Member Reviews
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for granting me free access to the advanced digital copy of this book.
4 stars. (maybe 3.5 stars)
*in the voice of Fleabag* This is a love story.
As usual, I adored the Scapegracers' friendship. I love the closeness between the four of them and how they showed up for and protect each other. I also appreciate how distinct and different each person is, yet they all complement each other so well, as a group and paired off. I loved that this book showed a handsome nonbinary butch being desirable by attractive girls. I can't think of many books I've read that have that and it was really wonderful to see. I especially liked Sideways was shown to be an absolute catch, despite their fears of being ugly and unlovable. I absolutely lost my shit with every Jing and Sideways scene. The amount of highlighting I did was truly obsessive. I really enjoyed the big Daisy and Sideways scene. I actually really liked Sideways scenes with Madeline. I feel like they were able to get closure in a way. I wish we got to see more talks with Madeline and Shiloh. Shiloh being a Pike and being siblings with Sideways was so heartwarming. I adore their dynamic together. I just love seeing Shiloh come into themself more and more as well. I also continue to love Sideways' dads. Mr. Scratch wasn't in this as much as book 2 but I really enjoyed his moments.
This took place during the coven's final semester of high school. I loved hearing the plans of the coven after high school. I loved that it was said multiple times that college isn't everything and your life isn't over if you don't go. SPOILERS -- It was cool that Dominick saw Sideways spiral and chose to give them the opportunity of a piercer apprenticeship (which suits them so much). I love that Yates is going to an Ivy and Daisy is choosing law school. I also think Jing not going to college and working with the Delacroix house and using her event planning and location scoping skills was amazing. I wish we got to see them all graduate but I love where they ended off.
I enjoyed getting to see other witches, especially how many were queer elders. It was really interesting seeing how different each of the covens were, as well as the covens' relationships with each other. It was also fascinating the discussion of what true justice is and how the other covens didn't even ask Sideways what they wanted, despite the trial being about their attack. Plus, I really loved the emphasis on community as a form of protection and healing. We need others to survive and in order to heal. Something that stood out to me was Sideways's compassion. They welcomed Shiloh into their home despite what they did as a Chantry. They took them in and they became siblings and they saved Madeline after what she did to them and didn't push about her being in their home. I just love them and how big of a heart they have a lot.
My biggest complaint is the pacing of the book. The pacing was very off, which led to the plot suffering and the story not moving along. This story also took place over a week, with the first 30% being around 2 days. I wish things moved at a quicker at times. I also feel like the witchfinders should've played a bigger role in the book. They weren't very present at all until the very end, even though the conflict of the book is meant to be the witches worrying about them seeking vengeance. The witchfinders' absence meant a lot of the tension wasn't there and the reveal towards the end of the book (which I did find very interesting) wasn't as impactful as it could've been. It also made the final act feel very rushed and anticlimactic. I also wish Shiloh was in the story more, due to me really enjoying their character but also because of their connection to the witchfinders and the Scapegracers. It would've also giving more time to see them deal with their complicated feelings wirh grief.
I've really enjoyed my time with this series and these characters. I still remember reading the first book for first time and absolutely buzzing when I finished it. There is something very special about this series and I'm happy that I've gotten to complete it. I look forward to reading August Clarke's adult debut soon and checking out whatever they release in the future.
Thank you to Netgalley and Erewhon Books for providing me an arc in exchange for an honest review.
Ich weiร ehrlich gesagt nicht, wie ich dieses Buch bewerten soll, da ich es aufgrund relativ kurzer Ausleihdauer (ohne Verlรคngerung) nicht lesen konnte.
ahhhhhhh! HA Clarke is stupendously great at ripping out your heart and stomping on it. I did not want to finish this trilogy; I love Sideways so much. I recommend this series to everyone I know and have extra recommended it for high school library acquisition. Bonus points for coming out while I have a senior in high school in my life. 5 glorious stars!
