Reviews with content warning for Sexual content - Midnight Rooms

Reviews tagging 'Sexual content'

Midnight Rooms by Donyae Coles

9 reviews

miraclesnow's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

5.0

I ate this tf up

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f18's review

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challenging dark mysterious medium-paced

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

5.0

Feverish and claustrophobic, this book really captures the sticky, heavy feeling of struggling to awaken from a dream. There were times when I wanted Orabella to act more, to plan more, etc but it feels realistic and true to character that she wouldn't. The ending pushed this from 4 to 5 stars for me. It incisively skewered my struggle with dark romance:

A horrible situation can push someone to do horrible things. They can struggle to overcome their own vices and make mistakes. They can lie or hide things because they think it will protect you. Maybe you can come to understand and forgive someone in that case. But in a small moment where there would be no real consequence, breaking trust with the only possible benefit being to make you doubt yourself, to break you down... unforgiveable. And the author doesn't need to spell out what happens. Elias' fear at the question shows he lied, that nothing he ever said can be trusted.

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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

My musings 💖 powered by puppy snuggles 🐶

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disneyfreak627's review

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challenging dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

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robi_locksley's review

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

1.5

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blacksphinx's review

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dark mysterious tense slow-paced

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

2.0

Speaking as a lover of the gothic, this book is just way too derivative. Every time something happened I kept thinking "just like in [X]." There's even some perfunctory

incest accusations

that doesn't add a damn thing to the plot. I was excited to read a gothic period piece where the protagonist is a Black woman, but it barely ever comes up? It's messy, and not just because our PoV character is hallucinating.

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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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kimwritesstuff's review

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dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.0

This book is dark, spooky, and entrancing. I could not put it down; I had to know what was going to happen. If you're a fan of Catherine House or Jane Eyre, you'll like this book. This is definitely more on the horror side of gothic storytelling and not for the faint of heart.

Orabella expects to be a spinster; she has no prospects in life. When Elias shows up asking for her hand and a rushed marriage, Orabella thinks she's in a fairytale. When they arrive at Elias's estate, Orabella quickly realizes she's not in a fairytale. The manor house is in a state of decay and disrepair. At first, Orabella thinks it just needs a woman's touch, but she is soon startled to learn that the house is so damaged she cannot leave her room alone and must be locked in at night. What follows is a dark twisted story that you just can't put down.

I loved the themes of this book so much. I thought it was beautiful and dark at the same time. I'm honestly excited to see what else this author writes because of how much I couldn't put this book down. Orabella was just an orphan trying to make the best of her life; she sees an opportunity to be way more than she ever thought, and she takes it. The choice brings her into a decaying mansion where she has no allies and isn't sure she can trust her husband. Plus, she keeps losing time and is always told to drink her tea or wine. As the reader, you can see the red flags but can't stop her from going down the path.

There were two things that kept this from being a 5-star read for me. The first was there were several glaring grammatical errors and any time I have to leave the world of the story to reread lines, I get frustrated. The second was the big reveal. I thought there could have been more of Orabella learning about the family's history to make the reveal and 3rd act more sinister. It felt a little too hurried for me.

Overall, this was an excellent horror debut, and I can't wait to see what the author writes next.

Thanks to NetGalley and Amistad Publishing for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

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jerichamacie's review

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

Orabella has resigned herself to a life of less, until Elias Blakersby shows up. In something reminiscent of a fairy tale she lets herself be whisked away with the promise of comfort, fortune and something more.

The decaying visage of Korringhill manor and rot within pushes Orabella through the threshold of unreality and into a dream darker than any she's known before. In a vibrant landscape of honey and teeth Orabella spins suspended by her own uncertainty and unruly desire.

An enchanting and unsettling mystery, about becoming or being overcome by the beasts all around.

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