Reviews tagging 'Self harm'

Magic for Liars by Sarah Gailey

6 reviews

bzliz's review against another edition

dark mysterious fast-paced

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

4.25

I’ve not read anything by this author before but I would read more of their work in the future. I really enjoyed the narration here- it felt like a 30’s noir detective movie starring a jaded, world-weary woman who can’t turn down the paycheck. I also liked the ambiguity around the magic system. Ivy doesn’t understand it so why should readers?

It seems like Ivy was a divisive character for a lot of people but I don’t mind her characterization. She doesn’t come off as whiny to me; she’s just a person who’s holding on to a grudge that developed in her formative years and was then left behind in a traumatic situation. It would be weird for that to not leave some psychological scars. Anyone who doesn’t understand that should count their blessings. On the flip side- damn, I know she’s a PI not a trained cop but she misses so many little slips as people are talking and it was a little frustrating. There were times I wanted to shake her and tell her to put down the drink and listen!

I’m split 50/50 on the ambiguous ending. On one hand, I’m fine with her choice to let the responsible party own up to their misdeeds. On the other, I would’ve liked a little more hope for her person life, such as Rahul opening the door or meeting her on the steps leaving more room for a potential reconciliation. 

Also, if there’s a teacher who’s been the subject of many rumors of involvement with students and he’s a douche to everyone, just get rid of him. He shouldn’t be around children. And why is it always English teachers?

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Alcoholism, Pregnancy, Body horror, Grief, Abortion, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Cancer, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Panic attacks/disorders, Vomit, and Self harm

defunctfridge's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.75

incredibly written and highly addictive. my biggest belief on mysteries and plot twist is: if your audience cant go back and find the clues you wrote a bad twist. and this book is littered with bread crumbs that you can put together with ivy. if you pay attention you can solve it, which is such a good feeling as a reader to put the pieces together be wrong and rearrange them. the characters are also so well written with such care and depth.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Murder, Body horror, Alcoholism, Death of parent, Gore, Death, Cancer, Abortion, and Blood

Minor: Self harm and Eating disorder

joepyeweed's review against another edition

mysterious sad 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

1.5

Like if Aunt Petunia became a detective and then had to solve a  mystery. Except she doesn’t really care about the mystery and has a drinking problem. The main character was too self-absorbed, and the mystery wasn’t enough of a focus. The ending of the mystery was unexpected though.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical trauma, Abortion, Body horror, Cancer, Murder, Blood, Death, Death of parent, Gaslighting, and Grief

Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders

Minor: Sexual harassment and Self harm

luvey_reads's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcohol, Abortion, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Self harm, Body shaming, Terminal illness, Pregnancy, Pedophilia, and Cancer

arynapril's review against another edition

emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

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

5.0

I loved this book. I loved the strong prose and unique imagery that pushed into my brain. I'm going to be thinking about this book for a while.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore

Moderate: Alcoholism, Blood, and Body horror

Minor: Self harm, Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Medical trauma, and Vomit

lily1304's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny reflective 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

4.25

I got so invested in this story so fast! Ivy is a funny and sympathetic narrator, and the mystery was juuuuust the right level of difficulty. I couldn't figure it all out on my own, but I might have if I had taken notes. But it's not just a mystery, it also gave me feelings??

Yeah, it takes place at a boarding school for magical teens, but it's definitely not Harry Potter.

I would have rated it higher, except I feel like it has low reread-value - but the first read was SO fun!!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abortion, Alcohol, Blood, Cancer, Death, Death of parent, and Medical trauma

Moderate: Bullying, Gore, Grief, Sexual harassment, and Terminal illness

Minor: Pregnancy, Self harm, Sexual content, Toxic friendship, and Vomit