Reviews with content warning for Gun violence - A Far Wilder Magic

Reviews tagging 'Gun violence'

A Far Wilder Magic by Allison Saft

22 reviews

lucy_is_reading's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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? Yes

5.0

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modernmatilda's review against another edition

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adventurous hopeful lighthearted tense 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

5.0

Reasons to read this book:

Rapunzel and Flynn Rider romance vibes
Cottagecore vibes for days
Soft fantasy
Audiobook Weston Winters has a Newies-boy accent and my entire heart

An absolutely LOVELY read that I wish I could spent eternity in.

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r1vana's review against another edition

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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

1.0

“Besides, dreams don't always have to be practical. That’s why they are dreams. And now ours live and die together.”

Contains spoiler:

-beautiful cover but the sorry meh. Disappointing.

-I should have dnf’ed it but since I don’t like to do that, I finished it.

-the story goes in the end of 1800s and beginning of 1900s (I think)

-I hate the romance in this book. I hate when ML’s flirt with other women/girls and even kiss one of them.

-i don’t care if male leads don’t find the woman lead attractive at first. But this guy straight up said that Margaret was not beautiful. He got me flabbergasted. He not only said it once. But two/three times!

-the romance is all about sexual haze/tension. I really taught we would get to see a romance growth since it’s a fantasy….

-Wes was not charming and delightful character

-I wished Margaret had a backbone. She never stood up for herself whenever bullies torment or insult her.

-the magic world was really lacking. Since the story has too much filler… it got boring at the end.

-waiting for the plot(killing the hala) was practically non existent(like 7% of the story)

Margaret is living in a home where only her and her dog Trouble lives there. Her mother frequently goes on trips for new research discoveries… so one day when she decides to participate in the hunting game of the Hala, Wes appears on her doorstep.

At first, she doesn’t want to do anything with him. But the more he lives in her home, the more she realizes how lonely and live less her life has been. She somewhat convinces Wes into participating with her. {reward money and glory and respect which she will gladly give all to him.} Her only reason to participate in the competition is to bring her mom home so she wouldn’t feel lonely.

Margaret hates alchemist because she has seen how it has changes her mother for the worse.

The more both ML’s gets close the more Margaret pushes him away because she doesn’t want to get hurt when he will leave:

“They've seen each other at their most vulnerable, and now the must hear each other’s burdens.”

Wes is from the city and is born into a poor family(4 sisters and him) where his father is a deathbeat. Which push his mother on becoming the breadwinner.

However, Wes had always had different passion and goals for his future.

Once he heard that once you become an alchemy, you can easily get a place as a politician aka in order to overthrow New Albion's fascist government.

He is shown flitirious guy with a lot of charm aka a virgin womanizer.He knows how to sweet talk his ways through the women.

One day, he decides to seek out Maggie's mother as a last resort. Why? Because he got fired from all of his previous apprenticeships due to his origin and it seems to also be due to his dyslexia.

Wes sole motivation to become an alchemy is his family’s financial. Being the only son, he is stuck in this situation where he doesn’t give a F about his older sister and mother who are the breadwinner of the family and he doesn’t want to be doing any kind of manual labour that doesn’t involve alchemy… (eye rolls… I understood why his sister was so mad at him…) the double standards when this guy always pushes Margaret to not do house works and relax aka do not do stuff for him. But with his sisters??? He doesn’t say anything.

Their romance/chemistry is so stressful but sometimes:

“She hasn't let go of his arm, but he finds he doesn't want here. The pressure of her hand anchors him in the chaos.

Love is not the sharp-edged thing she's always believed it to be. It's not like the sea, liable to sip through her fingers if she holds on too tight. It's not a currency, something to be earned or denied or bartered for. Love canbe steadfast. It can be certain and safe, or as wild as an open flame.

I's a slice of buttered bread at a dinner table. It's a grudge born of worry: It's broken skin pulled over swelling knuckles.

Tw: loss of family member(s); blood; gun violence; bullying ; anti-semantic

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neni's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.25

The thing I liked the most about this book was the writing and the imagery. The autumn woods and mysterious sea side town vibes were great, and the writing was quite beautiful and evocative, especially when the author described environments. The character's were okay, I didn't love them, but I didn't hate them, they were a bit cliché in their tropes, but I enjoyed the development of the main character's response to her family trauma, namely in the way she finally recognized her toxic relationship with her mother. Wes was very sweet as a love interest.
I loved Trouble the hound, especially because my own dear dog is of the same breed so I kept picturing her in the book :)
The pacing was a bit all over the place. The first third of the book felt slow and like nothing was happening, the middle was satisfying in that we finally had some progress in both the plot and the relationship between the main character's, but then the ending, while entertaining, was a bit rushed and left quite a few issues that had been brought up either unresolved or fixed so quickly it didn't feel believable.
I must say as well: the fact that the whole character's main thing was being a huntress and loving it, didn't sit quite well with me as I don't agree with hunting for sport. The descriptions of fox killing as a sport (both the magical/mythical type and the plain normal animal) bothered me.
Overall, this was an okay read, especially vibesy for autumn and with some good romance and pining in the middle but not particularly strong either in plot or character complexity.