This was such a satisfying conclusion to the Scapegracers Trilogy. Its rare to come across YA fantasy novels that feel so true to life. Clarke writes the angst, pain, and gay panic of teenagers so beautifully. The way they write their characters in terms of their queerness & gender identities is so raw - I loved the storyline throughout this book but honestly my favorite part has, and always will be, the characters. The Feast Makers is the type of novel that I so very wish I had growing up. I cant recommend this series enough - if you love witches, queers, outcasts, friendship, and so much more - then this is the book for you. I'm so sad that this series is over, but I will forever return to these pages to visit my favorite coven
DNFed book after realizing it was the third in the series and I had not completed the other two. Really loved the concept and hope to return to this!
Ah, my favorite fictional coven, the Scapegracers! I really enjoyed the conclusion to the series, and seeing how things end up for all the characters. I loved learning more about the various covens throughout the states, and seeing how Sideways finds their way in the larger, witchy world. There's so much good character development and arcs throughout the trilogy, and it nicely comes together in this book. There are some big truth bombs, gnarly fights and hexes, and sapphic romance to swoon over. My only complaint is that the pacing felt a bit slow to me, with the majority of the action happening in a couple jam packed days. I also miss Mr. Scratch being front and center. Overall, a satisfying read and a good ending to a powerful series.
This is the final book in the trilogy about Sideways and the Scapegracers, a coven of teenage witches. I loved the characters and the found family vibes. The story keeps with the feminist and justice seeking feel. There are plot twists that will make you want more and a happy ending for Sideways! It had a page turning ending and I hope that the talented Clarke might find a way to write these characters into other future stories.
Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington Books for the ebook.
The Feast Makers is a perfect conclusion to The Scrapegracers trilogy. I absolutely loved this story and fell even further in love with the characters. I highly recommend this series to any queer readers!
And that's a wrap! 3 books of the Scapegracers. 3 books of loving this group of lovely lesbian witches ๐ง๐ปโโ๏ธ
I will say, I enjoyed the first 2 books a lot more, but I am happy for Sideways getting her happy ending. I kind of wish there was a bit more humor in the Feast Makers, like the previous ones.
There was also a lull in the middle of the book. But I got through it, and the last 4 chapters had the most action.
Overall, I definitely would recommend this whole book series to anyone I'll meet!
๐๐ฉ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฌ ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐๐ฆ๐ต๐๐ข๐ญ๐ญ๐ฆ๐บ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐๐ ๐๐ญ๐ข๐ณ๐ฌ๐ฆ ๐ง๐ฐ๐ณ ๐ข๐ฏ ๐ข๐ฅ๐ท๐ข๐ฏ๐ค๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ฎ๐ข๐ฏ๐ถ๐ด๐ค๐ณ๐ช๐ฑ๐ต ๐ค๐ฐ๐ฑ๐บ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฃ๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ฌ.
This series was on my TBR for quite some time. Itโs a YA series and hits all the main points off this category well. In this third book the characters have definitely grown older than when the series started, but they still learn as they go and are often confused about their feelings and what they are doing. That said, this series is pretty gritty and graphic for a YA book series, which honestly makes it more appealing to me than some other YA books that are around.
In preparation of this third and last book in the series, I started reading the first book. However, due to time constrains I could not finish the second book in time, so I skipped immediately from the first to this third book. I could easily pick up the storyline, but I donโt recommend reading them out of order as there were quite some details that I missed from not reading book 2.
The story has grown bigger than in the first book where the focus solely lies on the four main characters. This time, itโs more about the world of witchcraft, covens, and witch hunters and it felt like a logical step up from the previous book(s). The pace was good but had a dip around 60%, in general though it was an easy fast read with a spectacular ending.
Like in the first book I enjoyed the writing style, itโs a little overly done on feelings and emotions, but I thought it worked for this clearly younger main character Sideways, who is discovering so many things in life. Feelings are definitely a bit all over the place and at some point I thought that literally every girl would give Sideways butterflies. Maybe this is because itโs YA, but I was glad when there was more clarity in the romance department at the end of the book. The witchcraft is also still progressing and the 4 mains often seem to go about things without a real plan, but at the end of the book they convinced me of their witching abilities. This book should not be taken too seriously and itโs a really fun read when you go with the flow.
