Reviews with content warning for Torture - Keeper of Enchanted Rooms

Reviews tagging 'Torture'

Keeper of Enchanted Rooms by Charlie N. Holmberg

8 reviews

reallyrosalie's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful lighthearted 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? Yes

3.75

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bzliz's review

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adventurous lighthearted mysterious 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? Yes

4.75

Merritt Fernsby inherits a remote island estate with a mind of its own. Luckily, Hulda Larkin excels at taming such structures into behaving and if she’s lucky she may just similarly tame the home’s unruly owner. But the house isn’t the only trouble the pair will find on the island as Hulda’s past comes back to haunt her.

The characters are so charming, especially Owein. I love the sweet regency/Victorian era style romance between Hulda and Merritt. Silas Hogwood makes a nasty villain without being a crude caricature; my heart ached for the version of him in the prologue before his obsessive quest for power began.

There’s a great blend of cozy fantasy/mystery with just enough drama and action. I was concerned about the magic system being too complicated (the book begins with an overview of the schools of magic which can sometimes be a red flag for me of something that gets too technical and caught up in its own lore) but those fears were unfounded. Another big point in its favor is that the ending is satisfying and it absolutely can be read standalone if you’re not into series.

Some portions in the middle were a little slow but the only real reason I detracted from the rating was because (spoilers for the ending)

I don’t fully understand Myra’s involvement in Hogwood’s escape. I know it says she was sick and then her sister was sick and he helped her in exchange but her power is seeing into minds. Hulda is haunted by the bodies Hogwood was keeping even years later. Shouldn’t Myra have been equally alarmed at how twisted this guy ended up being? Was it worth getting him out of prison to cause more harm to the world?

Content warnings:
Child abuse, alcoholism (on page):

Immediately in the prologue we see Silas being abused by his drunk father. He finally fights back and this sets in motion his true descent into villainy.

Murder, torture, violence (on page):

Silas is able to use his combination of powers to drain others of theirs, leaving them a shriveled husk that’s somehow still alive and suffering after he’s done his terrible work. He attempts murder on Hulda after lightly stalking her.

Pregnancy (off page):

A fake pregnancy is used to emotionally destabilize Merritt. His life kind of falls apart as a result and he has to find his own way in the world.

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h4ppycupcake's review

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dark funny mysterious slow-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? No

5.0

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marsh_mall0w's review against another edition

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adventurous dark 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

3.5

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antimony27's review

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adventurous emotional mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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cturn's review against another edition

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adventurous 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? Yes

3.5

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stewartj0421's review against another edition

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adventurous dark funny hopeful mysterious 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

5.0

This book had me screaming all throughout the last 30% of the story. The tension build-up and release was PHENOMENALLY paced on all counts. The plots and subplots were all woven so well that I did not ever feel burdened with absorbing too much information at once, yet the world felt intricately detailed and fleshed out. I fell in love with each and every character, and even experienced sympathy for the antagonist. The author is a wordsmith. There is nothing I did not like about this book. I have already pre-ordered the sequel!

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rmperash's review

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adventurous 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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