Reviews

Lavender House by Lev AC Rosen

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sunny_r's review against another edition

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5.0

4.5

sydemorr's review

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mysterious sad tense 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? No

5.0

Honestly among the top books I’ve ever read. It was so refreshing with so many books with minor gay plots. While I love a good book that doesn’t focus on all the bad parts of being queer, this was a perfect mix of being accurate of the plight but showing that gay people did exist then and found ways to be happy with their found families. I loved all the characters and the development of Andy. A queer soap emporium imagery was so vivid and beautiful. I was invested til the very end - I will be telling all my friends about this endlessly.

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door's review against another edition

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dark hopeful medium-paced

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

4.0

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xia_reads's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious tense

4.5

phantasmaboo's review against another edition

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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? Yes

4.0

ajasouth's review against another edition

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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

4.5

accidentalspaceexplorer's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense 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

5.0

I picked this up because I saw Freya Marske recommend this and I'm really glad I did. This did such an amazing job blending the mystery with Andy's journey out of the dark place he was in at the beginning of the book. I loved all of the characters, but especially Andy, and I have a huge soft spot for Pat. It's part of the reason I'm glad this is a series, because I'd love to spend more time following Andy solve mysteries, and I hope we'll see some of the other characters as well! Also, the mystery was really compelling - the ending!!! - and I'm excited about the place we left off at the end.

I also found the book to be a really compelling exploration of queerness in San Francisco in the 1950s, and the different ways that people lived their lives and tried to be happy. It doesn't pull punches but it also doesn't wallow in the trauma, and I thought it was extremely well done.

Content Warnings