All in all, I enjoyed this series, itโs full of queer representation and witchcraft, while also being a coming of age story. Recommend.
This might be my new favorite book of all time. Where the Scratch Daughters was about grief and depression, The Feast Makers healed me. This is definitely the best installment in the series.
The Feast Makers is one of the gayest books I have ever read. It is definitely the singular YA book most entrenched in lesbian culture. Its descriptions of the relationship (that I will not spoil) were incredibly sensual and beautiful.
This was a fantastic ending to the series. These are the books I would most recommend to any queer teen out there. I think they could change someone's life. But also please read them if you are an adult who has ever watched a mean girl movie and wished it was gay and that the girls got to love each other. Or if you want to read about lesbianism as gender.
Thank you to the publisher for providing me with an ARC.
The Feast Makers is the exciting conclusion to the Scapegracers series by H. A. Clarke. Overall, I really enjoyed this series, although as a book this one definitely felt like the weakest out of the series. However, I'm glad I read it and I'm pretty happy with how the series ended.
I really loved our characters and their dynamics as they interact with each other. The coven was strengthened by their adventures in the previous books and they come together for this one, showcasing their strengths and additionally struggling with what will happen after they graduate high school and where they will go with their lives.
I think the main reason why this ended up being three stars was due to the plot. It seemed to drag a lot in the middle where I wasn't certain which direction the story was going. I was also a little confused and not much of a fan of the love triangle. I was very confused as to who was interested in sideways and who Sideways was interested in for an embarrassingly long time unfortunately.
Overall though, I'm a fan of this series and the wonderful way this witchy saga has played out.
I'm quite unobservant so I had to go and get the previous novels. I'm still reading but I was curious about this one and I think it's a powerful conclusion to an excellent series.
The girls are wild, there's suspense and twists, excellent world building and good storytelling.
Due to my own brain-fog I supposed I missed something but I enjoyed the story
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine
I was lucky enough to get a free copy of this in exchange for an honest review.
After reading the first two, I jumped face first into this one.
We have more of the same goodness in this one that we have seen in the first to, lots of angst, attitude, friendship, love and indescribable amounts of attitude.
This one has some awesome parts that I expected and then some surprising parts!! And some absolutely horrific parts that made me rage out loud at my kindle.
A certain someone's dad can rot in hell
So excited about the new witch
Omg what stunning spellwork
Yates for president
Jing is a precious and powerful angel
Scratch is bestest forever
Couple goals throughout
A certain someone deserves an eternity of suffering
And as I got to a certain part and suddenly guessed what was about to happen I was fizzing as I read. The most delicious and deserved revenge. Delectable.
And the end was beautiful, and wholesome in a Scapegracer sort of way.
And a few quotes just because
"I could call though. That felt evil. Phone calls were so repugnant."
"Good morning little sorcerer I am alive I squirm I brim with hate."
"The End, Bitch."
The Feast Makers by H.A. Clarke is the finale of a beloved trilogy featuring the wonderful Sideways Pike and her coven of witchy friends, the Scapegracers. Following on from the events of the second book , the time has come for the trial of Madeline Kline, the witch who stole Sideways' magic. This will be the largest gathering of witches in years as the members of various covens convene to decide her fate. In an unlikely turn of events it falls to Sideways to plead for mercy for Madeline, but soon a bigger problem faces the assembled covens, a gathering of Witchfinders ready to unleash violence in an attempt to destroy the witches once and for all. On a more personal front Sideways is pondering her future, what will happen when the Scapegracers separate to go to different colleges ? What does her future hold if college is not for her ? The biggest question of all , what if she has fallen in love with one of her fellow coven members?
Reading this I was immediately drawn back into the author's world, their writing style is very distinctive, and I understand somewhat divisive, but I like it. It feels vivid and propulsive. Sideways is a wonderful character, sharp and spiky and full of sass but also occasionally self doubting and lacking in confidence. The real heart of this series has always been the relationships between the core characters of Sideways, Daisy, Jing and Yates, as well as more recent addition Shiloh and once again in this book it is the friendships between these young people that provide the emotional core of the story. While I enjoyed the book and thought it was a fitting conclusion to the series, it was not without flaws, the most obvious of which was the pacing which was pretty inconsistent. It started slowly, slowed even more in the middle and then the ending felt quite rushed ( though perhaps that is just because I didn't want the series to end.)
