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sydneylmeyer7's review against another edition
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- 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? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Confinement, Abortion, Misogyny, Pregnancy, and Medical trauma
luminous's review against another edition
4.0
Great! Atmospheric for sure. Love the time period, alternate reality, and suffrage movement. Good commentary on themes of abuse, being cognizant of cultures other than one's own, feminism.
MCs are a little one dimensional but lovely characters nonetheless. Love the implementation of how their European-derived witchcraft works.
I'm not even big into fairy tale retellings but I enjoyed all the little stories and loved the little twist they got.
Narrator wonderful and reminds me of Holly Hunter.
I liked the languid pace for most of the story. The last 15-20% - climax and denouement - felt TOO slow. I shouldn't be wishing the climax would end already.
MCs are a little one dimensional but lovely characters nonetheless. Love the implementation of how their European-derived witchcraft works.
I'm not even big into fairy tale retellings but I enjoyed all the little stories and loved the little twist they got.
Narrator wonderful and reminds me of Holly Hunter.
I liked the languid pace for most of the story. The last 15-20% - climax and denouement - felt TOO slow. I shouldn't be wishing the climax would end already.
mxunsmiley's review against another edition
3.0
Well, that's another Girl Power book to add to the list. But to be less facetious, I did enjoy it, though I had a lot of problems with the inevitable centricity of white women and sidelining of Black women.
I felt like the three main characters had arcs which weren't very impactful. I could see the intent and justification, and I knew for certain they eventually became tightly knit after sorting out misunderstandings and showing their devotion through their actions, but I didn't truly feel them, or for them. Maybe I just have high standards. They also weren't extremely dynamic; they were very one-note and could be described easily in simplistic terms.
Then we come to the Black characters. They showed animosity specifically toward white insensitivity and ignorance in some of their words (like Cleo), but it just didn't show in their actions. They claimed to be wary of white women, and do actually show hesitance in some instances, but I find it hard to believe they'd eventually be so willing to help out the white women so extensively and substantially. They are really there to aid the Sisters of Avalon, mainly the three sisters, smuggling, transporting, and housing them. They have had bad history with white suffragists especially, so why would they be doing these things again and again especially when it seems like they're not really returning the favor? They also really exist only to help them. That is literally their only role in the novel. Why are the Daughters of Tituba, who have more history to boast, so overshadowed by the new-fangled Sisters of Avalon, an organization mainly composed of white women? Why does that injustice not occur to the white author?
There's also the fact that a big theme of the novel is how women's traditions, words, and ways are lost because they are erased or silenced, which is very true and important to note. But that is how it is for nonwhite people in general as well, yet it's evident that the author spent most of her time researching European folklore. It seems like she missed the mark greatly, especially when nonwhite women are spoken of as an afterthought.
I did think that it isn't entirely guilty of being a typical mindless Girl Power novel though. I felt a lot of punch with how she asserted that men truly are scared of women, so they maintain these misogynistic structures and convince women that they are powerless, but their power is in their will and sisterhood. I think she hammered it home a lot! I only think it could have been more impactful if the problems I described weren't present.
I didn't find any problems in the writing because I typically like floridness, but yes, there were some excessive moments. I thought it was sufficiently engaging and I ended up reading most of it in a single day eventually after reading it sporadically as I usually do with books these days. I can't ignore the glaring problems I found with it, though.
I felt like the three main characters had arcs which weren't very impactful. I could see the intent and justification, and I knew for certain they eventually became tightly knit after sorting out misunderstandings and showing their devotion through their actions, but I didn't truly feel them, or for them. Maybe I just have high standards. They also weren't extremely dynamic; they were very one-note and could be described easily in simplistic terms.
Then we come to the Black characters. They showed animosity specifically toward white insensitivity and ignorance in some of their words (like Cleo), but it just didn't show in their actions. They claimed to be wary of white women, and do actually show hesitance in some instances, but I find it hard to believe they'd eventually be so willing to help out the white women so extensively and substantially. They are really there to aid the Sisters of Avalon, mainly the three sisters, smuggling, transporting, and housing them. They have had bad history with white suffragists especially, so why would they be doing these things again and again especially when it seems like they're not really returning the favor? They also really exist only to help them. That is literally their only role in the novel. Why are the Daughters of Tituba, who have more history to boast, so overshadowed by the new-fangled Sisters of Avalon, an organization mainly composed of white women? Why does that injustice not occur to the white author?
