Reviews tagging 'Dysphoria'

Her Majesty's Royal Coven by Juno Dawson

24 reviews

emmajh91's review against another edition

challenging 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Transphobia, Death, and Murder

Moderate: Violence, Cursing, Injury/Injury detail, Infidelity, Hate crime, Car accident, Forced institutionalization, Kidnapping, Dysphoria, Confinement, Alcohol, Sexual content, Blood, Vomit, War, and Toxic friendship

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.

rory_o_rama's review against another edition

adventurous emotional 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Transphobia and Dysphoria

Moderate: Outing and Violence

shottel's review

emotional tense medium-paced

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

3.0

Shock ending that does great damage to the rest of the book. Stop reading after page 417. Cut it off exactly at that page and I’d bump it up a star. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Death, Gaslighting, Outing, Transphobia, Child abuse, Cursing, Dysphoria, Emotional abuse, Blood, and Drug use

maddox22's review

challenging emotional 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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Kidnapping, Sexual content, Deadnaming, Child abuse, Death, Dysphoria, Emotional abuse, Violence, Outing, and Transphobia

deleore's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Transphobia, Gore, and Death

Moderate: Dysphoria, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, and Kidnapping

kylahken's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

5.0

phenomenal. genuinely just a gorgeous book. from the magic and world building to the societal commentary, just *chefs kiss*. the societal commentary handled gender, sexuality, and race in such a careful and thought out way that doesn’t shove it down, but explores all sides and viewpoints (albeit villainizing the wrong viewpoint for good reason). 10/10 read if you want a fantasy queer read.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Transphobia, Dysphoria, and Death

one of the main focuses of the book is in the validity of a character’s transition, though the book handles it very well and openly critiques those who do not believe in trans validity.

bookwyrmdancer's review

adventurous dark funny mysterious tense medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Transphobia

Moderate: Violence, Dysphoria, Death, Toxic friendship, Kidnapping, Racism, and Murder

traa's review

adventurous emotional funny tense 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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Dysphoria, Murder, Alcohol, Child abuse, Death of parent, Grief, Physical abuse, Sexism, Toxic friendship, Transphobia, Violence, War, Death, Animal death, Blood, Car accident, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Kidnapping, Misogyny, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Fatphobia and Outing

Minor: Pandemic/Epidemic

alexiab's review against another edition

challenging funny tense fast-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

I'm breaking my self imposed review hiatus for this book because I am ABSOLUTELY LOSING MY MIND OVER HOW GOOD IT WAS. Every single aspect is just OUTSTANDING.

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.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Transphobia, Cursing, Abandonment, Dysphoria, Fire/Fire injury, Homophobia, Grief, Hate crime, Sexual content, Infidelity, Kidnapping, and Violence

Minor: Alcohol and Self harm