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A review by smartie_chan
Love and Other Wicked Things by Philline Harms
emotional
lighthearted
relaxing
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
4.0
Thanks to Netgalley for providing me with a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
4 / 5 Stars
CW: Mentions of Past Car Accident, Mentions of Drowning, Mentions of Past Burning Alive, Grief, Mentions Of Past Character Death, Mentions of Murder
It's funny to me how, some people will complain when young folks don't speak & sound like young people. But they will apparently also complain when they do sound & speak like young people.
What do I mean? Well, if you've been on the Internet for more than 5 minutes you'll know what kind of language is used there. You'll find a similar one in this book. It also makes references to memes, movies and shows. If you're not older than 30 you'll be able to confirm that yes, that's partly what you talk about with your friends. If you want to call that "cringe" or "dated" it might not be a book but a you problem.
This book is very diverse and that's nice. But it's more the casual "Oh by the way" kind of rep. Could we have forced some -Phobia in there? Sure, but it's not like we needed it there. Be aware though, that this is a very open & at times amusingly tolerant town, where noone's discriminated against and a bunch of people tell you their pronouns upon first meeting you. I doubt that such a place exists in real life. In general, it didn't bother me too much. But after a few "Hi, I'm xyz and I use he/him pronouns" I had to shake my head and giggle a bit.
Stuff you'll find in the book:
- nonbinary rep
- lesbian rep
- asexual rep
- pansexual rep
- queer/unlabled-by-choice rep
- POC rep
-> Mc & family are black
-> other MC's bff is chinese-asian
It's nice to read a book about queer joy for a change. There are enough out there that tackle queer pain & struggle.
The book itself is very lighthearted...until all of a sudden it's not. The reason for that being is, that it's a mystery & romance at the same time. The romance is nice, dont get me wrong. I like the VERY brief semi-enemies to lovers vibe they had going on. I like their chemistry & relationship as a whole. They're cute. But their romance does steal the spotlight of the whole "I came to this town to find my mom" plot quiet often. There is one chapter in particular where MC 1 goes to a festival to ask the local witches if they have any information about her mother or relatives. And then she meets MC 2 and its like she forgot why she even got there in the first place. When her bff asks her about it the next day we learn that she apparently asked a few people off page before she admits that she got distracted by MC 2's lips and the best oppurtunity to learn abour her mom was kind of wasted. Not a huge dealbreaker but it's part of the reason why I - personally - liked the second half more.
All things witchcraft were very nice. Especially since we got to see a lot of different kinds that were more or less important to the plot. A bit like magical realism until its not.
The side cast was great with Quinn being my favourit. Partly because they got the most development and time besides our two Mains. Who knows, maybe we WILL get that Quinn sequel that you can still find on wattpad one day. I'd love to read it.
Speaking of characters. This is a 96% woman cast book. As in, we have 1 nonbinary character, 1 male friend , 1 male dude that flirts with a MC once and is never heard of again and 1 single dad. The rest is women. Husband? Dead. Uncle? Divorced. Grandpa? Also dead. Rest? Who knows. Not a complaint per se. Just an observation, is all.
What else I'd like to mention:
- Misscommunication.
It happens and we have to deal with it for 1,5 chapters. Very not needed. Very annoying. And very happy about it not lasting a second longer.
Final thoughts:
Would I reccomand this?
-> Oh yeah, for sure. It's a charming book with a lot of heart.
4 / 5 Stars
CW: Mentions of Past Car Accident, Mentions of Drowning, Mentions of Past Burning Alive, Grief, Mentions Of Past Character Death, Mentions of Murder
It's funny to me how, some people will complain when young folks don't speak & sound like young people. But they will apparently also complain when they do sound & speak like young people.
What do I mean? Well, if you've been on the Internet for more than 5 minutes you'll know what kind of language is used there. You'll find a similar one in this book. It also makes references to memes, movies and shows. If you're not older than 30 you'll be able to confirm that yes, that's partly what you talk about with your friends. If you want to call that "cringe" or "dated" it might not be a book but a you problem.
This book is very diverse and that's nice. But it's more the casual "Oh by the way" kind of rep. Could we have forced some -Phobia in there? Sure, but it's not like we needed it there. Be aware though, that this is a very open & at times amusingly tolerant town, where noone's discriminated against and a bunch of people tell you their pronouns upon first meeting you. I doubt that such a place exists in real life. In general, it didn't bother me too much. But after a few "Hi, I'm xyz and I use he/him pronouns" I had to shake my head and giggle a bit.
Stuff you'll find in the book:
- nonbinary rep
- lesbian rep
- asexual rep
- pansexual rep
- queer/unlabled-by-choice rep
- POC rep
-> Mc & family are black
-> other MC's bff is chinese-asian
It's nice to read a book about queer joy for a change. There are enough out there that tackle queer pain & struggle.
The book itself is very lighthearted...until all of a sudden it's not. The reason for that being is, that it's a mystery & romance at the same time. The romance is nice, dont get me wrong. I like the VERY brief semi-enemies to lovers vibe they had going on. I like their chemistry & relationship as a whole. They're cute. But their romance does steal the spotlight of the whole "I came to this town to find my mom" plot quiet often. There is one chapter in particular where MC 1 goes to a festival to ask the local witches if they have any information about her mother or relatives. And then she meets MC 2 and its like she forgot why she even got there in the first place. When her bff asks her about it the next day we learn that she apparently asked a few people off page before she admits that she got distracted by MC 2's lips and the best oppurtunity to learn abour her mom was kind of wasted. Not a huge dealbreaker but it's part of the reason why I - personally - liked the second half more.
All things witchcraft were very nice. Especially since we got to see a lot of different kinds that were more or less important to the plot. A bit like magical realism until its not.
The side cast was great with Quinn being my favourit. Partly because they got the most development and time besides our two Mains. Who knows, maybe we WILL get that Quinn sequel that you can still find on wattpad one day. I'd love to read it.
Speaking of characters. This is a 96% woman cast book. As in, we have 1 nonbinary character, 1 male friend , 1 male dude that flirts with a MC once and is never heard of again and 1 single dad. The rest is women. Husband? Dead. Uncle? Divorced. Grandpa? Also dead. Rest? Who knows. Not a complaint per se. Just an observation, is all.
What else I'd like to mention:
- Misscommunication.
It happens and we have to deal with it for 1,5 chapters. Very not needed. Very annoying. And very happy about it not lasting a second longer.
Final thoughts:
Would I reccomand this?
-> Oh yeah, for sure. It's a charming book with a lot of heart.
Content Warnings
Minor: Death, Car accident, and Murder