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sophiesmallhands's review

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adventurous dark emotional 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

4.25

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campisforever's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional inspiring reflective sad tense slow-paced

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? No

3.75

I’ve labeled this one with several content warnings. One of the major points of this book surrounds fantasy-setting correlates to antisemitism and xenophobia. The story centers on a hunt, thus the animal cruelty, and the plot deals with parental abandonment, gaslighting, emotional manipulation, etc. One MC experiences clearly described dissociative episodes as a result of trauma. The book is good, yes, but it does describe these things—including the hate crime, which only stops short of naming the actual slurs scrawled into a floor. One character in particular is a voice piece for bigoted, racist sentiments. Take care of yourselves, please.

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katievallin's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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beautifulpaxielreads's review

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challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious medium-paced

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

4.0

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katiemack's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional mysterious medium-paced

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

4.0

I received an eARC of this book from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

This is a lovely book filled with darkness, longing, and--of course--magic. If you love an alchemy-based system of mysticism and magic, this YA fantasy is for you. As an added bonus, the love and tension between Wes and Margaret is palpable (and unexpectedly funny at times)--so, if the "will they, won't they" trope isn't your thing, or if you can't handle angst, don't pick this one up. The romance enchanted me, though the plotline with, you know, the actual hala doesn't have as much depth or description as I was expecting.

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themoonlightarchive's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional hopeful mysterious slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.5

A Far Wilder Magic by Allison Saft follows Margaret Welty who has been living in the rotting, isolated home of her family on the outskirts of town, longing for her mother to return. One evening, she spots the legendary Hala, the last living mythical creature, regarding her from the woods with it’s eerie eyes and white fur. The Halfmoon Hunt is sure to follow and whoever wins by killing the Hala will receive it’s power, the knowledge that comes from it and riches beyond belief. Margaret thinks winning the hunt is exactly what she needs to bring her mother home for good. The problem is that only teams of two can enter - one hunter and one alchemist.

When Weston Winters appears on her doorstep, desperate for an apprenticeship from her mother, Margaret soon realizes that Wes is exactly what she needs. They are an unlikely duo. Margaret is a lonely outcast and excellent sharpshooter, enduring all that life has dealt her until it hardens her through and through. Wes, while the biggest flirt Margaret has ever encountered, is uneducated and has his mother and sister’s to take care of. What will happen when these two pair up to take on a centuries old fox?

What I loved:

• The magic system was truly intriguing. I loved the all around vibes of it. I loved the incorporation of alchemy and science, the existence of mythical creatures, the use of religion paired with some of the different aspects of magic. It was brilliant!

• The dual POVs with distinctive voices for each main character. This is something that I really struggle with as a writer and seeing it play out so well is inspiring.

• I’m a sucker for well done world building, especially when it isn’t a massive info dump all at once. Saft did an excellent job of peppering information throughout the story in a way that wasn’t overwhelming. I truly adored the historical aspects of everything even though that isn’t something I typically enjoy.

• The characters were well-rounded and written beautifully. Even the side characters were intriguing and played their roles. Of course, my favourite characters were Margaret and Wes. Their depths, their growth, their journey together - all of it was wonderful!

• The themes of religious persecution and reverence, loneliness, finding a sense of belonging, found family, and the many facets of love.

What I wish were different:

• The hunt was clearly something that played a big part in society, in each culture and in the story in general. The hala too as both are directly connected. It seemed like these parts were glossed over or rushed. The hunt was crammed into the last part of the book with preparation for it taking up more time. I believe Saft could have done a better job with it.

• I loved the relationship between Margaret and Wes and truly enjoyed witnessing it unfold (hello, slow burn!). However, I wish there had been more scenes with them getting to know one another and spending time together. It would have made everything all the more believable.

Overall, A Far Wilder Magic is a must read! It was beautifully written, captivating and heart-pounding. If you enjoy slow burn relationships, found family, magical fox hunts and alchemy, this book is definitely for you.

I received an advanced reader’s copy of this book from Netgalley/the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

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