Reviews tagging 'Forced institutionalization'

The Widow of Rose House by Diana Biller

11 reviews

amy_in_the_city's review against another edition

emotional funny mysterious medium-paced

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

4.5

This was a sweet romance with a good mix of humor, sadness, and a ghost mystery. Sam reminded me a lot of The Doctor from Doctor Who. I loved that he was a golden retriever type who was totally smitten with Alva right from the start and really loved that he was persistent without being pushy or disrespecting Alva's boundaries. 

Alva was also a great character. I felt for her struggle to forge her own path and establish a life for herself after a terrible marriage. She was also very witty, and her banter with Sam was top-notch. I enjoyed watching how they both

got their revenge on Alva's awful parents

and that Sam listened to Alva's wishes on how to proceed instead of charging in and doing things his way.

The side characters were interesting too. I loved the Moore family and will definitely be checking out the author's other books which feature them. I don't see a book yet for Henry, but I hope one is in the works because he was really great and I'd love to learn more about his mysterious tragic backstory.

The only thing that knocks off half a star from my rating is that the book had some odd pacing. The first 20% of the book is mostly spent following Sam as he does research. There were long sections entirely focused on the relationship alternating with long sections entirely focused on the ghost investigation. I thought the two storylines could have been mixed in together a bit more.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Alcohol, Forced institutionalization, Sexual content, Physical abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Mental illness, Sexism, Confinement, and Infidelity

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual harassment, and Classism

Minor: Murder

tunderalma87's review

adventurous emotional lighthearted medium-paced

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

2.0

The historical setting is barely there, it reads like a contemporary. The main characters are cute together, the book has a charming cast of side characters, at least in the first half. The second half completely goes off the rails, instead of gothic vibes we get cheesy dialogues and reunion with a ghost, but the romance is enough, I guess....

 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Domestic abuse, and Forced institutionalization

magnetarmadda's review against another edition

emotional funny reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Forced institutionalization, Mental illness, Domestic abuse, and Murder

thenextbookdilemma's review against another edition

dark emotional funny mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse and Violence

Moderate: Child abuse, Mental illness, and Forced institutionalization

Minor: Murder and Suicide

yourbookishbff's review

challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Sexual content, Misogyny, and Domestic abuse

Moderate: Gaslighting, Abandonment, Forced institutionalization, and Adult/minor relationship

iamamyyyyy's review

emotional funny mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship and Domestic abuse

Moderate: Sexual content and Forced institutionalization

valkyrie1's review against another edition

emotional funny mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Forced institutionalization, Domestic abuse, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Mental illness

Minor: Death

juliana_reads's review against another edition

emotional hopeful mysterious sad medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Domestic abuse, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Forced institutionalization and Mental illness

wilybooklover's review

emotional funny mysterious medium-paced

5.0

What a pleasant surprise. I went into this not having heard much about it, and therefore with quite low expectations. What I got was a beautiful, unexpectedly poignant story about growth, healing, and learning to believe in love again. 

The heroine, Alva, has not had an easy time in life. She was let down in huge ways by her parents and her deceased abusive husband and wrongfully pilloried in the press; it’s no wonder she’s so closed-off and a little bit grumpy. It was truly wonderful seeing her open up and learn to trust again throughout this book. 

Sam was the perfect hero to pair with Alva. An absent-minded professor type with the personality of a golden retriever, he’s so intrinsically good and caring at heart that even Alva can’t resist his charm. His caring and patient nature was perfectly showcased during their first sex scene,

where Alva dissociates and has a traumatic flashback. Sam notices, immediately stops what he’s doing and checks in with her in one of the most wonderful depictions of consent I’ve ever seen in a romance.

There were only two love scenes in total, but they were ever so romantic and deeply sexy. 

This does have a bit of a gothic/spooky vibe what with the ghost and haunted house, but I wouldn’t let that deter you if it’s not your usual thing. It’s more of a background atmosphere for most of the book. 

My only criticisms are that the dialogue felt quite modern at times, and I’m not sure that

the blackmail plot

was necessary. But I didn’t feel like it detracted from the story or affected my enjoyment at all. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Bullying, and Domestic abuse

Moderate: Death, Body horror, Abandonment, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, and Physical abuse

Minor: Forced institutionalization and Suicide

mairead_parade's review against another edition

dark emotional inspiring medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse

Moderate: Abandonment and Forced institutionalization