Reviews with content warning for Suicide - Die Nähe, die uns trennt

Reviews tagging 'Suicide'

Die Nähe, die uns trennt by Mimi Matthews

12 reviews

nicolecurlsuptoread's review against another edition

4.0

funny hopeful lighthearted relaxing slow-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

✦Series: Belles of London, 1
Interconnected standalones form this series of smart, historical romances. I’ve been reading it out of order, and it still makes sense and is completely enjoyable.

✦POV: Dual, third-person
Evie is an inexperienced country girl who needs to make a match to secure hers and her sisters’ futures, but she’s no pushover! I appreciated her strength, resilience, and determined attitude. Ahmad is trying to make a name for himself as a dressmaker in a racist class system that is not doing him any favours. He’s broody, and stoically delicious. They strike a deal to form a mutually beneficial partnership, but their chemistry is impossible to deny despite the difference in their social classes.

I think it’s clever that the POV often changed mid-chapter (clearly defined) so we can see how they each experienced the scene.

🎙️ Dual Narration by Vidish Althavale and Lydia Hanman
This was my first time hearing both narrators and they were great! Their voices were perfect for these characters and gave believable and distinctive range to the other characters.

✦Spice: Closed door
Great tension and feeling, and a few kisses with increasing levels of heat. I’m generally all about the spice but Mimi Matthews and the Belles have always left me satisfied with the sensuous hint of what’s going on behind that door.

» I am so glad to finally read Evie and Ahmad’s story after reading The Belle of Belgrave Square (Belles 2) and The Muse of Maiden Lane (Belles 4). Their chemistry is palpable through the series, so I had to see where it began; I wasn’t disappointed!

✩ Evie meets Lady Ann, Stella, and Julia when she arrives in London for her first season (at 23!) and they embrace her immediately. These gals are a stunning example of the kind of girl squad that I love.

♡ I have loved every moment of reading this series so far. Highly recommend! HEA guaranteed!

❝Wonderful things didn't happen because one was cautious. They happened because one dared.❞

✨ I read the eBook while listening to the audio thanks to my trusty Toronto Public Library card and the Libby App.

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Content Warnings

akswhy's review against another edition

4.0

emotional hopeful inspiring 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

Finally a period romance for the horse girlies! And it’s race inclusive and class-spanning too?! A solid little romance with fabulous period dress descriptions and criticisms of colonialism! Cant wait to read the next one.

Content Warnings

idk_indigo's review against another edition

3.75

hopeful lighthearted 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

This book was a bit slow for me at times; I had to put it down to pick it up a few times (aided by the Storygraph's new paused feature). I also read the 2nd book first, and the friendship circle left me excited to read this 1st one. However, I don't think this one delves as much into their friendship as I would like. In fact, I feel there's more talk of mourning/spiritual matters than there is of the friends. I wish there was more of that, especially since the 2nd book places so much emphasis on how close they are.

Overall, I did enjoy this. I really liked Ahmad, I thought he was so sweet and doting. And I enjoyed the play on class/race in a historical romance. I feel like there aren't many stories like this one!!

Content Warnings

matmatmatty's review against another edition

4.5

emotional hopeful reflective medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

I adored this! The premise, the 'stakes' - this was exactly what I wanted out of a historical romance!

The story follows Evelyn, a young orphaned lady who is tasked with finding a wealthy husband to support her and her sisters, and Ahmad, a biracial dressmaker setting his sights on expanding his business. Together they

This story clearly had a lot of care put into it, especially with the historical accuracies! Very accurate to the time-period and really helps you feel like you are there with our ladies.

This is a closed-door romance, so no spicy scenes, but the tension between our two really adds to the story, and I honestly prefer historical romances like this. If you like the slow burn romances of the likes of Jane Austen, then give this one a try!

Cannot wait to read the next one!

Content Warnings

leannanecdote's review against another edition

3.5

emotional hopeful inspiring reflective medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

Content Warnings

wilybooklover's review against another edition

4.0

emotional hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

A beautifully woven story full of longing and rich in historical detail.

I wish this had been a bit more slow burn, with more of a friendship forming first. It felt more like insta-lust the way they were so instantly enamoured of each other; a slower start would have been a bit more believable. Still, I loved both Ahmad and Evelyn separately and together. I especially enjoyed how respectful Ahmad was of women — not just middle- and upper-class women like Evelyn, but all women right down to sex workers. Evie’s independence and determination sets her up to be his ideal match despite the significant barrier of race and class. Their romance was so heartfelt and tender, full of simmering tension during the dressmaking scenes. Even when they didn’t think they could be together, they were open and honest about their feelings with each other.