There's also the fact that a big theme of the novel is how women's traditions, words, and ways are lost because they are erased or silenced, which is very true and important to note. But that is how it is for nonwhite people in general as well, yet it's evident that the author spent most of her time researching European folklore. It seems like she missed the mark greatly, especially when nonwhite women are spoken of as an afterthought.
I did think that it isn't entirely guilty of being a typical mindless Girl Power novel though. I felt a lot of punch with how she asserted that men truly are scared of women, so they maintain these misogynistic structures and convince women that they are powerless, but their power is in their will and sisterhood. I think she hammered it home a lot! I only think it could have been more impactful if the problems I described weren't present.
I didn't find any problems in the writing because I typically like floridness, but yes, there were some excessive moments. I thought it was sufficiently engaging and I ended up reading most of it in a single day eventually after reading it sporadically as I usually do with books these days. I can't ignore the glaring problems I found with it, though.
liamliayaum's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
sad
tense
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
5.0
Witching. Lesbian and transgender characters in the late 1800s. Women struggling to reclaim their way and any ounce of power, of the right to exist.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Sexism and Death
Minor: Racism
ninon_'s review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
tense
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? N/A
4.25
monia_beza's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
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
lenaoknihach's review against another edition
4.0
"Byly nebyly jednou tři sestry."
Nejmladší Juniper byla nejdivočejší a nejmazanější s holí z jalovcového dřeva. Prostřední, neohrožená, nejpracovitější Agnes nosila pod srdcem nový život a nejstarší z těch tří, mlčenlivá a nejmoudřejší Beatrice hledala na vše odpovědi v knihách.
Každá měla svoje chyby i přednosti a já si oblíbila všechny tři. Dostatek prostoru měly i vedlejší postavy (ještě aby ne, když má kniha téměř 600 stran) a na pár z nich ráda vzpomínám.
S první knihou (January a Deset tisíc dveří) nemůžu Čarodějnice dřívější a budoucí porovnat, ale tohle bylo tak krásně napsané! Pohádky, které si v příběhu vyprávěly, kouzla napsaná na začátku každé kapitoly… moc se mi to líbilo.
Nicméně jsem knihu mohla odložit úplně kdykoli (ani jsem nepotřebovala dočíst kapitolu), nic mě nenutilo pokračovat a otáčet stránky dál a dál.
I přes nádherný styl psaní se mi to četlo pomalu, ale vždy jsem se na chvíle s touto stand-alone fantasy těšila.
Děkuji Marky (@endlessbibliophile) & Humbook za knihu.
Vyšlo u nakladatelství CooBoo & Albatrosmedia.
#spoluprace #humbookblogeri
Nejmladší Juniper byla nejdivočejší a nejmazanější s holí z jalovcového dřeva. Prostřední, neohrožená, nejpracovitější Agnes nosila pod srdcem nový život a nejstarší z těch tří, mlčenlivá a nejmoudřejší Beatrice hledala na vše odpovědi v knihách.
Každá měla svoje chyby i přednosti a já si oblíbila všechny tři. Dostatek prostoru měly i vedlejší postavy (ještě aby ne, když má kniha téměř 600 stran) a na pár z nich ráda vzpomínám.
S první knihou (January a Deset tisíc dveří) nemůžu Čarodějnice dřívější a budoucí porovnat, ale tohle bylo tak krásně napsané! Pohádky, které si v příběhu vyprávěly, kouzla napsaná na začátku každé kapitoly… moc se mi to líbilo.
Nicméně jsem knihu mohla odložit úplně kdykoli (ani jsem nepotřebovala dočíst kapitolu), nic mě nenutilo pokračovat a otáčet stránky dál a dál.
I přes nádherný styl psaní se mi to četlo pomalu, ale vždy jsem se na chvíle s touto stand-alone fantasy těšila.
Děkuji Marky (@endlessbibliophile) & Humbook za knihu.
Vyšlo u nakladatelství CooBoo & Albatrosmedia.
#spoluprace #humbookblogeri