Reviews tagging 'Grief'

A Lady for a Duke by Alexis Hall

90 reviews

wanderingtales's review against another edition

challenging emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective 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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Drug use, Grief, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual content, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, War, and Addiction

Moderate: Violence, Medical trauma, Dysphoria, Death, Ableism, War, Vomit, Kidnapping, and Classism

toffishay's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful reflective relaxing sad 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Sexism, Kidnapping, and Misogyny

Moderate: Lesbophobia, War, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, and Transphobia

Minor: Deadnaming, Gun violence, and Classism

hngisreading's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad 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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, War, Drug use, Grief, Kidnapping, Physical abuse, Violence, and Drug abuse

Moderate: Suicide attempt

_bookswithkam_'s review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring sad 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? It's complicated

5.0

This story is possibly on track to be one of my top reads of the year and will stay with me for years to come. This emotional rollercoaster of a story with Gracewood and Viola is one that follows grief in several forms. However, it also shows that no matter what people go through, if you have the right people at your side then you’ll make it through. That is the story of Gracewood and Viola’s beautiful relationship.  

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Kidnapping, Addiction, War, and Alcoholism

Moderate: Ableism

Minor: Deadnaming

boglord's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful lighthearted fast-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? No

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Drug use, Dysphoria, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, and Kidnapping

Moderate: Addiction, Classism, Cursing, Deadnaming, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, War, Child abuse, Death of parent, and Violence

Minor: Lesbophobia, Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Blood, and Infidelity

laura_mcloughlin's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful 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

Just a lovely book.

The heroine is trans and she gets her HEA and it is wonderful. And even better, the fact that she is trans is not even the central conflict of the story (it does lead to a little bit of conflict since the duke in the title is her best friend and has assumed she had died at Waterloo but it is very quickly and nicely resolved).

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Drug abuse, Alcoholism, Grief, Gun violence, and Suicidal thoughts

Moderate: Sexual content, Ableism, and Child abuse

Minor: Deadnaming

anxiousnachos's review against another edition

emotional hopeful lighthearted slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.25

*Lovely* is one of the only words I can think of to capture the essence of this book. Prose is gorgeous and rich and evocative and everything you want in a historical romance, and the romance itself is absolutely beautiful. Their love for each other is so wonderful to read about. But it did get so bogged down in the middle (the book is *long* as well, which probably didn’t help this feeling) so the pacing just felt a bit off and it was a bit of a struggle to muddle through all of the middle section focusing on Mira to reach the content on either end of the book that focused more on Viola and Gracewood and their relationship. But a truly wonderful book! 

Content warnings: misgendering and deadnaming (references to Viola’s past pronouns and name by those who knew her before and don’t know she has transitioned), grief, war, PTSD, suicidal ideation, addiction, kidnapping, sex, chronic pain, ableist language 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Deadnaming and Grief

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Addiction, War, Kidnapping, Ableism, and Mental illness

moonytoast's review against another edition

emotional lighthearted medium-paced

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

4.25

coming at this book from the perspective of someone who has basically read little to no historical romance (outside of my appreciation of jane austen's works) is interesting, but this has made me feel compelled to read not just alexis hall's backlist but also more queer historical romance novels!

i absolutely fell in love with the characters of viola and gracewood. i think hall did a great job of building out their prior friendship and also their own respective traumas. their chemistry upon reconnecting is so intimate and has the kind of easy kinship that i really love to see in romance stories, but it's also distinctly different from the dynamic viola and gracewood had before the war. friends to lovers tends to be a hit or miss trope for me, but this really sold me on it because there's still a significant journey that these characters go through before they actually reach the lovers part of the trope.

the side characters were also a fun time! louise and badger eavesdropping on viola and gracewood by hiding behind a plant and then interrupting their conversation, miranda going to a costume party dressed as frankenstein's monster.... i love them your honor!!!!!

the last 100 pages kinda went on a wild journey and i definitely knew something was going to happen, but wow. my brain was just like: OMG we're getting a swordfight in a brothel between viola and amberglass??????? OKAY IDK WHAT'S GOING ON BUT I'M HERE FOR IT! i blame my general lack of experience with historical romance and also the fact i am currently hopped up on medication for the worst sinus infection i've ever had in my life, but i was not prepared for that.

overall this is definitely primed to become a favorite comfort read of mine so i might eventually change this to five stars upon a re-read, but it's still absolutely lovely the first time around!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Drug abuse, Grief, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, and Mental illness

Moderate: Misogyny, Sexual content, and War

Minor: Transphobia, Kidnapping, Sexism, and Violence

thefatpaperback's review against another edition

emotional hopeful medium-paced

5.0

Childhood friends to lovers historical romance with trans heroine and disabled hero. This book was beautiful. It’s the only word that fits. The story is beautiful, the characters are beautiful, their love is beautiful, and the epilogue is beautiful. It’s got sorrowful moments and silly moments, but all-in-all, it’s a beauty to read and experience. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Gun violence, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Deadnaming, Death, Drug abuse, Grief, Mental illness, Sexual content, Ableism, Alcoholism, and Suicidal thoughts

Moderate: Violence, Infertility, and War

Minor: Death of parent, Misogyny, Transphobia, Child abuse, and Classism

penguinsquack's review against another edition

adventurous emotional medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Pegging 👀

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Ableism, Addiction, Deadnaming, Drug abuse, Drug use, Dysphoria, Grief, Kidnapping, Mental illness, and Panic attacks/disorders