Reviews tagging 'Child abuse'

Her Little Flowers by Shannon Morgan

12 reviews

korikam's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, and Domestic abuse

Moderate: Death and Alcohol

aimeejane's review

challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Confinement, Child abuse, Murder, Mental illness, Child death, Death, Abandonment, Misogyny, and Physical abuse

jesssicawho's review

mysterious sad 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? It's complicated

4.0

Took a little while to get started but it was an enjoyable (albeit sad) story. I was a little annoyed that the MC was only 55 but acted more like 85. It took me out of the story. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, and Domestic abuse

kreglow's review

challenging dark emotional funny mysterious reflective sad tense slow-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? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Drug abuse, Physical abuse, Drug use, Grief, Child abuse, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual assault, Forced institutionalization, Misogyny, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Violence, Emotional abuse, Child death, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Sexual content, Death of parent, Kidnapping, Torture, Toxic relationship, Domestic abuse, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Pregnancy, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Confinement, Death, Rape, and Terminal illness

tferree's review

mysterious medium-paced

3.0

Not life changing, but an interesting enough read. The central mystery was pretty intriguing, and I liked the use of the language of flowers as a core theme (for the vibes). Getting the full story was pretty satisfying, but overall the ending felt anticlimactic.  I didn’t feel connected to any of the characters, even the main protagonist.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Child abuse, and Domestic abuse

storytime2390's review

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense 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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Grief, Child abuse, Murder, Alcoholism, Mental illness, Child death, Death of parent, and Domestic abuse

dr_kat's review

dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

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

4.0

This is a very British ghost story. The romance is buried underneath the many ghosts and the horrible family tragedy. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Child death, Child abuse, and Domestic abuse

Moderate: Abandonment, Alcoholism, and Physical abuse

hilarybuff's review against another edition

emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

I really enjoyed this story and found myself rooting for Francine as she investigated her family's past! I found it very atmospheric and compelling...and also cozy at times even though several parts of the book touch on very heavy subject matter. This is a good book to curl up and read with a blanket and a cup of hot tea.

Some sections felt like they were dragged on or rehashed a tad too much, which is why I didn't give it 5 full stars. But the mystery kept me guessing as it evolved and I enjoyed getting to know the family. Sometimes dual timelines can take me out of the story, but I was invested in both past and present happenings. Very happy to have picked this book up!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Domestic abuse, and Child abuse

starrysteph's review

adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense 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

3.5

Sisterhood and tragic ghostly memories and personified houses - Her Little Flowers was an atmospheric & emotional gothic horror story.

We follow reclusive Francine, who manages her family manor alone with an array of friendly ghosts. She’s startled by the sign in her tea leaves that an enemy is on the way - and then is disgruntled to receive her estranged sister Madeline. But Maddie has some new information about the sisters’ family history, and the two of them must prepare to confront the cruelty of the past in order to understand the haunting of the present.

There’s a beautiful throughline of flower symbolism, and I was fascinated by the way Francine viewed everyone in her life through a floral lens. I was dying to know what my own flower would be!

The house really comes to life on the page - through the intensity of Francine’s fears and buried memories, through the ghosts that stalk its halls, and through Francine’s stubbornness to renovate and get rid of vintage quirks.

This is a powerful story of sisterhood - of sisters protecting each other until the bitter end. Ghosts and memories entwine and family hauntings are as real as they are symbolic.

My one stumble here was that the writing was a tad clunky - many sentences were awkward and the dialogue was sometimes stilted as well, which made my immersive reading journey more difficult.

CW: child abuse, child death, domestic abuse, death of a loved one, alcoholism, confinement, misogyny, toxic relationship, forced institutionalization, murder, grief, gaslighting, animal death, psychosis

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(I received a free copy of this book; this is my honest review.)

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Murder, Child death, Confinement, Grief, Toxic relationship, Alcoholism, Death, Domestic abuse, Child abuse, Misogyny, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Death of parent

meganpbennett's review

dark emotional mysterious sad medium-paced

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

2.0

I won a copy of Her Little Flowers from Kensington Publishing, and it was very interesting. Not my usual genre, but an interesting read. It had an extremely so start, with tantalizing snippets of what happened 50 years ago in between chapters. About 80 pages in, it gets really interesting, as the central mystery starts up. 

Thank you to Kensington Publishing for the free Advanced Reader. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Grief, Toxic relationship, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Misogyny, and Physical abuse