Reviews tagging 'Toxic relationship'

Her Little Flowers by Shannon Morgan

4 reviews

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

---

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

jessyhayward's review

dark emotional mysterious sad medium-paced

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

4.0

Her Little Flowers by Shannon Morgan is an intriguing and mysterious gothic ghost story centred around two older sisters, Francine and Madeleine, who discover some disturbing family secrets after being estranged for years. Now, they must repair their bond and investigate their past together before a strange presence overtakes their lives. 

I loved this book. It kept me on the edge of my seat without relying on shock horror  and made it very easy to empathise with the main characters (and some not-so-main characters). The past was eventually revealed, of course, and I thought it was a perfect (though fucked-up) explanation. I also liked the focus on sisterly relationships as it’s not written about much, and not only that, it was a realistic one. We all know sibling relationships are complex, and Francine and Madeleine represented this perfectly. 

The atmosphere is written brilliantly. It really is a gothic, yet modern, setting. I adored the emphasis on the language of flowers, as well as the vivid descriptions of them. As disturbing as some of this novel was, I really did want to visit the home. 

The only thing that I disliked was the characters. Hear me out…I empathised with them constantly, but oh man were they annoying. Francine grew on me slowly, but I hated the way she judged and slut-shamed other characters. Madeleine was also frustrating. That being said, they had their reasons and no one is perfect. Don’t let this stop you reading it, please. 

Overall, I loved it and would definitely recommend it! 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Murder, Child death, Toxic relationship, and Violence

Minor: Alcohol, Animal death, and Mental illness

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

Follow me on TikTok for book recommendations!

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

---

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. 

---

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