I do think that you need to like both fashion and horses in order to enjoy this book, since they take such a prominent place in the plot. There’s also significant discussion on racism and colonialism that’s very naturally woven into Ahmad’s experience as a mixed race man in Victorian London. I loved that Evie takes it upon herself to buy books on India to inform herself on Ahmad’s experience. The addition of spiritualism was perhaps one plot point too many — all of these different things going on (there’s also subplots with Evie’s friends, one of Ahmad’s customers, Ahmad’s cousin, and Evie's sister) are kind of a detriment to the building romance, which could have had more focus.

Content Warnings

jinjaritia's review against another edition

5.0

emotional hopeful lighthearted 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

Content Warnings

overflowingshelf's review against another edition

3.0

informative lighthearted medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

The Siren of Sussex was not as tempting as I hoped it would be. First, it should be said that while this is marketed as a romance, it is a closed-door romance. Second, it felt much more like historical fiction than historical romance. And third, listening to this as an audiobook was not the right move.

If you go into this book expecting a historical romance novel, this book probably won’t be for you. I knew going in it was closed door, yet I was still bummed by how lacking the romance felt. I wanted so much more from Evelyn and Ahmed’s “relationship.” While they spent a lot of time together, I didn’t see any chemistry between them. No sparks, no banter, no wistful gazing. Nothing. I need that to keep invested in a romance, especially when it’s closed door. I think this book did suffer from being closed door as it was hard to buy Ahmed and Evelyn were so madly in love that they were willing to get married at the end and screw society’s expectations. This made the characters feel much younger than they are – the romance would have felt more fitting in a YA romance than an adult romance.

However, that’s not to say it’s all bad. I did appreciate that the obstacles in their relationship were real obstacles. He’s half-Indian and a tailor; she’s a white, wealthy woman. Their being together was not something that would be easy or accepted by society. As a result, the romance was relatively low-angst as it was external pressures on them, so if you like that, you might enjoy this book more than me.

When it comes to the characters, I’ll have to be honest, Ahmed is the only one who left an impression on me. I’m reviewing this book a few months after reading it, and Evelyn just didn’t leave a mark. Her whole personality felt wrapped up in being a horsebreaker, and I didn’t get to know her beyond that. Meanwhile, with Ahmed, he felt like a more nuanced and richly complex character with a fully fleshed-out backstory. I liked how Matthews handled Ahmed’s complicated feelings about being biracial – he’s half-Indian and half-British and feels like an outsider amongst both people. In my opinion, he had more motivation and drive behind his actions than Evelyn.

If I had to sum up the plot, it would be that Evelyn needs eye-catching clothing worthy of a horsebreaker to attract a suitable suitor. She partners up with Ahmed as he has a skill for designing fetching gowns for women, plus her wearing his designs will help him generate business. It’s a relatively straightforward plot, and I found it a bit boring, to be honest. There were also a TON of random side plots that didn’t necessarily go anywhere of importance or contribute to the main plot, so the book did feel like it dragged at points.

Now, I won’t say this book is all bad. I loved all the historical information in it! Matthews has crafted a vibrant and detailed look at Victorian England. I loved learning about the Pretty Horsebreakers, as I had never heard about them before. You can tell Matthews has done a lot of research on the topic, and I think that pays off in helping you feel immersed in the time and setting. This is why this book is a great historical fiction story, but not a great historical romance. And while not everything about this book worked for me, I enjoyed Matthews’ writing style.

Finally, as I listened to this as an audiobook, I have to talk about the choices made with the narration. I am still BAFFLED why this book needed two narrators. Yes, I know the book does technically have two points of view, but the execution could have been better. It was so, so, so jarring when the narrator would switch in the middle of a scene. I get it may have been written with breaks in the books to indicate a POV switch, but every time it happened with the narration, it threw me for a loop and took me out of the scene, sometimes at pivotal emotional moments. As for the narrators, I did think their performance was quite good, though I enjoyed Lydia Hanman’s narration a bit more than Vidish Athavale’s (his female voices weren’t great). If I could read this book again, I would pick it up in print over audio.

There isn’t anything egregiously wrong with this book, but all the little things made it hard for it to capture my attention the way I hoped. I do think there are readers, particularly those who don’t like a lot of spice, who will enjoy this as a romance. But I like my historical romances to have a bit more chemistry between the leads, especially if it’s closed-door. I’m on the fence if I’ll pick up the next book in the series – I liked the couple it was hinting at for the next book, but I’m not sure I’m invested enough in the series to spend the time reading it. I guess time will tell if I continue on or not.

Content Warnings