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llams's review
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual violence, Vomit, Pregnancy, Blood, Sexual content, Racism, Toxic relationship, Addiction, Alcohol, Abortion, Death, Toxic friendship, Pedophilia, Body horror, Child abuse, and Classism
Minor: Rape and Dementia
thanksfrthemoomeries's review
challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
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
1.5
I have no idea what the plot of this book was. They end up right where they started and nothing of substance actually happened. I felt like I was reading badly written smut with stereotypical characters that had no real weight to them. The characters weren’t fully fleshed out or likable in anyway. There was something archaic about the descriptions in this book, which painted an older time period, but apparently it’s modern day. This book made no sense and I do not see what the “point” of this story was, because entertainment certainly wasn’t.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Alcoholism, Sexual content, Abortion, Sexual assault, Death, Toxic relationship, Pregnancy, and Drug use
The book is chalk-full of sex scenes and commentary about bodies, sexual acts, and reproduction. Even for someone who isn’t grossed out by it, it was hard to read.elle_e_d_light's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
It was a wonderfully written Southern Gothic, although I didn't actually like it very much. Everyone in this book is several layers of messed up. Everyone hurts each other—and gets hurt in return—because of their issues. It's a novel exploring black womanhood in regards to poverty, sexuality, and racism with a whole lot of macabre moments thrown in.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Death, Sexual content, Toxic friendship, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Addiction, Domestic abuse, Abortion, Body horror, Drug use, and Gore
Minor: Child abuse, Rape, Sexual harassment, Sexual assault, and Pedophilia
corriejn's review against another edition
3.0
I guess this book is for some people, but not for me. I didn't mind the darker stuff, but found the story to be fairly slow-moving, many of the characters pretty flat and undeveloped, and the ending unsatisfying.
One thing I did not expect from the book synopsis is the amount of graphic sexual content, so just a heads up if that's not something you're looking for.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic relationship, Pregnancy, Blood, Death, Drug abuse, Toxic friendship, Abortion, Alcoholism, Drug use, Gore, Sexual content, Addiction, Injury/Injury detail, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Vomit, and Body horror
Minor: Animal death, Sexual assault, and Child abuse
ecn's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
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
2.75
The technical writing was really beautiful and great overall. However, the story itself was majorly lacking. I will say, this is definitely not a book for me since I cannot stand unlikeable characters, but there wasn’t a single thing to grab onto to enjoy the story.
The concept was intriguing but the shitty characters, bad sex, stupid decisions, and rushed ending take away from every good aspect. It felt like, between the last major event the and the final 3 chapters, there was a HUGE missing chapter. I needed something to bridge that gap bc I genuinely do not think it was properly finished and I could not tell you *at all* how this story actually ended or what happened? Maybe if I were to physically read the book (I listened to the audio) it would have made more sense but I highly doubt it. It was just really lackluster :/
Also wtf was going on with the grandmother and her absolute NEED for the MC to see/talk with her aborted fetus??? I cannot tell if this is supposed to be pro-life or not and I have no idea why ANY aspect of that storyline needed to be included? Unless I missed something huge but???? .
The concept was intriguing but the shitty characters, bad sex, stupid decisions, and rushed ending take away from every good aspect. It felt like, between the last major event the and the final 3 chapters, there was a HUGE missing chapter. I needed something to bridge that gap bc I genuinely do not think it was properly finished and I could not tell you *at all* how this story actually ended or what happened? Maybe if I were to physically read the book (I listened to the audio) it would have made more sense but I highly doubt it. It was just really lackluster :/
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment, Drug abuse, Drug use, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Alcoholism, Classism, Medical content, Racism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Alcohol, Medical trauma, Rape, Trafficking, Violence, Ableism, Death, Death of parent, Dementia, Toxic relationship, Body horror, Pregnancy, Addiction, and Abortion
jade_0222's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-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? Yes
3.0
The writing style of this novel is poetic, I was arrested by the rhythm and movement of the narrative, it's not something I've come across before. The author truly has a lyrical way of telling a story. The modernity of it, mingled with magical realism is an added plus. My only issue with the book, is that it feels like there were still loose ends of the story to tie up. When I finished the book, there were still questions I had regarding the main characters actions after "dealing with her demons" so to speak. It all seemed to dive in a sprint to the end.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Domestic abuse, Abandonment, Death, Dementia, Pedophilia, Sexual content, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Rape, Toxic relationship, and Abortion
Moderate: Drug use
bex_inada's review against another edition
challenging
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abortion, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Death, Vomit, Gaslighting, and Grief
Moderate: Incest, Addiction, Alcohol, Child abuse, Dementia, Drug use, Racism, Sexual assault, and Sexual harassment
laurenbookwitchbitch's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
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
4.0
A chilling, absorbing, mysterious haint of a novel set against the backdrop of a Tennessee mountain storm. Okay that's a bit of a florid description, but that's what comes to mind when I think of this story. Magnolia is working a dead-end job, she might be pregnant and she just lost her grandmother, Mama Brown who's wisdom and secrets know no bounds. When a strange man named Mr. Cotton shows up at her cash register one day he slips her his card, offering for her a modeling gig. A modeling gig at his funeral home. Skeptical but intrigued, Magnolia accepts. She soon realizes the true scope of Mr. Cotton's eccentricities and must reckon with the ghosts of her own past. Dark, emotional and utterly engrossing, Monica Brashears prose is every bit as sweet and enticing as the landscape she conjures. "House of Cotton," is a southern gothic tale that is one-part ghost story, one-part commentary on poverty, race and sex in a society that is as terrified of it's past as it is brash in its bigotry.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness, Abortion, Addiction, Racism, Abandonment, Toxic relationship, and Sexual harassment
bandysbooks's review
challenging
dark
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
I recently listened to House of Cotton on audiobook. I didn't know much about the book going into it, but the summary sounded amazing and the cover was really calling my attention. Maybe I should've done a bit more research because this was quite the surprise.
