Reviews

House of Cotton by Monica Brashears

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kylehepp4267's review

challenging dark mysterious slow-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

Best book I’ve read so far this year. It has that Isabel Allende-esque surrealism turned Southern Gothic, with a main character who contains multitudes and brings you into her world so completely she makes you believe her ghosts are real. This book was the continual heart break of a life in poverty but the struggle was not the story, it was the background that informed Magnolia and her choices, or a secondary character, there waiting in the wings to pounce.

Anyway, phenomenal writing. One of those books that blows my mind because I can’t believe something this creative and beautiful lived inside somebody’s head!

Content Warnings

briseisbooks's review

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5.0

“I asked myself, how many goddamn swallowed thoughts can a woman take until her insides rupture?”

This is such a magnificent debut. So beautiful and poetic and dark and disquieting too. The main character Magnolia has such a strong voice, I never wanted out of her head. There’s just something about her, so solid, amid a story steeped in smoke and mirrors. Compared to her, Cotton and Eden were so small but the characterization through Magnolia’s perspective breathed the perfect amount of life into them as lesser main characters.That ending; not the unhinged explosive climax I was expecting but so fucking satisfying in a different way.

Ugh, I’m in awe.

Content warnings: death, rape, child sexual abuse, drug use, abortion/loss of pregnancy (if you feel you absolutely need a complete list of triggers before going into this book I would look at a few other lists bc I could be missing some— the story is very graphic and poignant)

lady_n_beautiful_reads's review against another edition

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dark sad tense medium-paced

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

1.0

tree_star's review

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challenging dark emotional sad tense

Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Content Warnings

adehond's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional slow-paced

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

2.5

laceej88's review

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dark tense fast-paced

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

4.0

bippityboppityboop's review

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5.0

This was ASTOUNDINGLY good. The narrator (Jeanette Illidge) may be the best I've ever heard! Her character voices are exceptional and it really makes the experience. This novel is both exciting and melancholy. Unlike many thrillers I have read recently, this one doesn't build build build to an obvious crescendo. It's creeping and atmospheric and not at all shlocky. I read a lot of critiques bemoaning "woke" entertainment (which I hate, but here we are). I think this is the novel to get those critics to chill out and really enjoy horror informed by the experiences of underrepresented populations. I'm so galvanized to actively seek out more horror/thrillers by Black authors, and more audiobooks narrated by Jeanette Illidge.

Get your hands on this as soon as you can! I highly recommend the audio version.

Thanks to the publisher, author, and NetGalley for the audiobook ARC :)

ohmanitsbeth's review

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dark emotional 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

4.5

Maybe this was a weird choice to read right now, but I really really liked it. Sort of a cross between visceral magical realism and an alcohol-soaked ghost story. Beautiful lyrical writing, interesting characters, a compelling and (sur)realistic story of grief and survival. Deeply relatable to me right now despite the completely different circumstances

shaysbookshelf's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense slow-paced

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

3.0

hannahesabal's review

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dark mysterious tense slow-paced

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

3.0

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