandonment and Animal death
puttingwingsonwords's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Violence, Child abuse, Death, Kidnapping, and Transphobia
Moderate: Grief, Sexual content, Sexism, Dysphoria, Cursing, Confinement, Racism, War, Alcohol, Abandonment, Car accident, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Adult/minor relationship and Domestic abuse
crookedspines's review against another edition
- 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
4.25
Moderate: Animal death, War, Violence, Kidnapping, Sexism, Injury/Injury detail, Animal cruelty, Transphobia, Car accident, Murder, Outing, Toxic relationship, and Dysphoria
Minor: Fatphobia, Self harm, Racism, Infidelity, Abandonment, and Child abuse
amy_reading_23's review
- 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? It's complicated
4.75
Graphic: Transphobia, Violence, Physical abuse, Death, and Child abuse
Moderate: Abandonment
Minor: Domestic abuse and Emotional abuse
keya_caivalur's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Graphic: Transphobia, Hate crime, and Dysphoria
Moderate: Racism, Violence, Murder, Torture, Outing, Kidnapping, Religious bigotry, and War
Minor: Bullying, Outing, Abandonment, Child abuse, and Grief
annelihghh's review
- 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
Graphic: Abandonment, Blood, Sexual content, and Transphobia
Moderate: Cursing, Death, Kidnapping, Medical content, Torture, Toxic friendship, Infidelity, Car accident, Confinement, Grief, Outing, Physical abuse, Racism, Violence, War, Bullying, Gore, Alcohol, Animal death, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Murder
Minor: Vomit