Reviews tagging 'Misogyny'

Midnight Rooms by Donyae Coles

3 reviews

minimicropup's review against another edition

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dark hopeful 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? No

5.0

What did I just read? Couldn’t explain this if I tried. This won’t be for everyone but I loved it. 
 
Energy: Curious. Whimsical. Strange.
 
🐩 Tail Wags: Fantastical elements. Strangeness and symbolism. Flowery-ish flowing writing style. Slow burn, steady paced, speculative surrealism. The blend of cozy gothic slice-of-life with dark fairy tale. Intimate sensory world-building. Creeeeepy vibes. 
 
🤔 Random Thoughts: I read text along with audio. Audio alone wsa too easy to get miss a few lines that were important to the story without knowing. I try to get the audio for historical fiction because I suck at hfs. And fpr vibes. 
 
Scene: 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Set in Bristol and Oxbury, England.
Perspective: A late twenties adult stuck living with extended family per societal rules. They have little hopes for romance and independence in their future because of the prejudice and racism surrounding them. When a suitor suddenly claims them, they begin to wonder if their life could change for the better. 
Timeline: Spring of 1840.
 
🤓 Reader Role: Intimately exposed to Orabella’s thoughts, feelings, and experiences. 
🔥 Fuel: Orabella’s fate. Atmospheric tension and exploring this eerie world. What is up with the family Orabella has married into? Can she trust her husband? Is she safe? Who has ulterior motives and why?
📖 Cred: Speculative historical
 
Mood Reading Match-Up:
Ginger, smoke, and wool. Dust. Mildew. Honeyed tea. Cold silk. Tallow. Twisted branches. Cubes of meat. Snarling. Sweet wine. Birdsong. Barking laughter. Mushrooms. Moss. 
  • Poetic, lyrical, sometime flowery, fairy tale style
  • Intimate, sensory world building
  • Gothic historical fiction (mid-1800s)
  • Steamy forced marriage
  • Symbolic tales using imagery, allegory, paradoxes
  • Surreal manor in the woods
  • Distorted time fragmented reality
  • Alienated, likeable main character 
  • Ominous in-laws and fam
  • Folklore and fae magical realism horrors
  • Absurd, stream of consciousness, grotesque 
  • Books to start head-empty-no-thoughts go-with-the-flow
 
Content Heads-Up: Patriarchy, misogyny. Racism (otherness, exclusion, prejudice). Hallucination. Drugging. Alcohol. Sexual content (descriptive on page; consenting, first time, steamy, rough). Incest. Murder. Vomit. Blood. Physical attacks. Infertility. Confinement/locked in. Fire. Cannibalism (brief).
 
Rep: Mixed race (Black, White). British. Peach-white, finch-brown, cream, porcelain-white, bronze, sallow skin tones.
 
📚 Format: Library Digital + Everand Audio
 
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montrez's review

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challenging dark mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

This twisted, dark read hits all the gothic horror romance tropes from amazing commentary on the rotten aristocracy (amazing parallels between animal savagery vs humanity) to the looming estate full of secrets and the pensive damsel both tempted and tormented by the affections of her brooding and deeply flawed love interest and the circumstances she finds herself in. 

Crimson Peak meets The Invitation with a strong influence from Mexican Gothic and a touch of that Sundance ambivalence (that ending) . Expect more savage and twisted oddities but less heart from the main character. As bizarre and horrifying as her situation was, there wasn’t much fight in the main character, but rather a sort of lucky endurance that allows us a convenient look at the real star of the story. It felt like the house and the surrounding mythos were the real main characters and the nagging curiosity surrounding the plot was what kept me reading. 

The writing was beautiful  and the audiobook performance really added to the overall experience. If you read this book, I highly recommend reading with the audio to give you a greater feel for this eclectic, dark supernatural/psychological thriller.
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thelittlebook_bee's review

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challenging dark emotional mysterious tense 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? Yes

3.0

Ok I REALLY wanted to love this. I love how it was written, the characters were interesting, the plot was great.

BUT THE PLOT - up until the last third(ish) of the book, it was Crimson Peak. Nearly plot point for plot point it was Crimson Peak. But I LOVE Crimson Peak so really enjoyed it. 

That being said, the ending of the book was literally so abrupt that I GASPED out loud, and not really in a good way. I feel like the last third of the book was a big fever dream of nothing making sense, and I still don't get it, to be honest. I listened on audiobook, and I'll reread the physical book when it's released to see if I catch something I missed while I listened.
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