Reviews tagging 'Death'

The Magnolia Palace by Fiona Davis

11 reviews

mtnest's review

challenging emotional sad tense slow-paced

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

2.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Grief, Infidelity, Murder, Alcohol, Body shaming, Child death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Classism, Death, Suicide attempt, and Toxic relationship

litliz'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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Death of parent, Classism, Confinement, Murder, Bullying, Child death, Death, Infidelity, Misogyny, Racism, Sexual assault, Grief, Sexual harassment, and Terminal illness

machenn's review

emotional mysterious medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child death, Death of parent, and Death

kimveach's review against another edition

emotional informative mysterious reflective medium-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? Yes

An interesting novel set in the Frick Mansion in NYC at two different times: 1919 and 1966.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Racism, Classism, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Sexual content, Bullying, Child death, Misogyny, Murder, Sexism, Terminal illness, Death, and Medical content

regen20's review

emotional informative medium-paced

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

2.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death of parent, Classism, and Death

Moderate: Forced institutionalization

Minor: Body shaming and Fatphobia

bandysbooks's review against another edition

hopeful informative mysterious reflective tense slow-paced

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

3.25

I chose this book for one of my book of the month boxes in the spring. I was super excited about it because I love Historical Fiction and this sounded particularly interesting. Unfortunately, after reading it, I found it a bit underwhelming. The plot was a bit convoluted, the characters weren't entirely likeable or relatable, and this was less historical and much more fictional.

Let's start with the plot. I think the most basic part of the concept for the plot is really cool and had a lot of potential. A Frick family heirloom of immense value goes missing and someone is wrongfully accused. For me, where this fell apart is that it took over half the book to get to this particular point and the story seems, up until that point, more invested in the lives of two women...the personal assistant to the Frick daughter and a random model from the UK decades later. Each has their own plot line and it's not until the very end that they start to tie together. In my opinion, the plot that takes place decades later was unrealistic and detracted from the story. 

The characters were also a bit difficult for me. I am under the impression that we aren't supposed to like most of the Frick family and that's fine. Purposefully unlikeable characters are fine. That said, the two main characters...Lillian, the personal assistant and Veronica, the English model were super hard for me to relate to as well. I thought both had great potential, it just wasn't explored. Their storylines could've been moving and deep, but I felt like they were sort of created as an afterthought to the rest of the plot. 

Additionally, this really is more of a fiction than a historical fiction. Yes, the Fricks were a real family and the location is a real location. Other than that, it's almost entirely made up. I guess when I read a historical fiction, I have the expectation that the story will be grounded in some of the actual history. Had the plot and characterization been more compelling, perhaps I would've noticed this less or been less bothered by it.

All in all, this was a middle of the line historical fiction for me. It had lots of potential, but ultimately did not deliver. It's not to say that it's not worth a read, but just temper your expectations going into it. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death and Death of parent

Not sure how to write this warning...but false accusations of a crime

thecorbinocaper's review

slow-paced

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

2.0

This book had a lot of potential but just didn’t hit for me. I found the characters to be mostly one dimensional and thoughtless. I thought the most intriguing character was Joshua Lawrence, a Black assistant curator/intern of the Frick collection (1966) and I wish that he was more fully developed in the narrative. His challenges of navigating the world of museums and art would have added so much rather than simply alluded to here and there.  The comparison of modeling in 1919 and 1966 was interesting, as were the scant references to the Spanish Flu and descriptions of art. but overall it fell flat for me and I wish the background details had been brought more to the forefront. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Terminal illness, and Child death

Minor: Murder and Domestic abuse

kerrygetsliterary's review

informative mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Grief, Medical trauma, Murder, Sexism, Sexual harassment, Death of parent, Racism, Child death, Classism, Death, and Misogyny

Moderate: Emotional abuse and Miscarriage

le3713's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious fast-paced

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

4.0

Fiona Davis once again delivers on a book I can’t put down. That said, too much of the plot was bunched at the end of the book for me, and I found elements of the resolution unsatisfying.

You’ll enjoy this one if you like: complicated female characters with ambition, dual timelines, an element of mystery, and a strong NYC setting.

Be aware that the synopsis mentions plot elements that don’t come up until the last 1/3 of the book.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexual harassment, Child death, Death, Death of parent, and Emotional abuse

Minor: Murder

aericsson's review

informative 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

4.0

Loved the two points of view and the look into turn of the century art/wealth. The ending felt rushed.

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Content Warnings

Minor: Blood, Body horror, Death, Child death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Grief, Infidelity, Murder, Racial slurs, Racism, and Toxic relationship