Reviews with content warning for Physical abuse - Hothouse Flower

Reviews tagging 'Physical abuse'

Hothouse Flower by Krista Ritchie, Becca Ritchie

7 reviews

kaiyoung_kop's review against another edition

challenging funny lighthearted medium-paced

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

4.0

Okay, I LOVE DAISY. We need more characters with ADHD rep. But Ryke- I know he felt bad about it, but he was such a pedophile. She was FIFTEEN when he started sexualising her. FIFTEEN.

However, there relationship seemed really healthy, for the both of them. It was very fluffy and angsty and fun

Content Warnings

ecravens's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful tense fast-paced

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

4.0

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sophiejo_'s review against another edition

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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

no spoilers, triggers at the bottom but i just realized that the song “Very Few Friends” PERFECTLY encapsulates ryke and daisy’s relationship and i couldn’t be happier about that.

it took way to long to find a couple that Krista and Becca Ritchie can ACTUALLY WRITE, but i’m glad we’re finally here. Ryke and Daisy were THE couple for this series and i won’t shut up about it. but let’s use bullet points, bc it’s easier on my brain…

* daisy my GIRL idc that she was younger than her sisters, she’s the most mature of the three in my opinion, and that’s really saying something considering she’s the daredevil. but tbh, this book barely touched on the crazy adventures she and ryke apparently went on, and instead focused on the hard, real life struggles she was going through wayyy to early in life. and with the help of a SUPPORTIVE friend, she got through (most of) them. by the end of the book i felt like she had so much character growth, which is all i can ask for.

* speaking of that supportive friend, RYKE HAS MY HEART AND SOUL for once there’s an unshaven character that doesn’t make my stomach queasy. literally head over heels for Daisy, and constantly attentive to her fake smiles or triggers. this isn’t a spoiler bc it happens like 10 pages in but the way he stayed with her at night bc her ptsd wouldn’t let her sleep?! and locked all the doors and slept with a gun to make her feel safe?! get me a mans who cares that much pls and ty. NTM HE SPEAKS FRENCH?! i was CACKLING when i realized he could understand connor and rose.

* for once a healthy relationship from these authors. they’re literally perfect for each other, the way they’re constantly pushing boundaries and challenging each other, and yet are there to work through the hard stuff. ik it’s kind of the bare minimum, but its all i can ask from this series at this point.

* the way they wrote the concepts of ptsd/mental illness, alcoholism, sexual abuse, the modeling industry, age gap relationships and many more topics were balanced SO much better in this book than any other. the only plot hole i can find is daisy’s relationship with her overbearing mother, which i still don’t think was fully fleshed out. everything else tho was done very sensitively, and i can appreciate that.

* going back to the age gap, i’ve read a few that were a little unnerving, esp. if the younger character (usually the girl) is helpless and naive. however in this book, daisy met every one of ryke’s strides and vice versa. and the concept of a healthy and legal relationship, even with an age-gap, was really given a nice light in this book, which you can appreciate. not once did i doubt the feelings they had for each other, changing from friends to more, and ryke was never using her. it was so wholesome ugh i could scream

* on a not so wholesome note, the smut was fantabulous. (except for when they went down on other people, but ya know they both decided that was a bad idea so problem solved)

* similar to the other books in this series, there was no one plot mountain. they kept introducing problems and swiftly solving them as the book went on, which made it feel like we were just given a slice of life from these characters. true, it meant that every conflict was a little rushed, but still enjoyable and entertaining to read

overall, this book exceeded my (albeit low) expectations. def worth 4 stars, maybe just skip the rest of the series and read just this tho :’)

⚠️ triggers ⚠️
ptsd, metal illness, violence, explicit sexual content, sexual assault, verbal and physical abuse, drug abuse, sex and alcohol addiction, parent abandonment, and mention of self harm and suicide.

Content Warnings