Reviews tagging 'Misogyny'

Lavender House by Lev AC Rosen

8 reviews

kappafrog's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad medium-paced

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

3.0

I have mixed feelings about this. I read it very quickly because I wanted to find out the answer to the mystery. However, the main character had me in two minds. There were heart-wrenching aspects to his story, and there were times when it made me really smile seeing how much he was starting to accept himself. However, I did not find it enjoyable to read a character arc that consisted of "cop realises how bad the stuff he lets other cops get away with was." I'm glad he realised and learned and found a way to move forward in life, but I was with Judy on this one. It was hard to sympathzie with him, especially after

he remembered letting cops get away with raping lesbians. Jesus, that was bad, and just immediately brushed past.

I'm a little mixed on how the end played out as well. It seemed like Alice was way too obvious a candidate from the start, so I had fun thinking about which of the others it was going to be. But then when it turned out to be Alice and she was just a serial murderer, well, it was a little meh for me. The boldness of a story where almost all the characters are queer so one of them gets to be the villain without being the token queer villain got diluted by it being the only straight suspect who did it after all. A fair subversion, given the long history of queer and queer-coded villains, but less thought-provoking and innovative than it seemed at first. Also, we really just glossed over how Margo covered for her mother's murder for YEARS, and how Pearl killed a private investigator at the end of the book!

I really loved the way the setting of the house was described, with all the flowers and trees and the sense of seclusion. My favourite character was definitely Pat. I would have been happy to see more of his life! I liked the doctor-turned-bartender a lot too. Usually I gravitate towards queer women in books, especially historical ones, but it was harder to connect with the women in this book. I think it was just obvious that the author was writing what he knew with the queer men so their feelings and personalities shone through a lot more strongly than those of the women.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Outing, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Violence, Homophobia, Suicidal thoughts, Murder, Animal death, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, and Lesbophobia

Moderate: Child abuse, Stalking, Suicide, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Classism, Abandonment, Domestic abuse, Rape, Sexism, Vomit, Emotional abuse, Confinement, Medical content, Misogyny, Drug use, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence

Minor: War, Blood, Death of parent, Gun violence, Pedophilia, and Sexual content

phoebenotbuffay's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny hopeful mysterious reflective sad slow-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

3.75

The way the author develops the MMC turns this book into a bit of a coming of age story. Very poignant. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Animal death, Outing, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Transphobia, Violence, Alcoholism, Lesbophobia, Misogyny, Suicidal thoughts, Bullying, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Murder, and Police brutality

kam_h's review against another edition

funny mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.5

I think this book was a pretty good start to a series.  I enjoyed the characters a lot, and a queer 1950s mystery is definitely my cup of tea. I think my biggest disappointment was the mystery itself it wasn't very shocking or hard to figure out. However, this book was used to introduce a lot of characters I assume will be reoccurring, and if my suspicions are correct, this was more of an introductory novel than just a mystery.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Violence, Hate crime, Sexism, and Police brutality

Moderate: Misogyny, Bullying, Animal death, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Death, Emotional abuse, Grief, Religious bigotry, Suicidal thoughts, Stalking, Suicide, and Death of parent

purrson's review against another edition

dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious reflective 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

4.0

Very enjoyable, especially as a series starter. The very beginning is the weakest bit—I wasn’t sure who the character was—but the story finds its feet quickly. Good character development,  I love queer historical fiction and the setting is interesting. Some romantic content—flirting—but the book doesn’t feel prudish. It’s a good setup for the second book in the series, which I’m currently reading and enjoying very much.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia

Moderate: Violence, Police brutality, and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Emotional abuse, Death of parent, Animal death, Misogyny, and Murder

The animal death is minor:

There’s a short scene where two characters are hunting rabbits

duffchan's review against another edition

funny hopeful mysterious reflective sad 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Hate crime, Homophobia, Misogyny, and Murder

foreverinastory's review

dark emotional 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

Thank you to Bookish First for a physical ARC and MBC for a finished copy of the book in exchange for an honest review and promotion. All opinions are my own.

Wow loved this!! What a book.

Lavender House is a 1950’s murder mystery. Evander Mills has been recently outed and forced to leave his job as a detective. Andy is struggling with his new reality. When he’s approached by Pearl who has a job for him, he begrudgingly accepts. Then he arrives at the estate, Lavender House, and he’s shocked to see queer people living authentically. As Andy continues to investigate, Lavender House changes his mind about many things, but will he catch the killer before he can open himself up to a new idea of life?

I loved this book!! I need it to be a series because I am so ready to jump in with Andy as he investigates crimes for queer victims. This book was incredibly gripping and while I didn’t always agree with Andy, I found his motives believable and poignant. Also who could I not love Andy, we share a name 😌. I listened to the audiobook through Libro FM and I cannot recommend the narrator enough. Vikas Adam also narrated parts of The Charm Offensive and A Dark & Hollow Star and is now officially on my favorite narrator list! Overall, I loved seeing this mystery unravel and I would highly recommend it! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Police brutality, Hate crime, Alcoholism, Death of parent, Blood, Murder, Suicidal thoughts, Outing, Grief, Lesbophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Animal death, Death, Physical abuse, Homophobia, Violence, Alcohol, and Suicide

Moderate: Misogyny, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Biphobia, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Antisemitism, Medical content, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, and Sexual content

betweentheshelves's review

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? Yes

4.0

It's 1952, and Andy Mills is hired to investigate the death of Irene Lamontaine, the head of the famous Lamontaine soap empire. At the surface, it seems like her death is an accident. But her wife thinks otherwise. After being fired from the San Francisco Police Department for being caught in a raid on a gay bar, Andy will take whatever cases he can get.

However, the little queer oasis the Lamontaine family has carverd out for themselves holds dark secrets. While they might be hidden from the rest of the society and able to be themselves, something more sininster might be going on. And it's up to Andy to figure out what.

Thanks to NetGalley and Forge Books for an advanced copy of Lavender House to review! I've read some of Lev AC Rosen's YA stuff, so I was interested in seeing how he moves to adult fiction. I am happy to say I wasn't disappointed!

This is being pitched as a queer, historical Knives Out, and I think that's the perfect description of this book. There's the murder mystery, things not quite like they seem on the surface. Before going in, know that there is a lot of homophobia depicted in this book, due to the time period its set in. The idea of a little queer oasis is fantastic, though. I'm sure this happened more than we think it did. 

The characters are also really well written. Andy is a complicated protagonist, trying to figure out where to go now that he's been kicked out of the police force. There's a pretty large cast of characters, but they don't blend together like you might think they would. It's definitely a great book to read as we're right in the middle of spooky season.

All in all, if you love mysteries like Knives Out, you will probably thoroguhly enjoy this book!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Police brutality, and Violence

Moderate: Misogyny, Animal cruelty, and Animal death

Minor: Gore, Suicidal thoughts, and Grief

lynseyye's review against another edition

mysterious tense fast-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Police brutality, Homophobia, and Murder

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Misogyny, Suicidal thoughts, War, and Animal death

Minor: Grief