Reviews with content warning for Drug use - Witchmark - Die Spur der Toten

Overall a good story. I'm left mildly unsatisfied by the ending and how it all shook out, it feels like it pulled punches to provide a "happy ending", something like how I felt at the end of Eat the Rich, in which the story wasn't necessarily bad but didn't really feel like a, for lack of a better word, "realistic" ending.

I am, however, brainrotten, and can only think about parallels between necromancer/cavalier relationships in The Locked Tomb series and the stormsinger/secondary relationships in this book. Fascinating!

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espiargrant's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious tense 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

4.0

Overall, this book was a good time, though by no means perfect. The writing style was clear and flowed easily, and I liked most of the characters. The world-building seemed well-thought-out, but not explored as much as I would have liked.

One issue I had with this book was that it kept the reader in the dark about certain things for too long to really have a sense of what to care about. I also felt that the ending was extremely rushed, and I wish that Tristan had had more development. He was absent too often and when he was present, he didn't have much agency in the story, which dampened the romance for me.

That said, this was still a fun, magical story with a cute queer romance, and I'm glad I read it.

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purplepenning's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

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archcon's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

5.0

I loved this book. The beautiful writing and descriptions pulled me into the world better than anything I've read in a long time. The world details that were just there and not necessarily explained made it feel natural that I should know them and, again, pulled me in. And then the romance. Tender and sweet and organic.

As someone interested in WWI, I enjoyed the clear parallels and the interesting new aspects added to the familiar parts.

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foreverinastory's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.5

3.5/5

Miles Singer has run from his past. His magical ability to heal is treated as nothing more than a trick by witching society, so determined to do some good Miles enlisted and went off to war. After serving, Miles goes into psychiatry and is determined to help other soldiers who are also suffering from PTSD. But the illness seems like more than just PTSD. When a fatally poisoned patient exposes Miles’ healing gift and his witchmark, he must put his anonymity and freedom at risk to investigate his patient’s murder.

This Edwardian world of magic was really interesting. For the first half we don't really see how witching society works as Miles is incognito and hiding from all witches. But when his family comes back into the picture, we see what Miles has run from and see his worst fears come true. The one thing I really liked about the world was that gender wasn't a factor in magical society. It was all based on primary mages and secondary ones. Primary mages can control the weather and are called storm-singers. All other witches with magic are considered secondary and used as batteries to power the primary mages with a bond that basically takes the secondary's will.

The plot kept me guessing the entire time and the last 30% was basically my brain imploding by what had happened to Miles patients and other witches. I did also enjoy the relationship that developed between Miles and Tristan, but the pacing of it felt a bit weird--a little too insta-lovey for me. I'm definitely curious to see what will happen next.

Rep: Achillean male MC with PTSD, achillean male love interest. Many side characters/patients with PTSD.

CWs: Violence, alcohol consumption, blood, confinement of patients, death, death of parent--flashback, drug use, gaslighting, grief, kidnapping, medical content, mental illness (PTSD), murder--flashback, physical abuse, forced enslavement of MC and many side characters, implied sexual content, suicidal thoughts, talk of committing suicide, suicide attempts and side characters who commit suicide.

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ehmannky's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful mysterious 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

4.5

I didn't know what to expect with this book, other than a friend with impeccable taste recommended it. And she did not disappoint. What a beautiful read, and I'm reeling from the tenderness of care Polk allows her characters to express. It's a book about the bonds that bind us, and what willing (Friends, community) vs unwilling bonds (family that doesn't understand boundaries or bodily autonomy) look like on a literal level. The world that magic has built is one built on unfairness and oppression, and when the question of " is this oppression good because of the needs of the many" is offered, the answer unequivocally and loudly "no."

The emphasis on care and empathy for others, for not turning away, all of that is enough to make me recommend this book. And the relationships between Miles and Tristan was so tender and loving and Miles and Grace brought tears to my eyes because it was a bond of love so strained by power and damaged.

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booksthatburn's review against another edition

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adventurous dark funny hopeful lighthearted mysterious fast-paced

Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I'm still giddy about Witchmark. This book hits the ground running and shouts brusquely over one shoulder that the reader had best keep pace. I felt like a detective slowly discovering secrets; the world was complex and the characters were immediately fascinating.

It's world-building by immersion with very few asides and explanations for the first third of the book. By the time it deigns to pause for backstory it's all details of a personal nature; political alignments and players in power. It assumes that the reader knows whatever someone growing up here would have been taught, but it casually drops in just enough explanation that I felt a sense of triumph every time some previously opaque bit of detail was clarified.

Even when I didn't yet know where I was I knew why I cared. Though the explanations took a bit to arrive, the characters were great from the start. Miles was likable immediately, the main plot kicks off with a bang, er, with a person desperately in need of his help, and it was a really fun read. I have a bias towards liking the character, Robin, but everyone felt really engaging (even the ones I don't share a name with). Flipping through it I see some stuff in the early bits that I didn't know were actually important when I started and it makes me want to re-read this immediately to soak up more detail.

The characterization is solid, there's a quaint understated-ness in certain areas which made it really feel like it maps on to a vaguely 1900's, quasi-British sensibility while still being its own thing. Those points of familiarity helped ground me as I got a sense of how this world describes itself, while gradually making it clear that this was truly some fantasy land as the book kept rolling.

I loved the ending, I finished this book really happy about how everything ended up and very excited to read the next one.

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