Reviews with content warning for Murder - Slewfoot: A Tale of Bewitchery

This story definitely falls under the category of "good for her" I absolutely enjoyed every single second of this book with only one exception (animal death). Other than that it was twisted and gruesome and lovely!

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klsreads's review

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challenging dark funny sad 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? No

4.0

This book was not what I expected, but I had a fun time so ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. The 1600's protagonist read like a modern woman, and the pacing was a bit odd. It is horror, so there is gore and explicit torture/violence. I was really excited for the last 20% of the book and it delivered. Beyond that, the discussions on ecocide and spirituality/religion really hit, as well as the rumination on the nature of evil. I loved the intermingling of Native American folklore, fairy tales, and Christianity.

Consider checking the cws/tws. The art in the book is super spooky and cool. I think it added a lot to the experience!

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swiftpool's review

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dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad tense medium-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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alisbleu's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional 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? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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pythonpages's review

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dark 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? It's complicated

5.0

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mdefillipi's review

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challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

Content Warnings

ellornaslibrary's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious tense slow-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? It's complicated

2.0

This book is marketed as horror, and there are parts that definitely left me feeling a little scared at first. Except then it becomes something altogether and different. The thing that should scare you isn't what you should be scared of essentially. Always love it if it is done well and the possibility was there just wasn't delivered upon in the end. I liked Abitha a lot and the other main character a good deal; found the story fascinating enough to continue reading after the book turned out not to be what I was hoping for when I picked it up. I even found the side characters interesting.

However, the story moves so slow and the satisfaction I was hoping to find in this new possible story presented was short-lived as it turned into the usual predictable story. It was at least going to be a 3 or 3.5 star book though until the blatant ableism right at the end. Literal magic in this book, used multiple times throughout to do amazing things, and then we get to this part and just. . . it was insulting and offensive so now it's a 2 star book and I don't know if I'll pick up another book from this author anytime soon.

CW Ableism details:

magic used to make corn sprout from the dirt, to make bees mass produce honey, to make them fly at one point on a broom. . . And instead of healing her damaged legs, makes a comment about living as a cripple the rest of her days and she shudders at the idea. Her reaction is even worse considering that her husband was disabled. . . Nevermind she could have all sorts of options with literal magic at her fingertips too even if her legs weren't fully healed. Just so offensive and exhausting at this point to see this attitude presented.

Content Warnings

gudrqa's review against another edition

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dark slow-paced

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

3.0

First part of the book was enjoyable and I'd rate it 4.5 even but then it started dragging out quickly. Not a lot of magic for a tale of bewitchery.

The problems for me started when it became a torture porn. The whole second part of the book felt like a kink. The constant mentions of hair and torture. A lot of it was repeated all the time. I either wish it wasn't so graphic/maybe less victims OR that it was more inventive.

I might've enjoyed it more if I didn't pick up an audiobook version. I didn't like the voices the lector was making.
I couldn't really care for the characters except one

the pastor's wife

. A lot of plot points didn't feel impactful enough. The main character never felt at risk really after the first two plot points

the beginning with the goat and then her husband's death. After that the first encounter with the Father happened and immediately we knew she would be safe with him.

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