Reviews tagging 'Sexual content'

Lavender House by Lev AC Rosen

12 reviews

kappafrog's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad medium-paced

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

3.0

I have mixed feelings about this. I read it very quickly because I wanted to find out the answer to the mystery. However, the main character had me in two minds. There were heart-wrenching aspects to his story, and there were times when it made me really smile seeing how much he was starting to accept himself. However, I did not find it enjoyable to read a character arc that consisted of "cop realises how bad the stuff he lets other cops get away with was." I'm glad he realised and learned and found a way to move forward in life, but I was with Judy on this one. It was hard to sympathzie with him, especially after

he remembered letting cops get away with raping lesbians. Jesus, that was bad, and just immediately brushed past.

I'm a little mixed on how the end played out as well. It seemed like Alice was way too obvious a candidate from the start, so I had fun thinking about which of the others it was going to be. But then when it turned out to be Alice and she was just a serial murderer, well, it was a little meh for me. The boldness of a story where almost all the characters are queer so one of them gets to be the villain without being the token queer villain got diluted by it being the only straight suspect who did it after all. A fair subversion, given the long history of queer and queer-coded villains, but less thought-provoking and innovative than it seemed at first. Also, we really just glossed over how Margo covered for her mother's murder for YEARS, and how Pearl killed a private investigator at the end of the book!

I really loved the way the setting of the house was described, with all the flowers and trees and the sense of seclusion. My favourite character was definitely Pat. I would have been happy to see more of his life! I liked the doctor-turned-bartender a lot too. Usually I gravitate towards queer women in books, especially historical ones, but it was harder to connect with the women in this book. I think it was just obvious that the author was writing what he knew with the queer men so their feelings and personalities shone through a lot more strongly than those of the women.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Outing, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Violence, Homophobia, Suicidal thoughts, Murder, Animal death, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, and Lesbophobia

Moderate: Child abuse, Stalking, Suicide, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Classism, Abandonment, Domestic abuse, Rape, Sexism, Vomit, Emotional abuse, Confinement, Medical content, Misogyny, Drug use, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence

Minor: War, Blood, Death of parent, Gun violence, Pedophilia, and Sexual content

barometz's review

dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense 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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Lesbophobia, Violence, Suicidal thoughts, Biphobia, Hate crime, Alcohol, Animal death, Death of parent, Death, Medical content, Grief, Murder, and Police brutality

Moderate: Self harm, Confinement, and Classism

Minor: Sexual content and Blood

goolaina's review

dark hopeful mysterious medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Hate crime, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Police brutality, Suicidal thoughts, Outing, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, and Murder

Moderate: Sexual content

krisalexcole's review

mysterious 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? It's complicated

2.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Hate crime, Homophobia, Outing, and Grief

Moderate: Police brutality, Alcohol, Toxic relationship, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Suicidal thoughts, and Violence

Minor: Confinement, Death of parent, Gun violence, Sexual content, Child abuse, Animal death, Infidelity, and Vomit

andloveistoolong's review

emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious tense 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Lesbophobia, Homophobia, Outing, Grief, Hate crime, Murder, Police brutality, and Suicidal thoughts

Moderate: Confinement, Child abuse, Violence, Alcohol, Death of parent, Animal death, and Emotional abuse

Minor: Medical content, Drug use, Infidelity, Sexual content, Addiction, and Suicide

jitterbun's review against another edition

dark 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? Yes

4.5

I enjoyed everything about this book. The thing that makes this mystery work really well is the colorful characters. It's easy to believe any of the characters could be the murderer, but at the same time, like the protagonist Andy, you like them and want there to be another answer. This was somehow both uncomfortable and heartwarming at the same time. Heartwarming because Andy has finally found people who accept him as a gay man, and has many positive interactions with those in the household, but also uncomfortable because anyone in the household could be a murderer, and nobody wants to break up the safety of the house.

The book also does explore the benefits and hardships of living a secret double life. Lavender House serves as both a sanctuary and a prison to its residents, and best intentions often wind up manifesting into hurtful actions. 

Many people call this book a 'queer Knives Out" and would agree with that assessment. The characters' flaws make them fun to watch and there are a lot of fun elements in their interactions.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Police brutality, Homophobia, and Hate crime

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Addiction, Alcoholism, and Sexual content

Minor: Injury/Injury detail and Murder

monnibo's review

adventurous emotional hopeful mysterious sad 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? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Police brutality, Hate crime, Homophobia, and Sexual content

Moderate: Alcoholism, Grief, Outing, Death, Murder, Homophobia, Suicidal thoughts, and Hate crime

Minor: Death of parent and Death

genny's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious medium-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

4.25

I confess that I barely knew anything about this book before I borrowed it from the library, I just saw the words "queer" and "isolated mansion" and went for it. I thought this was going to be some feel-good found family story, LOL. What I got was much more up my alley, though! A mystery centered around a tight-knit group of characters in an isolated setting, with an unattached main character who attempts to figure out everyone's secrets. Classic. A gothic tale transplanted into the bright sunshine of 1950's San Francisco... I especially liked the descriptions of Lavender House itself. Lev AC Rosen was able to create a tense atmosphere even without the creaky old Victorian mansion I had come to expect. 😆

The reveal wasn't surprising...at all. It made sense, but it was a little anticlimactic. The book feels a tad too short; it needed more of the sinister scenes

, like Andy discovering the rat in the soap

. The ending was a nice setup for a series without being vague. You can think of this as a standalone and it works perfectly. It deals heavily with homophobia, so keep that in mind if it's a trigger.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, and Police brutality

Moderate: Murder, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide

Minor: Confinement and Sexual content

kharlan3's review against another edition

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Police brutality, Death, Suicidal thoughts, Homophobia, Lesbophobia, Outing, Murder, Confinement, Suicide, and Hate crime

Moderate: Alcoholism, Alcohol, and Death of parent

Minor: War, Animal cruelty, Sexual violence, Rape, and Sexual content

This is a creepy murder mystery with tons of period accurate homophobia. Also,

rodents, poison, shaming of sex work, and attempts at gay conversion

foreverinastory's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense 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

4.0

Thank you to Bookish First for a physical ARC and MBC for a finished copy of the book in exchange for an honest review and promotion. All opinions are my own.

Wow loved this!! What a book.

Lavender House is a 1950’s murder mystery. Evander Mills has been recently outed and forced to leave his job as a detective. Andy is struggling with his new reality. When he’s approached by Pearl who has a job for him, he begrudgingly accepts. Then he arrives at the estate, Lavender House, and he’s shocked to see queer people living authentically. As Andy continues to investigate, Lavender House changes his mind about many things, but will he catch the killer before he can open himself up to a new idea of life?

I loved this book!! I need it to be a series because I am so ready to jump in with Andy as he investigates crimes for queer victims. This book was incredibly gripping and while I didn’t always agree with Andy, I found his motives believable and poignant. Also who could I not love Andy, we share a name 😌. I listened to the audiobook through Libro FM and I cannot recommend the narrator enough. Vikas Adam also narrated parts of The Charm Offensive and A Dark & Hollow Star and is now officially on my favorite narrator list! Overall, I loved seeing this mystery unravel and I would highly recommend it! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Police brutality, Hate crime, Alcoholism, Death of parent, Blood, Murder, Suicidal thoughts, Outing, Grief, Lesbophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Animal death, Death, Physical abuse, Homophobia, Violence, Alcohol, and Suicide

Moderate: Misogyny, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Biphobia, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Antisemitism, Medical content, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, and Sexual content