This book follows a young woman who is struggling to get by and is approached by the eccentric owner of a mortuary who offers her a job modeling. While she initially assumes that it will be a standard modeling job, she finds that it requires quite a bit more than she bargained for. As she works for him, things get stranger and stranger and soon she is imitating dead people.
I don't really know where exactly to start with this review. The summary does not really adequately prepare the reader for what is going to happen. This book touches on a lot of difficult topics. Some parts felt like sharp social critique and other parts felt like they were added in just for shock value. Perhaps some of it went over my head, but I felt like some of the messaging might've been lost within the graphic and uncomfortable content.
Our main character is a tough character. She's clearly lived a hard life and seen some of the worst that society has to offer. No one has ever given her anything and she's really had to struggle to survive. That said, I'm not sure how I feel about her. I understand some of the choices she makes. The weird things she's being asked to do offer her a semblance of financial freedom, but they come with some pretty heavy strings attached.. It was also pretty hard reading about the way she approaches sex. Ultimately, I don't dislike her character, but I don't exactly like her either. I felt sad for her and angry for her too, but she was just not an easy character to read.
One thing that I did really appreciate about this story was the beautiful description. The author really did an excellent job of setting the scene. I could easily imagine what was going on and where it was happening which is part of what made this book so visceral and uncomfortable at times.
I will say that overall I found this book to be a very confusing experience. In some ways, I think that that might be intentional, but in other ways I wonder if the message would've been better understood had the story been a bit more tightly woven. The flashes between reality and dreams or hallucinations were sometimes hard to follow and all of the chaos made for a disorienting experience.
All in all, I'm not sure who to recommend this book to, but if you decide to read it, make sure you read the trigger warnings as there is a lot of dark stuff in this book.
As for the audiobook, I felt that the narrator did a good job. I was able to understand her and I felt she suited the story. It was easy to tell who the different characters were and I thought her pace worked well.
TW: Rape, Sexual Content, Illusions to Necrophilia, Drugs, Racism, Homelessness, False Imprisonment
This book follows a young woman who is struggling to get by and is approached by the eccentric owner of a mortuary who offers her a job modeling. While she initially assumes that it will be a standard modeling job, she finds that it requires quite a bit more than she bargained for. As she works for him, things get stranger and stranger and soon she is imitating dead people.
I don't really know where exactly to start with this review. The summary does not really adequately prepare the reader for what is going to happen. This book touches on a lot of difficult topics. Some parts felt like sharp social critique and other parts felt like they were added in just for shock value. Perhaps some of it went over my head, but I felt like some of the messaging might've been lost within the graphic and uncomfortable content.
Our main character is a tough character. She's clearly lived a hard life and seen some of the worst that society has to offer. No one has ever given her anything and she's really had to struggle to survive. That said, I'm not sure how I feel about her. I understand some of the choices she makes. The weird things she's being asked to do offer her a semblance of financial freedom, but they come with some pretty heavy strings attached.. It was also pretty hard reading about the way she approaches sex. Ultimately, I don't dislike her character, but I don't exactly like her either. I felt sad for her and angry for her too, but she was just not an easy character to read.
One thing that I did really appreciate about this story was the beautiful description. The author really did an excellent job of setting the scene. I could easily imagine what was going on and where it was happening which is part of what made this book so visceral and uncomfortable at times.
I will say that overall I found this book to be a very confusing experience. In some ways, I think that that might be intentional, but in other ways I wonder if the message would've been better understood had the story been a bit more tightly woven. The flashes between reality and dreams or hallucinations were sometimes hard to follow and all of the chaos made for a disorienting experience.
All in all, I'm not sure who to recommend this book to, but if you decide to read it, make sure you read the trigger warnings as there is a lot of dark stuff in this book.
As for the audiobook, I felt that the narrator did a good job. I was able to understand her and I felt she suited the story. It was easy to tell who the different characters were and I thought her pace worked well.
TW: Rape, Sexual Content, Illusions to Necrophilia, Drugs, Racism, Homelessness, False Imprisonment
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Death, Drug use, Grief, Panic attacks/disorders, Classism, Self harm, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Abandonment, Abortion, Rape, and Alcohol
meganpbell's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
In this gritty, ghostly Affrilachian gothic debut, Magnolia, in the wake of her grandmother’s death and possibly pregnant, takes an offer to “model” as the late beloveds of the rich at a funeral home run by the strange Mr. Cotton. The voice and the VIBES are all there, and this book has a lot to say about grief, death, race, class, and sex in the Bible Belt South, but the plot was about as substantial as its ghosts and the ending was abrupt and unsatisfying. Still, the writing is strong and beautiful—a writer to watch.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Grief, and Death
Moderate: Abortion, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Blood, Misogyny, Sexism, Pregnancy, Addiction, Vomit, Toxic relationship, Drug use, Grief, and Classism
Minor: Sexual assault, Child abuse, and Rape
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