Reviews tagging 'Homophobia'

Det kvinnliga sällskapet by Kate Quinn

52 reviews

mysterious tense fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus: N/A

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious sad tense fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus: No

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
emotional mysterious 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: No

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
emotional funny hopeful mysterious reflective medium-paced

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
informative mysterious slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
funny lighthearted mysterious 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: No

This book has everything: Lovable main characters, women admirably ahead of their time shirking social norms, murder mystery suspense complete with twists, recipes for a rainy day, and a 1950s playlist. 

I initially worried about keeping such a large cast of characters straight, but early on discovering each one had a distinct backstory and voice allayed these fears. Quinn managed to keep all of the characters afloat throughout the long chapters, and I appreciated learning bits and pieces about each one through all the different POVs. 

The structure was well executed. By the time each character’s primary chapter arrived, I was eager to read their perspective and glean what new information I could from it. It was also clear Quinn thoroughly did her research on the time period and created a realistic world within these pages. 

The real joyous icing on the cake here is the Briarwood House personified. I adored returning to the present tense for a bit of piping hot “whodunnit” tea from the perspective of the walls that listen and feel. Ultimately I didn’t fully see the twists coming which took this from a 4 to 5 star for me.

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
emotional hopeful mysterious 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: Yes

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
mysterious 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: Yes

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
adventurous mysterious 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

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted mysterious medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

I always love Kate Quinn’s books, but I think her work really evolved with this one. The multiple POV (and including the house as a character?? Brilliant!) was engaging and I really enjoyed how she took us back in time to “the beginning” and showed us how things evolved from different perspectives. The murder mystery element stepped up the game and I felt engaged and intrigued by all the different characters and how Quinn worked to develop their unique voices and stories. It kept me on my toes until the very end and I thought that Quinn did a beautiful job examining the lives of a very diverse set of women living during the “red scare” in the United States. 

Expand filter menu Content Warnings