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adearen's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Animal death, Confinement, Injury/Injury detail, Toxic relationship, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Death, Grief, Hate crime, Homophobia, Murder, Alcohol, Outing, and Alcoholism
Moderate: Biphobia, Classism, Lesbophobia, Medical content, and Death of parent
kappafrog's review against another edition
- 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 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.
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
nervousleigh's review
- 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
5.0
Graphic: Death of parent, Homophobia, Hate crime, Suicidal thoughts, Confinement, and Outing
Moderate: Animal death
phoebenotbuffay's review
- 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
3.75
Graphic: Grief, Animal death, Outing, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Transphobia, Violence, Alcoholism, Lesbophobia, Misogyny, Suicidal thoughts, Bullying, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Murder, and Police brutality
barometz's review
- 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
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
kam_h's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Homophobia, Violence, Hate crime, Sexism, and Police brutality
Moderate: Misogyny, Bullying, Animal death, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Death, Emotional abuse, Grief, Religious bigotry, Suicidal thoughts, Stalking, Suicide, and Death of parent
melliedm's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
For me—The mystery itself was frustratingly obvious, which made the path toward the end feel more grating than exciting.
I also felt that the depiction of the time period was inconsistent. I think the future books should either commit to being delightfully revisionist, or commit to the historical fiction.
I wanted to like the characters more than I did, but I think this ties back into the mystery itself. In my mind a great mystery either needs to use simple characters that allow for subversion and surprise in the mystery, or complex characters where by that nature they add to the mystery. In this case, the simple mystery also had simple characters.
I will probably read one more Evander Mills book, to see if this was maybe freshman series growing pains, because I really do love the idea of a historical queer detective agency.
Graphic: Homophobia and Hate crime
Moderate: Murder, Child abuse, Alcoholism, and Animal death
thatchickengirl23's review against another edition
- 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
4.25
Graphic: Death, Biphobia, Child abuse, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Police brutality, Suicidal thoughts, Confinement, Outing, Homophobia, Violence, Lesbophobia, and Murder
Moderate: Grief, Animal death, Blood, Death of parent, and Alcohol
Minor: Medical content
bibliomania_express's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Rosen does an excellent job evoking the brutality of the 1950s and the importance of queer communities. Evander "Andy" Mills starts out isolated, ready to drink his life away after he's caught in a queer club and fired from his job. At Lavender House, he starts to feel a part of the community, and discovering who he is. I liked that this book touches on lots of different family experiences, and the toll hiding can take.
On the murder mystery front, I enjoyed Andy as a detective. He's smart and tenacious, asking tough questions and drawing out secrets. With this being an isolated, closed-circle mystery, the murderer was rather obvious, somehow so much so that I initially discounted them, but it really couldn't have been anyone else. Still, there were interesting touches and some surprises.
I'm very interested to read the next book and see what happens with Andy next.
Graphic: Lesbophobia, Blood, Homophobia, Police brutality, Medical content, Violence, Hate crime, Murder, Outing, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Alcohol, Suicidal thoughts, Animal death, Suicide, and Death
Minor: Murder and Religious bigotry
owliglot's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Police brutality, Violence, Grief, Hate crime, Lesbophobia, Suicidal thoughts, Animal death, Death, Homophobia, and Murder
Moderate: Alcoholism