Reviews tagging 'Death of parent'

Magic for Liars by Sarah Gailey

97 reviews

yavin_iv's review against another edition

emotional mysterious fast-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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Body horror, Cancer, Death, Blood, Medical trauma, and Death of parent

Moderate: Bullying, Cursing, Terminal illness, Violence, Abortion, Murder, and Pregnancy

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Eating disorder, and Sexual content

piperlee's review

dark mysterious medium-paced

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

3.75

What I thought would be an interesting murder mystery with magic mixed in ended up being a highly character-driven and contemplative story about family, grief, and feelings of inadequacy.
I really enjoyed this book, despite the weird. The magical high school and variety of characters kept it interesting and added a lot of mystery to the story. However, the ending left me feeling frustrated. It was too unbelievable for me to justify Ivy’s decision at the end with all the horror and trauma the murderer had caused. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Cancer, Death, Gore, Terminal illness, Blood, Medical trauma, Abortion, Death of parent, and Murder

Moderate: Alcoholism, Bullying, and Grief

sebrittainclark's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Terminal illness, Grief, Abortion, Death of parent, and Murder

Moderate: Alcoholism and Bullying

Minor: Eating disorder

brokenlightdances's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Blood, Abortion, and Murder

Moderate: Death and Death of parent

katie_the_librarian's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Bullying, Cancer, Death, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Abortion, and Death of parent

Moderate: Sexual content and Terminal illness

Minor: Toxic relationship

jaymii's review against another edition

dark emotional lighthearted mysterious medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Bullying, Cancer, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Medical trauma, Abortion, Death of parent, and Murder

Moderate: Alcoholism, Sexual content, and Stalking

Minor: Adult/minor relationship and Suicide

claire_luna's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense

• Strong character development? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.75

So, this was not what I was expecting. I came across this book in some list and added it to my library audio holds and then went in pretty blind. For some reason I thought it was YA but it definitely isn't. Sure, it's set at a magic school and there's a prophecy about a Chosen One but that's where the typical YA fantasy genre tropes stop. It's a detective novel, tinged with magic and drama, full of queer characters (but coming out isn't a theme). There were continuous twists and it was a few chapters from the end before I was further ahead than our plucky, somewhat damaged detective. I was also thoroughly impressed with the narration, this was one of my longer audiobooks and I was so into it that at one point I just started into space sitting on my couch. There was so much packed into this book (do see the content warnings) and it delivered with a punch. What more can I say? I loved it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Cancer, Gore, Terminal illness, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Medical trauma, Abortion, Death of parent, and Murder

Moderate: Alcoholism

Minor: Adult/minor relationship