I read and reviewed an ARC courtesy of NetGalley and the publishers, all opinions are my own.
I saw someone describe the girls in this series as "feral" and that is absolutely true. Teen girls are a force, and these girls would be even without the complication of magic. A conclusion to the wild ride of power and relationships they worked through, choices are made, futures determined, and these girls will keep growing up to be feral, powerful women.
Raw, at times delightful, dark enough to keep you hooked. I kind of wish I could read these over again.
The Feast Makers by HA Clarke
โI totally donโt need a girlfriend. Who would when theyโve got the power of friendship or whatever the fuck.โ
- last book in a YA trilogy about a vigilante coven of queer teenage witches.
- great characters with distinct personalities and character arcs
- new and really interesting take on magic and spells
- f/x romantic subplot
I fell in love with Sideways Pike (which, btw is such a killer name) and their tentative coven in the first book, The Scapegracers, and the story really built upon itself in incredible ways in the second book, The Scratch Daughters. The story comes to quite a dramatic close in this last book. This one isnโt my favorite of the series. It spends a lot of time tying up loose ends, and kind of stalls out in the middle, with a sudden crescendo into a climax. That being said, I love the characters. Sideways, Daisy, Yates, Jing, Shiloh, Boris and Julian, I just love them all and I love the family they made for themselves.
So if youโre looking for a somewhat dark YA (NA, possibly) series about a queer teenage coven fighting for their place in their town and in which society, 100% try this series. As a series, itโs really fantastic.
Thanks to NetGalley and Erewhon Books for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Thank you netgalley for providing me with an arc in exchange for an honest review. I really enjoyed this one, including most aspects from the characters to how they and the plot developed. Would absolutely recommend to anyone interested in the genre. Taking all of this into consideration, I am giving it 4/5 stars. Canโt wait to read other works from this author.
In The Feast Makers, H.A. Clarke weaves together an odd, bold, and absolutely delightful conclusion to the Scapegracers trilogy.
When Sideways found their coven among the "popular girls" at their school, they never could've guessed what would happen nextโwitchhunters, curses, friendship, possibly falling in love... and now, the witch covens, and their enemies, gathering in town for a vicious witchtrial. As Sideways and their friends navigate through the complicated tangle of their past and future, danger once again lurks right around the corner.
I have so many things to say about this book.
First: the writing style! While it did take me a minute to catch the flow of the writing, when I did, I absolutely loved it. You can clearly see the author finding their voice throughout this series, and now they have. The writing has an odd, almost disjointed feeling, which adds to the eerie, not-quite-but-almost-horror vibes of the story and perfectly captures Sideways' personality. I LOVED IT. Unique and beautiful and absolutely delicious.
Second: the characters. I can't put into words how meaningful it is to see queer representation like this in YA books. These queers are messy and feral and confident and WEIRD and they love each other so unconditionally it makes my heart hurt. (Also, I saw this in another review and completely agree: We need more butch lesbians in YA?? Where are they??? Especially genderqueer ones??? Sideways is so cool???)
Third: the plot. This was the only part that was even close to iffy for me, and that was just because it's more character-focused than I usually enjoy. The real conflict is hinted at throughout the book, but Sideways has other, pressing emotional issues, and the story doesn't really pick up until the end, which was a bit rushed. But honestly?? The tension slowly building in the background made me sit even further on the edge of my seat, and the unique take on a "coming of age" story meant a LOT to me. So its worth it. Every word.
Apologies if this review is a little incoherent, I'm fighting off a cold right now and trying to make sense of my thoughts. All you really need to know about this book is that it's unique and bold and I adore all of these characters with all my heart. I already want to reread the whole trilogy. If you're looking for something that captures both the whirlwind adventures of being a witch AND the emotional chaos of being a queer teenager, this is the book for you.